FRIDAY SPEECH Ramadan 22 1422,December 07 2001

Praise be to Allah, lord of the worlds, And peace be upon our master, Muhammad, his purified progeny, his chosen companions and on all God’s prophets and messengers.

God says in His Glorious Book:

There are those among people who give their lives to seek God’s pleasure. God is Affectionate to His servants”.

Quranic interpretation books explain that it is Imam Ali whom this verse talks about. He is also one of Allah’s arguments, that ought to convince people , since, he is the greatest Islamic personality second only to the Messenger and was loved by him.

Ali’s gave Islam all his life and has lived throughout in Allah’s houses. He is the only one born in Kaa’ba. Then his life was always associated with prayers with the Messenger, He used to say : “O God, I was the first to hear the call and the first to answer.

Nobody has performed prayers before me except Allah’s Messenger. He was the first to pray with the Messenger when he was a child even before the Prophet was ordered to start his mission.

He used to live with Muhammad and acquire all his morals and spirituality to the extent his personal traits. became that of the Messenger.

He also used to be taught by the Prophet all fields of knowledge until he became the door of the city of knowledge, as the Prophet said: “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door”. He also never said anything that was not truthful, to the extent the Messenger gave him this medal: “Ali’s, is with the truth and the truth is with Ali, it goes with him wherever he goes”. He was also the Mujahid who took part in all the Messenger’s battles and was a vital force in achieving victory in all of them. It is said that in the battle of Bader, Ali killed half of the unbelievers that were killed in this battle although he had not had any practice on how to use the sword .

In the battle of Al-Khandak, the Messenger said when Ali went down to the arena to fight Amro Bin Wid: “Belief as a whole is going to fight unbelief in its entirety.”

Thus ,dear beloved, Ali was the first among Muslims second only to the Messenger. Therefore it was his right to become the ruler after him. The Messenger himself declared that whoever believes that he has authority on, then Ali has the same authority on him too. Moreover , he was so purified that he did not commit any sin or wrong. For Ali’s infallibility was not just an ordinary one, but rather one of the highest degree. Thus when we remember Ali (a.s.) on the anniversary of his martyrdom, we remember this Islamic unique personality that has reached the highest levelly of perfection in moral behavior , knowledge, spirituality and fighting for the cause of Allah…

As we are going to see, Imam Ali’s will that was dictated when he was in sever pain as a result of the fatal wound inflicted by the fanatic Abdulrahman Bin Malijam, was not a will about whom he is giving his money or property to, but rather a will for all Muslims. He addressed his will to his two sons Al –Hassan and Al-Hussein , because they would be left in change of Muslim affairs after him, but the will was also addressed to all his children as well as all who will read it.

Thus, whoever reads this will or is informed about its content, bears the responsibility of executing it.

“I advise your to fear Allah”. And obey his commands, for this is the meaning of piety that leads to Heaven. Do not go after this vicious world thought it may try to entice you , do not seek it through it night seek you. One should not compromise his principles and his belief for anything in this world ,“and do no give force for anything which the world refuse you-for this world is not infinite and in it you gain some and you win some, you should not be all allured by its wins or frustrated and depressed by its loses, for the hereafter is the world that lasts.

“Let the eternal reward and Blessings of Allah be the prompting factors for all you say and do. Be an enemy of tyrants and oppressors, and be a friend and helper of those who are oppressed and tyrannized” regardless of who the oppressors and the oppressed are.

Then the Imam moves to the social aspect, the one relating to the welfare of the community and the nation as a whole.

“To you, to my other children…. and to all who acquire this . Fear Allah and be pious, and have fair and honest dealingsw with one another”, you should be fair and honest in all your social, political, economic, secutrity… dealings and stands… Give each man his right, and be the organized society in which each man knows his role and position.

If everybody in the community leaves himself \herself to be led by his\her desires, the nation will definitely fail in pursuing its causes, “and improve mutual relations because I have heard your grandfather, the Holy Prophet(a.s.) saying, “To remove mutual enmity, ill-feeling and hatred is better than recommended prayers and fasting”.

For enmity could devastate the society and harm Islam and Muslims. Fear Allah when the question of helpless orphans arises. You should never let them starve. So long as you are there to guard and protect them they should not be ruined or lost.

In this part of his will, the Imam is clearly telling us that the orphans are the responsibility of the society that should look after them as everyone of you looks after his own children.

They should not be left to their fate, lest they will deviate and may even find their way to become criminals.

A few days ago, I read in a newspaper that there are 4 thousand Lebanese orphans adopted by families in the West. When those orphans knew that those whom they are living with are not their real parents, they began to search for their fathers and mothers, this is what made us establish the Mabarat orphanage in the first place; to present such a negative development, where our children will be sent to the West and lose their identity and their religion.

Fear Allah in respect to your neighbors The Holy Prophet(p.) had always advised, cautioned and reminded us of this responsibility, so much so that we often thought that the prophet of Allah(p.) might on the next occasion assign them a share from our heritage”.

For Allah wanted us to be tolerant and endure any harm they might cause us. “Fear Allah in respect of the Holly Qura’n, lest others should excel and surpass you in following its tents and in acting according to its orders, Fear Allah so far as prayers are concerned because prayers are pillars of your faith.” Prayers are the pillars of our faith if they are accepted, other religious duties will be accepted, but if it were rejected they too would be rejected. Prayers also, removes sins that is why we have to call all our relations ,especially our nuclear family, to prays, so that they will grow up learning to fear Allah and love him.

Allah in the matter of His Holy House(Kaa’ba). Let it not be deserted because if it is deserted, you(the Muslims) will be lost.

