Allah says in His Glorious Book The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction. This Ayah links the Month of Ramadan to the Quran.

In this respect, it could well be that the significance of this month stems from the fact that Allah chose this month in which the Quran started to descend, being the Book that plans the lives of people in what they do and what they do not. God has made the Quran a book of Guidance to learn that Allah is the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Merciful who controls everything. If people wish to be wealthy, He is the giver; if they want to be Healthy, He bestows His Mercy to ensure that they are healthy.

That is why people ought to resort directly to Him in all problems and complications they encounter, for there is no intermediary between God and His creations. God does not need the good offices of anyone regardless of how great he is.

And this is what the Glorious Quran emphasized. And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased. Allah, The Most Exalted, wanted the people to pray to Him directly in every situation they might be in. He wanted them to be humble to Him as a slave before his master and as someone who is created in front of his creator. For He is the secret behind their existence and the Bestower of all their favours, And whatever favor is (bestowed) on you it is from Allah. They have also to prostate before Him as a token of worship and love.

The Prophet's speech welcoming this month said that the believers should seek Allah's satisfaction in this month by prostrate for a longer time, since it is the best position. And that He has sworn not to punish the prostrating prayers.

As a result of associating this Month to the Holy Quran, Allah wants us to read His Book in this month. It is not merely reciting its words but trying to understand them and learn the wisdom lying in their concepts Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy, so that it will guide us in all our affairs, whether in worship on in social and business dealings. We should learn, guided by the Quran, the difference between Right and falsehood, Good and evil, justice and wronging, deviation and following the straight path.

Thus, Allah wanted this month to be a month of calling, through asking the people to study the Quran, and the scholars to educate the people on the Quran, since it is worthless to read the Quran if one is not going to appreciate and comprehend it.

And we have seen how Imam Zein Al-Abidien (a.s.) has described this month as the month of Allah, The Most Exalted, wants man in to change himself in this month. He should study himself to learn his weak points and strong ones, and then train himself on the good, the right and justice, as opposed to evil, falsehood and wronging. Allah, The Most Exalted, wants man to stand before Him in a sound mind that embraces truth, a sound heart that beats with mercy and love and a sound body that obeys Allah's commands in what to take and leave.

It is, according to Imam Zein Al-Abidien, the month of purification from all the evil ideas Satan might suggest to man, like making his relations with others based on harming them and deviated from the straight path. Man should purify himself from the inside; the outside cleanness of the body is not what purification actually implies. The real purifications are that of the mind, heart tongue, goals and relations, so as to stand before God - when nothing does one any good except his good deeds - with a heart void of disbelief and hatred.

Imam Zein Al-Abidien stresses too that the month of Ramadan is the month of Islam. In the month of Ramadan, all Muslims should uphold the responsibility of Islam by leaving all what Allah has ordained, revealed or conveyed to His Messenger(p.) so that it will be a month in which man lives a spiritual and humanistic life O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.

This month is also the month of peace, in which the Muslim should prove that Islam is the religion of peace. Allah has made the greeting which the Muslim says to others to be: "peace on you". And the tradition has related that a greeting has 70 rewards, 69 of them are for the one who says it first. Allah wants our greeting to others to be one of peace. They should train on this greeting in this world to move to Paradise, having been accustomed to it, because peace is the salutation of the people of Paradise. The angels also will greet the believers in Paradise with the word of peace, the gardens of perpetual abode which they will enter along with those who do good from among their parents and their spouses and their offspring; and the angels will enter in upon them from every gate: Peace unto you for that ye persevered in patience! Now how excellent is the final home!

Dear beloved:

God wanted this month also to be the month of piety in which man seeks to be closer to Allah and acquire the will of good, right and justice, to stand before God and profess his belief out of his free will and out of fear of God as well as following of His Messenger(p.). It is not enough to have a will power. This will should be one of good and justice so that you would be a source of good for yourself, your family, those around you and all life.

In this month, we should be throw away a lot of our hatred and differences, and seek to meet with all Muslims on the basis of Islamic unity, since all Muslims profess that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger(p.). They also are united in their belief in the Day of Judgement.

We have, even if we differ in our sects and some of our Fatwas and positions, to unite in our belief in Islam to represent the force of Islam in the entire world. The arrogant world of disbelief has begun to plan and prepare itself with all the powers and weapons it has to be ready to fight the Muslims in their religion, politics, economics and security. We have to be prepared for this to be as Allah has wanted us the best nation.

Muslims are not few in number. They are over a million, but their sectarian differences, and accusing one another of disbelief, enabled the international arrogance to incite strife among us, to the extent that we saw Muslims boycotting other Muslims or legitimize killing which is something that Allah does not accept. The Messenger considered those who would kill other Muslims to be disbelievers. He also said that the Muslim's blood, money and honour are unlawful to take.

