Sayyed Nasrallah’s Full Speech on the 13th of Muharram March
Translated by Al-Ahed News, Hezbollah Media Relations
Speech of Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the Great Husseini March on the 13th of Muharram in Nabatiyeh.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Master and Prophet, the Seal of Prophets, Abi al-Qassem Muhammad Bin Abdullah, and his good and pure household and his good and chosen companions and all the prophets and messengers.
Peace be upon you, O my master and my chief, O Abu Abdullah, and upon the souls that gathered in your courtyard. Peace of Allah be upon you from me forever as long as I am existent and as long as there are day and night.
May Allah not cause this [visit] to be the last of my visit to you [all]. Peace be upon al-Husayn [Imam Hussein], upon Ali ibn al-Husayn, upon the sons of al-Husayn, and upon the companions of al-Husayn.
Honorable scholars, brothers, and sisters, may the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you all.
May God increase your reward and accept your efforts. You have come from all the surrounding villages, neighborhoods, and cities, enduring the sun and this intense heat. I ask God Almighty to accept your sincere, faithful, and loving endeavor that expresses the truth of your allegiance and loyalty to the Messenger of God and his household and to Abu Abdullah [peace be upon them all].
It's very hot, and you have a long journey ahead of you. The occasion does not give me time to deliver my usual address. I will talk briefly, God willing.
1- Continuing [Ashura] commemorations:
We must carry on with commemorations in Nabatieh after the 10th [of Muharram]. The processions that are held, whether by our brothers in the Amal Movement, by Hezbollah, or by other people, are very suitable for this historical event, its greatness, its sanctity, as well as its emotional, spiritual, and moral dimensions.
This is especially true for the second stage following the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, his children, and his companions on the Day of Ashura. This is also the stage when our Imam Zain Al-Abidin, our Lady Zainab, and the rest of Imam Hussein’s family were held in captivity.
It was a very important and crucial stage that complemented what happened before and on the 10th day [of Muharram]. His Eminence Imam Khamenei called it the jihad of clarification with all the hardships and difficulties.
During that stage, Zainab stood in the court of Ibn Ziyad or Yazid and delivered a strong sermon full of words of courage and awareness. She spoke consciously and with knowledge about the future. She addressed the people of Kufa and reprimanded them. Her sermons paved the way for future revolutions.
Imam Hussein [peace be upon him] planned this when he took his family, including his sisters, wives, and daughters, with him to Karbala.
Therefore, who was the leader of the jihad of clarification after the era of Ashura? Imam Hussein’s son Zain al-Abidin, his two sisters, Zainab and Umm Kulthum, and his two daughters Sukaina and Fatima.
It is important to keep up with historical events. Commemorations must continue in Muharram and Safar and not end on the 10th of Muharram, even if the events of that day constitute the climax of the Husayni confrontation and is the day of the great martyrdom.
Brothers and sisters, one of the greatest lessons of Karbala is when your Taklif [responsibility] is to stand until the last breath for the sake of your religion and your sanctities, and the lesson of Karbala is our lesson until the Day of Resurrection. We must stand and be steadfast and not allow anything to shake us.
In Karbala, on the tenth day [of Muharram], the siege, thirst – that not only afflicted the fighters but also the women, children, and infants – the hunger, the lack of supporters, the large number of the enemies, the betrayal, the abandonment of others, the estrangement, or knowing the result of the fighting in advance did change Imam Hussein’s position, movement, and behavior.
This is because he was shouldering his divine, religious, and human responsibility towards his grandfather’s religion and nation.
One of the greatest lessons in Karbala is for a person to assume responsibility, so that a stage comes when he makes sacrifices within the framework of this responsibility. This means that one must not flee, not give up, hide, and stand on the sidelines but rather shoulder the responsibility regardless of the sacrifices.
Yesterday, pages of the Holy Quran were burned in Sweden by the same cursed criminal with the protection of the Swedish police, and an image symbolizing Imam Hussein was also burned.
I believe that this behavior is a humiliating challenge. In my opinion, it is a humiliating, offensive and degrading challenge to two billion Muslims in the world.
A filthy person – a spy for the Mossad – under the protection of the Swedish police insulted two billion Muslims in the world. We can see the hypocrisy of the Swedish government.
