The scholar Sayyed Ali Fadlallah sponsored the celebration held by the Imam Al-Ridha Charity in Nabatieh on the occasion of the birth of Imam Al-Ridha, attended by religious, educational, cultural and social figures and members of the charity's Council of Friends.
The ceremony opened with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, then the Lebanese national anthem, after which the charity's children presented the charity's new anthem, followed by a word from the charity's director Rabiaa Al-Faqih, who welcomed those present and thanked them for their continuous support of the charity on every level.
There was then a word from the orphans' mothers, which included thanks to the charity for embracing the orphans and caring for them.
After that the scholar Fadlallah delivered a speech in which he congratulated those present on the anniversary of the birth of Imam Al-Ridha, “whose name this institution bears and who is a byword for it in all its activity - which places on it a doubled and great responsibility to be worthy of this belonging”. He spoke of Imam Al-Ridha's qualities at the level of worship, forbearance, breadth of spirit, good character, modesty, openness, giving and generosity.
His Eminence affirmed that “these institutions are from the people and to the people, and thanks to the spirit of purity, truthfulness and sincerity they have been able to win your trust and society's trust. They have carried on in their giving, in fulfilling their humanitarian mission, in providing their services, in embracing orphans and the poor and in easing society's pains, despite all the difficult circumstances this homeland suffers.” He pointed out that they “are not the property of anyone and do not work to the account of an individual, a family, a party or a state; rather they were founded and established in order to raise up their society, to develop it and to stand beside its people in the crises and challenges they face”.
He pointed out that “this institution's doors will remain open to everyone without any considerations or discrimination, and it will seek complementarity and communication with every institution working in this field - for we have no logic of institutional partisanship”.
He closed his remarks by calling on the political class “to come down to the ground of this people's suffering and not to be content with describing the situation instead of finding solutions to address this reality. The country is not poor but has been impoverished, and its wealth has been stolen. If intentions are sincere, we are confident we can overcome all this collapse.”
In closing, prizes were distributed to the winners of the competitions in memorizing the Holy Quran and the transmitted supplications and of the Anis Al-Nufous competition.
