(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - This is an excerpt from a previous sermon delivered by His Eminence, the Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra), in which he commemorated the birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi, saying that celebrating this memory is not a matter of sentiments or wishes. It is all about adopting the straight path that Allah, the Most Exalted, has called on us to follow. Imam Al-Mahdi is destined to fill the earth with fairness and justice having been filled with tyranny and oppression.
O Allah, make him the caller for Your Book. Make him Your Caliph on this earth as you made those before him. Consolidate for him Your religion, the one You chose for him. Change his concern into tranquility… O Allah, support him and support others by him… Give him a remarkable victory.
Al-Mahdi’s universal authority
Yesterday marked the birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi, the achiever of truth, who was prepared by Allah, the Most Exalted, to be the savior and the innovator of Islam in its movement and concepts… He will lay the foundations for universal justice all over the globe. He is the twelfth Imam, whom Allah has occulted in a miracle that Allah alone knows its secret... He is destined to fill the earth with fairness and justice having been filled with tyranny and oppression.
In this respect, it is obvious that the Imam will not come up with a new religion or a new book; he will only renovate the movement and let the people retrieve the feeling of originality and spirituality of this religion. As for the Quran, it is a Book which no falsehood can approach from before or behind. Hence, the Imam will only explain to the people how to understand the Quran in a way that suits their needs at all levels.
Therefore, when the Imam seeks establishing justice, it is the justice of Islam that will be established, for the true meaning of justice is only found in Islam, which came and contained all the previous messages brought by the messengers. This is also manifested in the traditions which relate that Jesus Christ will descend with the Imam and pray behind him, since the Message of Muhammad is his Message, as well. In the light of all this, we ask ourselves: are we loyal to him? Are we honest when we ask Allah to make us among his supporters and soldiers?
His supporters are the supporters of Islam, for his message is the message of Islam; i.e. belief in the oneness of Allah and Allah's Message that was carried by all Messengers. It is also the belief in the Quran, being the Book that we ought to follow and the light that illuminates our minds and hearts. Thus, we ought to educate ourselves on Islam, for it is meaningless to claim that we are among his supporters, while we keep a distance from his line and religion.
Calling to obey God
Celebrating the birth of Imam Al-Mahdi is not a matter of sentiments or wishes. It is all about adopting the straight path that Allah, the Most Exalted, has called on us to follow.
This means that we ought to educate ourselves to become his followers and practice what he called for. The best expression for this is probably what we recite in the supplication known as "The Opening": "O Allah, we ask you for an honorable state that gives Islam and Muslims the upper hand and disgraces hypocrisy and its supporters… And make us of those who call for obeying you, and those who lead to your path….
We should bear the responsibility of this call for obeying Allah, by calling our household and the people around us to obey Allah, and by making each and every one of us a potential leader, for Allah, the Most Exalted, wants each Muslim and believer to educate his mind and heart to become a leading mind and a leading heart, so that if one leader falls on the battleground, others will continue the battle… We have to create Islamic leaders on every level, be it jurisprudential, political, ideological or economical.
This is a trust and a responsibility Allah has held us responsible for, so that we could assume the position of leading the world. Why do we let others in the East and the West assume leadership, and accept to be followers of unjust or infidel leaderships? If Imam Al-Mahdi is prepared to fill the earth with justice, we, too, have to be just to ourselves, our families and our society. We should all be just persons with Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and with the weak and strong alike.
Positive waiting
The anniversary we are celebrating holds us responsible for looking forward to the appearance of the Imam, so as to know what our role is when he comes.
Will we be among his enemies or among his supporters? Loving him is not enough to become one of his followers. When Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.) asked the Arab poet, Al-Farazdak, about the people in Kufa, he told him: "Their hearts are with you but their swords are against you," since their swords do not serve their cause, but their ambitions and interests.
Therefore, we have to be ready and become positive waiters, by asking ourselves constantly: Are we with the Message of the Imam or not? Are we with justice or against it? If we find any weakness in our commitment to the message or to justice, we should work on strengthening it, so that when Al-Mahdi comes, we will find ourselves among his supporters.
The birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi is an occasion to contemplate and practice self-accountability: "Judge yourselves, before you are judged… O Allah! Let us become among his supporters and those who will be martyred for his cause."
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O Allah, make him the caller for Your Book. Make him Your Caliph on this earth as you made those before him. Consolidate for him Your religion, the one You chose for him. Change his concern into tranquility… O Allah, support him and support others by him… Give him a remarkable victory.
Al-Mahdi’s universal authority
Yesterday marked the birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi, the achiever of truth, who was prepared by Allah, the Most Exalted, to be the savior and the innovator of Islam in its movement and concepts… He will lay the foundations for universal justice all over the globe. He is the twelfth Imam, whom Allah has occulted in a miracle that Allah alone knows its secret... He is destined to fill the earth with fairness and justice having been filled with tyranny and oppression.
In this respect, it is obvious that the Imam will not come up with a new religion or a new book; he will only renovate the movement and let the people retrieve the feeling of originality and spirituality of this religion. As for the Quran, it is a Book which no falsehood can approach from before or behind. Hence, the Imam will only explain to the people how to understand the Quran in a way that suits their needs at all levels.
Therefore, when the Imam seeks establishing justice, it is the justice of Islam that will be established, for the true meaning of justice is only found in Islam, which came and contained all the previous messages brought by the messengers. This is also manifested in the traditions which relate that Jesus Christ will descend with the Imam and pray behind him, since the Message of Muhammad is his Message, as well. In the light of all this, we ask ourselves: are we loyal to him? Are we honest when we ask Allah to make us among his supporters and soldiers?
His supporters are the supporters of Islam, for his message is the message of Islam; i.e. belief in the oneness of Allah and Allah's Message that was carried by all Messengers. It is also the belief in the Quran, being the Book that we ought to follow and the light that illuminates our minds and hearts. Thus, we ought to educate ourselves on Islam, for it is meaningless to claim that we are among his supporters, while we keep a distance from his line and religion.
Calling to obey God
Celebrating the birth of Imam Al-Mahdi is not a matter of sentiments or wishes. It is all about adopting the straight path that Allah, the Most Exalted, has called on us to follow.
This means that we ought to educate ourselves to become his followers and practice what he called for. The best expression for this is probably what we recite in the supplication known as "The Opening": "O Allah, we ask you for an honorable state that gives Islam and Muslims the upper hand and disgraces hypocrisy and its supporters… And make us of those who call for obeying you, and those who lead to your path….
We should bear the responsibility of this call for obeying Allah, by calling our household and the people around us to obey Allah, and by making each and every one of us a potential leader, for Allah, the Most Exalted, wants each Muslim and believer to educate his mind and heart to become a leading mind and a leading heart, so that if one leader falls on the battleground, others will continue the battle… We have to create Islamic leaders on every level, be it jurisprudential, political, ideological or economical.
This is a trust and a responsibility Allah has held us responsible for, so that we could assume the position of leading the world. Why do we let others in the East and the West assume leadership, and accept to be followers of unjust or infidel leaderships? If Imam Al-Mahdi is prepared to fill the earth with justice, we, too, have to be just to ourselves, our families and our society. We should all be just persons with Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and with the weak and strong alike.
Positive waiting
The anniversary we are celebrating holds us responsible for looking forward to the appearance of the Imam, so as to know what our role is when he comes.
Will we be among his enemies or among his supporters? Loving him is not enough to become one of his followers. When Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.) asked the Arab poet, Al-Farazdak, about the people in Kufa, he told him: "Their hearts are with you but their swords are against you," since their swords do not serve their cause, but their ambitions and interests.
Therefore, we have to be ready and become positive waiters, by asking ourselves constantly: Are we with the Message of the Imam or not? Are we with justice or against it? If we find any weakness in our commitment to the message or to justice, we should work on strengthening it, so that when Al-Mahdi comes, we will find ourselves among his supporters.
The birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi is an occasion to contemplate and practice self-accountability: "Judge yourselves, before you are judged… O Allah! Let us become among his supporters and those who will be martyred for his cause."
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