“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews, Chapter 06, verses 04-06)
It is no longer a secret to anyone that Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, the “Supreme Jaafari Mufti,” does not represent his religious denomination or his country. He is merely a paid mouthpiece and instigator for Iran and its armed terrorist group, blasphemously named “Hezbollah.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, he responded to Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi’s interview with AlArabiya TV using provocative and inflammatory language. He declared: “The weapons of Hezbollah and Amal are the weapons of God, and no one can take them away.”
What kind of moral and religious decline is this? How can a religious leader who receives his salary from the Lebanese state declare rebellion against it, its constitution, and its decisions, turning the weapons of a foreign, Jihadi, and terrorist militia into the “weapons of God”? Shouldn’t he be a voice of unity and peace, instead of a cheap instrument for Iran’s clerics?
A Comparison Between Patriarch Al-Rahi and the Instigator Mufti Qabalan Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi clearly and unambiguously defined the national position:
“The government’s decision is clear: all illegal weapons must be in the hands of the state.”
“There is a decisive Lebanese consensus on implementing the decision to disarm Hezbollah.”
“The members of the Shiite community are tired of war and want to live in peace.”
“The army protects all Lebanese without discrimination.”
“Resistance is not about submitting to Iran’s dictates.”
“There is no objection to peace with Israel in the future when conditions are appropriate.”
Meanwhile, the instigator Qabalan, instead of speaking with a language of religion and unity, responded with arrogant superiority and a disgusting fanaticism:
“Hezbollah’s weapon is God’s weapon.”
“Whoever wants Israel should go to live there.”
“There will be no peace with the killers of prophets.”
Who speaks for Lebanon? The Patriarch, who is guided by the constitution and legitimacy, or the instigator who deifies the arsenal of Iran and its party?
Let’s remind Mufti Qabalan: if peace with Israel is a crime, then why did Iran itself negotiate with the “Great Satan,” America? And why did “Hezbollah,” through Nabih Berri, negotiate with American envoys and sign ceasefire agreements with Israel—agreements that Hezbollah itself accepted after losing the war and surrendering? Furthermore, why did Nabih Berri recognize Israel in the agreement that he and Hezbollah brokered in 2022, the “Agreement on the Delimitation of the Maritime Border between Lebanon and Israel,” surrendering Lebanese land and maritime waters?
Legitimacy Invalidates the Heresies of the Instigator Qabalan
The instigator Qabalan conveniently forgets that his claims are nullified by several key agreements:
The Taif Agreement (1989): This called for the dissolution of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.
UN Resolution 1559 (2004): This explicitly called for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.
UN Resolution 1701 (2006): This mandated an end to armed presence south of the Litani River and restricted weapons to the state.
The Latest Ceasefire Agreement (2025): This clearly stipulated that all weapons must be limited to the legitimate Lebanese forces—from the army to the smallest municipal guard—and that any militia, particularly Hezbollah, must be disarmed. By what right does Qabalan defy the constitution, government, and international resolutions to grant a fake religious legitimacy to an illegal Iranian firearm?
A Reply to His False Slogan
Qabalan said defiantly: “Whoever wants peace with Israel should go to live there.”
And we say to him: You, O instigator of Iran, should go to Tehran and take its weapons with you.
Lebanon is a land of peace, not a land of perpetual war. Lebanon is a land of coexistence, not a battlefield for proxy conflicts. Lebanon belongs to its legitimate army, not to sectarian militias.
The Mask Falls Off
Ahmad Qabalan has never been a true mufti; he is an instigator who plants the seeds of division between Christians and Muslims and among the Lebanese themselves. With his culture, rhetoric, and actions, he is more Iranian than the Iranians, raising Khamenei’s flag above Lebanon’s and legitimizing Hezbollah’s occupation of the state’s decisions. In contrast, the voice of Patriarch Al-Rahi is the true voice of Lebanon: for sovereignty, the constitution, the Taif Agreement, international resolutions, peace, and neutrality. Whoever desires otherwise should look for another homeland besides Lebanon. The fact remains that the Iranian terrorist and Jihadi “Hezbollah” has never protected Lebanon. Instead, it has plunged it into futile wars that have destroyed villages, killed young men, displaced families, and placed the Lebanese, particularly the Shiite community, in a state of hostility with their Arab surroundings and the international community. The weapon he claims is “divine” is, in reality, a tool of Iranian occupation that uses the Lebanese as fuel for battles that are none of their concern.
