Ayatullah Al Ozma H.E. M. H. Fadlullah delivered the two Friday speeches (at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Rabi’ Awal 12, 1423h, May 24, 2002 (Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer).

On this day, the 12th of the month of Rabi Alawal was the birth of the Messenger (p.), according to the account of most Muslim scholars including Sheikh Al Killini the author of Al-Kafi, although the majority of Muslim Shiite scholars holds that it was on the 17th.

But whether it was on the twelfth or the seventeenth, we would like to live with the Messenger (p) on this occasion.

We notice first that the Holy Quran did not talk about the Prophet’s birth, because it does not talk about the birth of prophets, but about their messages, because the Prophet’s birth occurs when he commences his mission. The Quran only talks about he prophets whose births were miraculous, like that of Prophet Musa (a.s) who was saved from being killed by the Pharaoh, or Prophet Issa (a.s), whom Allah (swt) had him born without a father.

Allah had thoroughly prepared Prophet Muhammad (p), before He commanded him to commence his mission. We know that his father died when he was in his mother womb, and that his mother died while he was an infant.

He was then sent to nurse by Halima As-Sadie’a of the tribe of Bani Saad. Yet he was all the time, and for the 40 years before he became a messenger, under the spiritual care and education of God. He was infallible in all aspects if his personality; nobody ever accused him of any lie or any deviation. Although the Mecca community of that time was a community of the rich and arrogant, Muhammad (p) was greatly respected despite the fact that he was poor and an orphan, which was a source of disrespect at that time.

Imam Ali (a.s.) who accompanied the Messenger (p) and was raised by him says: “Allah assigned one of his great angels to (teach) Muhammad, and he used to convey to him each day one of His moral traits”. Thus Allah took care of him in a direct manner, in addition to the spiritual inspiration that built the Prophet’s personality.

Moreover, when the Messenger (p.) chose Ali (a.s) to raise, he was inspired by Allah to prepare someone, who could be carrying the same thought and having the same manners to hold the responsibility after his death...

That is why we have always said that no other Muslim had a personality that assimilated all the traits of Muhammad except Ali (a.s). And thus, the choice of Ali (a.s) as an Imam had to do with the fact that he was the only one who represented the continuity of the Messenger (p), having had the traits and morals of the Messenger.

The Messenger (p) lived as a poor and weakened man, thus, we see that he respected and appreciated all the weakened. Even after he was sent to mankind, Quraish, his tribe, used to ask him not to let the poor draw near him, so that they would not have to sit with them when they meet him. Furthermore, Allah told him in the Quran {Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His countenance; and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance who follows his own lust and whose case has been abandoned} [18:28]

Thus, we find that the Prophet (p) dealt with this human deviation and considered the problem of humanity, in all its history as one of arrogance and oppression; the oppression of the rich to the poor, of the strong to the weak and of those who are in power to the ordinary people.

The Glorious Quran dealt with this issue by telling the weakened that they should not accept the oppression of the arrogant, and even considered that the weakened acceptance of the arrogant oppression as a crime they should not commit {Lo! As for those whom the angels take (in death) while they wrong themselves, (the angels) will ask: In what were ye engaged? They will say: We were oppressed in the land. (The angels) will say: Was not Allah’s earth spacious that ye could have migrated therein? As for such, their habitation will be hell, an evil journey’s end} [4:97]

Thus, the general principle of the Message that the Prophet (p) came with was the oneness of Allah (swt): To believe that there is but one god who is the only authority one has to keep in mind in all his affairs. Allah has condensed the religion as a whole in one sentence when He said :{ Lo! those who say: Our lord is Allah, and afterward are upright} [91:30].

Our Lord is Allah is the principle that makes upright since you think of Allah before anything you say and do, or any relationship you make.

Then Allah tells us that the Message the Prophet (p) came with, can be outlined by the following issues: first, His Mercy will be awarded to those who fear Allah and are pious… Those who give what is due to the poor and needy, those who believe in what Allah revealed to them… those who follow the Prophet (p), who can neither read nor write, whose teachings they will find in their books …The Prophet that will enjoin the good and forbid evil. He will come to relief the burdens that were ordained on them in the previous messages…{Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honor him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful. Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo I am the Messenger of Allah to you all- (the Messenger of) Him unto who belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no God save Him. He quickens and He gives death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the prophet who can neither read nor write, who believeth in Allah and in His words and follow him that haply ye may be led aright}[7:157-158].

Thus, if we want to study the Sharia’ (Islamic law) in all its aspects, we will find that it is in its essence : the morals. And this was what the Prophet (p) said when he declared that he was sent to complete the best of morals. Every ruling in the Sharia’, whether to deem an act lawful or unlawful, represents an ethical principle. The Messenger (p) himself was told by Allah that he was of great morals.

Allah has told us about the Prophet’s community describing them as tough in the battlefield against the unbelievers and the aggressors, while kind and merciful among themselves.

{Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) sees them bowing and falling prostrate (in worship), seeking bounty from Allah and (His) acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel-like as own corn that sends forth its shoot and strengthened it and rises firm upon its stalk …that he may enrage the disbelievers with (the right of) them. Allah has promised, unto such of them as believe and do good works, forgiveness and immense reward} [48:28-29]

This is the general atmosphere of the Message, and this is the role of the Messenger (p): to convey the Message as we are told in the Quran {Allah verily has shown grace to the believers by sending unto them a messenger of their own who recites unto them His revelations, and causes them to grow, and teaches them the Scripture and wisdom although before (he came to them) they were in flagrant error} [3:164]. And to teach them meanings of the Quran, and to educate them on how be pious and learn to be guided by the Book in everything they meet in life.

