In The Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful

His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque,

Jamada II 29, 1447 / December 19, 2025. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. Following is a summary:

The Month of Rajab: A Month of Seeking Forgiveness and Repentance from Sins

Allah, the Most Exalted, says:

“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months, as written in the Book of Allah  on the Day He created the heavens and the earth. Among them are four sacred months. That is the upright religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. Fight the polytheists all together as they fight you all together, and know that Allah the Most Exalted is with the righteous.”

 Allah the Most Exalted has spoken the truth.

We meet on the twenty-first day of this month at the beginning of the month of Rajab, which is one of the sacred months. Allah, the Most Exalted, willed these months to be months of peace, safety, and security for individuals, societies, and nations. For this reason, initiating fighting or engaging in it is forbidden during these months, except in self-defense. Allah, the Most Exalted, also called for avoiding conflicts in these months and working to remove them if they occur.

He pointed to this in the Holy Qur’an when He said:

“They ask you about fighting in the sacred month. Say: fighting in it is a grave matter, and blocking people from the path of Allah  and disbelief in Him.”

The importance of this month does not stop here. Allah, the Most Exalted, wanted it to be a month of spiritual and faith-based preparation, in which a person strengthens their relationship with their Lord. For this reason, narrations(Hadiths) encouraged fasting during this month or fasting on some of its days, and many recommended supplications, prayers, and remembrances were reported for it.

Here, I call upon each one of us to set a personal program for this month, so that we may draw from its spiritual and faith-based source. In addition, this month includes many important occasions, the revival of which contributes to strengthening faith awareness and moral upbringing. During this month, we mark the birth of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.), the birth of Imam Ali al-Hadi (a.s.), and the birth of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.). We also celebrate the noble Prophetic mission (al-Mab‘ath) and the anniversary of al-Isra’ and al-Mi‘raj, along with other occasions.

One of the most important teachings reported about this month, which we will focus on today, is what  Prophet Muhammad (p.) said when he spoke about Rajab:

“Rajab is the month of seeking forgiveness for my nation, so increase your seeking of forgiveness in it and say: I seek forgiveness from Allah, the Most Exalted, and ask Him for pardon, for He is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Seeking forgiveness, dear brothers and sisters, means that a person turns to their Lord asking Him for forgiveness. It does not stop at asking forgiveness for sins and wrongdoings alone. Rather, it also includes asking Allah,the Most Exalted, to pardon a person for their shortcomings in fulfilling the responsibilities that Allah, the Most Exalted, has obligated them with—whether toward their family, relatives, neighbors, or toward the people of their homeland and nation.

This meaning appears in the supplication reported from Imam Zein al-Abidin (a.s.), in which he says:

“O Allah, the Most Exalted, I apologize to You for an oppressed person who was wronged in my presence and I did not support him; for a kindness that was done to me and I did not thank for it; for an offender who apologized to me and I did not accept his apology; for a needy person who asked me and I did not give preference to him; and for the right of a believer that became obligatory upon me and I did not fulfill.”

He also said in another supplication:

“O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every pleasure without Your remembrance, every comfort without intending closeness to You, and every joy without nearness to You.”

Seeking forgiveness, dear brothers and sisters, is among the greatest blessings that Allah, the Most Exalted, has bestowed upon His servants. Allah  did not want His servants to remain polluted by sins and suffer their consequences. Rather, He opened for them the gate of His mercy so that they may return to Him and withdraw from their mistakes and shortcomings. He did not limit this to a specific time or place, and He did not place any intermediary between Himself and His servants.

Allah, the Most Exalted, opened the door wide when He said:

 

 “Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

In the sacred hadith, Allah, the Most Exalted, says:

“O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you sought My forgiveness, I would forgive you and I would not mind.”

Allah, the Most Exalted, made the path easy, for it is enough for a person to seek forgiveness sincerely to find Allah  forgiving and merciful. Allah, the Most Exalted, said:

“Whoever commits evil or wrongs himself, then seeks forgiveness from Allah  will find Allah tForgiving and Merciful.”

And He said:

“Will they not repent to Allah  and seek His forgiveness, while Allah is Forgiving and Merciful?”

The Qur’anic verses and noble narrations point to the great effects of seeking forgiveness. It does not only erase sins and remove their traces. Allah, the Most Exalted, made it a cause for increased provision, protection from calamities in this world, relief from worries and grief, and a source of safety in life.

Allah, the Most Exalted, says:

“O my people, seek forgiveness from your Lord, then repent to Him. He will send down abundant rain upon you and increase you in strength upon your strength, and do not turn away as criminals.”

And He says:

“Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then repent to Him. He will grant you good enjoyment for a fixed term and give every person of merit their due.”

It is reported from Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) that he said:

“Allah, the Most Exalted, has made seeking forgiveness a cause for the flow of provision and the mercy of creation.”

After the passing of the Prophet Muhammad (p.), Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) said:

“There were two sources of protection from the punishment of Allah, the Most Exalted, on earth. One has been lifted, so hold firmly to the other. The one that was lifted was the Prophet Muhammad (p.), and the one that remains is seeking forgiveness.”

Allah, the Most Exalted, said:

“Allah  would not punish them while you are among them, nor would Allah d punish them while they seek forgiveness.”

As for how to seek forgiveness, it is not limited to uttering words with the tongue or repeating phrases. Rather, seeking forgiveness must be accompanied by a firm decision not to return to sin and by correcting the harm that resulted from it. This is achieved by strengthening awareness of Allah, the Most Exalted, so that a person does not return to sin or neglect obedience.

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) explained the true meaning of seeking forgiveness when he said:

“Do you know what seeking forgiveness is? Seeking forgiveness is a rank of the highest levels, and it includes six meanings: regret for the past, determination never to return to sin, returning people’s rights, fulfilling neglected obligations, dissolving unlawful gains through sincere repentance, and making the body taste the hardship of obedience as it once tasted the sweetness of disobedience. Only then should one say: I seek forgiveness from Allah the Most Exalted.”

Dear brothers and sisters, we are called to take advantage of this blessed month in which Allah, the Most Exalted, pours out His mercy. In this month, Allah. the Most Exalted. sent down mercy upon His servants. We should review our past before Allah, to see where we erred and where we fell short—whether as individuals, communities, or as a nation. This may require us to present ourselves to others, for they may see in us what we do not see in ourselves.

After that, we should make a covenant with Allah, the Most Exalted, not to return to past mistakes, to correct our path, and to make our future better than our past. We should not waste this opportunity, but hasten toward forgiveness, as Allah, the Most Exalted, said:

 

 “Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous.”

And as Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) said:

“O people, now—now—before regret, before a soul says: Woe to me for what I neglected in regard to Allah the Most Exalted.”

May Allah, the Most Exalted, grant us success to be among those who hope for His forgiveness and strive for it, so that we may attain His pleasure. Indeed, He is All-Hearing and Responsive.

—

The Second Sermon

In the Name of Allah the  Compassionate. the Merciful,

Worshipers of Allah, the Most Exalted, I advise you and advise myself with the advice of the fifth Imam from the Household of the Prophet Muhammad (p.), Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (a.s.), whose birth anniversary we will commemorate on the first day of the sacred month of Rajab. He said:

“I advise you to be mindful of Allah, the Most Exalted; that your rich should help your poor, that your strong should support your weak, that your living should attend the funeral of your deceased, and that you should meet one another in your homes. For meeting one another in your homes gives life to our cause. May Alla, the Most Exalted, have mercy on the servant who revives our cause.”

Then he said:

We cannot help anyone before Allah, the Most Exalted, except through good deeds. You cannot achieve our guidance except by being pious and striving. Whoever obeys Allah, the Most Exalted, and loves us is our ally, but whoever disobeys Allah, the Most Exalted, loving us will not help him.”

Dear brothers and sisters, we are in great need of adhering to this advice so that we may fulfill the responsibility placed upon us, through which we express our love and loyalty to this Imam, and so that we may be better able to face the challenges before us.

We begin with the Israeli escalation that we have witnessed through airstrikes distributed across many areas in the south, the Beqaa, and the western Beqaa, while assassination operations continue against Lebanese citizens during their daily movement and work. This is accompanied by reconnaissance flights of drones that violate Lebanese airspace and reach the capital Beirut and its suburbs, in a clear violation of the ceasefire decision.

All of this is happening before the eyes and ears of the committee assigned to oversee the ceasefire, without any condemnation of the enemy or any decision obligating it to stop its attacks. Instead, the committee complies with the enemy’s demands toward the Lebanese side, which have reached the point of requesting the army to search homes and houses. This was witnessed in the southern village of Yanouh and in more than one other Lebanese village, where it becomes clear that these claims lack credibility.

It has become clear that the enemy will continue this policy and may expand it, despite the concession made by the Lebanese state in agreeing that negotiations be conducted on a civilian level after previously rejecting this approach. Through this escalation, the enemy aims to conduct negotiations under fire in order to increase pressure on the Lebanese state to make concessions. These concessions are not limited to disarming the resistance, but extend to achieving security, political, and economic demands that it has openly declared—demands that violate the sovereignty, freedom, and decision-making authority of the state on its own land.

In light of what is happening, we call upon the Lebanese state, which is responsible for the security of its citizens and the safety of its territory, and which justified entering negotiations as a means to stop escalation, to take a firm position in today’s meeting with the committee overseeing the ceasefire. This position must make the cessation of the enemy’s attacks a condition for continuing negotiations, because allowing this escalation to continue will make it easier for the enemy to impose its conditions.

We are fully aware of the scale of pressure being placed on the country, and we do not underestimate it, given the power the enemy possesses and the international cover it receives. However, this does not mean that Lebanon must surrender or hand over its decision to the enemy. Lebanon possesses internal sources of strength, as well as strengths in its external relations, which—if properly mobilized and utilized—can prevent the enemy from achieving its goals. The initiatives that have taken place and continue to take place toward Lebanon confirm this reality.

At this time, we renew our call to the Lebanese people to recognize their responsibility toward their country and to seriously consider the challenge facing their state and the dangers threatening the homeland. We always emphasize that these dangers will not be limited to a single sect, religion, or political group.

This stage requires unity, freezing internal disputes and conflicts, and moving beyond narrow personal interests which—unfortunately—continue to grow day after day and dominate media and social platforms. The Lebanese people must come together around a unified position that preserves the country’s sovereignty and prevents the enemy from achieving its objectives.

On the domestic level, we emphasize the importance of holding the recent legislative session. We did not want its convening to become a source of disagreement, given the consequences of paralyzing this institution, which represents all components of the Lebanese people, at a time when the country is in urgent need of legislation to ease people’s lives, address their problems, and achieve the desired reforms. Some of these reforms have already appeared in the decisions issued by this session.

At the same time, we call on the government to listen to the demands of public sector workers in order to activate the work of public administrations and institutions, and to the demands of teachers in public schools and the Lebanese University, to ensure that these schools and universities can fulfill their educational role. We also urge serious efforts to find solutions to the worsening living and economic crises that affect all Lebanese citizens.

We conclude with occupied Palestine, where the enemy continues its aggression and maintains its siege on Gaza in an attempt to break the will of its people and push them toward displacement. At the same time, it works to change the demographic reality in the West Bank through the demolition of homes and the destruction of agricultural lands and vital facilities. This is part of a systematic campaign of destruction and a comprehensive plan to suffocate Palestinian presence.

This situation calls upon Arab and Islamic states to assume their responsibilities and carry out their required role toward this Arab and Muslim people, in order to prevent the enemy from executing its plan aimed at ending the Palestinian cause.