The
First Speech
In
the Name of God, The Compassionate the Merciful
The
Beginning of the Month
In
this meeting, we will talk about two issues: the first is the
beginning of the Blessed Month, while the second is about how we should prepare ourselves to receive it.
On
the first subject: Every body knows that we have adopted a juristic
principle – that conforms with the one our teacher the late Sayyed
Abulkassim Al-Khouiei, regarding the issue of seeing the crescent
being a natural phenomenon that could be verified through many
means, Seeing the crescent by the eye is only one means, but it is
not the most exact one. The scientific method is surely more
accurate. If the moon reflects enough light to be seen were it not for certain barriers in space and if this fact has been
verified by precise astronomic calculations then the month has
began.
We
have contacted certain reliable astronomers in the US, Canada and
Kuwait and since we believe along with Sayyed Al-Khouie that if
seeing the crescent in a country in which we share a part of the
night with is possible than seeing the moon has been proved in our
country. And since these consultations which lasted for more than a
week proved that the
crescent could be seen Thursday night in some of the American
countries and in North Western Africa, then it has been proven to us
that the beginning of the Month of Ramadan is next Friday, November
16, because it will be born on Thursday morning and could be seen at
night in the countries I mentioned and which we share a part of the
night with. Other religious authorities who depend on physical
seeing might have other judgments and might consider that it begins
on Saturday, Thus those who emulate us, will fast on Friday being
the first of Ramadan, while the others might fast, considering this
day a day of doubt….etc .The important thing is not to make this
issue an issue of feud, because it is merely an issue of independent
judgment, that has only one motive: to serve Allah, and in this
respect all those who make such an effort should be respected and
excused if they are mistaken.
Receiving
the month of Ramadan
The
second issue is how to receive this month. The Messenger (p.) said
in one of his speeches on the last Friday of Shaa’ban the
following:
"O’
People! The Month of Allah (Ramadan) has approached you with His
mercy and blessings.
This
is the month that is the best of all months in Allah’s view. Its
days are the best among the days; its nights are the best among the
nights. Its hours are the best among the hours.
This
is a month in which He has invited you. You have been, in this
month, selected as the recipients of the honors of Allah, the
Merciful.
In
this holy month, when you breathe, it has the thawab (heavenly
reward) of ‘Tasbeeh, and your sleep has the thawab of worship.
Your
good deeds are accepted in this month. So are your invocations.
Therefore, you must invoke your Lord, in earnest, with hearts that
are free from sins and evils, that Allah may bless you.Observe fast,
in this month, and recite the Holy Quran.
Verily!
The person who may not receive the Mercy and benevolence of Allah in
this month must be very unfortunate having an end as bad (in the
Hereafter). While fasting, remember the hunger and thirst of
tomorrow on the Day of Judgment. Give alms to the poor and the
needy. Pay respects to your elders. Have pity on those younger than
you and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your
tongues against unworthy words, and your eyes from such scenes that
are forbidden and your ears from such sounds that should not be
heard by you.
Be
kind to orphans so that when your children become orphans they also
may be treated with kindness. Do invoke that Allah may forgive your
sins. Do raise your hands in supplication when you pray, as it is
the best time for asking His Mercy. When we invoke at such times
being the best of times, we are answered by Him, when we call Him,
He responds, and when we ask for anything it is accepted by Him.
O’
People! Anybody who may cultivate good manners in this month will
walk over the ‘Sirat’ (Bridge) on the Day of Judgment though his
feet may be shaking.
Anybody
who makes his slaves (male or female) take light work, in this
month, Allah will make easy his accounting on the Day of Judgment.
Anybody
who does not do any thing wrong to others in this month, Allah will
keep him safe from His wrath on The Day of Judgment. Anybody, who
respects and treats an orphan with kindness in this month, Allah
shall look at him with dignity on The Day of Judgment. Anybody who
treats well his kinsmen, in this month, Allah will bestow His Mercy
on him on The Day of Judgment.
Whoever
offers Sunnat (Recommended) prayers in this month, Allah will free
him from Hell. Whosoever offers one ‘Wajib’ prayer in this
month, for him the Angels will write the rewards of 70 such prayers, that were offered by him in any other month.
Whosoever
recites repeatedly ’Salaat-wsalaam’ on me, Allah will keep the
scales of his good deeds heavy, when in The Day of Judgment the
scales of others will be tending towards lightness. Whosoever
recites in this month only one ‘ayat’ (verse of the Holy Quran),
he will be rewarded in a manner as if he had recited the full Quran
in the other months.
O’
People! The Gates of Paradise remain opened in this month. Do invoke
that the gates may not be closed on you, while the Gates of Hell be
closed. Do invoke that these gates may never be opened."
The
sanctity of time is one of Allah Graces.
Allah
times are the same, but what
makes a certain time blessed and holy is the value that Allah assigns to it. The Month of Ramadan
is one of these times that Allah has made special… It is the month
in which the Holy Quran, the law that governs all aspects of man’s
life, was revealed. It is
the month that Allah ordained that we should fast. It is also the
month that contains the night of Kadr, that is better than a
thousand months. It is a blessed month because Allah has bestowed
all these graces in it, and made it full of acts that draw us nearer
to Him. That is why the Prophet(p.) considers it as the best of
months being full of blessing, Mercy and forgiveness.
Strengthening
the will power.
Our
fundamental duty in this month is to fast and read the Quran.
Fasting strengthens your willpower, and helps you not to be led
astray. When your willpower is strong you will be able to resist
temptation and fight your desires and instincts.
Moreover,
reading the Quran is an educational duty. The Quran makes us wise,
educated and knowledgeable . If we do not understand the meaning of
a certain Ayah, we should not hesitate to ask, for this is the Book
that no falsehood could influence.
