The Friday sermon for jun 26, 2026 (corresponding to 10 Muharram 1448 AH) - Sayed Hashim Behbehani Mosque - Sheikh Ali Hassan Ghuloum - Kuwait

 

The 1st sermon:

On the Threshold of the Great Parting

When a person loses a beloved, it is a momentous affliction. When one loses a brother, the tragedy is monumental. When one loses a son, the calamity is absolute. What manner of catastrophe, then, befell Al-Aqeelah Zaynab on the Day of Ashura?!

What parting is this? O Hussain... What parting is this, whose caravan chime is the lashes of executioners, surrounded by the blades of swords, perfumed by the scent of blood, and chanted for by the gasps of weeping?

What parting is this, which served as the ultimate realization of your profound yearning for your ancestors, who were granted the Eternal Abode in a seat of truth near a Sovereign Omnipotent?

What parting is this, which fulfilled the words of truth you proclaimed in the heavens of the Divine Sanctuary, echoing across its horizons with a longing akin to that of Jacob for Joseph—after separation grew long, and the yearning of memories deepened the wound?

What parting is this—my dear brother Hussain—while the wolves of the wilderness have severed your limbs, and their hollow bellies remain unslaked... out of malice and vileness?

Let me—my dear brother Hussain—kiss your neck, upon which the blades of fate have etched their final word, crowning you with the loftiest medals of martyrdom.

Can your shattered limbs beneath the hooves of horses ever fill my embrace, just as your body once filled the embrace of our mother, Al-Zahra? Can the warmth of your gaze ever return, so I may read peace within it, and close my eyes upon it in tranquility?

Far be it from my eyes to close, while the dust of Karbala refuses but to rest upon my eyelids! Far be it from me to taste the sweetness of sleep hereafter, while the embers of Al-Taff have ignited my sleeplessness!

What parting is this, while I leave my soul to choose: shall I grieve over your tragedy, or endure it in agonized patience? Yet, I remembered that tender testament: "Be patient, O solace of my eyes, and do not tear your garment for me. As long as I hold a place within your heart, keep your radiant face pure from the scratches of despair or the bleeding blows of grief."

So I endured, and endured, and endured, beholding you as you stood entirely alone... Your eyes were gazing into the unseen realms, opening upon a thousand and one wounds. Your wound was bleeding tears for the strayed souls, over a thousand wildernesses of wandering lost behind the folds of time.

And your hands—oh, what bounty that brings down the rain! From which the thirsty drink—those who point toward the downpour in the eagerness of their quest. O thirsty seekers of truth, where do we run? And what does the soul possess of the yearnings of light?

For awareness possesses a cry of hunger, groaning with the sorrow of the famished; it opens its mouth, yearning for the secret hidden deep behind the caves.

Alone you stood... while within your eyes, blood infused the air, just as roses in the splendor of spring scatter their fragrance. The blood of martyrdom—which crafts the blossoms, to plant a rose of the Divine Message in every generation.

So that the caravan may march on, tracing the path of dignity for the sake of glory, embracing the spirit of chivalry with love. And in the tomorrow of truth, lies a thousand hopes.

At the dawn, the call of "the best of deeds" resounds, while you cry out: "O believers... come unto me! For within my words lies the secret of life, and within my footsteps is the path of salvation."

And upon the rhythm of your footsteps, I walk—my dear brother Hussain—for I bear witness that you are the Lamp of Guidance and the Ark of Salvation.

The 2nd sermon:

The Root of Savagery: Satanic Envy and the Tragedy of Karbala

The Paradox of Denial

In the Quranic discourse, the human soul is often dissected to reveal the hidden illnesses that drive history’s greatest injustices. One of the most profound manifestations of this is found in Surah An-Nisa, where the Divine Verse states: "Do they envy [other] people for the bounty God has granted them? We gave the descendants of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom- and We gave them a great kingdom." (4:54).

This noble verse was revealed within a specific historical context, addressing the hostile and paradoxical stance of certain factions among the People of the Book toward the Divine Message and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They denied the truth, rejected the light, and went as far as aligning themselves with idol-worshipping polytheists against the Prophet and the believers. The Quran captures this baffling alignment in a preceding verse: "Do you not see how those given a share of the Scripture, [evidently] now believe in idols and evil powers? They say of the disbelievers, ‘They are more rightly guided than the believers." (4:51).

This raises a fundamental question regarding human psychology: Why did they adopt such a self-destructive stance? They understood, in the deepest recesses of their souls, that monotheists who believed in prior prophets and revelations were inherently closer to them and better guided than the polytheists. Yet, they chose betrayal. The Quranic verdict provides the definitive answer: it was nothing but pure, unadulterated envy (Hasad).

The Archetype of Envy

This destructive paradigm is not new; it is as old as creation itself. The ultimate predecessor in this self-ruin was Iblis (Satan), who blended arrogance with envy to seal his eternal damnation. His audacity manifested in his defiant address to the Almighty regarding Prophet Adam: "And [then] said, ‘You see this being You have honoured above me? If You reprieve me until the Day of Resurrection, I will lead all but a few of his descendants by the nose." (Al-Isra, 17:62). The sheer insolence in his discourse with God and his outright defiance stem from a single root: the inability to accept that divine bounty was bestowed upon another.

From Cosmic Defiance to Ashura

This very same satanic envy bridges the gap between cosmic history and the sands of Karbala. There is no doubt that for the perpetrators who fought Imam Hussain or orchestrated his assassination—such as Yazid ibn Muawiyah, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, and Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan—a driving force behind their atrocities on the Day of Ashura was this ancient, venomous envy. They recognized the spiritual supremacy, the prophetic lineage, and the divine grace embodied by Hussain, and it was precisely this recognition that fueled their hatred.

This psychological drive provides a profound explanation for the monstrous savagery witnessed on that fateful day. It unmasks the root cause behind crimes that defy basic human nature: the severing of holy heads, the trampling of Hussain’s sacred body under the hooves of horses, and the countless barbaric acts documented in historical accounts. It was not merely a political war; it was an attempt to obliterate the physical manifestation of divine bounty out of sheer spite.

"We Are the Envied"

Ultimately, this historical and spiritual reality stands as a profound realization of the narration attributed to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS) in Al-Kafi. Commenting on the verse, "Do they envy [other] people for the bounty God has granted them?" the Imam declared with absolute clarity: "We are the envied people." The Ahl al-Bayt (Prophet's Family) inherited the divine legacy, and in doing so, they inherited the envy of the spiritual descendants of Iblis—a timeless struggle between those who embody divine light and those who seek to extinguish it out of envy.