On the one hand, the Swedish Foreign Ministry denounces such an act. On the other, the Swedish Interior Ministry authorizes it, and the Swedish police protects the perpetrator. This is hypocrisy. This is the European and Western hypocrisy. The Danish government is doing the same thing.
Yesterday, we witnessed the indolence and weakness of most of the governments of the Islamic countries in the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation [OIC].
Neither you nor I were expecting a firm and decisive stance from yesterday's meeting, but we were giving them time and argument.
Unfortunately, the countries of the Islamic world issued a statement denouncing the act and calling on every country to act according to what it sees fit, as if some countries value the Quran more than others.
It also called for the formation of a delegation to the European Union to talk to them so that this act will not be repeated. What is the bargaining chip that this delegation has during its negotiations with the EU?
Nothing. Is it going to threaten them with severing diplomatic ties and economic relations or designating them as belligerent states? No, it will not.
Of course, this is not surprising at all. Believe me, brothers and sisters, in some of these countries, if the insult was directed at a king, a prince, the wife of a king, a president, his son, daughter, or family, this action would be denounced. Ambassadors would have been expelled. They would’ve threatened to sever diplomatic relations.
However, these lifeless people did not lift a finger when the Holy Quran was burned several times.
In any case, in the face of this meager, humiliating, and weak reality on the part of most Islamic countries in supporting the Noble Quran, one understands some of the suffering of Imam Hussein and what he said at that time, “Don't you see that the right is not conveyed and the wrong is not prohibited. Let believers wish to die and righteously meet their God. To me, death is nothing but happiness, and living under tyrants nothing but living in a hell.”
Life with this kind of neglectful, weak rulers, who do not even have the courage and determination to defend their Quran and sanctities is hell.
In reality, man lives through this bitterness – “ to me, death is nothing but happiness, and living under tyrants nothing but living in a hell.”
In any case, brothers and sisters, yesterday, while I was watching this cursed person burn the Quran, I thought if we could hear the torn Quran, it would have asking the two billion Muslims in the world: ‘Is there anyone to help me?’ Two billion Muslims in the world are in fact facing this challenge.
On the tenth day [of Muharram], we said we would wait until Monday to see if the OIC will take a firm stance. Of course, we were not expecting it to do so. The waiting is over.
O Muslim youth in the world, O brave youth, O zealous youth, there is no longer any sense in waiting for anyone, neither the OIC, nor the Arab League, nor rulers, nor governments, nor armies.
You must shoulder your responsibility and support your Quran and sanctities and punish these criminals, aggressors, and cursed people with the most severe punishment.
God willing, the day will come when these people regret and curse the hour they were born for desecrating, burning, and tearing our Quran.
Brothers and sisters, in the face of this painful and solemn incident, people also understand what happened in our contemporary history, in 1948 when a large part of Palestine was occupied and in 1967 when Al-Quds was occupied. How were Palestine and Al-Quds lost? A small group of Zionists against hundreds of millions of Muslims, and Palestine and al-Quds were lost.
There were statements of denunciation, demonstrations, poems, chants in all the Arab and Islamic worlds, but there were few gun bearers, real fighters, and sacrificing mujahideen. That’s how Palestine and Al-Quds were lost. This is how it happened, and this is how we understand what happened in Lebanon in 1982.
Lebanon would have been lost if the Lebanese people had waited for the Arab world, the Islamic world, the Arab League, and the OIC. However, awareness, insight, wisdom, and the legacy of our prominent scholars in Lebanon, foremost among them His Eminence Imam Musa al-Sadr, the blessings of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and the revolutionary calls of Imam Khomeini prevented that from happening.
There was an awakening in Lebanon; the Lebanese people did not wait for anyone to fight or resist. One of the first bright and luminous beginnings took place, here, in Nabatiyeh, in its city, in its Ashura courtyard on the tenth day of Muharram. The people did not wait for anyone; they relied on God and on their men and women and a few of their friends in the world, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria.
The Lebanese people were able to prevent Lebanon from being lost and occupied and for “Israel” to swallow it, build settlements in it, loot its water, and encroach on its gas and oil. Isn’t this the truth?