With the Prophet (p) passing away, and with many generations following, it is not enough to celebrate the occasion. We have to know our responsibilities towards our religion: We have to consolidate the Islamic doctrine in the souls of our coming generations, by reciting the words of God and teaching them the Book and wisdom, for every Muslim is a messenger in his own household. Any negligence in playing this role is negligence in performing one’s duties.

Islam is not the responsibility of religious scholars only. It is the responsibilities of every Muslim, male of female. We also have to safeguard the Muslim state of affairs, especially the Muslim unity. The enemies seek to exploit our differences to reach the point where we accuse one another of disbelief.

And this is what is happening now as a result of ignorance and the manipulation of foreign intelligence agencies, we hear of Sunnis calling Shiite of being non-Muslims and vice-versa. This is even talking place inside the same sect, to the extent that Muslims believe that a non-Muslim is better than a Muslim of another sect. This is what weakened the Muslims and dispersed them.

Allah has guided us to the way we should resolve our differences when He ordered us to refer them to “God and His Messenger”. I have told you many times that Islamic unity does not mean that we ought to stop being Shiites or Sunnis. It means that we should meet on what we agree on, and discuss what we differ on; as we might find similar differences in the same sect. And if the basis of the Shiite –Sunni differences is the Imamate, then let us go back to how Imam Ali (a.s), the champion of Muslim unity, dealt with this issue .Did not he say: I will remain peaceful as long as the affairs of Muslims are safe, and the only wrong that has occurred was on me alone”. The Imam (a.s) used to consider himself responsible for protecting the unity of Muslims. Therefore, if we want to be among his followers, we have to safeguard this unity and protect Islam, especially in these critical times where the arrogant and disbelief is waging an all out attack.

On this occasion, the anniversary of our victory and liberation, the nation reaffirms its belief in the line of martyrdom that ultimately establishes victory. It reaffirms the importance of the will of resistance against occupation that emanates from the belief in the cause of liberation, including that of liberating ourselves from the mentality of defeat, the domination of weak points and the media that spreads fear… to enable man to became strong, steadfast, afraid of no one but God and dependent in all his moves on a carefully studied subjective plan that opens up on sacrifice, and the love of martyrdom without any improvisation or emotional reactions…

The anniversary this year coincides with the struggle of the Palestinian Intifada that was able to achieve the victory of putting the enemy in a tough security impasse that it was not able to get out of, despite the brutal crime it committed in its “defensive Shield” which proved that it could not deter the Mujahideen from entering the Zionist entity. Although some of these martyr operations failed, but they all proved the ability of the Mujahideen to penetrate and to hurt the enemy’s morale… This proves that the Intifada will continue despite all local regional and international pressures… For he who does not fear death could not be defeated by those who fear it … He is the holder of a universal message of man’s freedom in the face of those who want to oppress him and deprive him of his humanness.

As we feel worried from the effects of local political games, and regional and international pressures that aim of putting an end to the Intifada (the condition imposed by America and Israel to commence negotiations), we would like to assert our conviction that the experience on the ground has proved that the negotiations will not produce anything. It will only cause more confusion and it will lead the Palestinians to be lost in its mazes, for they have no other card to play once they lose the card of the Intifada.

On the other hand, the Arabs who are talking about their initiative know quite well that there is no realistic chance for its success. America considers it a motivation and not a plan, while Israel wants it as a tool to gain normalization without giving anything in return.

Thus, the strength of the Intifada, and the will to continue as strong as ever, coupled with a thorough reading of local, regional, and international developments will give it a chance to fight back the policy of confiscation, despite the wounds that it might be hurt with, for the Palestinian Mujahideen are used to such sacrifices.

On another level, the annual American report on terrorism has accused Syria and Iran of supporting the so-called terrorist organizations of Hizbullah, Hammas and others.

It also accused Lebanon of not cooperating in freezing the Hizbullah funds, because it still considers the Resistance against Israel as legitimate… Then the American Secretary of State asserted that the Middle East has turned into a focal point for terrorism, and that the fight against terrorism should be universal multi- dimensional and enduring.

America’s problem lies in its belief that it has the right to destroy all the peoples who oppose the Zionist entity.

It adopted the arrogant policy of supporting Israel by all means. It even utilized the slogan of fighting terrorism to wage a war on the Intifada and its heroes, claiming that it is a terrorist movement. But it did not let anyone talk about the terror of occupation or the right of the Mujahideen to fight against it.

America feels that the Jews have the right to occupy and settle while the Palestinians do not have the right of returning to their land or to Jerusalem. It considers all the Israeli barbarian brutality against women, children, the elderly and all Palestinian civilians a kind of self-defense. It prevents the Security Council from condemning these crimes, or even investigating them.

We believe that the Israeli terrorism, which is allied with the American terrorism, is the root of the problem in the Middle East and not Syria, Iran and Lebanon.

We call on the whole world to liberate itself from the American dominance and Israeli stubbornness.

The American Arrogance wants to control the oil wealth in the entire world by any possible means. In this respect, the war against terrorism is the economic, political and security means that enables it to achieve its goal in the region and strengthens the siege against Europe and Japan to ensure its supremacy over them.

As for Lebanon, who had its share of the fatal international game, which Israel was commissioned to execute, we still believe that the enemy wants to destabilize the country by its espionage cells.

We are not afraid of any sectarian or confessional internal strife, that will return it to the state of war, but we would like all Lebanese to be cautious enough so as to protect their political and economic stability…

They should feel that the situation warrants a state of emergency that can confront any potential threat...

We also want the Lebanese to try to participate in solving the economic problem. We ask the politicians not to use the economic issues (such as the cellular phones) in their political feuds.

In the anniversary of victory and liberation, we have to achieve victory over our own selves to be free in our political stances, to consolidate the freedom of the country and its citizens in our present and our future.