The first Sermon

 Allah says in His Glorious Book: when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah]. Allah, the Most Exalted, speaks the truth.

We celebrate on the 25^th of December, as in every year, the anniversary of the blessed birth of Jesus Christ. This prophet whose name is associated with love, forgiveness and blessings to all people, endowing him with a special place among the people as well as Allah. He is, as the Ayat says: distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah] …

Today, we are going to benefit from the occasion to highlight Cheist’ miraculous birth, in addition to the role he played and the challenges he faced: And mention, in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east.

And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen.

She chose Jerusalem as a place for worshipping away from the people. Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man.

He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy.  Astonished “She said, “How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste? He said, “Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.  Allah did not want this boy to be a normal boy like all others. He wanted his birth to demonstrate Allah’s ability and will and  underscore the fact that Jesus will be sent as a mercy and guidance to the people: and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.’   Then Mary was pregnant for a few hours or some days or even months, according to the different stories  

And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. Although this was not surprising, she felt that she was about to face a very difficult ordeal:How was she to give birth all alone with no food or water. And what was she going to say to the people she would meet when they ask her about how she got this baby as she was known for her chastity. Then the answer came quickly from the angel Allah sent to be with her  in these difficult times

But he called her from below her, “Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates.

So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, ‘Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.’  And this is what she did, when she carried her baby and the people said to her:

O sister of Aaron, (in purity) your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste. She did not say anything , but pointed to the baby 

So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?” At this point, Allah gave Jesus the power to talk  to defend his mother and to tell them about his mission:

 [Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.

And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive

And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.

And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.”

That is Jesus, the son of Mary – the word of truth about which they are in dispute.

It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is.

This is the Islamic view of Christ: He is one of Allah’s great prophets, who was sent to follow the course of those before him and prepare for who comes after him. He pointed out to this role when he said: O children of Israel! I am truly Allah’s messenger to you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and giving good news of a messenger after me whose name will be Aḥmad. And that he was not killed and crucified: But they did not slay him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them (a likeness of that).

This view is different than the Christian one that holds that he is the son of Allah who was crucified…. But this difference did not lead to a rift between the followers of both religions and this appeared in many instances:

  The first: The Messenger received the Christians of Najran in his mosque, although they were carrying crosses ans allowed them to pray in it.

The second: in his letter to the bishop of Najran the Prophet promised that the their churches and monasteries would be safe and that their freedom of worship would be respected… .

The third: When The Byzantines were defeated by the Persians, the Muslims were saddened but the Holy Quran gave them the glad tidings that they will soon be victorious:

Alif, Lam, Meem.

The Byzantines have been defeated

In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome.

Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice.

These stances are not confined to history; they will also extend to the present and the future.

Dear loved ones: We would like this occasion that unites both Muslims and Christians to boost their relations and drive them to join hands to enhance faith in this world and the values of love, mercy, justice and respect of man’s dignity, which Christ called for and Muhammad enhanced and completed

The second sermon

Worshippers of Allah, The Most Exalted, I advise you and myself, with what Christ advised his disciples when he said to them that the fire erupts in one house and moves from one house to another until many houses are burned, because the first house was not completely demolished so that the fire will not find anything to burn. He added that this is the same with tyrants. If the first tyrant was not dully punished, he will be followed by other tyrants.

Christ wanted the society to confront the tyrants and the corrupt, so that their wronging and injustice would not spread.  If we face corruption and wrong doing we will be stronger and more capable of facing challenges.

 We begin by Lebanon which is about to end a year which was the toughest, whether as a result to the corona pandemic or the economic and financial crises.

Although there are certain signs that the pandemic is going to subside as we are promised that the vaccine would reach us soon, this does not seem to be true with respect to the economic and living conditions . On the contrary, they are expected to get worse with the beginning of the new year. The formation of the government that could rid the country from these crises continues to to get more complicated as the struggle between the political parties on who controls the government aggravates for internal and external calculations. Faced by this reality, we say for, the thousandth time, that these parties should shoulder their responsibilities towards a collapsing country and a citizen who is waiting for any chance to immigrate, and speed up the formation of a government which is awaited by the Lebanese and the world to help Lebanon and protect it from the regional and international repercussions.  The political class ought to stop tampering with fate of this country and its citizens.

Although every political party is entitled to engage in the political struggle within the framework of their vying to assume power, this is justified when the circumstances are normal and the country can tolerate it. But not when it is collapsing and needs the joint effort of all parties to save it.

It is regretful that there some powers in the world are concerned for Lebanon while the Lebanese political class is overwhelmed by the illusions of its interests, which will not last.

We reassert, yet again, that the Lebanese will not wait for long, and no one should bet on their patience or on the sweet promises to the citizens or intimidating them.

In a related development, we would like to comment on the law the Parliament passed to lift banking secrecy for one year, to reemphasize the importance of this law since it would open the doors for the forensic investigation, although we had hoped that it would not have been limiter for one year, as it is not enough to conclude the investigations that would let the Lebanese know where the money and savings have gone.

On the security level, we are afraid that thing swill no longer be under control, with spread of killing, kidnapping and armed robbery and other crimes, which calls on the security forces and all those concerned to make all efforts to prevent such phenomena and protect stability and civil peace.

As for the corona, which the increase in the number of those infected by, is unprecedented, we call yet again, to more awareness in abiding by all protection measures and keeping away from all social occasions and even religious ones that might lead to getting infected or spreading the virus.

 Dear Lebanese: the decision is yours. So be trustworthy upon yourselves and others. Lastly, as we wish all Lebanese a merry Christmas, we would like it to be an occasion to enhance the spirit of meeting on the values of love and mercy that Jesus Christ embodies among them away from any sectarian and political fanaticism.