Beirut Friday prayer leader raps self-flagellation

Rasa – Hujjat al-Islam Fadhlullah criticized the Shi’a mourning ritual of self-flagellation and said Imam al-Husayn did not bloody his head and body but was martyred by the sword on the battlefield on the path of justice and freedom.

News ID: 424162

Date: 08 October 2016 - 18:10

RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Beirut’s Imamayn al-Hasanayn Mosque, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Ali Fadhlullah, stressed on the necessity of political agreement among the various political groups in Lebanon and on the necessity of preventing the marginalization of political or religious groups.

The Lebanese cleric said, “This issue helps strengthen the unity and stability of the country and reduces outside interference. Dialogue must be considered as in the interest of the country and not political and party quotas, which are the main cause of the problems and corruption in the country.”

He added that the conditions given by some groups to elect a president will lead to a reduction in the power and position of the president. This causes return and a lack of agreement over the election of the president.

Hujjat al-Islam Fadhlullah referred to the continuing crisis in Syria and said no close prospect to resolve the humanitarian and infrastructure crises in this country can be seen and added, “Syria has been transformed into a battlefield between regional countries, Russia and the United States.”

“The Syrian crisis can be solved only through the war against terrorism and the terrorists,” the Lebanese cleric added.

His Eminence pointed to the readiness of Iraqi forces to begin the battle for the liberation of Mosul and said that in addition to this situation, we are witnessing a conflict and crisis between Iraq and Turkey.

“Turkey must respect the sovereignty and independence of Iraq and end its involvement in the crises affecting the country,” he added.

Beirut’s Friday prayer leader condemned the continuing crimes by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people and added we must thank some countries for their actions to help the Palestinians.

“Recently the Zaytounah [Olive] solidarity boat was sent to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. We appreciate and thank the activists, although they were arrested by the Zionists,” he said.

Hujjat al-Islam Fadhlullah noted the upcoming Day of Ashura and stressed that this day “does not belong only to Shi’as but to all Muslims,” and added, “Imam al-Husayn is the ‘master of the youths of paradise’ from the perspective of all Muslims because he offered his blood in the cause of reform, justice and change.”

In conclusion, he said: “Imam al-Husayn does not call on us to bloody our heads and bodies with swords and blades but rather he calls on us to continue on his path of justice and freedom. Imam al-Husayn did not bloody his head and body but was martyred by the sword on the battlefield.”

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