The first sermon

Allah, The Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: Today I have perfected your religion and completed my bounty upon you, and I was satisfied that Islam be your religion.”(5:03). “Allah, The Most Exalted, speaks the truth.  

On the 18^th of Zil Hijja , we meet with an event that constituted a turning point in  Islamic history .

It is the Ghadir Day , which we recall  in these difficult circumstances to learn some of its lessons .On this day , and  when the Prophet was on his way back from Mecca where he performed the duties of Hajj,  and in a place called Ghadir Khum, Jibril  descended to tell Muhammad(p.) :O Apostle Deliver what has been sent to you from your Lord, and if you do not you have not delivered his Message and Allah will protect you from the people.

The Messenger (p.) stood at high noon, in the heat of the desert, and called on the Muslims to gather and listen to him before they head to their homes having finished the rituals of pilgrimage. He then raised Ali’s hand and said: Do I not have more right over the believers than what they have over themselves?” People cried and answered “Yes, O’ Messenger of God.” Then the Prophet (p.) held up the hand of Ali and said: “Whoever I am his leader (Mawla), Ali is his leader (Mawla). O’ God love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him…”. Immediately after the Prophet(p.) finished his speech, the following verse of  the Holy Quran was revealed: “Today I have perfected your religion and completed my bounty upon you, and I was satisfied that Islam be your religion.”(5:03. This  means that the religion would not have been completed nor would Allah, The Most Exalted’s, bounty have   been bestowed unless the Caliphate was not assigned to Imam Ali (a.s.) since he was the only one qualified to protect Islam, which was still new and not strong enough, from  the internal and external challenges .

And this is what happened, when the Messenger(p.) departed. The Muslims disputed over the caliphate even before he (p.) was buried. This conflict could have turned into a strife that could have undermined all the achievements were it not for Imam Ali (a.s.) .

The Imam, who was concerned with the survival and strength of Islam and the unity of Muslims, acted quickly to put an end to the strife on the basis of “I will keep the peace as long as the affairs of Muslims are secured, and the only harm was imposed on me in particular.”

As a caliph, the Imam presented a role model of an Islamic  ruler who is entrusted with the Muslims’ wealth and resources. He demonstrated this position when he was told: “Organize your affairs in accordance with how you can benefit yourself and your own interests from the positions of power and the chiefs of tribes… Give so-and-so a certain position and money from the Treasury of Muslims, even if he was not entitled to it. To this, the Imam (a.s.) replied: “You are asking me to seek victory by being unjust in what I am entrusted with… I would not have done it if the money were mine, let alone if it is Allah’s money!!!”  . He also maintained the same position when his elder brother ,Aqil, askedhim  to lend him money from the government treasury to pay his debts, but Imam Ali (a) refused to do so.  Imam Ali (a.s.) heated a rod of iron and drew it near his brother. Aqil who was blind, touched the cauterizing-iron , 

And  protested angrily when he felt the heat, The  Imam replied by stating: “You are not able to endure the heat of this piece of iron, so how can I tolerate the burning fire of Hell which is the consequence of violating people’s right? And when he knew that one of his governors had dealt with the public money unrightfully, he sent a letter to him warning him of the consequences of his deeds and ordering him to return to the people their money, adding that if he does not, he will hit him with his sword  which all who were hit with went to hell.  Furthermore, the Imam knew how to buy people and earn their loyalty by giving them money or appointing them in high posts, but he refused to compromise his principles to the extent that he said: “the right did not leave me any friends”.

Dear loved ones: We are in a dire need, in these circumstances of corruption and waste,  by those  in the top  and even middle posts in the government, to the  doctrine of Ali (a.s.) who believed that any mistrust of public money is an act of treason and an unforgivable crime. The public money is the money of the people and they are only ones who have the right to hold those who steal it into account. We also have to be aware that Allah, The Most Exalted, will also hold them accountable on the Day of Judgment; the day when no political or sectarian cover will benefit those thieves.

Dear loved ones: being loyal to Ali (a.s.) is adopting his principles, morals, jihad, and sacrifices: Realize that your Imam has contented himself with two shabby pieces of cloth out of the (comforts of the) world and two loaves for his meal. Certainly, you cannot do so but at least support me in piety, exertion, chastity and uprightness

The second sermon

Worshippers of Allah, The Most Exalted: I advise you and myself, with what Imam Ali (a.s.) advised his Shia (followers), when He said: Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to strive. Exert your effort, equip yourself, get ready and provide yourself from the place of provision. And let not the life of this world deceive you as it deceived those before you from among the past generations and by-gone periods – those who extracted its milk, benefited from its neglectfulness, passed a long time and turned its new things into old (by living long). Their abodes  turned into graves and their wealth into inheritable estate. They do not know who came to them (at their graves). They do not pay heed to those who weep over them nor respond to those who call upon them. Therefore, beware of this world, for it is treacherous, deceitful and cheating. It gives and takes back, covers with clothes and uncovers. Its pleasure does not last, its hardship does not end and its calamity does not terminate.

Dear loved ones: this is The Imam’s will to us. We have to consider this world  as a place of hard work where we equip and provide ourselves with the provisions we need for the day we stand before God Who will hold us accountable for our deeds .We should not be deceived by the pleasures of this world in a way that it would become our goal, for it will not last . If we become aware of this, we will be more conscious and more capable of facing challenges.

We begin with the catastrophe of the enormous explosion in the harbor where scores of people were killed or missing and thousands were wounded. It also left a horrific destruction in the port and in the city in general whether in the residential and commercial buildings or public offices, hospitals, universities… etc. It also had a great effect on the social, political, psychological and economic levels in this country.

Faced by this horrible and painful scene, we offer our condolences to the families of those who lost their life and a speedy recovery to the wounded. We call upon all Lebanese who were united by the suffering for solidarity, compassion, and cooperation in this stage. We also have to highly appreciate all the initiatives from various parts of the country to help those who lost their homes or shops and properties, despite the tough conditions they are living in. This shows how deep the relations are among the Lebanese.

We would like these efforts to continue. We also thank all the countries that provided aid, although it did not reach yet the level of the catastrophe estimated in billions of dollars.

In this respect, we call on the government to be at the level of responsibility in working quickly to remove the consequences of the catastrophe, and compensate those who lost their homes and means of living.

At the same time, we call for speeding up the investigation to let the Lebanese know what actually happened and to punish those responsible regardless of their political positions and sectarian covers.  

 The government is engaged in a test whose consequences will be very grave if it ignored  or failed  to punish the criminals , for it will provide  more opportunities and justifications  to all who wish to claim that it is a failed state that is unable to secure security and stability for the Lebanese ;thus giving  justifications for an international guardianship  that will undermine the sovereignty and independence of this country .

In this respect, we appreciate the steps that were taken by the judiciary which need to be completed and not stop at a certain limit. We also emphasize the need to give the judiciary all the independence it needs whether in this case or in all cases, so that conditions of a just punishment would be provided. We would thus be able to heal some of the wounds that this catastrophe has inflicted, even if only partly, and pave the way for the desired reform and fight corruption.

In this respect, it was shameful that all the responsibles in this country would be scolded  by  a head of state of a foreign country regarding the aggravation of the corruption and not shouldering their responsibility towards the people that put them in their positions .

Nevertheless, this  catastrophe did not drive the Lebanese to despair, despite all what they are suffering from whether on the economic level or the social one , and which we want to deepen their feeling of responsibility to strive to end this miserable reality .  The desired change will not be carried out by the hands of others, but rather by the hands of the people who should turn their pains and wounds into an incentive to seek a better future.

 Lastly, we have to remind the Lebanese that they have to be vigilant and commit themselves to all the precaution and protection measures, after the increase in the number of those infected by the coronavirus, especially after the destruction of some hospitals and the  medication warehouses.