His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Rabi II 26, 1445 /November 10, 2023. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries, and hundreds of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. Following is a summary of the sermons.

 

                        The first sermon

The Virtue of Endurance

Allah, The Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book:

 “O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful.” Allah, the Most Exalted, speaks the truth.

 

This Ayat was revealed to call believers to embrace the virtue of patience (endurance). It considers patience as a sign of faith and an expression of it. Without patience, faith cannot truly be realized. Faith comes through patience in obedience, patience in avoiding sin, patience in facing trials, and patience in confronting challenges.

 

In this context, Prophet Muhammad (p.) was asked about faith, and he replied, “Patience.” Imam Ali (a.s.) emphasized the importance of patience, stating that patience in matters is like the head to the body. When patience is lost, the structure collapses. He also said, “O people adhere to patience, for there is no religion for one without patience.”

 

If we examine the history of prophets and messengers, we find that their path to achieving their goals and conveying their messages to the people was paved with patience. Through their patience, they faced pressures and wars, yet they did not weaken or yield.

 

Allah pointed to the significance of patience, stating, “How many a prophet fought with whom were many devoted followers. So they never lost heart due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast…

 

However, as we discuss patience, it is crucial to clarify this concept, which may be misunderstood by many. Some wrongly perceive it as submission and acceptance of the status quo, even if it is unjust and oppressive. Those who submit often justify their passivity with phrases like “If it is not what you want, accept what is,” or “This is our fate”… All these sayings are not related to the concept of patience or its purpose. In the logic of God, patience means keeping your mind with you and not losing your faith when facing challenges, pressures, emotions, or reactions. Your fear, emotions, instincts, desires, and psychological or material pressures should not overpower you. Instead, you should approach them with studying, planning, and awareness, and move forward with perseverance, steadfastness, and challenge. That is why patience is always associated with action, perseverance, and steadfastness, as indicated in the Quranic verses and hadiths.

 

God says: “And those who are patient, seeking the countenance of their Lord, and establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them secretly and publicly, and prevent evil with good – those will have the good consequence of [this] home. And: “O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful.”

 

This is echoed by Luqman advising his son: “O my son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, [all] that is of the matters [requiring] determination.“

Therefore, Allah condemns those who endure injustice without taking action or fleeing to lands where they can enjoy security and justice. He says: “Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves – [the angels] will say, ‘In what [condition] were you?’ They will say, ‘We were oppressed in the land.’ The angels will say, ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?’ For those, their refuge is Hell – and evil it is as a destination.”

 

Dear loved ones, what we are experiencing in our reality is the weakness that needs to be alleviated. It is evident in our fast-paced lives influenced by the communication and information revolution, where our patience is depleted. We no longer have patience for our desires, lusts, interests, or when facing challenges. We want things to happen quickly or we are not satisfied, as seen in the financial aspects of marital life.

 

The husband no longer tolerates the wife, and the wife no longer tolerates the husband. A single word from the wife makes the husband rush towards divorce, disregarding the destruction of the family or depriving the mother of her children…

 

This phenomenon extends to our social relationships, where people no longer endure offenses or mistakes, leading to tensions and undesirable outcomes. Even in our call to God, we lack patience for the actions or harsh reactions of those whom we call quickly passing judgment on them. We settle for informing and warning them rather than making efforts and dedicating ourselves to conveying the message.

 

Dear loved ones, attaining the value of patience requires effort with ourselves, training ourselves not to obtain everything we desire, and resisting the temptations that lead us towards risks. We must be aware that demands are not fulfilled through wishes but through effort and sacrifices.

 

 

The challenges we face call us to patience. We should not weaken or be defeated by them but rather endure and seek patience. A society that lacks patience and does not strive for it is a society that loses in the calculations of God: “By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” It is a society that can be easily controlled by others by pressuring its security, needs, and desires, and it will not achieve victories or bid farewell to defeats unless it exercises patience. Let us exercise patience, and our patience is only by the will of God…

 

True patience, in the logic of Allah, means maintaining your intellect and not losing your faith when facing challenges, pressures, emotions, or reactions. Fear, impulses, desires, and psychological or material pressures should not take control. Instead, there should be a conscious, planned, and aware effort to respond to challenges. Thus, patience is always associated with action, perseverance, and resilience.

 

Allah says, “And those who are patient, seeking the countenance of their Lord, and establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them secretly and publicly and prevent evil with good – those will have the good consequence of [this] home.”

