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The
First Sermon
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate the Merciful
Allah
(S.W.T) says in His Glorious Book: {And
Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of
the family, and to make you pure and spotless} [33:33]
Fatima Al-Zahra’ (a.s.), whose birthday anniversary is
today, is one of those members of the house. She is a part of the
Messenger, wife of Imam Ali (a.s.) and the mother of Imams Hassan
and Hussein. Thus, she constitutes a link between prophethood and
Imamate, having inherited, in her character and linage, the traits
of the Prophet, and having married Imam Ali and became a mother to
the coming Imams.
The
secret of Fatima
When
we study the personality of this lady whom Allah has purified, and
made a role model for Muslim women, we find out that she is
infallible, being one of the five members of the House that Allah
cleansed as cited in the Ayah above… She was the absolute purity
and the absolute good whom the Quran talked about in three different
Surahs: The verse cited above, The Man surah in which Allah talked
about the spirit of giving that she shared with her Husband (Imam
Ali)…When they were fasting and gave the break fast dinner for a
poor man, an orphan and a prisoner and remained fasting {And
they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan and the
captive * (Saying), “We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: No
reward do we desire from you, nor thanks}[76:8-9].
These
two verses explain an important part of Fatima’s (a.s.) and
Ali’s (a.s.) secret: They give for the sake of Allah and not for
any other worldly reason.
Thus,
they do not expect any reward or thanks; this is their secret as
well as that of their sons: and it is the Messenger’s secret: To
live, strive and die for the sake of Allah. And this is what we
should do if we want to follow them.
The
Third Ayah was revealed when the Christians of Najran (region in Arabia ) came to argue
with the prophet about Issa (p.), claiming that Christ was God.
Having found that it was no use arguing with them, the Prophet(p.)
asked them to pray for Allah to invoke His curse on those who
lie {If any one disputes in this matter
with thee, now after (full) knowledge hath come to thee, say:
“Come! Let us gather together, our sons and your sons, our women
and your women, ourselves and yourselves: Them let us earnestly pray
and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie}[3:61].
The
head of the delegation told the group to wait and see who the
Prophet was going to bring. If he brings some ordinary people of his
companions go ahead and pray, but if he brings the members of his
house then he would be truthful, because he could not possibly want
to sacrifice them. So when the Prophet brought Ali, Fatima , Al-Hassan, and
Al-Hussein (a.s.) they refused to pray and signed a treatment with
him. Thus this incident proves that they were the closest to him.
Achieving
the Prophet’s medal
When
we come to what the Prophet (p.) said about his daughter (a.s.), we
find that there are many traditions that both the Shiites and the
Sunnis agree upon. Sahih Al-Bukhari quotes the Messenger (p.) as
saying: Fatima is the leader
of the women of paradise and the leader of the women of this nation.
Sahih Muslim has it as the leader of the women believers, while Ibn
dawoud states that she is “ the leader of the women of the
worlds”.
And
since we know that Muhammad (p.)
does not talk out of his whims or desires, but he only
conveys what is revealed to him by Allah (S.W.T), we can have an
idea about how superior and sublime lady Fatima (a.s.) is. To be a
leader in Heaven, which hosts such great ladies as Mary, the mother
of Jesus, and Asia bint Muzahim,
reveals how great is this lady in the eyes of God.
The
Messenger also has let it be known in several traditions that Fatima was part of
him: Whatever hurts her would also hurt him…
In
other narrations that show the position Fatima
held in her father’s heart and mind what Aisha (one of the
Prophet’s wives) said: I have not seen anybody who looks more like
the Prophet in his speech looks and guidance than Fatima . When he used
to see her coming he would stand and kiss her hand…
Aisha also said that Fatima was the woman
whom the Prophet loves most, while Ali was the most loved man.
She
also said: I have not seen anyone who is more truthful than her
except her father.
Imam
Al-Kazim (a.s.) describes Fatima (a.s.) as being "a truthful
witness” just like the prophets who bear witness in front of God
for what their people do.
