On the occasion of the Hijri New Year, the Sheikh Al-Aql of the Unitarian Druze community, Sheikh Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, issued a message, the text of which is as follows:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his pure and good family and companions.
Between the first of Muharram—the date of the Prophet's (PBUH) migration to Medina—and the first of Muharram of the year 1446 AH, there lies a long distance of time that carries within it treasures of lessons, ideas, and themes. It holds a glorious Islamic message carried by the migrant Prophet (peace be upon him), through which he perfected the favor and completed the religion: "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion." It is a human message carried by his loyal companions and his righteous family, striving to uphold the word of Truth—sometimes through kind, influential words and the language of reason and logic, and other times through Jihad and decisive confrontation—for no other purpose than that the word of God should be the highest, confirming the Almighty’s saying: "...and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of God – that is the highest. And God is Exalted in Might and Wise.".
The Prophet (PBUH) entered Medina as a migrant from Mecca, and through his message, it became "Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah" (the Enlightened City). Does enlightenment mean anything other than the light of Truth and Monotheism (Tawhid)? Does Truth and Monotheism mean anything other than worshipping the One, Unique God? And does worshipping the One, Unique God mean anything other than knowing Him and living honestly with Him? A knowledge without doubt, and a luminous life untainted by darkness. That is the message that necessitated the migration; it is a journey of endeavor and struggle to reach the ultimate goal, which is what the Prophet migrated for in order to fulfill the Almighty’s saying: "Indeed, the religion in the sight of God is Islam," meaning the Islam that does not conflict in any way with what came in previous books and what the Prophets and Messengers brought. It is not isolated from what came before it, nor is it a negation of it; rather, it is what the Prophet (PBUH) called for in terms of Monotheism and worship—a Monotheism of the One, Unique God that shatters the idols of stone, thought, and backwardness, and a worship of the Eternal Individual that transcends the worship of slaves and merchants to the worship of the noble and free. That is gnosis (Irfan), and gnosis is Monotheism.
The Prophet carried the message, enduring, patient, striving, determined, confident, and speaking what God Almighty revealed to him. He challenged risks and obstacles, confronting when the message required confrontation, and debating when the message called for arguing in the best way, establishing in both cases the foundations of faith in hearts, virtues in society, and human unity in the one nation. He called for brotherhood among Muslims and equality among all people, commanding what is good, forbidding what is evil, and forbidding everything that might cause a person to deviate from the paths of goodness to the abyss of desire.
Migration has no meaning or value if it is not in line with what the Prophet intended and was commanded to do, whether the intent was to avoid strife or to elevate the mission; both are worthy of travel and the traveler. Through such a migration—which bears the meanings of both avoidance and elevation—the goal is achieved and the message is preserved. Just as the monotheistic spirit does not live except by avoidance and acquisition, and resilient societies are not built except by fighting ailments and vices and cultivating morals and virtues.
As with every anniversary, holiday, and occasion, we reflect on the state of the people and the reality of our country. We remind, perhaps the reminder will be of benefit and awakening to consciences. We raise our voices, perhaps the ears of officials will hear, their eyes will see, and their consciences will awaken. Do they not live what the people live of fear for the future and anxiety about destiny? Are they not wary of the structure collapsing on its inhabitants in light of the events and persistent Israeli aggressions the region is witnessing? Do they not know that discord dissipates hopes and understanding generates achievements? How long must we wait? Can a homeland be built without a respected constitution and a followed system? Or can a state be managed without an organizing head and a heart that encompasses everyone? Are we not today in dire need of taking the initiative and starting serious consultation and honest, frank dialogue to elect a President of the Republic before things worsen and something worse happens in light of the daily aggressive military escalation and Israeli encroachment on the resilient southern Lebanon? Have we lost the ability to reach an internal understanding that takes into account the required balances, and have we become hostage to an expected external understanding that considers the balances between countries and solves the intractable knots in the region?
Israel, the usurper of the land of Palestine, greedy for the wealth of Lebanon, and disregarding international resolutions and the feelings of the entire world with the brutal massacres it commits in Gaza, should not be met with internal helplessness, presidential vacancy, and random political tension. Rather, it should be met with more assumption of responsibility, national solidarity, meeting on the higher national interest, and confirming the national unity that supports the deterrent resistance work and heroic field confrontation.
We need to draw truth from that great historical event by strengthening faith and confirming that truth, justice, fairness, and the rejection of injustice and aggression are the paths to salvation. This starts with turning towards self-purification, cleansing it from ailments, moving on to purifying society from vices and the nation from obstacles, and achieving reform here and there. This is done by bringing the soul out of the ordeal of doubt into the realms of certainty, society out of the ordeal of disintegration and decay into the oasis of adherence to values, cohesion, and hope, and the nation out of the ordeal of state helplessness, institutional vacuum, and bearing risks into the oasis of progress, prosperity, and victory.
We ask God Almighty to awaken consciences, revive insights, and inspire everyone to the right path, by the blessing of the goodness and guidance this blessed occasion carries. May He return it to our nation and to the Lebanese with goodness and peace, and inspire us all with the paths of salvation. Indeed, He is the Generous, the Forbearing, and He, Glory be to Him, is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.