In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
His Eminence, the Religious Authority Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, delivered the two Eid sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Shawwal, 1st 1430 H. - September, 20th 2009. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Eid sermons
The First Sermon
| The Eid Is a Eid for Fulfilling One's Responsibility |
It is a eid for those who obey Allah
Today is the eid, Eid al-Fitr, which God assigned as an eid for the Muslims so that they live all of its spiritual meanings that ascend them to Allah, the Most Exalted. He also wants them to enjoy the eid, because they had fulfilled their obligations before Allah, the Most Exalted, by obeying Him and avoiding what He prohibited. In Islam, the Eid represents the meanings that ascend the spirit of humans, not the spirit that lives under the atmosphere of fun and play, because Allah, the Most Exalted, wanted people to be happy in this world, based on their openness and loyalty towards Him. It was narrated that the true eid is when we fulfill our responsibilities. This was stated by Imam Ali (a.s.) in his immortal speech in which he said: "The Eid is for those whose fast has been accepted and whose salaat are worthy of reckoning, and every day when one does not commit a sin is a eid." Therefore, the human being can render all his days as eid, when he obeys Allah, the Most Exalted, by obeying His orders and avoiding what He prohibited, and by being loyal to Him and by being monotheistic in practicing God's creed, in performing prayers, and in obeying Him.
We should not squander what we have gained in the month of Ramadan by performing acts that Allah, the Most Exalted, disapproves, akin to the person who abstained from drinking wine during Ramadan, and once the Eid started, he said:
"Now that Ramadan has gone, bring me the wine which misses me and I miss it."
Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) said: " On the day of Eid al-Fitr, Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib (a.s.) delivered a sermon in which he said: "O people! Verily this day of yours is the day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are losers. It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing (before your Lord). Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you (your souls) shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord. When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in presence of your Lord (on the Day of Judgment). And when you return to your homes (after prayer), remind yourselves about your returning to your homes in Paradise. O Servants of Allah! Verily the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted (during Ramadan), is an Angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadan (saying): O servants of Allah! Rejoice the glad tiding that all your previous sins have been forgiven. Therefore, watch out in those things which serve as your re-creation (on this day and days to follow)."
The day of rewards
Once, on the day of Eid al-Fitr, Imam Al-Hassan (a.s.) passed by some people who were playing and laughing. He stood by them and said: "Allah has made the month of Ramadan the racetrack of His creatures so that they will compete with each other in acts of obedience to Him to attain His satisfaction. Some people preceded others and could win, while others dropped behind and failed. How strange is that who plays and laughs on the day when the good-doers are rewarded and the wrongdoers are losing! By Allah I take the oath, if the cover is removed, they will realize that the good-doers are engaged in their advantages and the evildoers are engaged in their sins." Then, he (a.s.) left.
Feeling the pains of others
Beloved ones, we have to live the spiritual happiness, and remember that many in our nation cannot attain decent living. We have to remember that others are suffering from sickness, misery, imprisonment, homelessness, and confrontation with arrogant powers. Let us pray to Allah to alleviate their pains, and we have to work in accordance with the will of Imam Ali (a.s.): "Fear Allah in matters concerning orphans. Attend to their nutrition (do not let them starve) and do not forget their interests amidst yours."
Allah has entrusted everyone of us with the orphans in our society, and asked us to protect them and to work towards enabling them to be good-doers in their lives. We have to look after the deprived people who suffer from deprivation and tragedies in life. We have to create spiritual and human happiness in this Eid, so as all Muslims feel happy about the freedom and pride they make, and about whatever defeats the arrogant powers and raises the oppressed.
This is a eid for responsibility. We have to assume our responsibility before Allah, the Most Exalted, so that we can stand in front of Him, [on the Day of Judgment].
The second sermon
The reality of the Eid
The meaning of Eid is to celebrate the fulfillment of our obligations, and the performance of duties that pertain to fasting from what Allah has prohibited, reading the Quran, performing the prayers, sharing the pains of the poor and oppressed people, and interacting with the deprived and downtrodden people everywhere.
As such, the Eid should be an occasion to assume the responsibilities of the nation and mankind, especially at this period of time, when the occupation has tightened its grip over many positions in the region, starting from Palestine, the mother of all Islamic causes, to Afghanistan, Iraq, to several countries that suffer from a camouflaged occupation which controls their policies and situations, and transforms them into prisons for their people or to spots for internal sedition that tears up their present and future, let alone the paralysis that engulfed the Arab and Islamic political regimes. Furthermore, family inheritance has become a characteristic of political reality, to the extent that it has become possible to link the future of the nation to personal interests of family aspirations.