Fatima ’s childhood
was full of pain and suffering. She lost her mother when she was a
young child, and then
she had to witness, how the infidels were hurting her father.
One
of the incidents that shows how much she loved her father, was when
AbuJahal, one of the leaders of the infidels, induced one his
followers to throw dirt on the Prophet’s
back while he was praying. When Fatima saw this, she
removed the dirt and cursed the infidels. This proves that although
a child, Fatima used to take care of her father and people used to
go and tell her whenever something of this sort took place.
She also used to take care of her father at home, giving him
the love and affection he lost when his mother died. That is why the
Messenger said: " Fatima is the mother
of her father”.
Had it not been for Ali, there
would not have been a match for Fatima .
And
when she married Ali (a.s)… The Messenger(p.)
used to tell everybody who asked for her hand before Ali,
that he was waiting for Allah’s command. But when Ali proposed,
the Messenger (p.) smiled and said his famous saying: Had it not
been for Ali, there would not have been a match for Fatima .
This
match was not in his relation to Fatima for she had
many other
cousins, but it was one of knowledge and piety. Both Ali (a.s.) and
Fatima were raised and
taught by the Prophet(p.) in the same house. Thus, each of them
mirrored the personality of the other and they both mirrored that of
Muhammad (p.), whether in his mind, character or attitude.
The
marriage of Imam Ali (a.s.) and
Lady Fatima (a.s.) offers an example and a model for women and men
to learn how their life together should be like. Towards the end of
her life, she was asking her husband to take care of things after
her death and ended by saying: You have not known me to lie to you
or betray you or refuse to do anything you want since I knew you.
And the Imam (a.s.) agreed and said:
You are too good and pious… for me to scold you.
Ali
(a.s.) says: I have never angered her and she never angered or
disobeyed me; This kind of spiritual harmony, moral complementing
and mutual care was the climate in which their children, Al-Hassan (a.s.),
Al-Hussein (a.s.) , Zianab and Um-klthoum were raised. It is quite
natural when happiness and piety fills and illuminates a house, the
children will be brought up to be pious and loving human beings.
According to psychologists, most of the complexes children
acquire are a result of the parents’ quarrels. Therefore, we are
responsible not only for the physical welfare of our children but
about their psychological health as well.
Do not make them psychologically sick as a result of your
differences.
How
did Ali (a.s.) and Fatima (a.s.) share their household life?
The
story says that they went to the Prophet(p.)
to divide the work between them. The Prophet(p.) Made her
responsible for making bread while Ali had to bring wood and clean
the house.
This
is Ali (a.s.), not you and me. And yet he was not ashamed to perform
such tasks…Thus it is not humiliating to attend some household
business.
AL- Zahra’ (a.s.) had a role too in teaching the society.
She used to find time, despite all her duties, to gather all the
wives of the believers and teach them the principles of their
religion, and she used to narrate the sayings and traditions of her
father. One of these traditions is "A believer is not a
believer, if his neighbors do not feel assured that he will no hurt
them. He who believes in God and the Day of Judgment does not hurt
his neighbor…
He
would either say what is good or remain silent..
Allah
is Good and loves those who are good, chaste and tolerant. He hates
the backbiter and those who say obscene words”.
She
was also a devoted worshipper who used to pray all night every
Thursday night.
She used to never ask for herself. Asked by Imam Al-Hassan (a.s.)
about the reason for this, she said
that the neighbor comes before oneself. She was the
worshipper, the honest truthful believer. She was both a religious
scholar and a firm militant for the cause of Allah (S.W.T), who
defended her husband’s right not because of her relation to him
but because he was her Imam (a.s.) and the one who Muhammad(p.)
appointed to succeed him.
Thus, Fatima(a.s.) is a role model for both men and women.
She is not an object for our crying and mourning. Following her
means… following her role model in our practice and not crying for
her and her son’s fate.
The Messenger (p.), Al –Zahra’ (a.s.) and The Imam (a.s.)
want us to rid ourselves of every backward symptom and be a mind
that thinks, a heart that loves and a practice that is both pious
and a result of careful planning.
