His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Zul-Hijja 2, 1443H. – July 1, 2022. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. Following is the edited text of the two sermons:
The first sermon
Allah, The Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book
Indeed, Ibrahim was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allah, The Most Exalted. [He was] grateful for His favors. Allah chose him and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him good in this world, and indeed, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. Allah, The Most Exalted, speaks the Truth.
We entered a few days ago the great month of Zul-Hijja whose name in Arabic refers to Hajj (pilgrimage), one of the most important religious duties that Allah, The Most Exalted, ordained: And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find thereto a way.
So important is this duty that God described those who do not perform it, when they are able to, as disbelievers: But whoever disbelieves – then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
Praise be to Allah, The Most Exalted, as we began to witness, after the corona wave abated, the return of those who are able to perform this duty in huge numbers… We pray to God to enable them to complete their pilgrimage and accept their deeds so that they will earn their blessings in addition to several benefits.
As for those of us who were not successful in sharing the pilgrims these blessings, we ought to interact with them as they perform their rites to be inspired by all the spiritual flaws they experience.
In this blessed atmosphere, we would like to recall some of what happened to one of the prophets whose name was associated with the duty of Hajj. He is Prophet Ibrahim whom Allah, The Most Exalted, has bestowed on him the great honor of being His Friend And Allah took Ibrahim as an intimate friend, and commissioned him to raise the foundations of the House. And [mention] when Ibrahim was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], “Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed, you are the Hearing, the Knowing. Then after he finished its construction, people started to come to Mecca to perform this duty until the Day of Judgment. Call ˹all˺ people to the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel from every distant path so they may obtain the benefits and pronounce the Name of Allah on appointed days.
Since we cannot possibly talk about all the traits of this great prophet in one speech, we are going to point out to one of his virtues.
It has been narrated that when he was in Palestine, God commanded him to go to Mecca with his wife, Hagar, and his son, Ismail , who was still an infant at that time. Ibrahim did not hesitate, although Mecca at that time was a barren land with no water, plants, and even people. When he reached Mecca, he erected a tent, secured some food and water, and told his wife that he was going to leave… It was natural for his wife to plead to him not to leave her alone in this barren land. He told her that if it were his decision he would not leave her, but it was Allah’s and He would provide for them. Hearing this, Hajar calmed down and felt assured, and said: if it is God’s command, He will not leave us. Ibrahim bid them farewell and left. When he reached a place he could not see them anymore, he prayed to God saying: Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.
Days passed by and soon Hagar found herself with no food or water for her and her child. She went outside searching for food and water. She saw at a distance at a place called Assafa something shining; she thought it was water. She ran towards it only to find out that it was a mirage. Then again, she saw at a place called Marwa something that was shining and once again, she ran to it, but it was only a mirage. She kept running between the two places, until she made seven rounds. When she finished the seventh round, she heard a sound coming from where she left her son. She hurried back to him to see some water flowing at his feet…
The Jurhum tribe, who lived at the mount of Arafat, noticed that birds were going down at that place, signaling that there was water there. When they got there, they found a spring of pure and cold water flowing. They drank from the spring and asked lady Hajar for permission to live there and she accepted. .. When Ibrahim came back soon afterwards, he found that his wife and child enjoyed, with God’s grace, food, water and security. He thanked his Lord for what He has bestowed on them.
Dear loved ones: this incident showed how much Ibrahim follows God’s commands, even if it meant leaving his beloved wife and child in that barren dessert. His trust in Allah, The Most Exalted, was so great that he did not even ask about what was to become of them. He then left to a far place, Palestine, without any means of communication to learn about them. His wife, too, manifested the same commitment, presenting a role model for all women.
Allah immortalized this incident, when he made the Sai’i between Safa and Marwa a part of the rites of Hajj and perpetuated the flow of the spring of Zamzam until the end of time. By this, God wanted to establish to all pilgrims, and all people, a rule that they should follow in their lives: They should trust in God, follow His commands, and accept what happens to them, for He will not let them alone and would always be there to help and support them.
May Allah, The Most Exalted, make us among those pious people and grant us success to follow His commands, accept His will and put our trust in Him.
The second sermon

Worshippers of Allah, The Most Exalted, I advise you and myself with the advice of the Messenger (p.) who said: “There are no days during which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days,” meaning the (first) ten days of Dhul- Hijjah. Let us fill these days with our prayers , supplication and other rites, so that we would receive His blessings and strengthen our relations with Him , for He ,alone, can change our circumstances, and relief our crises , so that we would become stronger and more capable of facing challenges:
We begin by the tough and tragic economic conditions, which overburden the Lebanese who can no longer afford to buy their food, fuel, power and medication…
This huge suffering had an impact on their psychological condition, with according to international reports 49 % of the Lebanese suffering from severe anger, and we all know its consequences on their wellbeing, their work, their social relations and their families…
We actually do not need these reports to know that. It is enough to witness the daily quarrels and disputes in houses, streets and public and private places. It even extends to those in charge whom we witness their fights on Televised interviews, statements and even decisions. Thus, we call for dealing with this phenomenon on the religious, educational, and psychological levels, especially the causes that led to it.
Based on this, we move to the governmental reality, to emphasize the need to speed up its formation to treat the crises the country and the citizens suffer from, or at least ease their effects. Its formation should not be hindered by the boycott of certain political parties or by conditions and counter conditions…
The country’s crises cannot be resolved by a care taking government. They need a fully active government that enjoys consensual support to be able to confront the economic, financial, security and reform challenges…

All political parties should shoulder their responsibilities, since it is not a time of scoring points and exchanging accusations in a country that is crumbling and collapsing. It is the time to save the collapsing country and the citizens who consider fleeing it as one of their priorities..
On the regional and international levels, we witness a growing tension in the world as the result of the war in Ukraine and its repercussions on world peace and food supplies. In this respect, we renew our call to the Arab and Islamic worlds to unify their ranks in the face of these repercussions, so as not to become a fuel or a milking cow for the foreign powers engaged in this war.
In this respect, we welcome and praise any initiative to bridge the relations between their countries. But at the same time, we warn against the consequences of providing a security umbrella to the Zionist enemy that might strengthen its position and role in the region or encourage it to continue to liquidate the Palestinian cause or flare up the conflicts in our region, leading to its weakening and dependency.