Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in the Eid al-Fitr Prayer Sermons

Sermon One In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Thanks be to God, the Creator of creation, the Provider of sustenance, the Splitter of dawns, the Judge of the Day of Judgment, the Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, seek His help, believe in Him, rely on Him, and send blessings and peace upon His beloved and chosen one, our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the guided and infallible ones, especially the Awaited One of God on the earth. I advise you, O servants of God, to be pious. In the first sermon of the Eid al-Fitr prayer, I will present only two points to you, dear brothers and sisters in prayer. The first is to congratulate you on this great Islamic holiday. Congratulations on Eid al-Fitr means congratulating the successful passage of the blessed month of Ramadan. We thank God that our nation was successful in observing a truly blessed Ramadan this year. The atmosphere of the country throughout the month of Ramadan was fragrant with the attentions of the believers, the pure feelings of the faithful youth, and the sacred breaths of the fasting individuals. This year, thanks be to God, Ramadan was better in terms of attentions, supplications, and the successes of the people in the realm of spiritual self-building than in previous years. Let us appreciate this and preserve its blessed effects for ourselves and our nation. Ramadan is the month of self-building, and self-building is for moving forward. God willing, let us continue this blessed path and journey that the great nation of Iran has been pursuing for twenty-one years with success, and this is the second point I wanted to mention: gratitude for the divine blessings and successes that have been bestowed upon the Iranian nation during this month. The day of Eid al-Fitr, as narrated by Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), has been likened to the Day of Resurrection; that is, the day of reward. God willing, this great gathering of yours in this spiritual, worshipful, and political ceremony will attract divine attention and mercy towards you, and the Iranian nation, the officials of the country, and all those who bear responsibility in any part of this great nation's efforts will be able to continue this path with reliance on God Almighty, guided by divine instructions in the Quran and the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and following the guidance of the great spiritual figure of our time and the successor of the prophets - our esteemed Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) - and God willing, secure the happiness of the nation and the future of this country. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, grant the Iranian nation success and support in traversing the path of happiness, elevation, and perfection. In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful And by time. Indeed, mankind is in loss. Except for those who have faith and do righteous deeds and advise one another to truth and advise one another to patience.

Sermon Two In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. And blessings and peace be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the guided and infallible ones, especially the Awaited One of God on the earth. And I seek forgiveness from God for myself and for you. I advise you, O servants of God, to be pious. Once again, I recommend all dear brothers and sisters in prayer to observe divine piety. In this sermon, I will briefly address two or three points regarding current global issues and the Islamic community and the dear Iranian nation. First, I sincerely congratulate all believers around the world, all Christians and Muslims, on the birth of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) - the great divine prophet. The value of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) from the perspective of Muslims is undoubtedly no less than the value and worth of that great figure in the eyes of the believers in Christianity. This great divine prophet spent all his time among the people in struggle to stand against oppression, transgression, and corruption, and against those who, relying on wealth and power, chained nations and led them to the hell of this world and the hereafter. The hardships that this great prophet endured from childhood - when God granted him prophethood from that early age - were all in this path. It is expected that the followers of Jesus and all those who regard him with the greatness and high spirituality befitting his lofty position will emulate him in this path. Today, many who claim to follow Jesus Christ are going down a path other than that of Jesus. The guidance of Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him), is guidance towards the servitude of God and confrontation with tyranny and oppression. Today, those who claim to follow that great divine prophet are sitting in the positions of tyrants and oppressors against whom Jesus, son of Mary, fought. It is hoped that the beginning of the Christian year will be blessed for Christians and Muslims - especially for our fellow Christians. The important issue of this era is the issue of Palestine, where the great Intifada of Palestine and Jerusalem continues. Those who thought they could divert the Palestinian nation from demanding its legitimate rights through force and pressure were mistaken; they could not and will not be able to turn the Palestinian nation away from this path. They may be able to impose a temporary silence on this generation through repression and intimidation; however, this is a sweet dream that the Zionists have imagined they will be able to easily govern over the occupied land of Palestine from now on. The people of the world and the Muslim nations have supported the oppressed Palestinian fighters. Our dear nation has shown its support for the movement of the Palestinian people with all its voice. I must express my gratitude to you, dear people, who manifested your support in the grand rally of Quds Day and the magnificent gathering of Friday prayers. Our dear nation has, as always, brought honor to its country, its history, and its officials. This year, Quds Day was held with a special quality throughout the Islamic world, as was anticipated; and this is due to the legitimacy of the oppressed cry of the Palestinian nation. We hope that governments will cooperate with their nations in the same way and assist the Palestinian nation. Those oppressed, besieged people, surrounded by the most heartless and savage of enemies, need help. Both our nation and our government, as