Statements of the Supreme Leader on the Occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Imam Ali (peace be upon him)

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

We hope that God will bless this noble and auspicious day for all Muslims, freedom-seekers, and justice-seekers of the world, especially the devotees of the Master of the Pious, and particularly for the noble and honorable nation of dear Islamic Iran and you, the attendees of this gathering.

For centuries, all those who have had knowledge of this sacred essence, both Muslims and non-Muslims, have spoken and written about the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and they still write, compose, and speak. However, what has been said is not enough to illuminate for us the personality of this marvel of the world, the exemplar of God's complete power, and the perfect word of the Lord in all its dimensions.

Of course, most of this difficulty lies with us. We, with our small minds accustomed to material measures, lack the capacity to imagine a personality with such immense spiritual and moral dimensions. We can envision a shadow of that great spiritual personality thanks to the words of those who themselves were like the Commander of the Faithful or higher than him, which refers to the sacred existence of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). In a narration transmitted through non-Shia sources, I saw that the Holy Prophet said to a group of his companions: 'Whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge, Noah in his determination, Moses in his awe, and Jesus in his devotion, let him look at the face of Ali ibn Abi Talib.' That is, the 'knowledge of Adam,' as the Quran says: 'He taught Adam all the names,' all the signs, names, and knowledge of creation were taught by God Almighty to Adam, or the 'forbearance of Abraham,' as the Quran describes: 'Indeed, Abraham was forbearing, compassionate, and penitent.' Or the 'awe of Moses,' before which the power and greatness of Pharaoh were nothing, or the 'devotion of Jesus,' who was the epitome of asceticism, sincerity, and devotion before the Lord... and in some other narrations, again from non-Shia sources, additional attributes are mentioned, such as the 'asceticism of John the Baptist' and similar signs of the prophets, all gathered in this great and noble human being whom we consider ourselves followers and Shia of. This can somewhat illuminate for us the personality of that great figure.

What is important for us after a general understanding of this great figure and other saints is to realize that the supreme example that God Almighty shows to human beings on earth so that they understand what the model is and towards what they should move, becomes possible by seeing the Imam. This is important. Therefore, the Imam, in his correct Islamic concept, guides people as much with his words and instructions as he does with his character and behavior, directing them towards the right path. This is a significant matter.

The Commander of the Faithful is our Imam. He is the Imam of all Muslims, and everyone accepts him as an Imam. What does Imam mean? It means we must consider the dimensions of this personality as a model that you place before yourself, and then practice to create something similar and practice to shape our own personality in terms of our individuality, our behavior, our love and relationship with God, the work we do on ourselves, the behavior we have with people, the behavior we have with public funds, the resources at our disposal, the money we have, the tools we have, the behavior we have with people as a human community over which we are guardians and rulers over a part of their lives, the compassion we show for the deprived, whether the poor, the mentally deprived, the scientifically and ideologically deprived, the behavior we have with God's religion, how we should defend it and how we should be meticulous about it, the behavior we have with the enemies; in all these, our model should be the Commander of the Faithful, and we should strive to resemble that great figure.

How can someone consider themselves a Shia of Ali ibn Abi Talib? That great figure spent his entire life in worship of God. From the moment a point of divine guidance was created in that great figure by the Holy Prophet, to the moment he hastened to meet God with the sword of God's enemies, you will not find a moment when that great figure neglected worship and connection with God! Whether in joy, in mourning, in war, or in peace. At night in one way, during the day in another, in the mosque in one way, on the battlefield in another, on the seat of government in another, in the place of judgment and arbitration in another. Constantly in connection with God and devotion before the Lord and working for Him. This is the Commander of the Faithful. Now, if someone wants to claim that 'he is my Imam,' while the least thing they pay attention to in life is their heartfelt relationship with God, can he truly be the Imam of such a person?! Can it be accepted?!

