Friday Speeches Mosque rabihI 21, 1424h

One of the purified Imams whom Allah, the most Exalted, wished to remove all uncleanness from is the Imam Jaa'far bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq (a.s.) whose birth was on the 17th of this month.

Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s) is different that the rest of the Imams in the scope and extension of his ideological cultural and spiritual heritage, not because he was distinguished in his academic level but because he had a better chance to play his role due to the fact that the Umayyads and Abbasids were busy fighting one another. The Imam benefited of this situation to establish a religious school in which he taught Muslim Shiites and non-Shiites alike, including such scholars as Abu Hanifa, the Imam of the Hanafi Sunni sect who used to say that Imam Al-Sadiq "Is the best because he knows best the thoughts of others"

Abu Hanifa was reported also to have prepared upon the demand of the Abbasid caliph some tough questions for Imam Jaa'far. Faced by these questions, the Imam (a.s.) used to say that the prevailing opinion in Medina is such and such, while the people in Kufa say so and so and we believe so and so. Abu Hanifa then commented: Is not the most learned the one who knows best all the different opinions of people?

The Imam (a.s.) even used to meet the atheists who used to make fun of certain rites in pilgrimage like going round the Kaa'ba and he used to meet them with respect and answer them in an objective and scientific manner that drove one of them, Ibn Al –Mukafa' to say: There is nobody who deserves to be called a human being more than Jaa'far bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq" He used to posses all the traits of humanity in him be it scientific and religious knowledge, spirituality, morality, tolerance …etc

If we study the cultural heritage of Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) we could find that it contains all aspects of knowledge that one needs: jurisprudence which scholars study and benefit of up till now, profound and extensive philosophical and theological views, as well as social and moral opinions that did not leave out any aspect an individual ca needs in his life… His ethics are so sublime that he maintains that freedom comes from inside you and not by and decree issued by any other human being.

Islam is the religion of freedom and dignity

It is gift of Allah, the most Exalted… It is part of the human being's innate nature. He says: "A free man is free in all situations". He could say no to the tyrant even in prison, He could also be in a desert and be not free if he does not posses the freedom of will power.

In this respect, we have met in the history of early Islam several great examples of those who maintained their freedom despite all the pressures they were subjected to like the honorable companions of Yasir and his wife Sumayah, as well as Bilal Al-Habashi who used to endure unbearable torture and keep on saying: He is but "one".

In our contemporary age many of our prisoners in Israel or in the detentions of Ansar and Khiam in Lebanon remained free despite all what they were offered.

The Imam used to underscore the meaning of freedom in every chance he had. He explained the verse that says that might and honor belongs to Allah, His Messenger and the believers by saying that Allah, the most Exalted, has given the believer all freedom of running all his affairs, but he did not give him the freedom to disgrace himself.

We call upon all religious scholars, intellectuals, and preachers to study this aspect of the rhetoric of the Members of the House, for it rises the level of man and presents Islam as the religion of civilization, freedom humanitarianism and dignity. But alas the ways that are deployed in preaching do not follow this lead.

To belong the Members of the Prophet's family is to adopt their teachings for they were the extension of the Messenger in their Imamate.

In the light of this, we would like to go over, albeit briefly, some of the teachings of Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.). He said: God revealed to Adam that he is going to gather all his advice in four, "One for Me and one between you and Me and one for you and one between you and other people.

The one for God is to believe in Him alone, and believe that no one shares Him His powers.

If the prophet needs a miracle He would gave it to him.

Muhammad (p.) used to say :I do not say to you, I have with me the treasures of Allah, nor do I know the unseen, nor do I say to you that I am an angel; I do not follow aught save that which is revealed to me”. 6:50

But we have reached a stage of exaggeration and deviation that we have began to claim partners to Allah, the most Exalted . We do not pray for Allah to heal us but we ask the Imams to do so. The Imams are those who intercede for us with Allah, the most Exalted, but it is Allah, the most Exalted, alone who gives and heals. As great as the Imams are, they are Allah's, the most Exalted, servants, and this what we say when we profess in our prayers that Muhammad (p.) is Allah's servant and messenger…

As for the one that is for you, I will reward you for your deeds. The one between Me and you is that I will answer your prayers. And the one between you and others is that you have to like for the people what you like for yourself and hate for them what you hate for yourself.

In another saying for Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) says: Be pious and be just for you criticize others for not being just".