well as other Muslim nations and governments, have a duty to assist this oppressed nation as much as they can. This is a religious, humanitarian, and wise duty that reason dictates, and it is a historical duty that history will judge. Regarding the issues of the country and our dear nation, I will briefly mention two or three points. My dear ones! What has provided our nation and country with immunity against the countless plots of the enemies and conspirators has been several important factors, one of the most important of which is the unity of the word of the people. Any nation that is united, any nation that does not have destructive disputes and conflicts among itself, any nation that is of one heart and one voice with its officials and considers its officials as part of itself, and the officials also act in accordance with their duties towards the nation and consider themselves as servants of the people, that nation will be invincible against all enmities. This is a matter of necessity; our nation has experienced this over the past twenty-two years; we have demonstrated this invincibility in difficult arenas. Anyone who opposes the Iranian nation, one of their greatest enmities is to destroy this great national unity and this harmony between the people and the officials. This is enmity; some engage in this enmity. We do not marvel at the enmity of those who spend millions of dollars and assign people to be responsible for these actions - responsible for psychological warfare, responsible for spreading rumors, responsible for conspiracies, responsible for sowing discord - nor do we complain; they are the enemy after all. However, we do complain about those who, within the country, fall for that enemy's tricks, follow his actions, and assist him. Of course, if the time comes, we will not be satisfied with mere complaints. Cooperation with the enemy is enmity; of course, it is not enmity with a person; it is not enmity with a responsible individual or a group of officials; it is enmity with the interests of the nation, and this enmity cannot and should not be tolerated by anyone. I see that some beat the drum of enmity. Thanks be to God, our nation is united. Anyone in any group who seeks to sow distrust and animosity among the hearts of the people will certainly fall out of favor with the nation and will not be regarded as one of its own. I also tell the officials at various levels that one of the ways to achieve practical success and to be well-regarded in the eyes of the people is cooperation among different institutions and cooperation among the three branches of government; they should not weaken each other. No one should weaken the responsible forces of the country. No one should weaken the Islamic Consultative Assembly. You may not be pleased with the statements or positions of one or several representatives, but the Assembly should not be weakened. The Assembly is a legitimate and credible institution, just like other credible legal institutions. The judiciary should not be weakened. If someone disagrees with the ruling of a certain court in a certain case, they should not weaken the judiciary. After all, every ruling has some supporters and some opponents. The government should not be weakened. You may not like the performance of a certain official or find several faults with them; however, the institution of government and the executive branch should not be weakened. The legal institutions, each of which is a pillar under this lofty structure, bear a burden. It is this collection that has kept this magnificent structure standing, and over a billion and several hundred million Muslims around the world - those who have the capacity to understand and comprehend - look to it and feel pride. Some weaken the Guardian Council; some weaken the Assembly; some weaken the judiciary; some weaken the government; some weaken the Expediency Council. Having objections to one or two or ten actions - some of which may be resolved with an explanation; even if they are not resolved - does not justify weakening the institutions. Some during the previous Assembly shouted that the Assembly should be dissolved! One sees that sometimes the same voices, the same words, and the same motivations turn towards the Assembly one day, the judiciary another day, and the executive branch another day; without having any valid reasoning. Of course, what I recommend regarding preserving the dignity of the branches is not in contradiction with the objections and criticisms that may be directed at some of the performances of these branches. Yes; I again loudly declare that the officials of the country - whether in the executive branch, the judiciary, or the legislative branch - must fight against poverty, corruption, and discrimination in this country. If they want to secure the security of the country, the livelihood of the people, and our international dignity, the way is to combat these issues. They must identify and seriously fight against all kinds of corruption; not just in words and language. Of course, some cannot even tolerate these words being said; they oppose the very principle of fighting against corruption and discrimination and poverty! Those who position themselves against the fight against poverty and corruption and discrimination, without realizing it, accuse themselves. Who opposes fighting against corruption? The one who must either be corrupt or has been deceived by a corrupt person. Who opposes fighting against discrimination? The one who must either benefit from discrimination or has been deceived by someone who benefits from discrimination; otherwise, why would they oppose? Of course, we thank God that the officials of the three branches have looked at these issues with interest and seriousness and have discussed and made decisions about them. God willing, we will witness the implementation of these decisions and adherence to what has been said, and by God's grace, we will witness it. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, strengthen the bond between the people and the officials day by day. O Lord! Grant mercy, grace, and forgiveness to the pure soul of our esteemed Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). O Lord! Convey our greetings, blessings, and expressions of sincerity and humility to the presence of the Master of the Age and Time - the Awaited Imam al-Hujjah (may God hasten his reappearance). O Lord! Expedite the reappearance of that great figure. In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Say, He is God, the One. God, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent. And peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.