In all the moments of power and authority that God Almighty placed at his disposal, he thought of the weakest members of society. He himself was concerned, and he instructed those he sent to various places as governors, ambassadors, and so on. He said to Malik Ashtar: 'Search and find those whom someone like you would not usually notice!' Some people are always around someone like Malik Ashtar, who is a ruler, constantly trying to get close to him, reaching out to him, they are affluent, they are eloquent, they are clever, they hold positions. I am not saying they are bad people. Even if they are good. But they have the means to do this. There are also people in society who do not have the means to do this, they do not have the opportunity, they do not have the courage, they do not have the money, they do not have the acquaintance. He says: 'Search and find these people and inquire about their condition.'

The Commander of the Faithful, who tells his governor this way, acts in that manner himself: he visits the homes of the poor, he places food in the mouths of orphaned children with his own hands. (Someone said: The Commander of the Faithful placed so many morsels in the mouths of orphaned children that we wished we were orphans too.) Now, if someone claims that he is my Imam; while the thing that he does not remember during his rule, his power, his leadership, even over a small community; leadership over a village; over a corner of the country, is this group of people: the deprived, the poor, the oppressed! Can such a person say that 'he is my Imam'? These do not go together!

The Commander of the Faithful was a person who, in the path of propagating religion and working for God and fighting against the enemies of God, did not recognize day and night. In all the battles that the Prophet went to, he was present; except in very few cases. Apparently, in the Battle of Tabuk, the Prophet said: 'O Ali! You stay and protect Medina.' Because Medina was threatened from another side, the Prophet left him in Medina. But in the rest of the battles, or in almost all the battles, he was alongside the Prophet. When everyone was not there, he was. When the task was harder than ever, he was in the closest place to danger. Can someone claim that he is my Imam; while he is not willing to be slapped in the face for the sake of God and the religion of God?! Can this be?! He is not willing to say to the enemy of God, to the enemies of religion and to the enemies of Islam, because of their power and arrogance, that there is a flaw in your eyebrow?!

The enemies of religion, whom the Commander of the Faithful did not let go before and during his caliphate, did they not have power?! They had political power, they had military power. Some had popular power, they had influence, they claimed spirituality, they were sanctimonious. Some, like the Kharijites, were like some of our extremist revolutionary pretenders who accepted no one. They only accepted themselves and considered themselves supporters of religion; they accepted no one else. Like those who, at the beginning of the revolution, did not even accept Imam as a revolutionary!

The Commander of the Faithful confronted them; he scattered them and said: 'If I had not confronted them, no one would have dared to confront them.' The opponents of the Commander of the Faithful were such individuals. Now, some people today say: 'Yes; he is our Imam.' But they are not willing to say a word to the global arrogance, to the dominant power of America, to those who today oppress people a hundred times more than the corrupt powers of the early Islam (all the oppression they committed over the years, these do), that they would not like?! Then they say: 'We are the Shia of Ali and he is our Imam'?! What does Imam mean? This is the Commander of the Faithful with this group!

Can the comprehensiveness of Ali be depicted with these words?! We are like that unskilled, ignorant, and artless painter who wants to draw a beautiful face with a pencil line. We draw four lines here and there; a figure will be formed. But is that beautiful face this?! It is much higher than these words!

But brothers and sisters! Even the incomplete image we depict is so beautiful, so high, so prominent, that it dazzles the human eye! We must move in that direction. Of course, no one expects us to even reach a league of the Commander of the Faithful. This is a reality.

Once I said in a Friday prayer sermon several years ago that we cannot be like the Commander of the Faithful. Someone wrote a letter saying, 'You have made it easy for yourself! You say: We cannot be like the Commander of the Faithful!' It is not about making it easy for ourselves. The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, himself said that 'you cannot.'

He is at the peak. Imagine a high peak! We must set out towards the peak; even if in these foothills. The main thing is this. The important thing is this. The indicator is this. We must move. We should not say 'we cannot reach there.' No! We must move.

