In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful First sermon: Letting what happened in Karbala to be a warning.
Summary of Friday sermons 23/ October /2015
Second sermon: Reflection on negligence of death
First sermon:
Peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
In this month, al-Muharram, is the day on which people recall what happened in the matter of Imam al-Hussein and his martyrdom. When reading about the historical events that took place at that time, our reading can be one of two types:
- the first one is just reading, navigating the information, and leaving after completing the text,
- but the second one is not only reading, but also reflecting on the significance of the matter, taking lessons and examples, and concluding something for the present.
If we look to what historians have said and written about the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussien, from his departure to his arrival at Karbala, those who pledged allegiance to fight with him, those who stayed with him; then it is nothing more than reading history if we don’t conclude a benefit or a lesson for our present.
When Imam al-Hussein arrived at Karbala, as he saw the people around him, said: “People are slaves of this worldly life, religion is like a lick on their tongues, preserving it as long as it is a source of wealth and power. However; when they are tested, the real faithful are few." Let’s pay attention to what Imam al-Hussein said at Karbala! (“when they are really tested, the real faithful are few”).
For those who honour him as a member of the prophet’s family, his revolution was for the sake of his grandfather’s nation reform, never for the sake of the crown.
In our day, if one of us contemplates and recalls the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussein, is it enough for us to read what has been mentioned in the books of history and biographies? And to memorize the date of; going out, his murder, who was with him, who killed him, who decapitated his head, who carried his head, who enslaved his people, …etc? If you know all these things this year, you should know something else next year.
Everyone who reads history can know this information, but what should be contemplated is that the people of Kufa sent word to Imam Hussain that there were a hundred thousand men here, they sent word to him that there were a hundred thousand swords and a hundred thousand men who pledged allegiance to him. But when the battle took place, only seventy men remained with him!
Out of a hundred thousand, seventy men remained with him! And after some were killed, and Imam Hussain was injured, there were four men around him, or perhaps a few more.
When the battle took place, out of those hundred thousand, there were so few left that they could not be dependable. This is why Imam al-Hasan chose peace; and when he was reproached, saying: "You have humiliated the believers," he said to them: (By Allah, I am not humiliating them, but where were you? If I had found three of you to fight with me, I would not have made peace).
The conclusion from this is that the nature of people is to speak, but to act is something difficult!
Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib says in such a situation: “You speak a lot in gatherings [describing your readiness to fight], but when fighting comes, you say [to war]: move away, move away,” meaning this is not our concern.
If one of us were asked to reform himself, we do not want to tell him to go out and fight to reform the nation or to reform the religion, but rather, reform himself. Who among us has emerged from his desires, whims, and lusts to reform himself!?
We do not tell him to be like Imam al-Hussain and go to sacrifice your blood for this religion! But reform yourself before you ask to reform others. If you can reform yourself - as Imam Hussain went out seeking reform - then reflect, read, and remember what happened and occurred in the life of Imam Hussain.
Killing [desires] and reforming yourself before others is the first thing that should be done.
It is so strange to see a man who argues that he is a Muslim, and if you ask him for proof of his Islam, he has no evidence to show his sincerity. He claims to be a Muslim, and the sign of Islam is that people are safe from your hand, your eye, and your tongue. So where is your Islam?!
I argue that I am a Muslim and that I follow a certain madhab, whether it be Alawi or Ja'fari. But where am I in relation to Ali and Ja'far?!
Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib says in categorizing people, “They are either your brother in religion or your equal in creation.” So are we among those who treat people this way?!
Are we really treating people according to it so that we get upset when someone says to us: 'You do not obey the Imam whom you claim to follow.' Why get upset when we are truly like what has been said about us?!
The love for the Imams—when you look at it—is not just a statement thrown about loosely. Seeking and recalling what happened with them is not merely words that are said and then forgotten once the gathering you are in ends.
Loving the Imams means striving to follow their example as much as you can. Loving the Imams means being a living image of the manners of the Messenger of Allah and the manners of Ali ibn Abi Talib, or else you are like anyone else.
Righteous deeds are what indicate, clarify, and define [our attitude]. For without action, what is claimed is contradicted by the evidence of deeds [/absence or righteous deeds].
On the anniversary of Imam al-Hussain, people remember where he came from, where he went, what happened to him, and how Zainab responded in her debate with Yazid. But if this is read, memorized, and then left from year to year, we do not take anything from it, we do not derive anything from it, and we do not try to emulate it in any way. So what is the point of our remembrance, and what is the point of recalling what has passed?
Everyone who reads history can tell you and recount details that you do not know, but the lesson, the benefit, the reform for which Imam al-Hussain went out, this is what we must contemplate, and this is what we must look into.
Whoever considers the day when the Messenger of Allah migrated and Amir al-Mu'minin slept in his place will see the extent of the sacrifice and dedication for the sake of establishing the truth, and this is what Imam Hussain's revolution can be compared to.
If one of us today were asked to sacrifice his time, not his body or his wealth, but to spend a little of his time to read—not to reform himself, but to read—we do not want him to go out seeking reform for the nation, just to read.
Aside from sacrificing wealth, bodies, and lives, what about you? and what will you sacrifice? Spend a little of your time so that your reading will enlighten you on what you should do and what you should not do.
We ask Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, to make us and you among those who, when they read, gain insight; and when they seek guidance, are guided; and when they seek direction, are directed to a straight and righteous path...
