AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Delivering the Friday sermon at Jamia-tul-Muntazar in Lahore’s Model Town, Ayatollah Najafi congratulated the nation on the 79th anniversary of Pakistan and prayed for the country’s security, peace and stability.
He said a country requires knowledge, peace and the availability of essential commodities to function effectively, but the situation regarding all three remains a matter of concern in Pakistan. “Everyone knows the situation and there is no need to explain it,” he said.
Ayatollah Najafi criticized what he described as the growing influence of traders and profit-driven interests over the country’s affairs, saying that their primary concern was making profits rather than addressing people’s economic conditions, employment and national interests.
He stressed the need to build a prosperous, developed and peaceful Pakistan and said every citizen must fulfill their responsibilities toward the country. He regretted that a culture of hard work was weak in society and said organizations were also failing to undertake work according to the country’s needs.
The cleric emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate information about religious and social institutions, saying there should be proper data on the number of mosques, seminaries, imambargahs, religious scholars, preachers, zakirs and social organizations operating across the country.
Referring to Pakistan’s creation, Ayatollah Najafi said the country was established in the name of Islam and that both Sunni and Shia Muslims contributed to its creation. He clarified that by Sunni Muslims, he was referring specifically to Barelvi Sunnis, and claimed that a majority of Deobandi scholars had opposed the creation of Pakistan.
Speaking about the Islamic economic system, he said that during the periods of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Imam Ali (A.S), the distribution of the public treasury, or Bait-ul-Mal, was based on equality. He added that the principle of equality was also maintained during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr.
According to Ayatollah Najafi, the practice of distributing the public treasury along preferential lines began during the Umayyad period. He expressed concern that elements of what he described as the “Umayyad model of Islam” could also be seen in Pakistan today.
He reiterated that the country’s progress required collective responsibility, effective organization, hard work and a commitment to establishing a peaceful and economically prosperous society.
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