The First Sermon

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Ali: an Image of the Prophet:

Allah says in His Glorious Book :And among men is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Affectionate to the servants. (2:207) Only Allah is your Vali and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow. (5:55).This is Ali the man who has sold himself to God. His mind became the mind that opened up on God by clinging to the Right… His heart became big enough to love all people for it is the heart that was big enough to love Allah… This is Ali’s secret: He did not think about himself. He only thought to please God… That is why he used to say to the people… that he was not like any of them… He wants them for God, while they want him for themselves.

Ali was an image of the Messenger(p.) . He was raised by Muhammad(p.) who nurtured his mind, personality and soul, until he became an image of the Prophet(p.) .

When he became the commander of the faithful, the Imam(a.s.) used to say to the people who had conflicting opinions regarding his caliphate:

You the people of conflicting souls and dispersed hearts…I call you for the Right and you run away from it, like a goat running away from a lion …There is no way that I can climb with you to the level of Justice and straighten the deviation away from the Right…

This was Ali’s tragedy: He wanted to raise the nation to the top but they wanted to stay at the bottom and chose not to listen to him or learn from him.

The Role of the caliph.

Then Ali talks about his role as a ruler, and explains why he accepted this post, and emphasizes that he wanted to serve and had no personal ambitions or interests… Then he talks to God, as a prophet on an Imam should when he shoulders a responsibility feeling that he is responsible before God in the first place and to the nation in the second. Thus the Imam(a.s.) stands in submission to say to Allah: O God… you know that I did not seek to engage in any struggle for power or money or such national benefits men might be tempted to acquire, but to defend God’s religion and seek justice and reform in God’s land, so that “The wronged and the back trodden will feel safe” and your laws will be observed… I was the first to be called for Islam and the first to respond to the call.. ”No one has preformed prayers before me except God’s Messenger”.

He was a Muslim in his heart and mind before the message was revealed , then when the Prophet(p.) called him to Islam he was ready to adopt what has already lived in his mind and soul…

The caller and the militant

Thus, the Imam lived Islam as a kid and he grew up to vow as a young man that he will dedicate himself to the cause of Allah as a caller and a fighter… He lived in the Messenger’s house and used to say: “the first house in Islam held three: God’s Messenger, Khadja and me”. And when the Messenger(p.) wanted the Imam(a.s.) to sleep in his bed, he asked only if this would secure his safety. Then he graciously accepted.

Ali was also the man whom the Messenger(p.) chose to return all what the people of Mecca have entrusted him with. He was also the bravest fighter in the battle of “Badr” where he killed half of the those the infidels lost, and took part in killing the other half… to the extent that Gabriel was saying while the angels were cheering the Muslims: “There is no man (champion or fighter for a cause) except Ali (a.s.) and there is no sword except Ali and there is no sword except Zilfiqur (Ali’s sword ). He was the sword that vowed it will only fight for a just cause.

He used to move from one war to another, not because he liked to fight but to defend Islam and fight those who wanted to thwart Islam and kill it in its curdle. He was also the caller who learnt all the Islamic sciences his teacher, the Prophet(p.) , taught him, to the extent that the Messenger(p.) said: “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”.

In the battle of Al-Ahzab, he fought on infidel fierce fighter called Amr bin Abd Wid, whom all the Muslims were afraid to. And on the eve of the battle of Uhud Muhammad(p.) said: “I will give the banner tomorrow to someone who loves God and His Messenger(p.), and who is loved by God and His Messenger”… He is a man that attacks and does not retreat until Allah grant us victory”… This medal the Prophet(p.) gave to no one else indicates that Ali ,just as the prophet has said, is worthy of the love of Allah and His Messenger, for he is the right in its entirety. He is as Muhammad(p.) said: “Ali is with the Right and the Right is with Ali, May Allah turn the Right with him wherever he turns”.

Then when the Messenger gathered the Muslims in Ghadir Khum , having been told by Allah that if he did not convey what was revealed to Him, he would not have conveyed God’s Message… The Messenger(p.) stood up and raised Ali’s hand and said: Whoever I am his master , then Ali is his master.. . But things changed and events turned out to deviate the Muslims from the straight path.

Nevertheless, Ali (a.s.) remained patient and nothing could change his dedication to Islam. Although his heart way full of bitterness he decided to “to keep the peace as long as the affairs of Muslims were maintained and the only wrong inflicted was against me personally”. Ali’s sole concern was to keep the state of peace among Muslims and prevent internal strife. He believed that the unity of Muslims is the weapon that safeguards their strength and dignity… He was the champion of unity who helped those who set him aside and took his place, because the issue was not personal, but that of the Message.

Even when he became a caliph, they planted mines on his road and forced him to engage in several wars he wanted none of. His sole goal was to open up on Muslims peacefully and lead them to straight path of Islam but they did not let him.

The Greatest Prize

The Imam(a.s.) remained steadfast all through. He resorted to dialogue and debate with those who fought him and even those who accused him of being heretic and killed him in the end.

They were driven by hatred and fanaticism that did not let them listen to the voice of faith and logic of the Imam(a.s.) who even after being stabbed by the Damned Ibn Maljam thought only about his joy in meeting God. He said:

In the name of Allah, the most Exalted… and on the religion of the Messenger of Allah, the most Exalt ed... I swear by the Lord of Al-Kaaba that I have won”.