In this month been beloved you have to prepare to meet God in away that your hearts and mind will be close to Him on the Day of Judgment.

Unify God in all your life, and seek nothing but his satisfaction that is the source of all happiness good and safe destiny, we ask Allah to enable us to fast His month and read the Quran and ask for His forgiveness in the days and nights of this month.

The Israeli violation of the Syrian airspace, which was supported by the US indicates that Israel was making a show of force in the region.

Such developments raise a big question about the American – Israeli strategies which aim at making Israel the striking force that threatens any Arab or Muslim opposition to the US policies.

Some analysts might believe that this operation had to do with preparing for the operation against Iran, and testing the Syrian air defence systems in case the Israeli planes follow the route of north Syria to go to Iraq and then to Iran.

Questions also might be raised about the Turkish role in the coming stage, especially after the joint Aerial manoeuvres conducted by the American, Israeli and Turkish planes. Is the goal of all these preparations to lunch a strike against Iran despite the assurances of certain Turkish officials that Turkey can not accept any use of its territories to lunch an aggression against Iran and Syria?

Thus, we appeal to Turkey in this new stage of its leadership to preserve the Arab – Muslim relations, and continue to oppose the American Israeli policies of aggression, for this will have a negative impact on its position in the region, as well as on its Muslim people who continue to be committed to the Islamic critical issues.

It is worth noting in this respect, the Arab silence towards the aggression against Syria to the extent that many tend to believe that they welcome it, since the relations with Israel have become stronger than those with Syria or Iran. This trend was reflected by the Arabs move to reject any resistance as well as in the running after Bush's peace conference.

The Arab weakness is represented in the attitude towards the Palestinian resistance, which refuses any confrontation of the enemy. They condemn the lunching of rockets on Israel while they do not denounce Israeli shelling of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and do not find in the occupation with all its practices any justifications for confronting it.

The EU has also taken a similar position, with some of its states saying that they understand the Israeli reaction to the shelling of Israeli military base, meaning that hey justify massacres against civilians, and do not justify fighting the occupation.

It is tragicomic also that the PA hastens to condemn any operation of the Resistance, while it does nothing to retaliate against the Israeli aggressions against Palestinian towns and villages.

They also keep silent towards humiliating the Palestinians on the road blocks and the racial wall. It is as if they are dead and such they no longer feel any pain.

In this atmosphere, we see that the chances of the success of the American conference in realizing the goal of a viable Palestinian state on the 1967 territories are slim. The settlements, the racial wall, Jerusalem and the rejection of the right of return will hinder reaching any solution, especially that the US does not allow any pressure to be exerted on its Jewish ally. On the contrary, it will move to convince the Arabs -including the PA – to offer additional concessions to Israel which seeks to control all of Palestine whether directly or indirectly.

As we commemorate, these days the massacre of Sabra and Chatila, in which Israel was able to exploit certain internal Lebanese complications, we warn from an Israeli interference in the affairs or Arab and Muslim countries through their internal divisions creating additional atrocities, as well as political and security turmoil.

In the US, President Bush is still trying to manoeuvre in the face of the Congress pressure to withdraw from Iraq which might lead him to reduce his troops due to the massive loss they suffered from and the political failure of his occupation, although he continues to talk about a new war strategy, and a new plan to liberate the US from the moving death episodes in Iraq.

On this occasion, we ask the Iraqis not to believe in the grand lie that says that the withdrawal of the American troops will lead to a catastrophe or to a sectarian strife, because things can not be worse than they are now. And the Iraqi people, whether Shiites or Sunnis, Arabs or Kurds… have to think about the Iraqi national interests which can only be achieved through national unity.

With the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, some are saying that this month will witness more massacres and explosions that will target the innocent in several Arab and Muslim countries.

But we would like to ensure that the month of Ramadan is the month of peace and good in which all Muslims should open up on each other and unify to face the great challenges the Muslim world is facing.

In Lebanon, some politicians, especially those who only observe the international or regional situations, are still engaged in a futile debate, with each party accusing the other of hindering the reaching of a solution or seeking to dominate…

Meanwhile, sectarianism is gaining further ground to the extent that the country is moving without a government. The division of the country has left the country with no effective rule whatsoever, and with no decision being implemented. The only thing left for the country is to debate over the international resolutions, which, by definition, serve the interests of the major powers. No body cares anymore about the interests and the needs of the Lebanese people.

Could we launch a new reconciliation initiative, on the basis of a strong country that the citizens feel in that they are in a country that serves their own interests and not that of the others?