Pilgrimage: A chance to earn Allah’s hospitality

The First Sermon

In the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, talked about the duty of pilgrimage. He explained the significance of this Islamic rite and talked about its steps, starting by the Niyyah (intention), which he explained that it should be dedicated for Allah alone, and not for any social or personal motive.

Then one should pay all the rights Allah has ordered him to pay from his money. He should also return the rights of the people which need not be only materialistic, as they could also be moral, by asking for forgiveness, for example.

Then, when one starts to perform the duties of Hajj, he should know the meaning of every step, starting by Ihram, and passing by Tawaf, Sa'y and throwing stones… etc. He, then, explained the symbolic meaning of every act of worship included in one's pilgrimage and mentioned certain remarks about how is Hajj being practiced lately.

He noted first that some pilgrims have become more and more concerned with making a comfortable Hajj trip. The Sayyed said that there is nothing against the pilgrims having a comfortable trip or resting during Hajj, but he called for benefiting from this valuable time by performing recommended acts. Moreover, the Sayyed called on those in charge of the Hajj campaigns to shoulder their responsibilities towards those who have paid money to them to perform the duty of Hajj. He also called the pilgrims to make Hajj a place where people are kind and brotherly towards each other, and not one for sectarian divisions. Hajj is a place where Muslim unity is solidified and not where strife is fomented.

In the end, the Sayyed called on those who receive the pilgrims when they return not to disturb others by shooting bullets or fireworks for this is against the sublime meaning of Hajj that Allah actually intends from it.

The Second Sermon

In the second sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, started by congratulating the Palestinian people on the return of the freed prisoners. He considered that the deal has shown the credibility of the Islamic Resistance in Palestine in dealing with the issue of prisoners, as well as the soundness of adopting armed struggle in the face of an enemy that only understands the language of force.

He called on the Arab and Muslim peoples to stand with this line, and emphasized the need to embrace the Palestinian cause as an uppermost priority in this stage. He considered that if we are defeated in Palestine, we will be defeated in all other places, while if we remain steadfast and insist on liberating the whole of Palestine, the world might confront us, but it will also respect us and choose not to occupy any other land.

He also called for establishing and consolidating our points of strength in the Arab and Muslim reality, and for removing any elements of tension, especially in terms of the ongoing attempts to incite strife between the Sunnis and the Shiites. That is why there is a dire need to open the channels of dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

On another level, the Sayyed said that Libya has finally witnessed the end of the dictator who oppressed his people for 42 years and that the Lebanese too have paid a high price as a result of his tyranny, having kidnapped Sayyed Moussa As-Sadr.

He said: “As we congratulate the Libyans on their victory, we call on them to be aware of the threats awaiting them, especially from NATO which although it presents itself as a savior of the Libyan people, it will not let them achieve their goals of freedom and independence, and it will dominate over their oil wealth and all the other strategic resources.”

In Lebanon, the Sayyed noted that we are still in the heart of the economic and social crisis. The partial solutions presented by this government and the preceding ones had made things even worse, due to the absence of a comprehensive social and economic strategy. Instead the government has arbitrarily raised the salaries, and did not resort to any effective way to curb the rise in prices. It has also ignored all the acts of corruption and theft that has been widely spread. Thus, the Sayyed called on the government to place the social crisis at the top of its priorities, for this is the criteria of its success or failure.

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