The Commander of the Faithful is a model for those who are responsible for parts of the governmental apparatus. It seems that among you, there are some respected officials of administrative and governmental bodies present. Wherever they are, whether small or large, they must do the work with compassion for the people. They must do it without imposing. They must respect and honor their clients. They should not humiliate them. They should not impose on them. They should not expect from them. The health of the hand, the health of the eye, the health of the tongue, the health of the pocket, and even the health of the heart, which is the most difficult of all, have been demanded of us. The Commander of the Faithful worked for the revival of human beings.

Today, a group of sisters from the Literacy Movement is also here. Literacy is a good deed in the path of that great figure. Teaching, learning, serving the people, working for the people, striving for the people, preserving trust and piety, and speaking the truth, all of these are in the path of Ali, peace be upon him.

This government that has been established today in the Islamic Republic system is a government that, after centuries, is in the path of the Commander of the Faithful. Others were moving in the opposite direction; that is, the opposite of what the Commander of the Faithful wanted, said, and did. But this government is moving in that path. It must be helped. It must be accompanied. It must be encouraged. Its flaws must be pointed out brotherly and friendly so that it can continue the path and maintain this straight path. Just as in those days, the Qasitin, the Marikin, and the Nakithin were opposed to the government of the Commander of the Faithful, and beyond them, the infidels of the world wanted to fight and oppose that government, today it is the same. Today, who in the world defends the rights of Muslims? This government. Who sincerely raises the issue of Palestine? Who raises the issue of Lebanon? The Islamic Republic system.

Of course, nations, everywhere in the Islamic world, their hearts beat for their co-religionists; but nations, with the help of governments, can set out and declare their existence. In other places, it is not allowed; or very rarely and little. Here, the government itself moves ahead of the people in these paths. Therefore, they are opposed to us. All those who are involved in the issue of Palestine and in the conspiracy against Palestine are opposed to the movement of the Iranian nation and government in favor of the Palestinian people. All the executioners whose hands are soaked in the blood of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and these days the name of that oppressed nation is repeated again, are opposed to this government. Why? Because it moves ahead of the nations of the world and the Muslim governments and says: 'Come and help this oppressed nation.'

Where are those who claim humanity? I am not saying: supporters of human rights. Let them be damned! What human rights?! They lie! And they see that the Serbs and the Croats, the fanatical, nationalist, anti-human, and anti-humanitarian feelings, are scattering a nation, so many men, women, and children in that way?! This Islamic Republic government and the Islamic state and the Muslim nation are expressing these words so clearly, openly, persistently, and seriously. Not only in words, but also in action, they help. The Iranian nation helped; it will help again and must help. The Iranian government has made numerous contributions in this regard. What could be publicized and said has been said. Most of it, God willing, will become clear in the future. Therefore, they are opposed to this government and this state.

Today, the world's effort is to discourage the Iranian nation from continuing the path of the Commander of the Faithful and the path of Islam. I tell you and the entire Iranian nation: Today, the greatest jihad in the field of propaganda is for someone to be able to give hope to the Iranian nation about the outcome and end of this path. Whoever discourages the people has betrayed this nation. The best way to discourage a mountaineer who climbs the peaks with enthusiasm, while he has packed his backpack, tightened his belt, and taken his staff in hand, is to fabricate a lie and tell him that it is impossible to go and reach the peak. He is going to conquer the peak; that is, he has a goal. But as soon as he realizes that it is impossible to reach that goal, his hands and feet weaken, and he turns back from there.

For fifteen years, the world's propagandists - and today more than before - have been trying to discourage the Iranian nation, which is going to reach the peak. They say: 'Sir, the economic situation is bad! Sir, the world will not allow it! Sir, America will not allow it! Sir, the people are upset!' They constantly whisper these things in the ears of the people; that too with very clever propaganda methods. I listen to their words. Sometimes I listen to their words directly, and many times they write or record them and bring them to me. I see what they say. I see that they have sat down and chosen words so that people believe this word! They want people to believe an absolute lie! Unfortunately, some inside, whatever they say, is to discourage the people. Either they remain silent, or if they say a word, it is to discourage the people!

