Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein (a.s.) welcomes the month of Ramadan by a supplication that stresses the spiritual significance of this month in which man can rise spiritually to Allah, and upholds his responsibility towards Allah, and himself. Islam should not be a superficial state that deals with words or acts of worship that do not penetrate to his soul and become mere movements of the body or readings that he does not understand. The Imam has described this month as the month of Islam, meaning that man should retrieve in this month what he had lost of his Islam, since the months in which man has been preoccupied with his other errands might have diminished the impact of the spirit of Islam in him. Thus, the month of Ramadan comes to enable man to retrieve what he had lost of his Islam, renew the spiritual virtues and straighten all deviations in his relations with himself and others.

And because this month is the month of Islam, we should review the position of Islam in the world because this is what Allah wants us to do, since He sent His Messenger(p.) to have Islam as our greatest concern in life, especially in the struggle it leads with the unbelievers .

When man opens up on this Islamic spirit especially in the month of Islam he has to study the affairs and struggles of all Muslims, since they are a part of the nation You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah.Any Muslim is a part of this nation; his feelings motives and concerns are not different than that of others regardless of his race.

Some people say: what concerns us in the problems of Palestine, Afghanistan, India, Iraq or any other place? We are Lebanese and we are supposed to care about Lebanese Muslims only. Others say we are Shiites and we are not concerned with Sunni problems, But this is not correct. It is true that we differ in our sects but we are the one nation. And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right way.

This kind of thinking is a kind of fanaticism, and fanaticism is a trait of the age of ignorance (pre-Islamic Jahiliya), as Allah has defined it in the Holy Quran “When those who disbelieve had set up in their hearts zealotry, the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance|. Thus every fanaticism whether partisan, national, tribal or … is a form of pre-Islamic zoolatry even if those who feel it fast, pray and perform pilgrimage.

When we enter the month of Ramadan we should feel that we have entered into Islam and fill our hearts, minds, feelings and life with Islam. We should read the Quran with the aim of understanding and applying it. We should stand before God to tell Him about our sufferings and needs, so that our fasting will be a symbol of our will to obey God. When we add up all these elements, we find that they educate us on the knowledge of God, to become near him and be friends with Him, because, He knows all our secrets and He is our only helper. We can tell Him what we cannot tell others, admit our sins, and ask Him to liberate us from them. Revealing our secrets to others might humiliate us and may not lead to forgiveness, God is the only one capable of doing that He is the One that accepts repentance from His Servants and forgives sins: and He knows all that ye do.

Admit your sins to Allah and ask Him for His forgiveness. He is the Most Merciful and He forgives His servants. That is why Imam Zein Al-Abidien says in the opening supplication

O Allah, indeed Your forgiveness of my sins

I have always said that our relation with God is not formal. It is that of a creator with his creations. We do not need any body to act as an intermediary between Allah and us. It is true that the Prophets and Imams can intercede , but He said: : And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; and And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me. Some might say that I am illiterate how can I supplicate? Don't worry; use your own words to express your needs. Say for example: I am hungry feed me, and Allah will respond to you.

The love of Allah is not equal to any love. It is above all love, but the expression of this love is by submitting to and obeying His orders. This is the way that renders this love real and mutual And there are some among men who take for themselves objects of worship besides Allah, whom they love as they love Allah, and those who believe are stronger in love for Allah and If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

One of those who loved this love was the Commander of the faithful, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, whom the Prophet(p.) described as a man who loves Allah and His Messenger and who is loved by Allah and His Messenger.

Dear beloved, let us learn to love Allah and obey Him… To befriend Allah and feel our responsibilities towards Him in our house, markets and societies. Let us seek to be near Allah, to let Him see that we have lived our days and nights in obeying them.

Then when the month of Ramadan ends we will have two Eids: The first is that our bodies that will be relieved from the needs of fasting and the second is the Eid of God's satisfaction.

Imam Ali used to say: It is a Eid for those whom Allah excepts their fasting and acknowledges their praying. And everyday that in which Allah is not disobeyed is a Eid.

In the beginning, we meet with the alarming statement of the French Foreign Minister, who expects the worst scenario for the Iranian conflict! War. He said that France wants the EU to impose sanctions on Iran other than those imposed by the United Nations to force Iran to stop enriching uranium, adding that Iran's possession of nuclear weapons represents a danger to the entire world.

He then tried to explain his statement but in a way that did not change its goal.

