Syed Ali Fadlullah: The Husseini revolution, A revolution against silence before tyranny

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The First Sermon

In the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, commemorated the forty-day anniversary marking the martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.). He explained that Al-Hussein noticed a deviation in the course of the nation and sought to correct it. He was not looking for any personal status or wealth; all he wanted was to enjoin good and forbid evil.

On the other side of the picture, there was the collapse of the nation represented by appointing Yazid a ruler having gotten rid of all who constituted a threat to him. He tampered with two havens the Messenger (p.) had bequeathed to the nation: The Quran, having neglected its rulings and principles, and Ahl El-Beit, having committed the most hideous massacre in history against not only the Imam and his household members, but also the entire nation.

The Imam knew the mass of dangers and sacrifices required, but he wanted to awaken the nation and put an end to its silence. He wanted the people to revolt against the logic of silence and accepting the status quo. The methodology the Umayyads followed and utilized every means to make it prevail is as follows:

1- Claiming that all actions, including bad and evil ones, are ordered by Allah, and that whoever would protest against them would actually be challenging Allah's will and promoting fabricated narrations which suggest that rebelling against a ruler, even if he is unjust, is impermissible.

2- Buying people with money.

3- Resorting to repression, persecution and violence.

Through these means, the Umayyads were able to change the Muslim society from a virtuous society that is ready to offer sacrifice for its principles into a humiliated one that only cares about money and safety.

That is why the Imam had to revolt. It is true that he was not victorious on the battlefield and he did not topple the aggressors, but he outlined a course to the nation; which is to face the oppression of any ruler. There is no such thing, in these circumstances, as a silent majority, for such a majority would actually be an accomplice to the unjust through its passiveness.

The Imam and his household members have taught us that we have to be concerned about everything that goes around us, that we should not be silent towards any wrongdoing of any unjust person whoever he might be and that we should not sell our religion and our principles for any temporary glory or wealth.

May Allah bless Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.), the day he was born, the day he was martyred, and the day he will be brought back to life.

The Second Sermon

In the second sermon, the Sayyed started by pointing out that the continuous aggressions of the Zionist enemy against Palestine, as well as its pursuing of the policy of demographic change in the West Bank and Jerusalem demands an increase in the Palestinian joint work and keeping the Palestinian cause in the Arab and Islamic conscience as the major cause and not to be preoccupied with their internal problems.

On another level, the Sayyed noted that the conflict in Iraq has begun to take a sectarian turn, despite the fact that is actually political. The only side that will benefit from this sectarian struggle is the enemy who will exploit such struggle to promote its own interests. Therefore, the Sayyed called on the Iraqis to meet and work together within the state's institutions and solve their problems through dialogue, in order to prevent turning Iraq into a front that would further complicate things in the region and to allow it to restore its leading role on the national and Islamic levels.

As for Syria, the Sayyed hoped that all Syrian parties would be aware that the entire country is under threat and that they should make every effort to find a solution that would ensure Syria's peace and stability which means that all personal and sectarian interests should be set aside.

The Sayyed demanded the Lebanese government to fulfill the demands of the employees in the public sector and those of the deprived and poor classes. He also called for passing a new electoral which would diffuse the political crisis. He ended by stressing on the need to embrace the Palestinian refugees who came from Syria, for this is a humanistic issue and a religious and humane responsibility.