Friday Speeches Mosque Shaaban18, 1423h

Allah says in His Glorious Book: {the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed, guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong)} [2:185].

This the last Friday of this month, Sha’ban, and we receive the month of Ramadan next Wednesday, according to our juristic theory that is based on: if the crescent is proved to be born and if the possibility of its being seen, and not actually seeing it, is proved, then we can tell when it will begin ahead of time

The crescent will born on Monday evening at 10:34 pm , which means that nobody could see it on that night in the entire world. Therefore, the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan is Wednesday. In this manner, and by using this method, we do not have to worry anymore about who saw it and who did not, and how many did actually see it. We want to end this endless debate in which Muslims appear to be at odds in the beginning and end of the month, at a time man has landed on the moon.

Thus, Wednesday is the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan we ask Allah to make it a month of good, victory, blessings, obedience and mercy for all Muslims.

The Messenger (p.) wants us to prepare ourselves spiritually to receive this month. He emphasized in his speech in the last Friday a of Sha’ban that we have to be ready for this month with blessing mercy and forgiveness, as if he was saying that we should be preparing ourselves for the Divine gifts of this month.

He added that his month is the best of all months, being the season of Allah’s Mercy and kindness, which He bestows on the believers.

Moreover, its days are the best of days for one can acquire Allah’s satisfaction by obeying Him and refraining from committing sins. His nights are the best of nights for it’s a time of worship and supplication to ask Him to grant us success, and realize our dreams and to repent before Him from our sins and ask for forgiveness. Allah, the most exalted, has invited us in this month to be His guests, and we know that the host provides his guest with respect care and hospitality. And since every guest should be provided with a certain form of hospitality we pray in this month that heaven will be our reward. On the other hand, the guest too should be polite and a gentleman one, who does not hurt his host.

Allah, the most exalted, has bestowed many of his gifts on us in this month for our breathing in it praises the Almighty, and our sleeping adores Him. Our voluntary acts of worship are accepted and our pleas are answered.

He wanted us to respond to all these mercies by asking Him from all our hearts to make us succeed in fasting and in reading His Book to desire these mercies, for only a wretch is the one who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness during this great month.

If you are obedient in this life you will not suffer from thirst and hunger on that day. Therefore, we have always to remember the Day of Judgment, because if we forget it we will be forgetting our Lord and our responsibility towards Him.

Then the prophet (p.) moves to the spiritual and moral virtues we ought to put into practice in this month in particular but in all months as well.

He starts by charity: Give alms to the poor and indigent among you. It has been said that “a charity in secret drives the Lord’s anger”, and “ Treat you sick with charity”, which is considered by God, the most exalted, as a means of purifying the soul.

Moreover, charity could take various forms, depending on the needs of the poor, especially those who are so chaste that they do not ask.

Then the Prophet (p.) talks about respecting the elderly and being Kind to the young. Surround your elderly with respect, and be Kind to your youngsters.

We have to respect the senior citizens and provide them with care, for once they get very old they become like children in their need for care to get on with their life. Thus, Islam not only wants us to treat our parents with love and respect and not even to shout at them, but also we should care about all old Muslims.

As for the children and the young, being merciful to them, is by understanding them in accordance to the way they think, that is to understand that their minds are still not fully developed. We should not be violent to them or held them accountable in the way we hold adults.

We have to be merciful and kind in our treatment to them remembering that their thinking is still limited. We have to be lenient, and not to resort to beating as a means of punishment; Allah, the most exalted, did not give fathers, elder brothers or teachers the authority to beat children.

If you beat a child and his hands grow red, there is a compensation that you have to pay. There might be certain cases when the child might need some violence but it should be weighed to ensure that it is the precise doze of violence, just as doctors study the dose of the medication they give. If you are having problems at home or at work, this does not mean that you can take it on your child. This is an injustice that is punished by Allah, the most exalted.

I say to all brothers and sisters: your son or your daughter is not something you own. It is a creation of Allah, the most exalted, that has its rights and that you were appointed to supervise its development.

Moreover, in an Islamic state, if you abuse a child the state has the right to take it away from you. The West too has a similar law. In short they are Allah’s trust among us.

Visit your Kin: Visiting one’s kin is one of the duties the Quran has emphasized. “A man came once to the Messenger (p.) and said: My Household members treat me very badly, they boycott and curse me, should I reject them”.

“The Prophet (p.) told him: Then Allah will reject all of you”. The man asked what do I do? and the Messenger answered: “You visit who boycott you and give who deprived you and forgive who wronged your, for if you do that Allah will support you” Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) says that visiting the Kin, grows the wealth and elongates the life and easies the punishment on the Day of Judgment. Some of you might find it difficult to visit those who have boycotted them, but Allah, the most exalted, rewards such good manners, especially if they ran counter to one’s inclinations with big rewards.

