His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Zul Hijja 12, 1444/June 30, 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 

Allah, The Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do. Allah the Most Exalted says the truth.

 

   This Holy Ayat refers to the big reward the believers who do righteous deeds are promised: living a good life in this world as well as being honored in the Hereafter. Today we are going to focus on one of these deeds.  It is one of the most prominent features that distinguish the believer and one which Allah, The Most Exalted, promised the best reward for; The believer’s constant smile at all times, even when his heart is full of sorrow.  

Imam Ali  says: “A believer’s smile is on his face and his sadness is in his heart.” And the Messenger(p.) told us that Allah, The Most Exalted, loves smiling faces. And He pointed out that it is one of the things that will make Paradise incumbent upon Him. There are three things which if a person performs even one, Allah will make Paradise incumbent upon Him: to give charity when one himself is needy, cheerfulness with the whole world, and being just even against one’s self.

 

Imam Ali (a.s.) said: When you meet your brothers, shake hands with them and show them cheerfulness and joy; thus when you part company all your sins will have gone. The Prophet(p.)  even considered the smile as an act of charity that has its consequences and rewards. By doing this, the Messenger (p.) broadened the scope of charity to include any kind of giving and not only money. He said: Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you…”

 

Smiling is also the approach the Messenger (p.)  adopted to meet with his companions and all people, to the extent that it is said that he was never seen not smiling.  He used to smile always even to those who hurt him. It is reported that he was once walking and wearing a Najrani shawl with a rough edge. All of a sudden, a bedouin came up behind him, took hold of the shawl, and pulled it with great force that left a mark on the Prophet’s neck, and said:”Muhammad. Give me some of Allah’s money which is in your possession!”

The Prophet looked at him, smiled and instructed that he be given something.

 

All this is because of the effect of the smile has on life. It is in itself a message of love that opens the hearts of people to one another and helps to defuse anger and tension… It spreads an atmosphere of optimism and joy, decreases the pains of the painful and opens the doors of sustenance to the extent that it was related that if you cannot smile do not open a shop.

 

Yet despite all the teachings that encourage and urge smiling, we find that many believers are too stingy to smile although it costs them practically nothing, an attitude they ought to give up , in obedience of God’s commands and  to secure a place in Heaven.

 

 Dear loved ones: Amid all these tensions and crises we are living in on the economic level and political and security instability, we are in dire need of the humane and altruistic people that spread through their smiles, hope and optimism in life. These are the people that build and grow life and not those who spread depression, anxiety and despair. Husbands and wives, children and parents, employers and employees, teachers and students, doctors and patients and, of course, clerics and those whom they guide should always smile to one another. For when you smile at a loved one he will feel mercy and affection, and if you smile at an enemy he will feel remorseful, and if you smile to whom you do not know you will open his heart,  and if you smile to yourself you will gain more self-confidence … It is a gateway to guidance and a key to hope.

 

Yet, there are some people who are always grim, believing that smiling undermines their awe before others. Those people are disillusioned, for a sincere smile does not contradict seriousness. There is no one more serious, sober and respected than the Messenger(p.), yet he was never seen except smiling. The Hadith that says that the Prophet (p.) commanded us to meet the sinners with stern faces and other similar ones are but the exception. The basic rule for calling for God is opening the people’s hearts with good words and smiles that are blended with love. This is, for example, how Allah, The Most Exalted, describes His Messenger: It was by the mercy of Allah that You were lenient with them (O Muhammad), for if you had been stern and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from round about you.

 

Thus, dear loved ones, we ought not to be seen but smiling, whether in the streets, at work, at home or everywhere, even when we were sad and anxious. The believer believes that the way to God passes through bringing happiness to people whose route begins with a smile. It brings happiness to the hearts of the people. Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘When Allah will raise the believer out of his grave, another presence will also come out with him and walk ahead of him, and whenever the believer will come across one of the terrors of the Day of Resurrection, the presence will console him saying, ‘Do not worry or be saddened…’ and the believer will ask, ‘Who are you?, at which it will reply, ‘I am the happiness that you used to bring upon your fellow believer.   May Allah, the Most Exalted, let us be among those who bring happiness to others. He answers the call of the believers

 

The Second Sermon

Worshippers of Allah, The Most Exalted, I advise you and myself with what the Messenger(p.) advised us in his  farewell sermon:

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again…O people, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived…

O people, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you… All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor does a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety (taqwa) and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves…

Dear loved ones:  By these advice, the Messenger (p.) wished to define to the believers the nature of the relations among them that should dominate their dealing with one another. He warned them not to let strife drive them to kill one another. He stressed that the criterion of precedence in Islam is not wealth or nobility of origin. It is determined by how much one is close to Allah and committed to His commands that the Prophet highlighted in his sermon.   Such commitment would enable us to build a cohesive society that is void of conflicts and feuds and become more capable of facing challenges.

We begin with the image that those who are performing pilgrimage in Mecca convey to us.  It is the image of unity, brotherhood and togetherness of the pilgrims, despite their difference in color, race, language, sect and country. It is an image Allah wants them to carry back to their countries to promote their unity helping and strengthening one another and building a strong society that prevents the callers for strife to break their ranks…

In Lebanon, the last IMF report has warned of the dangerousness of the continuity of the present situation and called for speeding up the execution of the necessary reforms to revive the economy …

Although the report does not add anything new to what we already know about the collapse of the economy and the general situation of the country to the extent that the government can no longer pay the wages of its employees, the army and security forces, it presents an additional witness that testifies for the carelessness of the political class. It would treat the report with the same indifference it dealt with the previous ones, especially the forensic audit which although was completed and paid for did not drive the government either to publish it or to charge those responsible.

Moreover, all this deterioration at all levels did not call on this class to hasten to perform its duty of electing a president to fill the vacuum which will extend to the governorate of the Central bank and the commander of the army…

 It is irresponsible that these political forces do not take the initiative to meet and fill the vacuum as soon as possible. They only talk about a dialogue whose basic points and  participants are not defined yet. They might be waiting for a solution that comes from abroad which might not come or it might not come fast, for Lebanon might not be on its priorities and the solution may not be in the interest of the Lebanese…

We would also like to comment on the dangerous incident that took place in Sweden that offended one of the most sacred symbols of Muslims: The Glorious Quran. What made things worse is the way this event was celebrated and covered by the media, and supported by a judicial ruling, without taking into consideration its provocation to  the feelings of Muslims in the world on the one side and spreading hatred and enmity to this country instead of the logic of mutual respect and dialogue we call for on the other side.

While we believe that no criterion can justify this action, since provoking the feelings of others and offending their sacred symbols cannot be considered an act of freedom, we call on Muslims not to fall into the trap of violent anger and reactions that hurt the image of Islam and Muslims and enhance the racial and extremist trends that wish to kick them  out of these countries. 

Lastly,  on the eve of the 13^th  anniversary of the demise of the Sayyed (ra)  who filled our hearts with love and mercy and enhanced our belief and openness … who was our teacher, guide and the one who planted in us awareness and the language of dialogue instead of fanaticism, who stood firmly against occupation, arrogance, deprivation,  injustice, ignorance and myth, we believe that as a gesture of faithfulness to him and his course we should attend the memorial that will observe this occasion…