Beirut Friday Prayer; Selfishness: Its impact on man and the means of treating it

The First Sermon 

In the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, talked about selfishness. He, first, explained the social principle Allah wants us to adopt in this life, which is demonstrated by the Prophet's saying that none of us would be a real believer unless he loves for others what he loves for himself. The Messenger (p.) applied this principle among the Muslims, especially in Al-Madina between the immigrants (Al-Muhajireen) and the supporters (Al-Ansar).

The Sayyed asserted that selfishness, which is when one finds his interests more important than those of the others whatever the price was, is one of the biggest problems that humanity suffers from.

The Sayyed explained that selfishness does not mean to love oneself, for one ought to care about himself and not overburden it so as not to become frustrated; however, this love turns negative and becomes a sickness when one does not see the others and only sees himself.

The Sayyed, then, highlighted the causes of selfishness, including the upbringing of children, severe punishment, deprivation and the weakness of ethical and religious conscience… etc.  

The Sayyed also criticized the prevalent view that being selfish is a clever act, even if it means achieving one's goals through unethical means.

Yet, selfishness, no matter how much one might try to beautify it, remains a bad habit, whether at the individual or social level, and especially on the political level where rulers become dictators who wish to remain in their posts forever.

In short, selfishness produces envy, envy produces hatred, hatred produces dissension, and dissension produces weakness; a chain which eventually leads to the fall of the state.

As for treating selfishness, one should resort to education on ethical and religious principles that encourage self-accountability, charity and getting used to team work.

We should uproot all kinds of selfishness from ourselves and let our slogan be that life is big enough to encompass everybody. Let us be happy and let others share this happiness with us.

The Second Sermon

In the second sermon, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah emphasized the need for a responsible Arab and Islamic stand that strives to liberate the whole of Palestine, especially that the Zionists are finding in the preoccupation of the Arabs and Muslims in other issues a chance for them to hasten the execution of their plans that aim at judaizing Palestine.

In Syria, the size of what is going on demands a serious Arab intervention to open dialogue between the authorities and the other parties. Therefore, he considered that the Iraqi endeavor to open dialogue is a step in the right direction.

Moreover, the Sayyed welcomed the American withdrawal from Iraq considering it a defeat for the American army. He also called on the authorities in Iraq not to engage in complicated economic and security agreements with the Americans that would enable them to return to the country from a different door. He also called on the Iraqis to unite their ranks and prevent those who want to incite strife from accomplishing their goals.

In Lebanon, the country needs real internal unity that would allow it to face the coming dangerous stages. Such a unity could be established by internal dialogue and exchanging views. In this respect, all parties have by now realized that the grand Shiite religious authorities refuse any offence or abuse to the Prophet's companions and the mothers of Muslims.

On the other hand, he called on the government to play an active role in promoting the Lebanese unity. It should also shoulder its responsibility of securing the favorable social and economic circumstances, starting by giving the citizens their rights and hastening to raise the salaries.

The Sayyed also called on all those who work in the public domain not to resort to a tense discourse that would increase the tensions in the country.

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