Thus these human values are emphasized by the Prophet’s speech as well as in the Holy Quran as an indication that we should seek to develop our moral and spiritual side just as we care about our physical side, so that we would be worthy of living in God’s paradise, being the place of good, faithfulness, truth, brotherhood …etc

Allah, the most exalted, wants us to turn this world into a smaller paradise that we use to train ourselves on the morals of Paradise just as we train to learn any other profession.

The Month of Ramadan represents the month of training on what pleases Allah, the month of building ourselves spiritually and humanly, so as to be worthy of Allah’s Mercy and Hospitality.

The Intifada is still alive and well. It carries on its operations that besiege the settlements, upsets the enemy's army and challenges occupation. It was not fatigued by the blockade, nor was it tired by the Jihad or defeated by the barbaric massacres for it knows quite well that the light of freedom is awaiting it at the end of the tunnel, and that the will of independence should continue to exhibit the resolve to challenge.

Thus, the Intifada continues to shoulder the responsibility of the nation in its fight with the Zionist enemy, and the American stance that protects its massacres and occupation. It is giving the future generations live lessons on how to hold on to your position and how to earn freedom. It was not deceived by the American envoy's plan, "Road Map", that pretends to seek to establish a Palestinian state, for it has understood that they want to drug us by pretending that the Quartet committee has begun to find a solution for the Palestinian problem that is based on the establishment of a Palestinian state, so that they could focus on Iraq, the number one threat, in the Administration’s view.

But the American project has already failed, since it does not contain any elements for a future solution. Everybody, whether in the region or in the world, knows that America supports the Israeli project, to the extent that even goes back on its words and commitments.

What America wants to achieve, whether by its threatening to the UN and pressurizing it to yield to its dictates, or by its confrontation to all the countries of the region, is to control all the region's political, economic and strategic resources.

In this respect, it claims to wage a war against terrorism, while in fact; it is practicing state terror, and supporting the brutal Zionist terror against the Palestinians.

The fact that Israel possesses mass destruction weapons is not withstanding.

It is the unique superpower that wants to impose its hegemony on the whole world, including other major states or blocs, like the European Union, Russia , and China whom they deal with on the basis of the carrot and stick policy to ensure its hegemony.

In view of this, we call upon the Arabs and Muslims in the United States , to base their votes in the coming congressional elections, on the candidates’ stance towards the Arab and Muslim issues; so that they might turn into a political lobby that affects the policies of the Administration.

We emphasize this position, not only from our responsibility as a religious authority, but also due to the responsibility these Muslims and Arabs shoulder as citizens in the U.S.

At the same time, we refuse any act of terror or violence in the US as a means of protesting against its policies. We want the Muslims and the Arabs to be good citizens who respect the laws of the countries they hold its nationality, while defending their political, human, economic and strategic issues of their original countries.

This is perhaps what the Jews have been doing successfully, for America cares more about the Zionist interests in our region then its own… Thus, we want the Arab and Muslim communities to benefit from the freedom of speech in America to defend their causes in a peaceful way.

We call upon the Russian government, whom we as Arabs and Muslims have good relations with, to enter into serious negotiation, with the leaders of the Chechens, that aim at reaching a radical solution with for the issue of freedom and independence. This is what spreads peace in the region, and prevents the occurrence of unjustified acts, as what happened in a theater in Moscow … We condemn such acts, which are unlawful and unjustified, both religiously and humanely, just as we condemn the way the Russian government reacted, that lead to many innocent losses. It is difficult to keep a constant control on a people that demands freedom and independence.

We say to Sharon who continues to threaten to wage a war against Lebanon saying: "The situation on the northern border could develop into a complicated and difficult war" that “he has tried the war with the Mujahideen in Lebanon and saw how he lost it both politically and military. Does he want to try again?"

Finally we repeat our call to the Lebanese to have mercy on their country and people.

We call upon them to be more balanced, both as opposition and loyalists, and end this sectarian mobilization that takes the form of political issues.

We also call upon all religious leaders to be pious in the statements they make, as well as the way they go on with managing the affairs of their sects. One spark could burn all the trees in the forest… Do they want the sparks of sectarianism to burn the trees of national unity? and do they want the people who are suffering from economic hardships to fall into a new war…

The region is about to witness an enormous fire very near to us… should we bring more political and sectarian wood to invigorate this fire, or should we help in putting it off?