The first sermon

Allah, The Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification. Allah, the Most Exalted, speaks the truth. Today is the death anniversary of  the leader of the women of the worlds, Fatima Az-Zahra’(a.s.). It is the anniversary in which we recall the grief of Ali , Al-Hassan , Al-Hussein, Zainab , Um-kulthoum  and all those who recognize her  status and how much she was honored by the Messenger (p.) , as well as the role she played throughout her life . This grief was demonstrated in what Imam Ali(a.s.) has said addressing her after he had buried her : O Prophet of Allah, peace be upon you from me and from your daughter who has come to you and who has hastened to meet you. O Prophet of Allah, my patience about your chosen (daughter) has been exhausted, and my power of endurance has weakened, except that I have ground for consolation in having endured the great hardship and heart-rending event of your separation. I laid you down in your grave when your last breath had passed (when your head was) between my neck and chest.

… Verily we are Allah’s and verily unto Him shall we return. Now, the trust has been returned and what had been given has been taken back. As to my grief, it knows no bounds, and as to my nights. They will remain sleepless till Allah chooses for me the house in which you are now residing… 

As we observe this anniversary , we are not going to shed tears or  pay visits to her only.   We are also going to learn from her   knowledge worship and deeds.

One of her virtues that we are going to shed light on in this speech is her relationship with the Messenger (p.).

It is narrated that when the Prophet was about to die  , his daughter, Fatima, came to him.  He kissed her and whispered some words in her ear. She wept. Then again, he whispered in her ear and she smiled.  When asked about it, she said I would not disclose a secret of the Messenger in his life time. Then when asked again after his death she said:

“He first told me that he would meet his Lord after a short while and so I cried. Then he said to me: ‘Don’t cry for you will be the first of my household to join me.’ So I laughed.” And this was what actually happened.

 This incident shows the depth of the relation between them to the extent that she was happy to know that the distance between his death and hers was short, as she could not tolerate to live without his presence.   Her love to her father, the Messenger (p.), was so immense, that it can only be compared to the love of her father to her, to the extent that he called her” the mother of her father” to describe the role she played after the death of Khadija . She acted as a compassionate mother who looked after her child and alleviated his pains and sufferings   as the result of the way Quraish used to hurt him. History tells us that when the unbelievers put the intestines of a camel on his back while he was praying, she came and took it off, challenging the unbelievers and cursing them at an age of seven years or younger. This proves that in addition to her love to her father she was also aware of the significance of the Message and the Messenger at that very young age.

Fatima accompanied her father and did not leave him even when he went out to war, She took care of him, attended to his needs and addressed his wounds as in the battle of Uhud.

The Messenger(p.)’s love to Fatima exceeded the fact that she was his daughter ,  for  she was the one whom he loved the most  saying that she was a part of him, and adding that what pleases her pleases him and what angered her angered him. She was the last one he saw when he travelled and the first one when he came back. When she came to see him, he used to kiss her and seat her in his place. She also did the same when he came to see her.

When the Prophet died, her grief was so great   that she was never seen smiling ever since. But her grief was not   so loud to the extent the Medina people were annoyed as some have claimed. She turned all her love to the Messenger to a feeling of responsibility to the Message he spent his life calling for, and continued her missionary role of guidance and education, especially when she saw that deviation has started to  plague the Islamic reality , after she was denied her right in Fadak and the Imam was denied his right in  caliphate.

Az-Zahra’ voiced her protest to  uphold the right, but she was concerned that   things would not turn into a strife that would benefit those who sought to end Islam, as it was still vulnerable and fragile . She went to her father’s mosque to talk to the Muslims and convince them. And there she gave a speech in which she protested against the reality of Muslims after the death of their Messenger (p.)…And she kept on protesting and engaging in dialogues with the men and women of the city. This protest reached its climax when she asked Imam Ali (a.s.) to bury her secretly, so that her protest would  remain eternal throughout history ; a protest against a wronging that should not be accepted , lest it would become a reality  and a normal development.

Az-Zahra’(a.s.) left this world   with a heart full of pain  over the turn of events she had lived , but she was certain that her lovers will  continue to love the Messenger(p.) the  way she loved him and that this love will drive them to be  faithful to his Message  and ensure  that Islam will remain as pure as the Prophet fought for to be able to give life dignity, freedom and justice.

The Second Sermon

Worshippers of Allah, I advise you and myself with the advice of Az-Zahra’ to her son, Imam Al-Hassan, when he asked her about why she used to never ask for herself in prayer. She said that the neighbor comes before oneself.

This is Az-Zahra’  an endless love for Allah, The Most Exalted, and the people to the extent that she used to care for their affairs  before those  of hers and her family . This is the spirit we should augment in ourselves to express our love and dedication to her  …  And this is the spirit  that builds and strengthens  societies and enables us to face challenges…

We begin by Lebanon, where the price of the Lebanese lira continues to fall, making a catastrophic impact on the Lebanese ability to buy their daily bread, medication,   pay for electric power, transport and heating, as well as the other services they need  and threatening their security and stability .

Despite all this, the government has done nothing to deal with the causes that have led to this collapse , except providing some useless sedatives, although  it has become clear that  it has to deal with its fundamental causes.

These causes include the mismanagement of public money and the decisions of the central bank, speculations, and the presence of apparent and hidden platforms that run the market.

Nevertheless, one should not neglect the huge impact of the political tensions and differences on this collapse turning it into one of the tools of political struggles and one of the means of pressurizing the country whether by domestic or foreign parties.

Despite this catastrophic reality the Lebanese are suffering from, the political parties continue to struggle which has hindered the government, preventing it from playing its role in these difficult circumstances and threatening to reach other state departments and render the country in a state of vacuum.

It is natural that what is happening would be reflected in the “street” and affect the Lebanese internal relations at a time they are in a dire need for unity and cooperation and lead to the loss of their and that of  other outside powers confidence in the country . That is why we say to all who run the country: stop messing with the fate of Lebanon and return to your consciences, for the people will not forgive you for not shouldering your responsibility, if you continue to turn your backs to them.  .

 Thus, we renew our call to the political parties to remove all the obstacles that prevent the government to convene.  We also call on them to communicate as the country’s problems cannot be solved except through dialogue and reaching an agreement on what secures its interests. They should not exchange offensive words that are reflected negatively in the “street” and increase its tension as well as the Lebanese confidence in their country, at a time it is in a dire need for unity and optimism.

On the security level, we would like to warn from the increase of thefts and armed robberies as what happened to certain banks and institutions. In this respect, we would like to appreciate the efforts of the security forces in hunting the perpetrators despite all the economic hardships they suffer from. 

As for the continuing aggressions against Syria that aims to weaken its role and prevent it from restoring stability, we feel that the international, Arab and Islamic silence encourages the enemy to continue and increase its aggressions and allow it to threaten any Arab country when it feels that its interests  demand this.

As for the spread of the Corona, we renew our call to be committed to the precaution measures, so that we can save  lives  of loved ones , at a time the hospitals are almost full and the cost of medication and hospitalization is soaring.