“Wisdom” is one of the greatest blessings

During the first part of his Friday sermon in Zahedan (May 3rd , 2024), Sheikh ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol Hamid referred to “wisdom” as one of the greatest blessings. He stated that someone who receives the blessing of wisdom can distinguish truth from falsehood and right from wrong.
According to the website of the Office of the Friday Imam of Zahedan, Sheikh ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol Hamid, after reciting the verse “And indeed We granted Luqman wisdom, that he should be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful is grateful only for his own soul. And whoever is ungrateful, then indeed Allah is Rich (Independent) and Praiseworthy” [Luqman: 12], stated:
“Wisdom is one of the greatest blessings. We should thank Allah Almighty for all His blessings, both material and spiritual, especially the great blessing of ‘wisdom’. Wisdom is defined as practical knowledge and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. There are many people who have knowledge, but they may not be righteous or pious, or they may not have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong; they are not wise. Acting upon knowledge is itself wisdom and cognition. If a scholar does not act upon his knowledge, he is a scholar without cognition or wisdom. When a person has wisdom, he uses his knowledge, and others also benefit from his knowledge and wisdom.”
He further stated: “Allah Almighty had bestowed upon Prophet Luqman practical knowledge, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and wisdom. Allah Almighty had given Prophet Luqman many blessings, but He considered wisdom to be the greatest and instructed him to thank Allah for this blessing. Wisdom is superior to kingship, power, position, status, wealth, possessions, and material blessings.”

Unitarianism is the foundation of faith
The Friday prayer leader of Zahedan added: “Prophet Luqman, the wise, considered the most important right of Allah to be Unitarianism and the oneness of God. He advised his son, saying, ‘O my son! Give thanks to Allah and do not associate anyone with Him.’ Allah Almighty says: ‘Indeed, your Lord is one God’ [Al-Kahf: 110]. Indeed, your God is one and only God. Whoever desires to meet Allah should not associate anyone with Him. Unitarianism is the root and foundation of faith and the greatest blessing of Allah Almighty. Shirk (Association with GOD) is the greatest injustice and a great sin and is not forgivable either; ‘Allah does not forgive that partners are associated with Him, but He forgives whoever He wills other than that’ [An-Nisaa: 116]. Allah Almighty does not forgive anyone who associates with Him.”
Continuing his sermon, Sheikh ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol Hamid stated: “After the right of Allah Almighty, comes the right of parents. Allah Almighty has commanded us to be kind and do good to our parents. Whatever a child has, he has it from his parents. The mother carries the child in her womb and faces weakness, pressures, and hardships during the pregnancy period. All the time, she worries about her child, lest he be harmed. After childbirth, raising a child is also very difficult. There is insomnia and anxiety; the child gets sick, and the mother is troubled by him. Therefore, I emphasize to the children that you should not be indifferent to your parents.”
Mawlana Abdol Hamid emphasized: If parents compel their children to disobey God and commit association with GOD (associating partners with God), then their obedience is not obligatory. A companion of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) believed in the Oneness of God, and his mother became angry with him and swore that she would not eat until she died and her son was disgraced unless he renounced Islam. The son said to his mother, “Even if you die not once but repeatedly, I will not abandon my faith and I will not associate anyone with God.” When the mother realized that her son was determined and that she would lose her own life, she broke her oath. Therefore, no one should disobey God for the sake of anyone else; do not disobey the commands of God for the sake of parents, rulers, teachers, or mentors.
He further added: Luqman (peace be upon him) said to his son, “If a good or bad deed is as small as a mustard seed, and this seed is in the heavens or in the depths of the earth or within a rock, Allah will bring it forth on the Day of Judgment. ‘Whoever does an particle’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an particle’s weight of evil will see it’ [Zalzalah: 7-8].” If someone does good as small as a mustard seed, they will see its reward and outcome on the Day of Judgment.

“Prayer” is servitude to Allah Almighty and a manifestation of devotion to Him
The Friday Imam of Zahedan further stated: After faith, the reminder of the Hereafter, Judgment Day, and Scale of Deeds, Luqman (peace be upon him) advised his son to establish prayer. Prayer is the most important pillar and foundation of religion after confessing the word of faith. Parents should strive to correct the beliefs of their children and guide them on the right path of Unitarianism, belief in the hereafter, and establishing prayer. He added: Prayer is servitude to Allah Almighty, supplication and communion with God, and a manifestation of devotion to Him. Prayer is an expression of humility, helplessness, and submission to God. Prayer is important, establish it. Establishing prayer means taking a complete ablution and when you stand for prayer, try to focus your attention on the prayer. It is narrated in a hadith that when a person stands for prayer, Allah Almighty removes all the veils between Himself and His servant and directly pays attention to him. He continued: The devil reminds us of things that we do not remember outside of prayer. So fight the devil in prayer and turn your attention to Allah and stand before God with humility and with all your being. Pray on time and with commitment. If a prayer is missed, make it up. Try to pray in the mosque and in the row of worshipers. Allah Almighty loves prayer and loves it to be performed in the row of believers and in congregation.

If there is no ‘enjoining good and forbidding evil’, society will not be reformed
The Friday Imam of Zahedan stated: Another point that Luqman (peace be upon him) considered important and emphasized was “enjoining good and forbidding evil” (amr bil-ma’ruf wa an-nahi an-al-munkar). Luqman said to his son, “O my son! Encourage people to do good and deter them from sin, transgression, and disobedience to God. And if someone is displeased with you or harms you in this path, be patient.” He added: Patience in the face of adversity and hardships is one of the most important and great deeds. Belief in unitarianism, the Hereafter, and the prophethood, establishing prayer, calling to Allah, and reforming society are among the major pillars of religion. If prayer is neglected or if enjoining good and forbidding evil is not practiced, society will not be reformed.