Ali was feeling joyful, because he studied all his life, from the moment he was born in Kaaba, Allah’s mosque, and died in another mosque, making the course of all his life in between one that serves the Lord of all mosques…

Such a great man represented the top in everything we cannot but consider to be infallible, and purified in accordance to what the Quran had stated… Ali(a.s.) is unique, and there is no equal to him among the prophet’s companions, and thus he is the only one qualified to carry on with the Message…

Following the Imam’s Model

Ali (a.s.) was the man who dedicated himself to God. And if we wish to be with him on the day he was killed, we ought to recall what he said when he told the people that they cannot live in the same way he did, for he wanted nothing from this life except the very least to sustain him . He therefore asked them “to help him with piety, hard work, charity and righteousness”. He is asking us to continue the march he began with the Prophet… to protect Islam and confront all challenges and changes… This is what we could present to Ali… He does not want our tears and words… He wants us to stay with the Right. For those who stand with falsehood can not be of the adherents of Ali (a.s.)’s line.

Peace be on him on the day he was born, the day he was martyred and the day he will be brought back to life…

The Second Sermon

 In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The Intifada Continues…

The Palestinian people continue their struggle, their steadfastness and their awareness to the importance of their unity … They did not get tired of resistance and did not forego the Intifada… but they are adopting a rational course that insists on the unity of the cause, with the diversity enriching the struggle and not dividing it. This is the secret of the ability of this great people to continue to write the history of the nation, for the result of the struggle in Palestine affects the political future of the entire region…

Israel on its part continues its policy of dislocation, closure and killing…The American-Israeli ploy continues to concentrate on the security aspect, demanding to dismantle the infrastructure of the Intifada factions as a condition to implement the Road Map, despite the fact that this plan has become a problem and not a solution to the Palestinians, especially after the Israeli amendments and the developments on the ground which have actually killed it.

Palestine is a political problem

America knows pretty well that the problem of Palestine is a political problem because its solution is the withdrawal from the occupied territories...

But they turn it into a security problem by demanding that the Mujahideen should surrender to Israel and admit that they are terrorists and the Jews are victims… And this , as far as we know, will not happen…

America and Israel seek to put the Palestinian land and people away from the sphere of the light , and turn it into a detail of the war against the so called Palestinian terror, and enable the Zionists to continue to pose as victims…

This is what was noticed by all in the speech of the American president that failed to even mention the occupation of Palestine.. His talk about democracy, freedom and human rights as part of a plan to change the region was not serious, because the rights of the Palestinian people are missing.

Thus, the Palestinians ought to be cautious and careful, especially after the formation of the new government that is asked by the American Zionist alliance to crush the Intifada as a confidence building measure, while what they really aim at is to create a state of civil war, that would enable the enemy to gain by peace what it could not acquire by war.

Occupation :moving from one crisis into another.

In Iraq, the impasse the occupation has found itself in is widening as the war against its soldiers expands… We also notice the state of confusion the American administration has found itself in its running the political and security administration of the situation in Iraq. They have criticized the ruling council… and suggested to implement the Afghani experiment in Iraq and talked about hurrying up in handing power to the Iraqis.

The difficult situation the occupation soldiers found themselves in made their political and security leadership move from one crisis to another… They have tried to accuse the neighboring countries, like Syria and Iran, of being responsible for the difficult situation of the occupation in Iraq and that they should guard the borders of the occupation forces… It is as if America is imposing its political and economic interests over the Syrian and Iranian interests.

They want them to show all submission and be ready to help the occupation solidify its presence.

That is why America attacked the Atomic Agency when it said that Iran was not producing atomic weapons, just at it did before the war on Iraq.

The Iraqis have to study their tough conditions and the difficult experiment they are living in…

They should then tell the Americans that the tyrant regime is not going to return. It has become something of the past. And that the Iraqis should practice their right of self -determination and begin to run their own affairs and develop their economy and rebuild their country… These tasks are not to be left to the occupation who will not give the Iraqis except little scraps, and leave the major share to the giant companies.. A lot of cautiousness and awareness is needed to study the internal and external changes in this stage.

The Riyadh Bombing is a crime:

The bombings in Riyadh that killed innocent civilians who immigrated to Saudi Arabia in search for a decent living is a crime that is not accepted neither by the mind nor by the religion and civilization… Moreover, it does not accomplish any national or Islamic goal… It only distorts the religious and humanistic image of the nation…

The Detainees: Israelis Maneuvers

As for the detainees the Israelis are resorting to inhumane maneuvers , to try to achieve internal and external political gains, relying on the pretense of refusing to free these who killed Israelis. But we would like to ask in return: How could they ask to free the Israeli pilot who was caught while bombing the innocent civilians… Would they accept the Lebanese claim in case they are the ones who are detaining him… that they would not free any Israeli who killed Lebanese?

Or is the Lebanese, Palestinian and Arab blood worthless in their view.

The negotiations need a lot of patience and resolve. Because there are many complications both in Israel and in Lebanon. But things will turn out in the end in a positive way and the prisoners will be freed, for no right is lost so long as it is being demanded.

Lebanon: Personal Interests

Inside Lebanon… the politicians’ sole concern is their personal interests which might seem to have national connotations… Officials tend to accuse one another, even with charges of betrayal…especially when they talk about economic and political corruption… But then comprises are reached and the files are closed, and judicial justifications are issued as in when they say that the judiciary has no jurisdiction to try presidents and ministers and further studies are needed…

Meanwhile, the people are starving. They have reached the stage of complete hopelessness for they see no future solution possible… The region too is being immensely under pressure with enormous earthquakes awaiting it, especially with the Americans talking about Syria’s accountability in Lebanon.

The Lebanese officials and politicians meanwhile are preoccupied with scoring points in their inner political games, to the extent that they have no time to follow up the indications of the imminent dangers to the fate of their people.