It is the symbol of the Muslims strength and unity…

Do not forget Allah, struggle in His cause with your tongue, with your wealth and with your lives.

Develop mutual liking, friendship and love and help one another. Take care that you do not spurn and treat one another badly and unsympathetically.

Exhort people to do good and abstain them from evil, otherwise the vicious and the wicked will be your overlord and if you willingly allow such persons to be your rulers then your prayers will not be heard by Allah.

Be the community in which you watch one another, if you abstain from exhorting to do good and forbidding evil, it will be reflected on your rulers who will turn corrupt and disloyal to the covenant they made with Allah.

As we noticed, up till now the Imam has not been talking about any personal issue, but rather general issues of interest to the Muslims as a whole, focusing on their social life. When he talks to his clan it is only to prevent them from doing wrong. Since his clan is responsible to punish those who killed him( whose is slain wrongly, we have given power unto his her, but let him not commit excess in slaying) the Imam wants them to abide by Allah’s Shariah on his own murder, without any a vengeful tribal acts like those dominant in our communities.

O’ sons of Abdul Muttalib! Let there be no retaliation for the act of my murder, do not roam about with drawn sword and with the slogan:” Amir al_Mumimin is Killed”, and do not start the massacre of my opponents and enemies. There is no class privileges in murder; only the murderer is killed regardless of his social or political level. See to it that only one man, that is my assassin, is killed, as the punishment of the crime of murder is death and nobody else is molested. The punishment to the man who attempted the Murder shall take place only when I die of the wound delivered by him and this punishment shall be only one stroke of sword to end his life. He should not be tortured before his death, his hands and feet should not be amputated because I have heard the Holy prophet(s) saying: “Do not amputate hands and feet of anybody, be it a biting dog”.

Thus the Imam, who is always great, even regarding issues where others act in a worldly manners... He is the patient who endured all kinds of pains, and he is the joy of living with God and loving God and loving God. Is not he the one who said that you cannot live the way I do for I want nothing from this world and added : I want you only to help me by piety, advise, chastity and perseverance.

This is Ali’s will that you have to abide by… Are you going you abide by it? For he” that alters the will after hearing it shall by accountable for his crime”. May peace be on him the day he was born, the day he was martyred and the day he will be brought back to life.

America is waging its second war against what it calls terrorism in Palestine, i.e. all those who are fighting the occupation, such as Hammas, Jihad, Fateh and other factions. But this time, the war is waged by an Israeli hand, having given the Israelis the political legitimacy to wage an all out war with the most advanced weapons America has given them including the f16 warplanes. The Israelis have gone as far as considering the Palestinian Authority and all its security agencies as terrorists and terrorist supporters. Thus according to the American logic, bombing its offices and stations is a legitimate act of self-defense, even if it included killing pupils getting out of their schools or destroying the infrastructure of the Palestinian people.

It is therefore, America Second war that aims at ending the Intifada by liquidating all its fights, destroying its arms and silencing its voice. America wants a Palestinian state as envisaged by Sharon.

To achieve this, the Palestinians should be deprived of any card to use in the negotiations. And since the Intifada is only wining card they have, it should be crushed. Of course, the Americans and the Israelis know that the Palestinians have another card, their national unity on the basis of continuing the struggle for liberation and freedom. Thus it too has to end, by forcing the Palestinian Authority to put the Mujahideen even those of Fateh in jails and impose house arrest on their religious and political leadership in the name of conforming with the international legitimacy. This could create a rift among the Palestinians who feel that they all represent the Intifada and not any single party, and they are all suffering from the Zionist blockade that has turned every Palestinian town and village into a prison.

The international silence regarding the Israeli atrocities of killing civilians and children, coupled with the political denouncement of the Martyr operations, suggests that the world has lost its conscience and began to use a different criteria when it comes to the Palestinians.

They have grown unjust and neglectful of human right. The international logic, led by America, of fighting terrorism prevent the Palestinians from using the only weapon they have , exploding their bodies in the body of Israeli security. It justifies occupation and talks about finding a solution through negotiations under negative circumstances that does not allow the Palestinians to attain any of their rights The Oslo agreement and the agreements that fallowed are a case in point.

As for the Arabs they are helpless, while the Islamic world has stopped being concerned with its very first major issue of Jerusalem and Palestine .. encouraging Israeli to continued its barbaric acts.. They want Israel to put an end to the Palestinian Jihad, probably because they are afraid of its future and hope that Israel will relief them of this burden…

Thus all Islamic and Arab conferences will end in a diplomatic communiqué that does not anger America, for it will only pay lip service to the Palestinians.

I say to this Mujahid people that they need to preserve their national unity and to watch very carefully the new game and the new developments… We are afraid that what is going on is a new play that will repeat what happened in 1948… We are in a very critical stage and we need all the steadfastness and resolve in the world, but we also need to be careful and cautious...

Arab and Muslim peoples should uphold their great responsibilities, for we are going to witness a war against all what is Arabic or Islamic in the name of fighting terrorism.

We have to live through out this stage by wisdom and rationality and not excitement and emotional reactions.

We also have to follow what is going in Afghanistan, because it is a preview of what is going to happen in other Arab or Muslim countries.

There is a major plan to change the economic –political and military situation in the world to further promote the interests of the arrogant powers.

The weekend have to face the situation with strength and resolve so that the arrogant powers would know that the temple will fall on the hands of all parties.

Since we are passing in a very critical stage, we have to face the situation in Lebanon by avoiding any sectarian , or political differences that preoccupy us and consequently prevent us from thinking of how to face the major events ahead. This does not means that we should not continue to care about vital issues as the economy or the security state. But it means that we should concentrate on what unites us, and adopt dialogue as a means of solving our differences.