A Direct Call to the Esteemed Shiite Community
Dear brothers and sisters in the Shiite community: you are not hostages, and you are not mere numbers in the project of “Wilayat al-Faqih.” “Hezbollah” has kidnapped you from your state, confiscated your decision-making, killed your sons in wars that do not concern you, destroyed your regions, and involved you in animosity with the entire world. The time has come for you to say: enough. Free yourselves from this great prison that has been imposed on you in the name of religion and false resistance. Your future and the future of your children are contingent upon your return to the Lebanese state, to normal life, and to a genuine partnership with all components of the nation.
Lebanon cannot be built with illegal weapons or Iranian ideological illusions, but with peace, the constitution, and the sovereignty of a single, unified state.
Below is the text of Mufi Qbalan’s statement (Translate freely by: Elias Bejjani) that the the above commentary addresses Mufti Qabalan’s Statement: “Hezbollah’s Weapon is ‘God’s Weapon’ and No One Will Disarm It” Mufti Qabalan: “Sovereignty with a document of sovereign waiver is nothing but cheap merchandise in the market of buying and selling, and the banner of the resistance has not fallen.” National/August 19, 2025
The distinguished Ja’fari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan issued the following statement:
“First, I say to His Beatitude Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi: Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings, for peace is the treasure of prophets, and harmony and opposing the oppressor is the religion of saints. The rock of the church and the mosque stands only by supporting the oppressed, helping the deprived, aiding the tormented, and fighting the unjust, the corrupt, the tyrant, and the arrogant, like Israel and its alliance, its terrorist project, and its history drowning in the torment of Christ and Christians. Without that, the church and the mosque become null and void.
And to my partner in this nation, who increases the suffering of his partner, I say: The weapon of Hezbollah is the weapon of the Amal Movement, and the weapon of both Hezbollah and the Amal Movement is God’s weapon, and there is no power on earth that can disarm it (God willing). Without this, our souls, our existence, and all our capabilities are poised to defend this Lebanon. We are a force that God has singled out with historical sacrifices and national victories, despite being stabbed by those closest to us. If modern Lebanon has a historical ransom and sacrifice, it is what the Amal Movement, Hezbollah, and all other resistance forces have offered, who defeated Israel and tore the Lebanese state, its institutions, and its various sectors from the fangs of Israel on the day it occupied and stripped it of all national identity.
Hiding the truth is possible, except from God. Arbitrary revenge is not the logic of the church and the mosque. The decisive consensus of a formal minority, who have nothing to do with national identity, to implement the decision to disarm the resistance is a crazy, empty, and cheap decision. Its value is no more than the corrupt ink it was written in. There is no decision more traitorous to this country, its history, and its sovereignty than this decision, which serves the greatest interests of the Zionist entity. Its national weight is zero. We will not allow Zionism to re-occupy Lebanon (God willing), and for that, we rely on our trust in God, in this dear people, its national army, and its great resistance that awaits moments of great sacrifice.
The sons of the Shiite community are tired of surrender and betrayal and false testimonies. If there is a community in this country that longs to shed its blood, the flower of its youth, and its great capabilities for the sake of this dear homeland, it is the Shiite community—or rather, the community of the resistance in all its shades and faces. The words of our dear brother, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, are stamped with truth and national positions. He has spent his entire life in the service of Lebanon’s resurrection and the preservation of its sovereignty, and he still does. Before and after him are the words of the nation’s and country’s trusted figure, the dean of national sacrifices, and the one entrusted with the legacy of Imam Sadr, our dear brother, President Nabih Berri, who reclaimed the homeland during the uprising of February 6 and led the great resistance after the country was lost and some were complicit in its Zionization. President Nabih Berri remains the shield of Lebanon and the wise guardian of its national sovereignty.