Fist we wonder about this French zeal: Is the new France that is a big friend to the US and Israel trying to assert this friendship by outbidding these two countries, since America is still staying- at least in public – that diplomacy is its preferable option to resolve the Iranian nuclear program.

On the other hand, the French Minister considers the Israeli nuclear weapon an element of peace, despite the fact that the Zionist entity has been, since it was established, a threat to the entire region, and probably a threat to the entire world, especially through its strategic alliance with the US that is imposing the mobile wars on the region and playing one country against the other especially the Arabs and the Iranians, although Iran was never engaged in any aggression against its neighbours.

We had hoped that France's new leadership would have adopted a policy that is different than that of the US and one that is nearer to the logic of freedom and independence that France had adopted in its history.

Such stands as the ones France is taking will not make it a superpower or gain it the confidence of the region's nations, since it is taking a deviation that is opposite to the line of justice and true friendship to the Arabs and Muslims. It also will not gain any influence except a marginal one that is left by the United States.

Certain conservative hawks are encouraging President Bush to blow a decisive strike against Iran, but we believe that such a thinking is not realistic and will not be realized, since it will be hindered by the big reduction in Bush's popularity, and the fears of his European allies and the concern of the regional states from the probable repercussions of any America adventure against Iran. It is also hindered by the current deployment of the America troops in Iraq and the inability to bring additional troops, especially that the Congress is calling for its withdrawal or at least for a big reduction.

We warn against any American madness, in which the American President could end his tenure by a show of force, even if it leads to the fall of the temple on the heads of all parties, especially that of the American allies in the Gulf who are practically helpless towards the American decrees.

Some of the Arab states that have been invited to Bush's conference have made some reservations about its seriousness. The Enemy's Prime Minister also talked about the need not to expect a lot, and pointed out that Israel on the PA are not working for an agreement on principles but rather a joint declaration of intentions.

We have said right from the beginning that Israel is not ready to offer any concessions to the Arabs except of a level of a fig leaf.

And this is what was confirmed by the statements of the American Secretary of State who declared that she is convinced with the Israeli point of view. America cannot but agree on what Israel decides, even if it were at the expense of all Arabs who continue to make additional concessions, since the Madrid Conference until now, without gaining anything.

Based on these facts, we believe that the resistance in Palestine remains a strategic necessity to liberate the land and to attain the legal rights whom many continue to pay lip service for only.

Therefore, the Mujahideen ought to deploy their combat capabilities to become an extension of the liberation experiment of Lebanese Mujaideen, especially that certain military officials are saying that Israel has regained its deterring ability.

The Palestinian Resistance ought to multiply its power so as to become a problem to the enemy and not the other way round, especially at a time the enemy is saying that Gaza is a "hostile territory", which means that it will witness a new phase of Israeli barbarianism.

As for Iraq, we believe that the difference between the political parties and the subsequent withdrawals form the government on the basis of unrealistic reasons that undermine national unity and promote chaos, represent a threat to Iraq as a whole, since it will deprive Iraq from any ability to exert a pressure on the occupation powers. This will lead to empowering the occupation, which asserts that it intends to stay long in Iraq.

We want the various political blocs in Iraq to uphold its big responsibility of preventing the fragmentation of the political sphere which could lead to the fragmentation of the entire country.

Lebanon is still looking for a President in Washington, Paris the EU, the Security Council and several Arab countries, but by means of those who are managing the crisis through a show of their political muscle, exchanging accusations and curses, and receiving international and regional envoys who offer booby-trapped advice, since many Lebanese have agreed that their country should remain a front for an international race for gaining influence and for implementing their projects and for talking in a sacred manner about the international community, although the international players seek only their own interests and may change their alliances at any moment accordingly.

The problem is that many Lebanese have become addicted to their political leaders and have grown afraid of changing them; as a result of certain illusions and fears they had created and become prisoners of. In the meantime, the sectarian regime that is revered by all parties has prevented those who are qualified from assuming the posts that will enable them to run the country. Lebanon became a victim of corruption that became stronger than the calls for reform, and lying and hypocrisy became an integral part of politics that is no longer governed by any values.

Allah, has told us that He does not change the condition of a people until they change their own. Faced by the grave danger and the negative conditions the country is suffering from, especially after the last assassination, we have to embark on a serious and responsible political effort to move the country from political and security chaos to reconciliation, in order to circumvent all efforts of those who are trying to lead the country to chaos and destruction.