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The First Sermon
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
The Unifying meaning of Islam
Allah say in His Glorious Book: The Religion
before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of
the Book dissent there from except through envy of each other, after
knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah
is swift in calling to account. And
If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to
Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will
be in the ranks of those who have lost All spiritual good .
Islam in its broad meaning is the single religion that comprises
all messages. Islam in its unifying meaning is to submit one's force,
heart mind and life to Allah, thus having nothing present in him but
Allah, The Most Exalted,: Whoever submits his
whole self to Allah, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the
most trustworthy hand-hold: and with Allah rests the End and Decision
of (all) affairs.
Thus every religion God sent His messengers with contains the
meaning of Islam. Allah wanted the Messengers to teach the people to
submit themselves to Allah, and have nothing personal in their lives.
This is what the Imam of the Pious, the Commander of the Faithful,
Imam Ali (a.s.) has expressed when he was talking to his companions as
a caliph, telling them, we do not see things in the same say: "I want
you to God while you want me to yourselves". I want you to unify Allah
and obey him in everything you do, feel or say.
The word of Islam started with Ibrahim when his God told to submit
(Aslim) and he said that he submits to the Lord of the worlds. That is
I submit with all my existence which no one shares Allah in and I do
not mind anyone other than Allah. The following Ayah might elaborate
this: Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and
my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds;
No partner hath He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of
those who bow to His will. All my life is for Allah and when I die it
is for the cause of Allah, who has no partners.
This Islamic belief was not confined to Ibrahim, but he also
enjoined his sons to believe in: And the same
did Ibrahim enjoin on his sons and (so did) Yaqoub. O my sons! surely
Allah has chosen for you (this) faith, therefore die not unless you
are Muslims... So that all your lives in all its details and
actions will be solely for God, until you die.
And this was the wish of Prophet Yusuf - O
Thou Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in
this world and in the Hereafter. Take Thou my soul (at death) as one
submitting to Thy will (as a Muslim), and unite me with the righteous."
Meaning that ask your God that when death comes, I will be a faithful
Muslim so that I will stand before Him on the Day of Judgement as a
Muslim. Jacob too wanted to make sure that his sons will follow the
religion of Islam and that they will not be led astray and worship
idols. Were ye witnesses when death appeared
before Jacob? Behold, he said to his sons: "What will ye worship after
me?" They said: "We shall worship Thy god and the god of thy fathers,
of Abraham, Isma'il and Isaac,- the one (True) Allah: To Him we bow
(in Islam)."
And this is what Allah commanded this Prophet and the Muslims with:
Then set your face upright for religion in the right state-- the
nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering of
Allah's creation; that is the right religion, but most people do not
know-- which is Islam that Allah has made innate in our souls:
Our religion is the Baptism of Allah: And who can baptize better than
Allah? And it is He Whom we worship.
The Traits of Muslim
And this is what Imam Ali described Islam with: This Islam is the
religion which Allah has chosen for Himself, developed it before His
eyes, and when he described the Prophet saying: Allah sent him with a
sufficing plea, a convincing discourse and a rectifying announcement.
Through him Allah disclosed the ways that had been forsaken, and
destroyed the innovations that had been introduced. Through him He
explained the detailed commands. Now, whoever adopts a religion other
than Islam, his misery is definite, his stick (of support) will be
cracked, his fate will be serious, his end will be long grief and
distressing punishment.
There are also some sayings that determine who the Muslim is
through his relations with other Muslims. They explain that in Islam
it is not sufficient to say the two testimonies and perform the
religious duties.
A Muslim should also be a brother of fellow Muslims. The Prophet
says: The Muslim is he whom other Muslims are safe from his tongue and
hand.
He also says: The Muslim is a brother of a Muslim. He does not
wrong him or curse him. He does not betray him or lie at him. A Muslim
is the mirror of a fellow Muslim in which he sees his faults and
wrongs.
The Messenger has also told us that Muslims are united in one hand
against those who challenge them and their bloods are equal with no
blood higher or dearer than the other.
That is why Allah has ordained punishment to a Muslim who kills
another Muslim unjustly, be he a mean person or a great one. Such a
great attitude is demonstrated by the Imam's position when he was
stuck by Ibn Maljam.: Children of Abdul Mattaleb! Do not shed the
blood of Muslims under the banner: The Imam has been assassinated!
Only the assassin should be condemned to death.
If I die of this stab of his, kill him with one similar stroke. Do
not mutilate him! I have heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say:
"Mutilate not even a rabid dog."
Who is this Ibn Maljam when compared by Ali. Yet the punishment is
the same regardless of how mean the murderer is and how great the
murdered is. This is also emphasized by the Prophet's saying that the
Muslims are brothers whom do not have any advantage over other Muslim
except through piety.
The Commander of the Faithful says: Islam is surrender, and
surrender is certitude; certitude is authentication, and
authentication is assurance; assurance is realization, and realization
is work
On the negative side, the Prophet says in the context of solidarity
among Muslims. Surely he is not a Muslim who does not take interest in
the affairs of Muslims. And surely he is not a Muslim who hears a
Muslim calling for help and does not respond to his call."
He also says: "Muslims should treat one another as a human body
which if any of its organs is in pain the other organs will look after
it".