 

In conclusion, let us understand that patience, in the eyes of Allah, means maintaining your intellect, holding onto your faith, and not letting fear, impulses, desires, or pressures dominate you. It involves a conscious effort, planning, and awareness to respond to challenges. May Allah grant us the strength to be patient, to endure, and to remain steadfast in our faith. May He guide us to the path of those who are patient and grant us success in this life and the hereafter.

 

 

 

 

The second sermon

 

Worshippers of Allah, The Most Exalted: I advise you and myself with what the Messenger of Allah (p.) advised, that man who came to him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, advise me.” He replied, “When you decide on a matter, consider its consequences. If it is right, then proceed, and if it is wrong, then refrain.”

 

Dear loved ones, we are in dire need of this advice before uttering any word, making any decision, taking any stance against an individual, group, or entering into peace or war. We must consider the repercussions on the social and personal levels, as well as the consequences in the hereafter. When we do this, we will act with greater wisdom, awareness, and responsibility to confront the challenges.

 

The starting point is Palestine, where the Zionist enemy continues to commit massacres and atrocities against innocent civilians in Gaza, targeting residential buildings, vital facilities, and even hospitals. The blockade imposed on Gaza deprives its people of crucial necessities like bread, water, medicine, and fuel. The enemy persists with brutal transgressions, and a harsh campaign of arrests in the West Bank, thinking that it can regain its lost dominance and deterrence it is losing every day as a result of the strikes from the Palestinian resistance.

 

Despite the condemnation of these crimes in most of the states in the world, the enemy remains indifferent to the voices rising from various countries condemning its actions against the Palestinian people; it continues to disregard the calls to stop the bloodshed that is claiming the lives of women, elders, and children.

 

In the face of these tragedies and aggressions, some continue to resist and confront the enemy, displaying heroism and courage despite the vast disparity in resources.

In the face of what is happening, we once again salute the resilience, steadfastness, patience, and readiness of Palestinian people to make the ultimate sacrifices in order to live freely in their homeland.

We also renew our call to stand with the Palestinian nation and their cause in these challenging times, driven by humanitarian, national, and Islamic duties. We should support them through all means and methods.

 In this stage, we see that remaining silent about everything that has happened and is happening is a condemned complicity, both before God, Who rejects silence in the face of its persistence by the aggressors, and those who stand with and behind them in their aggression and tyranny, knowing that one will not be immune from it in the future.

Therefore, we call on the Arab and Islamic countries that will meet in the Arab League or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to have a unified, decisive, and coherent stance in condemning the atrocities against the Arab and Muslim Palestinian people. They should use all available means to prevent this enemy from continuing its criminal practices against these people, taking practical and deterrent measures to stop the shedding of Arab and Muslim blood. We believe that these countries are capable of playing this role if they liberate their will, unite their efforts, and decide to emerge from their weakness and defeat in the face of this enemy and those behind it, taking into account the pulse of their own people.

 

Returning to Lebanon, it continues to stand at the forefront of supporting the Palestinian people, making significant sacrifices in terms of the blood of its sons, their possessions, and resources, and being ready to bear the burdens of this. We witness the daily continuation of the Zionist enemy’s repeated aggressions on Lebanese villages, targeting residential areas, crops, and civilians. This has escalated to the killing of innocent children and women. We condemn the deliberate targeting of a civilian car that resulted in the death of three young girls and their grandmother and the injury of their mother. The enemy intended to instill fear and terror in the hearts of the Lebanese people, attempting to create divisions between them and the Resistance.

 

In the face of what has happened, we condemn this brutal aggression, and while we salute the steadfastness of our people in our beloved South, we extend our condolences to the father of this noble family, the patient, and wounded mother, and all the Resistance fighters who sacrifice blood and make efforts to preserve this land, the dignity of this homeland, and to support the oppressed Palestinian people. We say to the enemy, which seeks to intimidate the Lebanese people and discourage them from standing against its arrogance and aggression: what has happened will only yield more determination from this people and their brave Resistance to confront this entity and prevent it from tampering with the land that we are committed to preserving, keeping it  free, and honorable.

 

The current situation calls for freezing all personal disputes, special accounts, and factional interests, whether through statements and positions in the media or on social media. This is in consideration of a country that we fear might crumble and collapse in the face of the continued Zionist aggression and the worsening livelihood and life crises day by day.