The death of the Prophet (p.) and the continuity of the Message

His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, Safar, 26th 1433 H. - January, 20th 2012. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer.

Following is a summary:

The First Sermon

In the first sermon, His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, commemorated the death anniversary of the Messenger of Allah (p.) who was to those who lived with him, the father, the teacher and the one who loved them and was merciful to them.
Although he was of an elevated status, he lived and worked with the Muslims like one of them; thus, they loved him more than they loved their families or wealth.
The Muslims who were at the time of the Messenger (p.) loved him to the extent that they cried when they thought that he will leave them in Heaven, since he would be in a more elevated position, and they were not relieved until the Messenger told them that the Muslim, in the Hereafter, would be with those he loved.
What will happen to the nation when the Messenger who was the example and the role model dies? How will the nation survive after him?
The Messenger (p.) was aware of this fact; thus, he educated his followers to be totally associated with Allah and Islam, since the love they held for him was because he guided them to Islam. He also told them that he had left among them the Book of Allah and his progeny, which if they followed, they would not be misguided. It was as if he bequeathed them a road map to follow after his death.
He (p.) told them in his farewell speech: “O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, also a white has no superiority over black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white, except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim, unless it was given freely and willingly. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my progeny that if you follow them, you will never go astray.”
The secret behind the Prophet's success is that he associated between theory and practice and between saying something and actually doing it. He also left them someone who would continue to carry the Message after him, so that there will be no vacuum. And who could that someone be other than Imam Ali (a.s.) whom none other than the Messenger had his knowledge, wisdom, and justice… etc.
The Messenger departed us in his body, but he has remained with us in his thought, spirit and work. He has bequeathed us the religion of Islam, for the sake of which he spent 23 years of hard labor to convey to us.
Our commitment to the Messenger (p.) is a commitment to Islam; thus, to be Muslim is to be committed to all what he said and did; to be patient as he was, to fight for the cause of Allah and sacrifice as he did and to love and hate as he did; that is, to love and hate for the sake of Allah.
Moreover, we should not be tempted by worldly temptations of wealth and position, nor to be afraid in our fight for the cause of Islam from any loss or harm.
Lastly, as we are faced in our reality with dissension and strife, we should promote the unity of the nation and exert every effort to unify its ranks.

The Second Sermon

The Sayyed started the second sermon by condemning the recent explosions in Iraq. He also called on the Iraqis to be aware of the threats underlying in any sectarian struggle, which calls on the officials to find solutions to the aggravating political situation as quickly as possible. Eventually, they have to sit down and negotiate, so why do not they hasten to do so, in order to alleviate the sufferings of the Iraqis.
In Syria, where the bloodshed continues, the Sayyed called on the Arab League to continue its efforts in trying to resolve the problem, demanding it not to come up with unrealistic solutions that if they fail, they would be used as an excuse for foreign intervention, which will not be in the interest of the Arabs, in general, and Syria, in particular.
In Bahrain, the nominal institutional reforms will not solve the problem that the country has been suffering from for over a year now. The only way to solve the problem is by holding a national dialogue away from any sectarian sensitivities or accusations of betrayal. 
In Yemen, too, the Sayyed is afraid that if no solution is found to the situation, some players would benefit and drag the country into a sectarian strife.
On another level, the UN Secretary General who visited Lebanon seemed indifferent towards the sufferings of the Lebanese from the Zionist entity and its continuous aggressions, not least of which is that which entails preventing Lebanon from benefiting of its oil resources, and he only warned against the “threat of the Resistance arms” whose only mission is to defend the country from these aggressions.
On the other hand, there are many issues which await being resolved by the Lebanese government, and which should not be lost amidst the apparent political divisions within the government.
The Sayyed called on the government to deal with the issues concerning the Lebanese conditions of living in a responsible manner, especially that the collapse of the building in Ashrafiyyeh has demonstrated the lack of seriousness in dealing with the people's urgent needs.
One cannot ask those who are concerned with sustenance, water and electricity and many such living problems to be able to face the big challenges of the homeland. They might turn to be desperate, and we all know where that could lead to.