The Islam of dignity:
The pervious Hadiths explain that if a Muslim individual or a
Muslim people are subjected to an aggression and they call for help
then those who do not answer are not Muslims.
In the light of this, Islam orders every Muslim to support Muslims
with all his capacities and whoever does not do that, will no longer
be a Muslim.
However, some people not only do not support their Muslim brothers;
they even, especially those in authority, support non-Muslims over
Muslims. This is what we see when some Muslim officials support Jews
against Muslims. Some of the Arab states that consider themselves
Muslims have stood with the Jews against the Resistance in July 2006.
Moreover, many Muslim rulers stand with America and Israel and with
all countries that fight and persecute Muslims.
These are not Muslims in the broader sense of Islam… the Islam of
strength and unity. They are only Muslims in the first layer of Islam
which the Prophet described as that belonging to those whose Islam is
to profess the two testimonies, and not in the upper layers of being
committed to the Islam of freedom, justice, strength and dignity.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Twentieth century miracle
In an indication of how much the international
logic has deteriorated, the French President has stated lately that
the establishment of the state of Israel is a miracle and that it is
the most important event in the twentieth century. We used to think
that France is still committed to the principles of its revolution,
most notably the freedom of nations, and rejection of any brutal
massacres practiced by an oppressive nation against an oppressed me.
And we used to think that this European country no longer believes in
colonialism and confiscating the freedom of nations, having refused
the American occupation in Iraq, especially that Israel has been
founded on the basis of dislocating a people as a result of the
massacres the Jews committed under the supervision of the British
occupation.
We ask this President: Is destroying people and
dislocating them the most important event in the twentieth century?
And are the miracles these destroying conditions to human rights that
no reason or conscience can accept?
In this respect, we ask: why does not Europe –
France included- give the Jews a state on its territories, since it
holds itself responsible for their tragedies? And why are the
Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslims held responsible for Europe's
barbarianism against the Jews?
Palestine: stop the internal strife:
On the other hand, everybody knows that the Israeli
nuclear bomb was aided by France, as well as other European countries
and the United States. If they claim that this bomb does not pose a
danger on the region and the world, they know that this usurping
entity has deployed all its military power to threaten all the
countries in the region especially Lebanon, and that General Charles
de Gaulle boycotted Israel when he found out that it initiated the
1967 aggression.
The Western Administrations have empowered Israel
to enable it to become the strongest power in the region. And this is
what the world witnessed in the repeated Israeli aggressions against
Lebanon, starting in 1982 when the capital was occupied and ending the
2006 aggression in which hundreds of civilians were killed and the
infrastructure was destroyed. This aggression was supported by France,
along with Britain and the US, by means of supporting the unjust
resolutions in the Security Council.
It could be a miracle, though, and one of the most
significant events in the twentieth century that such an entity would
be founded on killing, plunder and dislocation, and the international
community would fall to such a deterioration issuing resolutions that
Israel rejects daily and accepting that the human rights charter is
merely ink on paper, and resorting to total silence when faced by the
sufferings of women, children and the elderly on the Israeli
checkpoints, as well as the massacres committed against civilians.
On another level, and while the Arabs and the
Palestinian Authority await the conference that Bush has called for,
and which will not yield to any agreement on breakthrough, as the
enemy's Prime Minister has declared, Israel continues its daily
aggressions in the West Bank and Gaza, and prepares for confiscation
of lands in Jerusalem to surround the Arabs in the Holy City.
Moreover, some of the Enemy's generals are threatening of a new round
in Lebanon to regain the army's morale which suffered a serious blow
in the aftermath of the 2006 defeat. This is what some of the Lebanese
who put their stakes on the international Community and Resolution
1701 should understand. The UN did not even establish a ceasefire on
the Lebanon borders yet.
The Arabs should understand that there is no
realistic chance for peace with the enemy and they should appreciate
the importance of the Resistance in confronting the Israeli
aggression.
We also appeal to the Palestinians especially the
Islamic factions, to fear Allah and thwart any attempt for strife that
could serve none but the enemy, and would end all resistance, for the
factions will be preoccupied with their internal differences.
America and Just Peace
The American vice-president is threatening Iran in
case it does not change its nuclear and regional policies. We say to
this man who hates Arabs and Muslims, why does not he talk about the
policies of his administration that stands against just peace, human
rights and freedom and cares only about its strategic interests?
We advise the American Administration to respect
nations to befriend them, since these nations do not accept death and
humiliation, and have proven that they can undermine its plans as in
Iraq Afghanistan and even in Lebanon.
The Political crisis in Lebanon
Lebanon is still living a state of political
debating with some cautions hope appearing, but those who do not want
to see a consensual solution are making some complications, and
appointing themselves as judges who throw baseless accusations,
concerning the bloody past which none is innocent of.
The problem is that Lebanon is covered by black
clouds that cover the sun and prevent a clear view. It has also sunk
its economic problems and sectarian fears that are being incited by
those who are planning for strife.
There are those who do not want this small country
to be anything except a place where they can fulfill their personal
ambitions and accumulate additional wealth by mobilizing people on the
basis of sectarianism.
We call on everybody to look at the bigger regional
picture instead of sectarian and personal interests. This could enable
us to reach a more practical and realistic solution. |