His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, , Sha’ban 28, 1446H/ February 28, 2025. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and hundreds of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. Following is summary  of his sermons

Welcoming  the Month of Ramadan

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

The month of Ramadan [is that] in which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So, whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you, so that you will be grateful.” [Al-Baqarah: 185]

It is one of the blessings of Allah upon us — a blessing that deserves our praise and gratitude — that He has allowed us to reach the month of Ramadan, which we will, God willing, begin tomorrow. This month is filled with goodness, blessings, and generous gifts from Allah, gifts He bestows upon His servants during this blessed month. The Prophet (p.) pointed to these blessings when he said:

“O people! The month of Allah has come to you with blessings, mercy, and forgiveness. It is the best of months in the sight of Allah. Its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, and its hours are the best of hours. It is a month in which you have been invited to the hospitality of Allah, and you have been made among those honored by Allah. Your breaths in it are glorification, your sleep in it is worship, your deeds are accepted, and your supplications are answered.

It is also a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its end is freedom from the Fire.

This, dear brothers and sisters, calls us to enter this month with joy, happiness, and anticipation. At the same time, we should see it as one of the most significant spiritual opportunities, where we can nourish our souls with its spiritual and faith-filled atmosphere, building ourselves in the way Allah wants us to carry ourselves throughout all stages of life

Our responsibilities during this month should not be limited to fasting from food, drink, and other things that break fast — even though observing the fast is an essential duty, a shield from Hellfire, and a chance for big rewards, being rewarded by Allah, the Most Exalted,  , as highlighted in the divine Hadith:

“Fasting is for Me, and I shall reward for it.”

Rather, our responsibilities extend far beyond. The Prophet (p.) emphasized these responsibilities in his sermon delivered on the last Friday of Sha’ban. He said:

“Ask Allah, your Lord, with sincere intentions and pure hearts to grant you success in fasting and in the recitation of His Book. For indeed, the wretched one is he who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month.”

He added:

“Remember with your hunger and thirst in this month the hunger and thirst of the Day of Judgment. Give charity to your poor and needy. Honor your elders, have mercy on your young, and maintain ties with your relatives. Guard your tongues, lower your gaze from what is not permissible to look at, and close your ears to what is not permissible to hear. Be kind to the orphans of others so that your orphans will be treated kindly. Repent to Allah from your sins. Raise your hands in supplication at the times of your prayers, for they are the best of times, in which Allah looks at His servants with mercy, answers them when they call upon Him, responds to them when they ask of Him, and grants them when they supplicate.”

Therefore, according to Muhammad (p.), this month is a time for fasting, prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, supplication, repentance, remembering the Day of Judgment, giving charity to the poor and needy, engaging in acts of goodness, showing compassion to orphans, maintaining family ties, exercising control over the tongue, ears, and eyes, improving our character, and treating the weak with kindness.

The Prophet (p.) also highlighted the extent of divine generosity and that reward those who fulfill their responsibilities will receive. During this month, their good deeds are multiplied many times over, and they are granted freedom from the Fire …

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, before we enter this month, each of us is invited to prepare a plan — for ourselves and our families — to fill the nights, days, and pre-dawn hours with spiritual and faith-filled experiences. Through this, we can attain the great rewards that Allah, the Most Exalted,  has prepared for us in this month …

The best acts to perform in this month are to devote ourselves to reciting the Holy Qur’an— the book that God revealed as guidance, healing, mercy, and a reminder for the believers. As the Commander of the Faithful said:

“Learn the Qur’an, for it is the best of speech. Study it, for it is the spring of hearts. Seek healing with its light, for it is a cure for the hearts.”..

Reciting the Qur’an has a special significance during this month, as it was in this month that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (p.) while he was worshipping in the cave of Hira. It was narrated:

“Whoever recites a single verse of the Qur’an in this month will receive the reward of completing the entire Qur’an in any other month.”

The Hadith also says:

“Everything has a spring, and the spring of the Qur’an is the month of Ramadan.”

Let us set a personal plan for the month to focus on recitation, memorization, and reflection on the meanings of the Qur’an.

If we dedicate ourselves to this, we will not allow anyone to drag us into programs designed to entertain fasting people under the pretext of rest and relaxation. These include moving from one TV series to another, or from one entertainment program to the next, or even invented programs — some of which may even harm our spiritual and moral immunity, or lead us into sinful behavior.

