Friday speeches 9 rabih2 1425h/28 May 2004AD

Allah, the most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, MercifuL (23 :31)

And there are some among men who take for themselves objects of worship besides Allah, whom they love as they love Allah, and those who believe are stronger in love for Allah and O, that those who are unjust had seen, when they see the chastisement, that the power is wholly Allah's and that Allah is severe in requiting (evil).(2 :165)

Allah wants us to love Him through our minds. Our minds should be full of this intellectual and rational love that corresponds to the greatness of Allah. He wants us to love Him with our hearts which will make all our actions and feelings in our individual and social lives seek His satisfaction.

Why does Allah want us to love him more than anyone else? Because he is the secret of our being: And whatever favor is (bestowed) on you it is from Allah; then when evil afflicts you, to Him do you cry for aid. (16:53)

Think about all those whom you love, you will notice that you love each of them, for a certain quality he has. Then, think who gave them these qualities, who gave the beautiful his/her beauty, and who gave the knowledgeable his/her mind...etc. You will undoubtedly conclude that it is Allah.

Therefore, when we want to understand love of God in a rational manner, we would find that it is Allah who possesses all the elements of love... If we love who gives us, Allah has given us our being, and everything we enjoy in this world: “If ye would count up the favours of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful » (16-18).

And if we love some people for their qualities, Allah is the one Who has given them these qualities.

We live with the people for a certain period of time, but, in the end, we will depart and go to God, for He is the beginning and the end. Thus, we ought to love Him knowing that this love opens up on a friend that is unique in that he is able to give us everything, and save us from all evil, for He is in control of everything.

In many cases, you find yourself in a psychological state in which you want to talk to someone about your problems, but you might be afraid to tell your secrets to another man. But it is not the same with God, for He already knows everything. Moreover, when you love someone, you should trust him and love what he loves, and avoid what he dislikes.

Allah has told us in the Quran who is worthy of His love. He said that he loves the charitable and asked us to engage in various kinds of charity, helping people not only in money, but also in providing them services or in increasing their knowledge.

He also told us that He loves the pious, those who fear Him and obey Him to avoid His punishment and earn His rewards. He loves those who endure with patience, and made patience one of the noblest virtues. “And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah's and to Him we shall surely return. Those are they on whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord, and those are the followers of the right course”. (2:155-157)

He also loves the just and those who unit in times of challenge and face problems in unified ranks.

Imam Zein Al-Abideen (a.s.) tells us that Allah loves all sad hearts, and loves all the thankful of His servants.

Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) adds that Allah loves the shy and the indulgent.

As for those whom Allah does not love, and whom we too should not love just as we are asked to love those whom He loves… they are: The aggressors whom we should not love or support, the infidels who do not believe in God and who are ungrateful for His graces. He does not love the unjust, whether in trivial matters or major ones.

He does not love those who boast. He does not love the traitor. He does not love those who corrupt as well as those who are arrogant… He also does not love those who backbite and say bad things about others unless one has been wronged personally.

But whom does Allah love most? Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) tells us that Allah loves most the believers who help the poor and those who take part in keeping any harm away from the Muslims. The Prophet says that Allah loves most: Those who benefit most His servants and those who make them love to do good. He also says in answering a question about whom Allah loves most it is the most beneficent to people.

Thus, we learn from numerous verses in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophet and Ahl el Beit, that we ought to love Allah like we love no one else, and that we have to love what He loves and not to love what He does not love.

We also have to make our only goal in life seeking Allah's love by applying what He loves in all our sayings, actions and relations. This is what we should compete on.

Although America is talking about transferring sovereignty to the Iraqis in the beginning of next July, the American president still repeats the same lines, without admitting his political failures that increased the violence in Iraq and made Washington lose its credibility whether in Iraq or in the world in general. Iraqis no longer believe that he could change the situation on the ground.

The concern about the future has even reached the American people who began to believe that things in Iraq are going totally in the wrong direction. America and the UK have tabled a draft resolution about Iraq to the UN Security Council in which they decided that the American forces should stay there to ensure serenity and stability, but the American Secretary of State said that their stay depends on ensuring the strategic American interests in the region without defining these interests.

The debate concerning the limits of this sovereignty is still going on by many major international powers. Although the new Iraqi government should have full sovereignty in all political, diplomatic, security, judicial, and economic fields, America has many reservations concerning several of these fields…

It wants to give the Iraqis a formal sovereignty and keep the decision making in all fields, including when the American troops will withdraw, in the hands of the occupation.

All the talk about the role of the UN is designed only to provide the Americans with an international cover.

We, as freedom loving people who also seek reforms, do not trust the American Administration that practices an unjust and deceiving policy in Palestine, that totally supports Israel and find excuses for all its massacres and crimes.

It also tries to give Zionism all the time it needs to execute its strategy of aggression in eradicating the Palestinians, just as the American Administration itself does in Iraq.

We would like our distressed people in the injured Iraq to study the American policies and practices in Iraq so that they can reach the conclusion that the freedom America promises to give them is a formal and superficial one… They have to depend on their own capabilities and their international and regional supporters to ensure the establishment of a free Iraq…

Moreover, the only way to stop the aggression against the Holy places is to resort to unity and cooperation and to voice opposition to the occupation that is responsible for all the Iraqi victims and for all demolition of the sacred places. It is the basis of all evil, including all attempts to incite civil strife among the people.

As for Palestine, it is still the deepest wound in the nation’s body…It is also the major cause of the nation and the way towards its freedom.

International and regional players are still tampering with the Palestinian fate under the pretense of finding solution that Israel accepts… They are all thinking about what the Zionist government wants and how the Americans can exert pressures on the Palestinians and the Arab governments… No body takes into consideration what the interests of the Palestinians are. On the contrary, the Americans seek to eradicate all those Palestinians who demand freedom and the end of the occupation under the pretence of fighting terrorism.

We are aware of the depth of the Palestinian wounds, but we are sure that this steadfast and militant people will not fall under the policies of devastation, killing, siege and hunger. They will only become stronger and more defiant in the face of all challenges.

In Lebanon, we denounce vehemently yesterday's events that led to the fall of several victims.

We do not want the people to remember the previous role of the security forces… They became familiar with the new role of the Army in holding the responsibility of standing with the Resistance to free the country, and we do not want anybody to remember the days it used to be embroiled against the people.

Everybody has the right to know who is responsible for what happened, and why live ammunition was used and not other means. And why were the internal security forces not the ones that were commissioned to deal with these demonstrations.

Civil peace and stability is the responsibility of all, and it should be considered as a red line that should not be crossed.

On the other hand, as we emphasize the need to address the lawful demands of the deprived and the poor, we call on them to express their demands in a civilized way…

Burning tires and trees and breaking phone booths and the like are unlawful… All political and popular powers have to hold their responsibilities in preventing such practices that hurt the demands themselves, and which could have been initiated by those who have wicked intentions of hurting the image of the popular demanding movement.

Therefore, those who are responsible for what has happened should be identified too; we do not want the people to choose between dying out of hunger or through punishment.

Finally, we want all the leaders who were engaged in the last municipal elections to bear the responsibility towards all the negative actions of their followers… these actions that incite strife and endanger the security of the community… We are afraid that the consequences of the elections might turn to be more dangerous than the elections themselves. It they are talking about the liberation from the enemy, resistance also includes the liberation from hatred, fanaticism and blind enmity.