25 November, 2005: Yemen Friday Sermon

Sanaa Republic of Yemen Television in Arabic, official television station of the Republic of Yemen, carries at 0903 GMT a live sermon from the Grand Mosque in Sanaa.

Shaykh Akram Abd-al-Razzaq al-Ruqayhi delivers the sermon, which he devotes to the theme of injustice, saying that there are many forms of injustice but the worst is the Muslim's injustice to his fellow Muslim by spilling his blood. He says: "O Muslim, the sanctity of blood in Islam is important. Thus God has not made any penalty stronger than the one for murder."

He cites the Koranic verse: "If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is hell, to abide therein forever; the wrath and curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful chastisement is prepared for him." He also cites the oft-quoted remark by Prophet Muhammad: "Your blood, property, and honor are sacrosanct."

The imam devotes the rest of the sermon to speaking about other forms of injustice: The injustice of the husband to his "wife or wives" and the father to his children by not treating them equally, as well as the injustice of the merchant to fellow citizens by cheating in price, weight, and quality of goods.

The imam continues with the same theme in the second sermon. He says God answers the prayers of the unjustly treated person, and urges the unjust to restore rights to their rightful owners.

The imam concludes with a prayer for pardon and mercy.