To all near and far, I say: Hezbollah means the Amal Movement, and the Amal Movement and Hezbollah mean the Shiites, and the Shiites mean every free person in this dear country, with its resistance, sacrifices, and national identity. Hezbollah is not penetrated and will not be penetrated, it has not been defeated and will not be defeated. It is the one that defeated the most powerful Israeli-NATO army on the border, despite its legendary arsenal and the absolute support from all of Israel’s allies. It is the one that fought the most dangerous national defense against the largest Israeli-NATO arsenal and prevented these great powers, with all their arrogance, from occupying a border town like Khiam, and it brought down the Middle East project through a sea of blood, body parts, and sacrifices, just so the church would remain a church, the mosque a mosque, and the Lebanese state a sovereign state, forbidden to Zionism and the projects of May 17. The cause of this war is the terrorist, occupying Israel, which was founded on a pile of body parts, blood, and the ruins of a people and a homeland, and an endless number of aggressions and atrocities.
By that, I mean Israel with all its legacy, which is drowning in enmity towards Christ, Christianity, Islam, and Muslims. The terrorist Israel, not the oppressed people in Palestine, Lebanon, southern Syria, Yemen, and others who have been reached by the hand of terrorist Israel. The shared existence, the national state, and Lebanese sovereignty are our holiest of holies. Without them, we offer our lives and capabilities beyond our means. Our history and the history of the icon of the great revolutions, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, and our brother, the trusted figure of the nation and the countries of the East, Professor Nabih Berri, are an unparalleled sign of national honor in this oppressed country, where some of its people rebel against us because of our body parts and sacrifices scattered across this land, so that Lebanon may remain a free master for its people and its people, Muslims and Christians.
Iran is the pride of every free person in this world. Our trust in Tehran is like our trust in the great saints. The only enemies of the saints are the devils. To remind you, I say: It is Iran that crushed the Middle East project and shattered the hopes of Washington and Tel Aviv, which thrive on terrorism, occupation, and ruin. It is the one that foiled Washington and Tel Aviv’s dream of a Greater Israel.
The banner of the resistance has not fallen for half a century and will not fall as long as the country needs defense, protection, and sacrifices. We have not lost a war and we will not lose it (God willing). What we have offered in this war is something entire armies are incapable of. The decision of peace and war is not a formal decree or governmental decisions, but the sovereignty of a nation, the interests of a people, and the guarantee of a people and the interests of a country that cannot be sold in the night or day. The restriction of weapons has fallen with the American paper, and the restriction of weapons that exposes Lebanon from its people, its people, and its sovereign and national interests has no value in the midst of a weak state that only possesses the ability to count airstrikes from behind empty offices.
Sovereignty with a document of sovereign waiver is nothing but cheap merchandise in the market of buying and selling. The sellers of the homeland have no authority, and there is no legitimacy above Lebanon’s sovereignty and interests. The moment is for the defense of Lebanon. He who reclaimed Lebanon half a century ago will not accept this country falling into the hands of the Zionists again. The government is a government to the extent that it protects Lebanese sovereignty, not sells it, donates it, or smuggles it behind a screen. Legitimacy is legitimacy to the extent of Lebanon’s entity, the seniority of its sovereignty, and the custody of its interests, away from the betrayal of homelands.
The ‘support war’ is a perfect copy of Christ’s service to the oppressed and persecuted, and a primary commandment in all covenants of prophets, saints, and the documents of nations and peoples. What a moment of great remorse before God, the prophets, and all nations for all those who did not support Gaza and every oppressed and persecuted person in this world drowning in the injustice against the weak. Israel, which has harmed Christ, Christianity, the homeland, and national identity, does not deserve to be defended or to have a feud with those who carry the burdens of the prophets and saints in confronting it and preventing its expansion and terrorism. There will never be peace with the killers of prophets, the traitors of peoples, and the occupiers of homelands. Whoever wants Israel should leave to it. Netanyahu’s ambition for a Greater Israel, had it succeeded, would have been built on a pile of Christian and Muslim bodies and the destruction of their homelands. There is no excuse for anyone who defends the killers of prophets and saints.