Remember
the Day of Judgment
The
Second point that we inspire from the Messenger’s speech is that
we ought to remember the Day of Judgment.
We
should always remember this day, because it is the day in which we will judged for all our deeds and actions. Remembering, in
this sense, is feeling the great burden of responsibility that we
ought to carry so as we will not end in Hell. That is why most of
the Quranic verses talk about the Day of Judgment .And fasting in
this sense is an opportunity to remember the day you will get hungry
in a way that you never experienced before.
Educating
the Soul
The
third point that the Messenger’s Sermon talks about is the
necessity of adopting individual and social manners, like being
charitable to the poor and needy, those whom you would think they
are rich because of their content. You have also to be respectful to
the elderly and merciful to those who are younger than you. Furthermore, we should be good to our relations, and try to take care of the orphans, especially as there are many
institutions that carry out such duties which the Prophet described
as leading to Heaven.
Repentance
The
Messenger (p.) also focused on repentance. Since those who repent
for the sins they committed, it would be as if they did not commit
them, provided that they feel deep remorse and promise never to do
them again. You should also invoke Allah during prayers, for this is the best time for supplications. Moreover you should be of good manners, and treat your employees with
leniency, for by doing this you will earn Allah’s satisfaction. O
people, the gates of Heaven are open in this month do not close it
with your bad and evil deeds.
The
month of Ramadan that we are about to receive is the month that we
ascend in to Allah by our souls hearts and minds.
We
ask Allah, the All- Mighty to enable us to fast it and read His Book
in its days, and to get closer to Him by our good deeds. The
unfortunate among us, is the one who is denied God’s forgiveness
in this Month. May Allah make it a blessed month of Good, Mercy,
forgiveness, victory and pride for all Muslims.
The
Second Speech ….
In
the Name of God, The Compassionate the Merciful
Worshippers
of Allah (SWT)…. Be Pious…. Enjoin good and forbid falsehood. Be
with justice since justice is one of most essential forms of good
and fight wrongdoing since it is one of the worst kinds of
falsehood.
Israel
is a part of the Western Order
As the Intifada continues its struggle to liberate its lands,
and as the Zionist entity continues its assassinations and
destruction of the buildings and fields, as well as killing innocent
civilians, the American administration has announced that the Intifada is a daily act of premeditated terror. Thus fighting the
Intifada has become a part of the so called war against terror,
especially after the American Ambassador in Tell Aviv talked about
“the possibility of the participation of Israel in the war against
terrorism”.
As
for America’s talk about the settlement, it is not but an act of
deception just as the European announcements are hypocritical.
All
these talks aim at sedating the Arab and Muslim worlds, and driving
them to join driving them to join the Alliance. Thus the political
conclusion of all these Western moves is that Israel is a part of
the Western political order in the International strategy for the
region. It is an advanced front for executing the plan that aims at
delaying the development and growth of the Arab and Muslim worlds
and an instrument for carrying out any further plans in the future.
This is
what we should know in order to understand the real meaning and the
intentions behind all statements that try to exploit the naive
mentality in our political front.
The
Intifada is the Only Alternative
There is
an important thing the Palestinians should know: The negotiations,
especially in the current stage, will not lead to any positive
change in their favor. The pressures the International alliance for
the war against terrorism is posing to make the world join in, is
making huge pressures on the Palestinians to accept any solution.
They have to stop the Intifada first, and surely once they stop it
they will not be allowed to resume it, and than Israel and the U.S
will pose whatever solution they see fit.
The
Intifada is the only power card the Palestinians have in this
political game to achieve their
goals-both Arabs and Muslims should understand that their only
choice is to continue until the arrogant world is convinced that its
support to Israel will burn the rug under its feet.
America
and its allies should understand that the causes of what they call
terrorism is the confiscating of
the peoples’ rights, especially the Palestinians, in freedom and
independence. No economic, military or political blockade could stop
the explosion in which death is a golden dream and not a
catastrophe.
A Barbaric Offensive on Afghanistan
In
this atmosphere, I believe that the international attack against
Afghanistan will not reach its goals, even if the whole of
Afghanistan was destroyed and its people killed.
The
destruction of a Muslim country under the pretense of bringing
Taliban or Bin Laden to justice or under any other pretense, will
not be justified in the eyes of Muslims or even the secularists who
struggle for the cause of freedom..
Although
we might find a lot of Muslims, who differ radically with the
Taliban or with Bin Laden and his organization, and they do not
consider the regime in Afghanistan as representing the bright image
of Islam, but none of them accepts such a barbaric attack on the
Afghani people, whom the war has displaced and whose civilians are
killed and whose infrastructure is destroyed, under the pretense of
fighting terrorism. The Muslim world can not find a place for itself
in this coalition , especially that America has considered the
Lebanese Resistance and the Palestinian Intifada as forms of terror.
The West believes that the right to fight occupation as when the French resistance fought
against the Nazi occupation , is a right that belongs to it
exclusively.Such logic is totally unacceptable to us.
The
Muslim countries that entered the war with the Americans should feel
ashamed of themselves. We have to understand that America is not an
inescapable fate, and that we don not have to obey all that it
decides on, in this war that is fought according to the U.S. under
the slogan of “Justice without borders”. What is further ironic
and cynical is that
they claim that they pursuing freedom
and democracy in the midst of this savage tragedy.
We call
on the Islamic world to study the real objectives of this Western
offensive that is trying to utilize its various forms of military and economic terror in the name
of fighting terrorism.
In this
respect, we would like to express our appreciation for the Lebanese
Syrian and Iranian stands positions that refuse to equate between
the Resistance and terrorism.
Let
all free nations voice their support for the resistance , not
terrorism, and their standing with the weakened ,who seek their
freedom, against the arrogants.
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