What is happening today in the world, when comparing recent to distant history, increases our conviction, brothers and sisters, that our choice is the right one. And that what is sometimes being said in Lebanon and around us in the region are trifles that are not even worthy of being discussed.
The Arab League, the OIC, the Muslim states, the Arab states, the hypocritical, lying, and traitorous international community that does not recognize religious values or sanctities cannot protect this country.
The resistance is the one that protects this country, the people of this country, its land, its water, its resources, its men and women, its dignity, its sovereignty, and its freedom. Isn't this the truth? All evidence confirms this fact, and this is what we insist on doing.
On this day, from the city of Nabatiyeh, we renew our pledge and commitment to this resilient, rebellious, courageous, zealous, and steadfast Husseini approach, which cannot be shaken by siege, thirst, hunger, threat, war, or any other factors that our enemies resort to.
Brothers and sisters, if the rulers in our Islamic world do not have the courage and zeal to defend the Holy Quran, will they defend our land, Lebanon, and al-Aqsa Mosque?
Who is now protecting this desecration? Sweden and Denmark. What great political or economic interests the countries of the Islamic world have with Sweden and Denmark that they do not resort to a position of this kind? It’s strange! If the problem was with the Americans, we’d say they fear the American sanctions. But Sweden and Denmark! O Arab world, O Islamic world. In any case, these are the calculations of states.
When we waited for states, our people failed, but when the people rose up, we triumphed. We are in the era of victories. We place our bets on our peoples and resistance in defending our sanctities and our symbols.
Here, too, I address the Palestinian people. Some people appear on television in Palestine and ask about the Arab world, rulers, and states. I urge them not to wait for them and instead to bet on your people, sons, daughters, and the people and countries that belong to the axis of resistance in the region that are standing by you.
As for the rest, just look at how they acted to the desecration of the Quran. Imagine how they’d act if Al-Aqsa mosque was attacked. You will only hear statements of denunciation, condemnation, protest, and peace from these rulers. That’s it.
However, the resistance fighters, the weapons of the resistance fighters, and the readiness of the resistance fighters in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and the entire region will prevent – is preventing – the attack on Al-Aqsa mosque and defend this sanctity. We will not allow the Zionists to harm it from near or far.
Brothers and sisters, I said I will not take up much of your time. There are only two more points left.
1 - What is happening in Ain al-Hilweh [refugee] camp is painful, sad, and unfortunate because it harms everyone and involves blood, displacement, and bad and agonizing repercussions. These families have been displaced to Sidon and its vicinity.
On this day, we also appeal to everyone in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, to stop the fighting, to appeal to the judiciary, to the wise to stop the fighting in any way.
Everyone who can contribute with a word or a phone call to stop the fighting must do so. It is their religious, legal, moral, humane, and national responsibility. This fighting must not continue because its impact is detrimental to Sidon, the neighboring areas, the South and the whole Lebanon.
2- Army Day falls on one of these day. We greet the Lebanese Army, this national institution, its leadership, officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers.
We see the Lebanese army as one of the pillars of the golden equation that protects Lebanon in the face of "Israel". It is the main guarantor for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and stability.
Therefore, we must preserve this institution, support it, take care of it so that it is able to perform its responsibility. It is already carrying out this responsibility and making many sacrifices. Its officers and soldiers are exposed to many troubles and dangers in the field, and there are martyrs among them.
I will stop here. I thank you again for your great presence on this day, and I ask God Almighty to accept from you, your participation in the march, your patience, your thirst, and your endurance of hardships on this day because you are reminding the world of that great incident as well as the words of Hussein on the tenth day and the words of Hussein, echoed by Zainab, after the tenth. These words remained in history and will remain until the Day of Resurrection.
Peace be upon you, O my master and my chief, O Abu Abdullah, and upon the souls that gathered in your courtyard. Peace of Allah be upon you from me forever as long as I am existent and as long as there are day and night.
May Allah not cause this [visit] to be the last of my visit to you [all]. Peace be upon al-Husayn [Imam Hussein], upon Ali ibn al-Husayn, upon the sons of al-Husayn, and upon the companions of al-Husayn who sacrificed their lives for the sake of al-Husayn.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you O loyal Husseinis and loyal Zainabi women.
