قال امامنا الحسین صلوٰة الله و سلامه علیه:
This hadeeth of Imam Hussain (a.s) teaches us one very important principle in the life of every person, politician or very ordinary person. The Imam says, “those who try to attain objectives, via illegitimate actions, hasten their failure and guarantee their disappointment”. Muslims are advised to seek legal, logical, reasonable means to achieve their goals. It is not permitted for a person visit a disco or bar with the intention to enjoin the others with good deeds. So, when they are asked “why do you do this?” They say, “that our intention was good”, but that intention and that goal when it is achieved and attained by immoral or illegal or unlawful act, it is null and void. It is not acceptable.
When we hear the president of United States threatening to demolish Iran’s cultural sites, a majority Shia Muslim country, this is shocking to hear, not only for politicians, even for every Muslim, every Shia. Because they have Shias express the fear that this means attacking the Holy Shrines in places of worship and culture, the shrines and the places that the theological leadership and faith and culture are intertwined. This reminds them, reminds the Shias about the attack that the extreme Wahhabis did to the shrines of four Imams of Shia in Baqee in the holy city of Al-Madina Al-Munawwara. This reminds them of an attack of the Salafis on many cites in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in Samarra. The Holy Shrines of two Imams, Imam Hassan Al-Askari (a.s) and Imam Ali Al-Hadi (a.s), the tenth and eleventh, in Samarra by the Salafis, by the extremists. Where all Shias, not only Shias of Iraq were threatened and exercised the maximum of rejection and anger for this, so when the president of United States threatens to bombard and attack the Holy Shrines, the cultural centres that Shias understand, 52 of the cultural centres that the Shia understand that the Holy Shrines and the Hawzas, the seminaries and all historical places are included in this threat. He said that it is not a warning, it is a threat! So, why would someone who wants to win the elections use all this war crimes as a means to achieve his goals?
Brothers and sisters, in Islam, ends do not justify the means. You can’t use illegal tools or methods in order to achieve your goals. Even the character assassination, which was done to great General Soleimani, describing him as a terrorist. In reality, we read with the Christian priests that he protected the churches in Mosul, he protected the Christians, he protected the Yazeedis, and all Sunnis. It wasn’t just to protect the Shias. We notice that bravely and sacrificing their own lives, these really brave defenders of faith, and defenders of the dignity of their land. They not only protected the Shias, they included in that humane objective to protect and to look after the Yazeedis, the Christians and everyone there. Now, such a person is labelled as a terrorist whilst those who threaten to bombard innocent people and to attack and bombard the Holy Shrines, the cultural centres is after democracy and freedom. How can we believe that? So, here when we see that every atrocity is committed by so called superpowers , but those who have nothing in mind but to cease power, to have oil and arms in their hands, to think that this the time of imperialistic approach and they may think that we are opposing the politicians or the political leaders, but indeed they are causing maximum damage to people, to innocent people. So, what is the justification for that? Really, we have to understand that using illegal and unjustified tools in order to achieve the political whatever objectives is not acceptable. We have to say that this is a war crime. This is something against democracy, against human rights, but unfortunately those who have no idea, nothing in their mind but ceasing power and feeling superior to others have no respect for the lives of people. People, if they bow down towards them, they are good. Those who obey every nasty thing they say, they are good people. But, if they say no, they must be destroyed, they must be killed.
Brothers and sisters, we are in our time, in a very difficult and crucial time where specially we Shias, the followers of Ahlulbayt, we see that in every corner of the world, atrocities, attacks, injustice and unjust actions are taken against us. So, if we raise our voice, and we say that this is not right, then they label us with what? Being a terrorist! But in reality, who invented and who created and who supported the extremist and the terrorist in Daesh and ISIS in Iraq? None but those who are labelling us by being terrorists. So, our claim, our voice, our rejection, and our stance must be like this that it is not justified at all to attack innocent people, to destroy their economy, to think that they deserve, the people deserve to die and to be attacked and no idea about their lives just to say what? That they are superpowers, to feel more superior and at the same time, to feel upper-handed to exercise whatever they do?
Let’s conclude, we say that no person is allowed to use illegal or unjustified means to achieve their goals. If you use, as the Imam said, as Imam Hussain (a.s) said, those who try to attain objectives, via illegal and illegitimate actions, hasten their failure and guarantee their disappointment. This means that few minutes, few days they may feel “Oh, we have won the battle” but this is the beginning of the whole collapse of all injustice. Just remember Chinggis Khan, remember Hitler, remember many despotic rulers? Remember Saddam Husain? Who waged unjustified war against the innocent people of Iran for eight years. What was his end? So, if the despotic regimes, or rulers, the dictators remember the fate that is waiting for them, they should think again before taking these actions. In this crucial time, we invite people to act wisely, to be careful, not to give any excuse to their enemies to attack them. But at the same time, we have to make sure that everything which is legal is accepted. When you attack and you deny the sovereignty of another country to do whatever you want there as if they have no rights, this is not acceptable. When you allow yourselves to bring whatever weapons and arms in order to prove that you are the ruler, you are the decision maker, you are the people who have the say, this is wrong.
Let’s pray to Allah Subhanahu wa taala to give us the strength, and to protect the innocent people, to avoid all these confusions, and those who want to win the elections don’t use all these crimes in order to achieve their goals.
Wassalmu Alaikum wa ramatullahi wa barakatuh.