Delivering Palestine
In this reality, the United States and Israel are preparing a political defeatist environment, where the nations sign on a document to offer all of Palestine to the Jewish occupiers, in light of the new plan which sought new means through Obama's speech in Istanbul, then in Cairo, as the secondary dossiers were suspended in favor of the major dossier i.e. the issue of Palestine, with the aim of closing this dossier once and for all.
Therefore, it was revealed for many sides who used to stress the importance of giving the new American President and his Administration a chance to gather his local power and regain his balance, and draw his own policy within the American political and security institution, that Obama has become the figure who conforms to the Israeli policy the most, and who surrenders to the enemy's conditions the most. It was also revealed to them that the change he promised to bring about appeared through his personality which showed signs of surrender to the demands of the American establishment which completely succumbs to the Jewish Lobby, to the extent that we have seen that the new US Administration cannot take actions even when the Israeli Prime Minister transforms the call to freeze the settlement activities into a call to downsizing these activities.
We are worried that the plan, in which media and security apparatuses and political institutions were involved to promote in the Arab and Islamic region, is based on fomenting a huge strife and producing more confessional conflicts. This aims at paving the way before a settlement, and allowing the Israeli enemy to regain its power, so as to dominate the region, after it has lost much of its power and status over the past years.
The game of the confessional axes
In this context, we glimpse a fierce attack on the nation's powerful sites, whereby its resistance men and leaders are accused of confessional charges, and of working towards empowering one confession against the other. As such, there is a talk about a Shiite uprising in the face of the Sunni reality, or a Sunni uprising in the face of a Shiite reality. This would foment sedition that paves the way for the Zionist arrogant power to regain its previous moment, after the nation has finally managed to get rid of it, and direct strong blows at it.
We would like to confirm that there is no such Shiite uprising in the face of the Sunnis of the nation, and we will not accept that any Islamic Shiite movement targets the Sunnis in any position. There is not also any Sunni uprising facing the Shiites, because any uprising or awakening should be targeted against the occupation forces and the nation's enemies. Thus, those who are fiddling with this game from the enemy's camp, or those who work for it, should realize that their game has become disclosed for the nation, and that sooner the magic will turn on the magician.
Lebanon and the Arab reality: Drowning in suspension
As far as Lebanon is concerned, it is placed again in the waiting station. The plan is to freeze its active political movement, besiege it with economic crises, and pressure its people with hard living conditions, with the poverty rate being on the rise. It seems that the international axes, which were previously reassured about the deadlock facing the cabinet crisis, do not mind seeing some security incidents, ones that prevent self-growth that people are seeking to face the fleeting projects of starvation and fragmentation, arriving to this small country from the wide mazes of the region.
It seems that there is an international octopus hindering the serious attempts to correct the course of the inter-Arab relations. New arrangements have started to put new pressures on some Arab opposition movements, and this axis has returned to its previous role in playing on two ropes. It wants Lebanon to be a mere card in its negotiations over some regional dossiers.
At the same time, Israel is arming itself even more, and all the weapon arsenals and smart bombs are sent to it. The United States is protecting it by new technological shields, in order to keep it safe from any potential missile strikes. Maneuvers are also frequently launched in Israel, practicing to aim at Lebanese targets that are meant to remain preoccupied with internal problems, so that when Israel does strike them, they would be preoccupied with secondary issues and details.
Supporting Lebanon
In view of this stormy atmosphere and bleak clouds heading towards Lebanon right before the Fall season, we call on everyone to support Lebanon and its interests, before involving themselves in the demands of external sides. We also call on them to abandon the political arguments that are meant to drag the country into the mazes of impulsive confrontations, as they stir up confessional conflicts once again, in an attempt to undermine the Islamic unity, paving the way to destroy the national entity on the heads of everyone.
The country has entered the stage of discharging the duties, whereby this or that official works for those running the game in the region, even from overseas, but with local titles. The biggest catastrophe lies in the fact that everyone has experienced this situation before, and has used all the impulsive methods and irrational policies, yet they failed to gain anything. However, in Lebanon, where the politicians are bitten by the regional and international holes a thousand times, the policy of biting fingers continues to exist. But then they tell you that this policy is a kind of Lebanese innovation which creates nothing but apprehension, and leads to nothing but instability and chaos.