Another important point to mention at the beginning of this month is that Ramadan is not a month for excessive eating and drinking, nor is it a month of wastefulness. We should ensure that Ramadan does not become associated with these habits. It should be a month of balance, following the divine command:

{Eat and drink, but do not be wasteful. Indeed, He does not love the wasteful.} (Qur’an 7:31)…

Dear loved ones,

The days, nights, hours, minutes, and even seconds of this month are precious and valuable, so let us not allow them to be wasted or slip away. Let us not squander its nights, days, or blessed early mornings. Instead, let us fill them with worship, supplication, remembrance of God, and acts of kindness towards our relatives, the needy, and those around us. Let us also fill them with forgiveness, love, and affection that flows from our hearts and shines upon our faces.

Blessed are the fasting ones, the ones who stand in prayer, the ones who seek forgiveness in the early mornings, the ones who recite the Book of God, and the ones who spread goodness through their words, their hearts, and through everything their hands do…

O Allah, bring it upon us with security and faith, with peace and Islam, with complete well-being, abundant provision, the removal of illnesses, the recitation of the Qur’an, and assistance in prayer and fasting. O Allah, deliver us to the month of Ramadan, and deliver Ramadan to us, and accept it from us, until the month of Ramadan concludes and You have forgiven us.

The Second Sermon

Worshippers of God, I advise myself and you with the same advice given by Imam Al-Rida (a.s.) to one of his companions on the last Friday of Sha’ban, when he said:
“Most of Sha’ban has passed, and this is its last Friday. So, make up for what you missed in its remaining days. Focus on what concerns you. Increase your supplication, seeking forgiveness, and recitation of the Qur’an. Repent to God from your sins so that the month of God arrives while you are sincere to Him. Do not leave any trust unfulfilled, or any grudge in your heart against a believer except that you remove it, or any sin you are committing except that you abandon it… And frequently say in what remains of this month: ‘O Allah, if You have not forgiven us in what has passed of Sha’ban, then forgive us in what remains of it.’”

Let us take the initiative, dear loved ones, to fulfill all that the Imam advised us with — so that we may enter the Month of God with pure, clean, sincere hearts, free of grudges and envy. Such things become barriers between us and God. By doing so, we will fully receive the blessings and abundant gifts of this month, and we will be more aware, responsible, and capable of facing challenges.

Turning to the Lebanese government, which has gained the confidence of Parliament, this places it before the challenge of fulfilling the promises made to the Lebanese people — to build a strong state free of waste and corruption, to lift the population from their economic crises, restore depositors’ funds, and work seriously to pressure the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement to ensure the withdrawal of the Zionist enemy from the occupied territories. The enemy’s Defense Minister has openly declared his intent to remain in these areas, with American approval. The government must also pursue the reconstruction of what was destroyed, especially given the enemy’s attempts to condition reconstruction on political and security concessions that undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and interests.

We reaffirm what we said last week — that the government’s parliamentary confidence means little without the confidence of the Lebanese people themselves, who need to see it as representing their hopes and aspirations. Only then will trust in the state be restored — a trust long lost, leading many Lebanese to flee abroad in search of dignity and livelihood.

We do not expect miracles from the government, but we do expect it to exert all efforts to fulfill its role and provide a model of efficient governance. This is possible if the government acts as a cohesive team, focused solely on the nation’s interests, away from sectarian quotas that have long burdened the country.

We call on all political forces to support the government, enabling it to succeed without blackmail or seeking personal gains. Nor should the opposition resort to obstruction and sabotage, but rather constructive criticism and guidance.

We return to the Israeli aggression of recent days. This must be at the top of the priorities for the new government. The Zionist enemy continues violating the signed agreement, occupying areas and carrying out daily airstrikes in the Bekaa and the South, killing numerous martyrs. It even violated funerals with aerial surveillance and threats. This demands a state of emergency, with official protests in international institutions and pressure on the agreement’s sponsors — a reflection of the resilient voices of the people, who refuse humiliation despite their wounds.

It is disappointing that some of the official political class remains silent, ignoring violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the spilling of innocent blood.

We also highlight Israel’s expansion into Syria, occupying  a land larger than Lebanon. This fragmentation threatens all neighboring states. We urge the Syrian authorities and Arab nations to prioritize this danger at the upcoming Arab Summit.

Finally, tomorrow marks the beginning of Ramadan. May it be a month of mercy, love, and spiritual renewal for Lebanon, Arabs, Muslims, and all humanity.