A spiritual summit has no value if it seeks to triumph for Zionism or harm the weapon of the resistance, which represents the weapon of the prophets in this age. The community of the resistance in this country has no visits except to the fronts of sovereignty, defending the land and honor, protecting the homeland, and aiding humanity. What most ignites civil war is a false inclination, a position that violates covenants, or an interpretation that benefits the enemies of God, humanity, and homelands. The moment is for protecting the project of the state and shared existence, and this can only be achieved through meeting, love, defending the dignity of this homeland and its interests, and triumphing for the blood and body parts that have preserved this country and the weapon that has safeguarded Lebanon’s existence, its great sovereignty, and the honor of its national dignity.”
Qabalan to Al-Rahi: “Hezbollah’s Weapon Is ‘God’s Weapon’ and No One Will Disarm It” Nidaa Al-Watan/August 20, 2025
The distinguished Ja’fari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan issued a statement in which he directed a direct message to Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi, asserting that “peace is the treasure of the prophets, harmony and opposing the oppressor is the religion of the saints, and the rock of the church and the mosque stands only by supporting the oppressed and fighting the corrupt, the tyrant, and the arrogant, like Israel and its alliance and project.”He added, “Hezbollah’s weapon is the weapon of the Amal Movement, and their weapon is God’s weapon, and there is no force that can disarm it. Without it, we will give our souls, our existence, and all our capabilities to defend Lebanon.” He saw that the sacrifices made by the resistance and Amal are what defeated Israel and tore the state from its fangs when it occupied Lebanon and stripped it of its national identity. He continued, “The talk of a consensus to disarm the resistance is an empty decision and a dangerous betrayal that serves Israel’s interests, and its national weight is zero. We will not allow Zionism to re-occupy Lebanon, and our trust in God, the people, the army, and the resistance is firm. The Shiite community is tired of surrender and betrayal and is always ready to shed blood in defense of the homeland.”
He indicated that “the words of Sheikh Naim Qassem are stamped with national truth, and before him, the words of President Nabih Berri, who reclaimed the homeland during the February 6 uprising and led the resistance, and he remains the shield of Lebanon and the wise guardian of its sovereignty.” He added, “Hezbollah means the Amal Movement, the Amal Movement means Hezbollah, and the Shiites mean the resistance, and this weapon is what prevented Israel from occupying Khiam and brought down the Greater Middle East project.”
Qabalan pointed out that “the Lebanese state is a sovereign state, forbidden to Zionism and the projects of May 17, and the main cause of the war is Israel, with what it represents of aggression and occupation, while shared existence and sovereignty are the holiest of holies.” He continued, “The history of Hassan Nasrallah and President Nabih Berri is a sign of national honor, and what we offer of body parts and sacrifices is to protect Lebanon. As for Iran, it is the pride of the free, and our trust in it is firm, because it thwarted the Greater Israel project and brought down the bets of Washington and Tel Aviv.”
Qabalan stressed that “the decision of peace and war is not a governmental matter but a matter of national sovereignty and the interests of a people, and the restriction of weapons fell with the American paper, which only means exposing Lebanon in the midst of a weak state that can only count airstrikes.” He added, “He who reclaimed Lebanon half a century ago will not allow it to fall into the hands of the Zionists again, and the ‘support war’ is a service to the oppressed and a commandment of the prophets, and remorse will befall all who did not support Gaza. There will be no peace with the killers of prophets and occupiers of homelands, and whoever wants Israel should leave to it.”
Qabalan concluded by affirming that “any spiritual summit that seeks to triumph for Zionism or harm the weapon of the resistance has no value, for this weapon is the weapon of the prophets in this age. The resistance community’s only destination is the fronts of defending the land, honor, and homeland, and the moment is to protect the project of the state and shared existence and to triumph for the weapon that has preserved Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