The
Second Sermon
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America
is still spreading concern and anguish in the region by beating the
drums of war sometimes and by resorting to a vague language about
its plans at other times… On another level, the
US
is trying to sedate some of the Arab leaders by sweet words that
talk about “eternal friendship” and “mutual trust” despite
certain differences in opinion. At the same time it offers
Israel
unequivocal support, as part of their strategic alliance in the
region, especially that the American policy in its relations with
the Arabs and Muslims in run by a group of politicians who are more
loyal to
Israel
then they are loyal to
America
.
American policy gives empty words to the Arabs and stances of
support to
Israel
. This might be because
the Zionists use the language of force with
America
while the Arabs use the logic of weakness and failure… An
important observation, in this context, lies in the fact
Israel
exerts pressure on the American elections by mean of the Jewish
votes, while the Arabs and Muslims who live in
America
do not have any plan in this respect. President Bush, who won the
elections with the Arab and Muslim votes, did not give then anything
in return, Instead he increased his support to
Israel
and his pressure over the Arabs and Muslims in the States.
Thus, we have to change the mentality in dealing economically
security-wise and politically with the
US
. We ought to withdraw the Arab and Muslim funds, for the new laws
that emerged as a result of the events of September 11th, might
subject them to freezing or even confiscating.
The Intifada continues
In
Palestine
,
America
still provides a cover to the Israeli invasion to its cities,
villages and lands. It is also supporting financially the Zionist
military operations against the Palestinian people, who is subjected
daily to a systemized killing operation including the killing of
children that Israel would later claim that is was done by mistake
that it regrets. The Palestinians are also subjected to arbitrary
arrests, and the collective punishments of destroying houses,
bulldozing farms and economic siege… Meanwhile we hear nobody in
America, Europe or even the United Nations objecting… even the
Arab and Muslim voices have become humiliatingly shi and timid.
We are following up the operations the Mujahideen perform in
spite of all the difficulties they face as a result of the Israeli
brutality and the Zionist security and political deception, as well
as the deceiving role of the American envoy who came to the region
to give verbal and empty
assurances to the Arabs and the Palestinians, on the one hand, while
coordinating with the Zionists to increase the pressure on the
Intifada and to fragment the wings of the Palestinian Authority…
The Palestinians still have this wonderful steadfastness,
this challenging resolve and this national unity that in itself a
militant means of resistance to the occupation. All the factions of
the political spectrum of this people unite together in challenging
and resisting the occupation. The while nation should stand with
this people to emphasize its unity in all fronts…
The American offence will not stop
As
for
Iraq
, the situation is still under the impact of international
polarization, regional instability, the opposition’s political
confusion, and the American plan to obtain international Arabian and
Iraqi (both secular and Islamic) legitimacy, to complete its
domination of
Iraq
.
The Arab and Muslim peoples have to study the ultimate goals
of this American movement which will not stop in Iraq; it will go on
to contain what could be contained and strike what they feel hat
they should strike to ensure the American hegemony over the oil
fields in the region, and put an end to any opposition of the US
hegemony in the Third world.
In view of all this, is there anybody alive that would listen
or have we all become dead?
Lack
of trust in the political authority
In
Lebanon
, arbitrary decisions
and confusion are still governing the political and economic policy
making of the government. The budget, for example, contains many
gaps that have to do with the essential and virtual needs and
services of the Lebanese people… Moreover, the new coalitions and
consultation meetings are merely reactions that do not aim at
studying the roots of the problem or reveal the carefully concealed
reason for this chaos.
The
people have been asking in every stage and in every administration
the same question:
Why
do the projects of administrative reform always fail in Lebanon? Who
is hindering the execution of the law of illegal wealth, waste and
corruption? Why do the people no longer trust any of the big names
in politics that have become exceptionally rich? How do we explain
the whispers about the legal deals or even the decrees that aim to
enable certain companies and individuals make a lot of money? Do the
officials hear these whispers and what are they doing about it?
We
like to be optimistic and hate pessimism, but are any elements in
reality to justify such optimism?
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