Hawzah News Agency- Speaking at a ceremony in Baalbek marking the 40th anniversary of the passing of Mustafa Yahfoufi, Sheikh Qabalan underscored the sanctity of human life, stating that “man is the greatest of God’s sacred creations, and there is no sanctity for human interests except in the presence of a just and responsible authority.”
He emphasized that all Lebanese—Muslims and Christians, Sunnis and Shiites, Druze, Alawites, and others—are equal servants of God, cautioning that religious discrimination strikes at the very foundations of society and undermines national cohesion.
“A country that lacks honest, competent, and experienced citizens is a failed country, destined for collapse,” Qabalan said, adding that sectarian incitement erodes the moral and social fabric of the nation.
The senior Shiite cleric also criticized political leaderships that disregard the suffering of the people. “There is no goodness in any authority, government, or policy that ignores national interests or turns a blind eye to the pain of its people,” he said, describing silence in the face of injustice as a betrayal of the divine trust. “We will never betray Lebanon.”
Addressing Lebanon’s deteriorating conditions, Sheikh Qabalan warned that the country is facing a critical and dangerous phase, stressing that national unity is “the bread of Lebanon’s survival.” He urged political actors to fully grasp Lebanon’s sensitive regional position, noting that the wider region remains open to unpredictable developments.
“History has proven that we are a people greater than division and fragmentation, even though the world and the region are dragging us toward disunity through their political games,” he said. He called for a unifying national authority that treats all regions equally, “one that treats the south like Beirut, the Bekaa like the north, and Mount Amel like Mount Lebanon.”
Sheikh Qabalan strongly condemned the ongoing Zionist aggression against southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, describing it as a grave assault on national sovereignty that also threatens the heart of the capital, Beirut. Despite these dangers, he lamented that the ruling authority remains trapped in what he described as “the worst form of national paralysis.”
He further warned that, despite Lebanon facing existential threats and severe social, economic, professional, and financial crises, some political forces continue to pursue international and regional agendas at the expense of Lebanon’s realities and interests. “This path leads directly to the heart of a dangerous explosion,” he cautioned, calling for an urgent reassessment of risks and a recalculation of Lebanon’s sovereign priorities.
“We are Arabs, but the Lebanese are Lebanese first and foremost,” Sheikh Qabalan said, stressing the need for a truly sovereign national authority free from external tutelage and destructive domination. He concluded by warning that exploiting regional and international circumstances to divide the country or impose conditions that violate national sovereignty “will never pass,” insisting that political power must serve all of Lebanon—or it should not exist at all.
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