Beirut Friday prayer leader: All Syrian parties should seize opportunity of dialogue in Geneva

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Rabi I 16th 1435 H. – January, 17th 2014. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer.Following is a summary:The First SermonIn the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, commemorated the birth anniversary of the Messenger (p.) saying that it is an occasion to rejoice and to learn lessons at the same time.One of these lessons is that rejecting wrong ideas does not mean rejecting the people who adopt them. These are the prophetic morals that Muhammad (p.) taught us. He asked us to maintain humanitarian relations with those who agree with us, as well as with those who disagree with us, and never to give up on them.Another lesson has to do with how convictions are formed. The birth of the Prophet (p.) is an opportunity for each of us to ask himself if his convictions are part of his own understandings and beliefs or a reflection of those of the others. One should not have his convictions based on what he has been told or on what his parents and grandparents believe in. He should reach his own convictions based on his own research, for doing anything merely out of tradition or habit or just to please others is a fragile and wrong attitude. All our actions and convictions should be based on our belief in Allah, His Messenger, the Imams and the values of mercy, love, truthfulness and trustfulness… etc.The Sayyed then posed a question wondering if the Prophet will recognize his nation now with its current prevalent divisions, feuds and cruelty, especially that some of those who claim to be Muslims are doing all these acts in his name while he has nothing to do with them, their brutal actions and the justifications they make.The Prophet (p.) was sent to exemplify the morals of love, mercy and kindness and not cruelty, brutality and killing.The Sayyed ended his sermon by reaffirming that we will always repeat: “O Allah and His angels, (please) send blessings upon the Prophet. O ye who believe send blessings upon him.”The second sermonIn the second sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, commenced with the situation in Lebanon, specifically the suicidal terrorist attack in Hermel, the most recent in a series that aim at killing for the sake of killing only, without differentiating between children or adults, or between the members of various political affiliations or sects.The Sayyed asserted that this painful situation calls for hastening in forming the government and not waiting for external developments or instructions. This government should include all parties to have the ability to be productive and to protect the country from the consequences of what is going on around it.The officials in this country should rise to the level of the responsibilities they are entrusted with and offer mutual concessions, which they should not view as being made to the other party; but rather, to the country.In Syria, the violence and blood shedding have now spilled over and turned into a fight between the various opposition factions, thus, initiating an additional phase of brutal violence.Faced by such a reality, we call upon all Syrian parties to seize the opportunity of dialogue in Geneva, for the only other alternative is more blood, with no decisive victory for any party seeming possible.The Sayyed ended by hoping that the recent meetings between the opposition and the government in Bahrain will pave the way for a fruitful dialogue./149