Lebanese Senior Cleric: Killing is the biggest sin

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Shaaban 19th 1434 H. - June, 28th 2013. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. The First SermonIn the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, talked about the sins of killing. He cited the following Ayah: “Whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men”. Not only did Islam warn man from the sin of killing, it also considered that the punishment of whoever commits any action that leads to blood shedding, even if it was inciting by words, would receive the same punishment.Islam considered killing to be lawful in two cases only: The first case is self-defense and the second is to prevent strife. Islam also decreed that the murderer should be killed but only after it is proved beyond any doubt that he has actually committed the crime, and not on the basis of suspicion.Even fighting for the cause of Allah is a kind of treatment that is resorted to in limited cases only, and even then, one should not use violence except in as far as it is necessary, especially when it comes to civilians.He said that the Prophet (p.) has rebuked Ussama bin Zaid for killing a man who professed Islam when he was sure that he was about to be killed. The Prophet (p.) asked Ussama about how he knew that the man was not truthful.Nevertheless, nowadays, some accuse others of being unbelievers, although they pray and fast, just because they hold different political opinions, and then they would spill their blood. This is both mad and frightening, and it has nothing to do with the morals and the rulings of Islam.Do not these people abide by the Prophet’s saying: “O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust”?The problem is not in Islam; it is in those who belong to Islam but do not live the truth.The second sermonIn the second sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, talked about  the situation in Iraq and Syria and warned against the foreign interference, especially in Syria where the solution is still far ahead, and even when it comes, it will not have the interests of the Syrian people as its first priority.In Egypt, the Sayyed also warned against the results of the internal confrontation at the end of this month. He called for a national unity government that can stand up to all the internal and external problems.In Lebanon, the Sayyed thanked God for surviving the plot that was planned to lead the country into internal strife, starting from Saida.The Sayyed said that he feels sorry for all those who were martyred, especially the Lebanese Army soldiers, and for transferring the mosque into a place for inciting strife. The Sayyed called on the parties not to widen the divisions, but to turn into firemen who put off the sectarian fire.The Sayyed ended his speech by commemorating the third anniversary of the demise of the late Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, who filled our life with “spirituality, resistance, reaching out, unity and Jihad”.He left when we are in most need for him, but this is the will of Allah, and we are sure that the nation he had helped to build by his sacrifice and suffering would remain loyal to him and adhere to his Islamic line that is open to all the Muslim issues of the age we are living. /129