Those who take hostages for extortion are far from religion and humanity
Mawlana Abdol Hamid further condemned “hostage-taking” and said: Unfortunately, sin, negligence, theft, and hostage-taking have increased today. Some people take hostage those who have dignity and honor and do halal business for extortion. This phenomenon is one of the worst and ugliest phenomena. Hostage-taking and destroying people’s dignity is illegal and haram even if it is for debt and receivables because there are other ways to get the receivables.
He clarified: Those who take hostages, especially for the purpose of extortion, are people who are unaware of God and are far from religion and humanity. This is a great injustice, and if these injustices are not stopped, there is a danger of divine wrath. Everyone’s duty is heavy; elders, clerics, university professors, cultural figures, women, and all walks of life should do their duty as much as they can and stop these atrocities.

The government should allow Sunnis to pray freely
During the Friday prayers on May 3, 2024, Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid, the prominent Sunni religious leader, expressed strong criticism of the Iranian government’s inconsistent and contradictory policies regarding prayer practices. He vehemently called upon the authorities to grant Sunnis the right to perform their prayers freely without any restrictions.
According to a report by the website of the Office of the Friday Prayer Leader of the Sunnis of Zahedan, Mawlana Abdol-Hamid, referring to the approved budget for prayer and the contradictory and inconsistent policies in this regard, said: Many Sunnis in large cities have difficulty and are in a bind for performing prayers, and many prayer halls have been closed. Preventing people from prayer is an anti-Islamic act. In many cities, there is not enough space for Sunni mosques in proportion to the population and per capita, and permits for building mosques have not been granted.
Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid said: It is astonishing that in a country known as the Islamic Republic, people are prevented from praying! This issue is disturbing.
He continued: The government should spend the prayer budget elsewhere and just allow Sunnis in minority cities to have mosques and prayer halls proportionate to their population and to pray freely. Preventing prayer is against Islam and the constitution. Religious extremists are creating problems, and they need to be stopped.

The responsible authorities must fulfill their duty to deal with the hostage-takers
The Friday prayer leader of the Sunnis of Zahedan has emphasized the responsibility of all members of society and the government to confront insecurity and hostage-taking, saying: “The government’s responsibility is very heavy. It is the responsibility of the officials to establish the security of individuals and society.”
He said: “It is a question that how in a city that is relatively militarized and where there are agents on all axes and they control everyone, people are taken hostage and no action is taken and it is not clear who is doing these things.”
Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid added: “If the law enforcement, security and judicial authorities fulfill their responsibilities and identify and arrest these people and it is made clear who the perpetrators of the hostage-takings are, the security of the people will be guaranteed.” He also advised the families of the victims of hostage-taking not to pay ransom to the hostage-takers in order to prevent the increase of hostage-taking in society.

Officials have also admitted that the national currency has no value
The Friday prayer leader of the Sunnis of Zahedan congratulated the workers on the occasion of International Workers’ Day and said: “Workers play a fundamental and influential role everywhere in the world.”

He stated: “The most important issue in the country is the economy and the people’s livelihood. We do not know why the officials are not taking any steps to solve these problems. Are they incapable, and the situation is out of their control? Or are there other reasons?” The subsidy given to the people has no value, and the value of the national currency, according to a high-ranking official in the country, is equivalent to scrap paper. Everyone agrees that the national currency has no value. In such difficult and urgent circumstances, it is better to spend the country’s assets and income on the people’s livelihood.”

Spend the billion-dollar budget of the Seminaries to improve people’s livelihood
Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid said: “In the same budget for the year 1403 (2024-2025), tens of thousands of billions of tomans have been allocated to centers and seminaries. We charitably say spend these budgets on workers, teachers, retirees and the homeless.”
He added: “The independence of clerics and seminaries is very vital, because they must order governments and society to do good and reform. When scholars and seminaries take money, they cannot speak and fulfill their duty, and this is a harm. Our sincere advice to clerics is to fulfill their primary duty to reform governments and not receive a rial from the government.”
The Friday prayer leader of the Sunnis of Zahedan also referred to May 1st and the occasion of “Teacher’s Day”, and congratulated the teachers on this day, pointing to the fundamental, constructive and important role of the teacher, and said: “The voices of the teachers must be heard and their problems solved.”

Punish the criminals of torture and rape regardless of their rank and status
Sheikh al-Islam Mawlana Abdol Hamid expressed concern about the killing of some Mahsa protest activists and said: These incidents should be investigated impartially. Officials in power today must be impartial towards the people and security forces at all levels. They should act impartially and transparently. If someone has committed a crime, they should be punished regardless of their position or rank. If a human being has been killed, even if the killer is a minister, they must be punished. He further added: Rape and torture are prohibited in Islam and the laws of the country, and if someone has committed such crimes, he should be punished based on the same law that has given legitimacy to the government – regardless of the person’s relationship and position.
Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol Hamid stated that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his precious Companions, the Righteous Caliphs, and Ahl al-Bayt started justice from themselves, and stated: Any government in the world cannot claim to implement justice until it starts justice from itself.

The awakened consciences worldwide demand an end to the war in Palestine
The Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, representing the Sunni community, addressed the recent uprising of American university students in support of Gaza. He stated that the destruction of Gaza and the relentless bombings by Israel deeply trouble the awakened consciences globally. The student uprising in universities, composed of various religions, nations, and ethnicities around the world, seeks an end to decades of slaughter, devastation, and war in Palestine.

He added: “Our recommendation is also that the continuation of the war is detrimental to the world and even to the Israeli regime. There are also opposing groups within Israel who are against the continuation of the war. We advise Hamas not to delay the release of hostages and urge various countries to pressure Israel for a ceasefire so that the shadow of war is lifted from the people of Palestine as soon as possible.”