We cry: Death for America and Israel and revolt against various tyrants because they are unjust, but are we just with our families and employees? True this is a small wronging but such a wronging will grow bigger when you position grows.

The Imam has also called upon us to "learn about the times we live in"; so that we would be able to participate in finding solutions for the problems our society suffers from… He added that we should deal with our affairs in a responsible manner and be careful of what we say.

These are the teachings of Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) and this is the spiritual and intellectual wealth the Members of the House want us to adhere to for they want to elevate and unite us. Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) wanted the Shiites to open up to the Suniis saying: "Visit their sick ones, attend their funerals and pray their collective prayers".

He added: It is easy to win people's heart; Do not talk bad about them. Respect the beliefs of others and what they belief to be sacred so if you want them to respect your beliefs.

This is the line of the Members of the House, May Allah strength out adherence to it, and may He accept their intercession for us in both worlds. He is the Most Merciful.

What do the Americans plan for Palestine? Their plan envisages all possible security for Israel and no security for the Palestinians, except a marginal one that takes into consideration the Israeli security with its devastating settlement conditions.

Then it underscores the need to legitimize the Israeli occupation of the territories and rejects any call for withdrawal except after establishing a complete victory on the Palestinian Intifada… It also justifies the destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure and the economic siege that aims to starve the Palestinians. Such crimes are among the worst forms of collective punishment, all in the name of self -defense.

We ask president Bush who calls for freedom and human nights. Is this collective punishment that destroys the homes over the leads of its dwellers and kills school children in their classrooms is what America calls justice… Since the announcement of the road map, Israel has killed more than 40 civilians including women children and old people without any condemnation from your government while you continue to describe the Mujahideen of the Intifada as terrorists...

Is state terror legitimate while a people's struggle to protect their freedom a form of terrorism. The Palestinian popular militant leadership has asked for international monitors saying that they were prepared to stop the Intifada if these monitor were put in place an the atrocities halted but America and Israel refused.

Moreover, America is still exerting pressure on the Palestinians to crack down on the Intifada to implement the Road Map but it does not exert any pressure on Israel to accept this Road Map, for Bush does not have the courage to defy Sharon especially with the coming presidential elections.

If this is the case how does Bush and his administration expect us to believe his promises that have evaporated one after the other every time he was subjected to the Jewish pressure.

On the other hand, if the American president talks about what he calls the war against terrorism, we want to ensure that violence will only bring more violence, and that those he calls terrorists could turn into fragmented groups without any link between them.

We are not justifying violence against civilians whatever their nationality or religion exception the case of war, but we believe that the nations will always feel bitter and frustrated as a result of the American policies, and this could lead certain individuals to resort to chaotic violence in several parts of the world and turn it into a world full of violence and chaos.

In Iraq, the Anglo- American occupation has obtained a UN resolution legitimizing its occupation and giving it a free hand to control the Iraqi oil wealth. They have legitimized the mandate over the Iraqi people without setting a timetable for the elections of their national representatives, which suggests to the Iraqis that they have to live a long time under occupation before America could be charitable enough to say that they have become mature.

Faced by such a situation, we call on our people in Iraq to rise to the level of challenges. They ought to freeze all their differences, whether sectarian or partisan to be able to safely pass through this critical stage. Iraqis should resort to objective and friendly dialogue; for the occupation is looking for any difference he could exploit to maintain its occupation of Iraq. The Muslims in Iraq should enhance their unity to be able to build an Islamic civilized society that believes in justice and freedom and that is open to any discussion with other religions and trends. That is how Iraq would resume its civilizatory-leading role in the region and in the whole world as well.

In Lebanon, we denounce the new war of "camps" among the Palestinians just as we rejected the one against them in the past, especially that the Palestinians living in these camps are in a state of extreme poverty and misery, while the international and regional solutions do not provide them with anything that could end their homelessness.

We warn the Palestinians against going back to this mad and absurd war, because they will be giving the enemy a chance to distort their image and present them as a people who kill one another... You have to be responsible of the security in the refugee camps for this is only way to provide its dwellers with stability and balance. Moreover, the security of the camps is a part of the security of Lebanon as a whole, which if destabilized will destabilize the security of the entire country. Go back to the voice of reason and remember that they are there to destroy your unity through the so called "Road Map for peace" which will get you only to where America and Israel want.

The internal Palestinian war inside Palestine and outside it is but an act of treason, while the unity based on understanding and dialogue is the road to victory even if it takes a long time.