Sermons of Eid al-Fitr Prayer at Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) Prayer Ground

First Sermon:

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Thanks be to God who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light; then those who disbelieved in their Lord equate (others with Him). We praise You, seek Your help, turn to You, ask for Your forgiveness, and send blessings and peace upon Your beloved and chosen one, the master of Your creation, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and immaculate family, the chosen guides, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth, and send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

I congratulate the blessed Eid al-Fitr to all the faithful and Muslim brothers around the world, to the great nation of Iran, and to you worshippers; I congratulate you on having spent a fruitful month of Ramadan filled with divine mercy this year.

This year’s Ramadan was a very lively and passionate month; in this month, there were prayers, supplications, and turning to God, especially during the blessed nights of Qadr, the heartfelt night vigils of our pure youth, and the warm tears that flowed from the eyes of our pure youth were very prominent. The gatherings and circles of knowledge and learning, Quranic sessions, and recitation of the Quran were, thanks be to God, more prominent than ever across the country this year. The presence of people in the martyrs' gardens, in gatherings, in assemblies, in religious groups, and in mosques was remarkable. In addition to these, the charitable contributions made by people during this month—helping orphans, assisting the oppressed and the poor—are among the most important duties of Ramadan, which is the presence of the people alongside the oppressed and the needy. Furthermore, the great popular movement on Quds Day, where the faithful who had spent the previous night in worship showed a magnificent and dense gathering across the country while fasting, is a divine success, a divine grace. Ramadan is both a month of supplication and a month of jihad; in the early days of Islam, the Battle of Badr occurred in Ramadan, and the conquest of Mecca was also in Ramadan; this year, Quds Day is a day of struggle for the Iranian nation, and other nations also, thanks be to God, accompanied us this year in a very broad manner.

Our people achieved many accomplishments this month: softened hearts, closeness to the Lord of the worlds, purity of spirit, attention and remembrance of spirituality, becoming familiar with many divine and Islamic teachings, and striking a blow to the enemy on Quds Day; these are the achievements of you dear people, you faithful people, you great nation of Iran this month. My message is to preserve these achievements; these are spiritual reserves; keep these reserves for yourselves until next Ramadan, preserve them, and God willing, strengthen this spirit next Ramadan. It is this spirit that will advance the nation materially and spiritually, resolve all problems, and, with divine grace, elevate you to the peak of the divine and spiritual movement that Islam has envisioned for the Muslim community. We hope that the Almighty God grants this success to all.

Second Sermon:

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and the pure lady Fatimah al-Zahra, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, and Hasan and Husayn, the masters of the youth of Paradise, and Ali ibn Husayn, Zain al-Abidin, and Muhammad ibn Ali, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad, and Musa ibn Ja'far, and Ali ibn Musa, and Muhammad ibn Ali, and Ali ibn Muhammad, and Hasan ibn Ali, and the Awaited Mahdi, may peace be upon them all, and send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

One of the characteristics of the blessed month of Ramadan is the strengthening of wills. A significant and important quality of fasting is that it strengthens your will. Willpower is a tool that the Almighty God has placed within every individual for movement, for progress; this force, which is strengthened during Ramadan and gains more capability, must be utilized after Ramadan in the path of divine satisfaction, in the direction that the Almighty God has determined for humanity; and the Islamic community must ensure the strengthening of this path and facilitate movement along it. The officials of the country should take advantage of this opportunity; it is with this strengthened will that obstacles can be removed and the major problems of the country can be resolved; with strong will, with that important tool that the Almighty God has placed at their disposal.

A very important and fundamental strategy is the cooperation of all officials in the three branches of government, who are all present here, and the masses of people who are also present, and later those who will hear this message across the country: the three branches must work together, cooperate, and synergize; the Constitution has provided a good arrangement for the formation of these three powers. If these three branches fully cooperate, work will never be hindered, and problems will not arise. [Officials] should not obstruct each other; they should clear the way for one another. The officials of the country—whether members of parliament, or managers of the executive and judicial branches who are present among this crowd—are aware of how to create this cooperation, synergy, and solidarity; this is a general strategy today.

Another important strategy is to focus on solving issues and not to get distracted or preoccupied with side issues. Side issues arise; it is not always the enemy that creates distractions; sometimes, out of negligence and with various factors and motivations, side issues arise around a task, a movement, a person, or a manager; we should not get distracted by these side issues. Neither should the people give importance to these side issues, nor should the officials occupy themselves with them; everyone should focus on the fundamental issues of the country.

We also expect our dear people to maintain their unity, thanks to the blessed month of Ramadan and the great achievements they had during this month. Thanks be to God, since the beginning of the revolution, when Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) consistently emphasized the unity of the people in his luminous words, our people have been united, and this unity has been able to open many difficult paths and be a guide for the way; this unity must be preserved. The enemy opposes the unity of the Iranian nation; it opposes your cohesion; it opposes the oneness of the nation. The enemy desires that people fight each other over differing beliefs and opinions, that they quarrel. In a society, there are various opinions, different beliefs, and diverse perspectives on issues; that is fine, it is not a problem; everyone should live together, work together, and show kindness to one another; compassion among the people. We must nullify the enemy's temptations to create distrust among the people towards one another or to create distrust of the hardworking officials of the country.

In the past, colonizers would enter countries with military force. When they wanted to take over a Muslim country, they would enter with military power and seize it; this tactic, this movement has become obsolete today, and the enemies of Islam have realized that military force is ineffective. Recently, the United States experienced this in Afghanistan and Iraq; it saw that military force does not yield results; therefore, they changed their strategy and chose another path. Today, their work consists of deception, distortion, lying, tempting, misrepresentation, humiliating nations, creating distrust among nations towards themselves, hiding the capabilities and brilliance of nations; today, these are tactics; [everyone must] be aware and know. A few days ago, I mentioned that we must be up-to-date in recognizing the enemy's movements, tactics, and methods of enmity. Some actions that they could take ten or twenty years ago, they do not do today; they have different methods; [we must] find ways to nullify these methods. The nation, thanks be to God, is vigilant, is intelligent; you have defeated the enemy until today, and with God's grace, you will continue to defeat the enemy.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.