The Final Sermon:
... As for what follows, peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
If a person forgets something unimportant, perhaps they won't be blamed for forgetting it, or maybe they won't be criticized for neglecting it. But what if they forget something significant, something they know is certain, inevitable, and bound to happen?
When a friend visits you, you may leave your house to the beginning of the road to greet him warmly. This might happen, or it might not. Perhaps this person will visit you, or perhaps it will be difficult for him. If the one coming to you is something inevitable, and you are certain that it is inevitable, how would you welcome it? In fact, how could you forget about it when you see others who have already faced it?
Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib says: 'I am amazed at the one who forgets death while seeing it.'
He also says:
“I have never seen certainty in faith resemble doubt as much as in this human, who every day escorts somebody to the graves and bids farewell, and yet returns to the deception of this world, and does not abstain from desire and sin.”
'Every day escorts somebody to the graves and bids farewell' yet returns to the deception of this world. “If the son of Adam had no sin to take on and no account to stand before except death, which disrupts his unity, scatters his assembly, and leaves his children orphaned, it would still be necessary for him to beware of the fatigue and hardship that would follow.”
Why all this reminder except that the matter is real, because if you remember, you refrain from error; because if you remember, you refrain from harm; and because if you remember this day, you will not oppress anyone.
If you remember that you must inevitably be carried to a dark grave where worms will eat your flesh and roam over your face, if you remember this, you will refrain from harming anyone and hold back from what you would aggress against others. Can anyone imagine how Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib depicted such a state?
“Death continues to take its toll on his body until his tongue joins his hearing, so that he is among his people unable to speak with his tongue or hear with his ears, but can only look at their faces, seeing the movements of their organs but not hearing their speech.”
Let one of us imagine this state while lying in bed, seeing people's movements but unable to hear their speech. “Then death adheres to him more, until his sight is taken.” Death deepens, and his sight is taken as his hearing is. “Then the soul departs from his body, leaving him a lifeless corpse among his people.”
How difficult it is for us as we carry fragrance in our clothes so that our scent may be pleasant when we meet someone. How difficult it is when something soils you, rushing to cleanse yourself. How difficult it is for you here when you are unable to ward off anything that afflicts you. Reflect on this state!
Amir al-Mu'minin says: “Beware of death while you are neglectful of your Lord in pursuit of worldly gains.'"
Let each of us remember, on the day we sit to gossip about others, that death might come upon us. In any case, we will stand before Allah. Let one remember that on the day they sit to criticise others, death might come upon him. Perhaps none of us will leave this gathering to return home, and perhaps our homes will become our graves.
Let each of us contemplate, not daring in his youth, strength, prestige, or wealth, to harm or cause harm. For the fate of his youth leads to ageing, the fate of his strength leads to weakness, and the fate of his remaining leads to vanishing. Amir al-Mu'minin said in such situations:
“Do the people of youth await anything but the weariness of old age, and the people of health await anything but the onset of illness, and the people of longevity await anything but the time of passing?”
In this matter, Sheikh Sulaiman al-Ahmad, may Allah's mercy and pleasure be upon him, said:
“I didn’t say ‘goodbye’ or ‘God protect you’ to the youth when it departed!
It is such a visitor who stayed a little, darkened the papers with sins, then left!”
Doesn't anyone pay attention, while each day he sees a decrease in his lifespan? Doesn't he stand on a day when he reflects and warns of darkness in a residence where he finds no way out? If one of us sleeps, he may awaken reluctantly, or obliged. If a mosquito pains him, it may keep him from his bed. So how if he cannot rise from the position he is in? That is where crying will be, that is where regret will be, and there one will say, 'My Lord, return me!' There, you wish to return but cannot.
Seize your strength today, seize your energy and capability today before you reach a day when you can do nothing, or before you find yourself in a place described by Amir al-Mu'minin as “where you seek sleep but find it not.”
Sheikh Sulaiman al-Ahmad also said in this context:
“During the age of my fresh youth, the lantern was ablaze all the nights for me to acquire knowledge.
How lazy I was! I did not wake from my sleep, until the grey hair shone on my head.”
Let those who have not yet reached this point be aware, perhaps they can rectify what they have missed.
O Allah, we repent to You, and unto You we return, so forgive us.
O Allah, we complain to You about our numerous faults, and we complain to You about the aggravation of our sins, so forgive us, for indeed, You are the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
O Allah, we complain to You about the constriction of our chests, so expand them with Your Noble Qur'an, for indeed, You are the Most High, the Most Great.
O Allah, we complain to You about the ailments that have afflicted us, and the calamities that have befallen us, and we find no refuge except with You. O Allah, there is no saviour but You, so grant us relief, and there is no rescuer but You, so rescue us.
O Allah, we call upon You, and we beseech You, and we ask You, O Lord of the worlds, what Your noble Messenger asked of You, and what the people of his pure family asked of You. O Allah, make us among those whose supplications You accept, and whose prayers You answer, and whom You have mercy upon, and whom You forgive, for the sake of honouring Muhammad and his pure family.
[Poetry]
“O You from whom I have no refuge, I seek refuge in Your pardon from Your punishment.
I am Your servant, acknowledging every sin, And You are the Master, the Eternal, the Most Forgiving.
If You punish me, it is due to my wrongdoing, And if You forgive, You are capable of it.
I flee to You escaping from You, for no where but To You, the refuge-seeker flees!
Blessings be upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad...
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