Why do you discourage the people?! Why do you tell this powerful and courageous nation, which can traverse difficult paths and has traversed the most difficult part of the path so far, that 'you cannot reach the just Islamic government and society'?! Why?! The enemy tried all the ways to defeat you, the nation; and they could not. They tried all the ways: the way of military war, the way of economic blockade, the way of propaganda, the way of slander, the way of accusing the officials. How many accusations they made, and they will make more after this, of course, no one believed. They make statements with false evidence and claim something to discourage the people.

I say: Whoever you are, wherever you are, in any corner of this country you live in and in any corner of this great Islamic apparatus or outside the governmental apparatus you are working, your duty is to give hope to the people within the realm of possibility. The signs of hope are, thanks be to God, numerous. You saw that the war was the hardest problem for us, and how God Almighty solved the problem! You saw how God Almighty, with His powerful hand, solved the problems of the sensitive stages of this country for us! Truly, when one looks at divine grace, one says: 'Glory be to You, O God. Glory be to You, there is no god but You.'

A great religious authority departed from among the people, and the people fulfilled their duty. That funeral, those mournings, those telegrams, those condolences, that loyalty. Then some people went among the people saying: 'Sir, the religious authority is gone. It is no longer there. What should we do after this?' They disturbed some of the religious people. God Almighty, with His grace and kindness, presented one of His reserves in the seminary of Qom for the people's emulation. This elderly, spiritually and religiously strong old man, this very important and steadfast bone of jurisprudence and the seminary, God Almighty preserved for decades for these days. This is something amazing. In those days when we were in Qom and saw this great religious authority, Ayatollah al-Uzma Araki, he was a man whose knowledge was accepted by all, his piety was accepted by all. But the possibility of his religious authority was not considered. Because he kept himself away from these lines that lead to religious authority. He was known for his asceticism, piety, and abstinence. God Almighty preserved this man, prolonged his life, preserved his senses, preserved his spiritual, mental, and scientific strength for today. And I tell you: In all times, in this seminary of Qom, by the grace of the Lord, there are personalities and men whom you will have no problem emulating. Today, you may not know them. It may be that until the necessary moment, no one knows them as a religious authority. (Not that an unknown person comes.) After they are introduced, they see, wow! This gentleman has been serving and teaching in this seminary for thirty, forty, fifty years, and no one thought that he was suitable for religious authority.

This is how God preserves reserves for a specific day. By God's grace, the Shia seminaries, and today more and higher than all, with a great distance, the seminary of Qom is full of these reserves. Our predecessors worked. Our great ones worked. The great jurists worked in these seminaries. The reserves are in these seminaries; however, there is no need for them to come forward and line up before the people saying: 'Sir; we are also here.' They are in the seminary of Qom, and the day God Almighty wills, they will be revealed. God Almighty will show them. Today, He showed one of them, which is sufficient for the people. If needed again, God Almighty will present others of those great ones. And by the grace of the Lord, the people will have no problem emulating them.

The enemy wanted to discourage the people through this means and create anxiety. We must be vigilant. The Iranian nation must be vigilant. You, thanks to your vigilance, have been able to traverse this difficult path so far, thanks be to God. Vigilance accompanied by reliance on God and attention and recourse to the Guardian of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him. Preserving the unity of the word, not fearing the enemy, and fearing God; these have enabled you to traverse this path so far. God willing, in the future too, God Almighty will help, and by the grace of the Lord, this Islamic society will become the exemplary society that attracts the hearts of all the nations of the world.

O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, unite the great Imam with Your saints. Preserve our great ones, our jurists, our dear ones, and our scholars under Your protection. Make our nation more steadfast and firm in this path day by day. Remove the evil of the enemies of this nation from Islam and Muslims.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings