Speech in Meeting with Officials and Executives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the Occasion of Eid al-Ghadir

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

I sincerely congratulate this blessed Eid to the great nation of Iran, to all Muslims across the world, and to you, dear brothers and sisters. This year, due to the commencement of the fifteenth century since the declaration of Guardianship at Ghadir Khumm, holds a special significance. The commemoration of the blessed Eid al-Ghadir has always held a clearer and more beautiful meaning for our nation in all the years following the revolution. Eid al-Ghadir is truly one of the greatest Islamic Eids, and according to some narrations, it is greater than other Eids. We have credible narrations regarding the superiority of Eid al-Ghadir over other Eids.

The importance of Eid al-Ghadir lies in the issue of Guardianship. In this month, Dhu al-Hijjah, we have both Eid al-Ghadir and the Day of Mubahala, which also clearly points to the issue of Guardianship. Due to these two memories, both related to Guardianship, some great figures have considered this month as the 'Month of Guardianship' and the best of months.

When the issue of Guardianship and governance is resolved for a nation, in the manner it was resolved at Ghadir Khumm, that day is truly an Eid for that nation. If we say that the most important and sensitive issue for any nation is the issue of governance, Guardianship, management, and supreme leadership over that society, this is the most decisive issue for that nation. Nations have each resolved this issue in their own way, but often inadequately, incompletely, and even harmfully.

Thus, if a nation has been able to resolve this fundamental issue in such a way that all aspects of that nation—its dignity, spirituality, attention to God, preservation of worldly happiness, and other important matters—are observed, then truly that day and moment is an Eid for that nation. In Islam, this issue occurred. On the day of Eid al-Ghadir, Islamic Guardianship—a reflection and ray of God's Guardianship among the people—was embodied, and thus the religion was completed. Without the determination and clarification of this issue, the religion would truly remain incomplete, and it was for this reason that the blessing of Islam was completed for the people. The issue of Guardianship in Islam is such an issue.

Guardianship, meaning governance and leadership in the Islamic society, is naturally something separate from governance and leadership in other societies. In Islam, the leadership of society belongs to Almighty God. No human has the right to take charge of the affairs of other humans. This right is exclusive to Almighty God, who is the Creator, the Initiator, the Knower of interests, and the Owner of the affairs of humans, indeed the Owner of the affairs of all particles of the universe. This very feeling in the Islamic society is something rare. No power, no sharp sword, no wealth, not even any power of knowledge and prudence, gives anyone the right to be the owner and decision-maker regarding the fate of other humans. These are values. The right to manage affairs and leadership of the people is not granted to anyone. This right belongs to God.

Almighty God exercises this Guardianship and governance through specific channels. That is, even when the Islamic ruler and the Guardian of the Muslims, whether based on personal designation—as according to our belief, it was realized in the case of the Commander of the Faithful and the Imams (peace be upon them)—or based on criteria and regulations, when this authority is given to him to manage the affairs of the people, still this Guardianship is God's Guardianship; this right is God's right, and this divine power and authority is exercised over the people. That person—whoever and whatever he may be—apart from divine Guardianship and the power of the Lord, has no right over other humans and people. This is a very important and decisive point in the fate of the Islamic society.

And as for the one who assumes this Guardianship on behalf of God, he must embody and demonstrate a weak reflection and shadow of that divine Guardianship, or we may say it should be within him. The characteristics of divine Guardianship are power, wisdom, justice, mercy, and the like. The person or the institution that takes charge of the affairs of the people must be a manifestation of divine power, justice, mercy, and wisdom. This characteristic distinguishes the Islamic society from all other societies that are governed in different ways. Ignorance, carnal desires, personal whims and tastes based on personal or group benefit do not have the right to dominate the lives and affairs of the people. Therefore, in the Islamic society and system, justice, knowledge, religion, and mercy must prevail; selfishness must not prevail, and whims and desires—from anyone and in the behavior and speech of any person and personality—must not govern.

The secret of the infallibility of the Imam in its ultimate and ideal form in Islam is also that there should be no possibility of deviation and transgression. Even where infallibility does not exist and is not possible, religion, piety, and justice must govern the people, which is considered a reflection of divine Guardianship. Thus, the day of Eid al-Ghadir is a day of Guardianship and a decisive day in the fate of the Islamic society.

The importance given to this day, whether by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), who, according to divine revelation, chose an exceptional situation, a hot day, and a difficult place to show the importance of the issue, or by our narrations and the pure Imams (peace be upon them), who gave so much importance to this day, is because the issue of Guardianship and governance in Islam is a fundamental and important issue. If Islam—which is the religion of God and wants to manage people's lives based on divine values—were to fall into a worldly situation in the matter of governance, into the same thing that other societies are afflicted with, the interests associated with the Islamic system would be completely stripped away. In the governing and managing apparatus, there must be a spiritual and divine system.

The reason why the scholars of Islam, our revolutionary nation, and the concerned members of society emphasize so much on the issue of the just Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, and why our great Imam (may his soul be sanctified) considered it so important, is because if we strip this spiritual issue from our Islamic society—as those who were devoted to Western methods and for whom Western values were fundamental wanted to act in the early years in the same Western ways regarding governance in the Islamic society—and if we made and make this mistake of forgetting the Islamic criteria and standards in the matter of governance and management of society and move towards the same common worldly forms, the meaning of our Islamic society will be lost. This point is decisive.

Perhaps we have said, heard, and narrated this hadith many times: 'I will punish every community in Islam that obeys an unjust Imam who is not from God Almighty, even if the community is righteous and pious in its actions, and I will forgive every community in Islam that obeys a guiding Imam from God Almighty, even if the community is oppressive and sinful in its actions.' The result is that if the management apparatus of society is righteous and healthy, the errors of the society's body are forgivable and will not create a problem in the society's path. But if the management and the head of society are far from righteousness, health, justice, piety, and steadfastness, even if there is righteousness among the people, that righteousness of the people's body cannot guide this society to the desired destination. That is, the influence of the head of the peak and pyramid and the management apparatus in a society is so extraordinary. This is why we emphasize so much on the issue of Ghadir.

The issue of Ghadir means the selection of knowledge, piety, struggle, piety, sacrifice in the way of God, precedence in faith and Islam, and reliance on these in the identification and determination of society's management. This issue is a value issue. In this sense, Ghadir is instructive and contains lessons for all Muslims, not just for the Shia, and it can be honored and revered, and we should not enter into sectarian and factional discussions in this regard, nor should we. Eid al-Ghadir is truly an Eid for the people because it reminds them of a sensitive and important matter.

Today, the major problems of nations in the world are problems arising from the managers and the hands that run the society. They are corrupt, and corruption in nations uproots and destroys all values and authenticity. They are corrupt, and nations become humiliated, servile, and subservient. They are corrupt, and satanic powers gain control over their nations. They are corrupt and unrestrained, and faith completely departs from the core of their societies. Today, this is the common calamity of Western societies; the calamity of disbelief, confusion, lack of spiritual reliance on a secure point, and the various types of corruption that exist in the world. It is a very dangerous thing and a great calamity, and this very point will destroy the societies that are afflicted by it. These appearances are not decisive. What is important is that the individuals of a nation are not gathered around a central point of faith.

Of course, gentlemen, and especially officials, should pay attention to this point that if we emphasize the role of management and leadership in the Islamic society and introduce it as decisive, the issue is not resolved with a single selection. It is not that a person is chosen at the top and has the necessary conditions, and then everything will be resolved by itself. The influence of top managers on the fate of society is also largely because the superior and higher manager has the power to select the hands and agents that turn the wheels of the country in a healthy manner. That is, their health is part of the health of the governing apparatus.

When the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), is at the head of the government, all branches of management in society move towards righteousness; so much so that if a corner of this management apparatus is unhealthy, impure, and not aligned with the criteria, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) endures a months-long war to cut and eradicate it. That is, the entire management apparatus of the country must be Alawite.

The apparatus whose governance is in the form of Guardianship, the connection between the Guardian and the people is inseparable. Guardianship means leadership, connection, attachment, intertwining of two things, fusion, and cohesion of those who have Guardianship with each other. The meaning and form of Guardianship in the society and the Islamic system is this. From this perspective, in the Islamic society, the word Guardianship is applied to governance, and the relationship between the Guardian and the people is a Guardianship relationship, and their connection and attachment are inseparable, and all parts of this society are connected and not separate from each other. The issue is not like the royal apparatuses, power apparatuses, and coup leaders who dominate a society.

In the Islamic society, the management and governance apparatus of society, all and all, rely on the people, are part of the people, are with the people, are connected to the people—in the full sense of connection—and are not separate. Where the governing apparatuses go one way and the interests of the people go another, it is because of this feeling of separation. The interests of the governing apparatus are one thing; the interests of the people are another. The interests of the governing apparatus are tied to America and the dominant powers and colonialists and plunderers of oil resources and such things—as it was during the cursed Pahlavi regime in our country and today in many other countries—the interests of the people are something else. The interests of the people are in removing that governing apparatus and those foreign servants and affiliates from the path of their perfection. The interests of these two are completely in two directions. But in the Islamic system, it is not like this. In the Islamic system, the ruler is a Guardian, a friend, a leader, a brother, and connected and for the people.

This is one of the honors of the Islamic Republic that it has been able to implement Islamic Guardianship. We have not yet been able to fully realize many Islamic laws. A society requires a long time to become fully Islamic; however, thanks be to God, the issue of governance and Guardianship has been realized in our Islamic society. The Islamic form, despite the rejection and negation and hostility of global powers, has been implemented in our society. The enemies of Islam also opposed it; but thanks be to God, it has become more stable, brighter, and more enduring in our society day by day.

We officials have a duty to realize divine and Islamic Guardianship in our society in its most attractive form for eager and deprived humans as much as possible. The first step is not to separate from the people and not to forget that these very people, the barefooted, the weak classes, those who are not considered anything in the material criteria of societies, are the true owners of the country, and the victories of this revolution and this country and the honor of Iran have been achieved because of their sacrifices. Let us not forget that it was these people who wanted and willed Islam for this divine and Islamic country and realized it. Do not separate from the people.

This is the honor of the Islamic system and society that nearly twelve years have passed since the victory of this revolution, and despite all the propaganda and sabotage of the enemies, the people have become more interested and attached to the ideals of this revolution and this Islamic system day by day, and the enemy has truly been helpless in the face of the will and determination of these people.

Today, the Islamic world is attentive to our Islamic society. The better and stronger and more real Islam is implemented here, the more hopeful Muslims in Islamic countries and around the world become. These young people and Islamic groups who, with oppression, are fighting against disbelief and global arrogance and their agents in Palestine and in many Islamic countries, their support and encouragement is the Islamic Republic. The steadfastness of this nation is what has kept them vibrant and has made hardships bearable for them.

Today, in the Islamic world, there are rulers who are more deadly than poison for the Muslims under their rule and for their oppressed nations. These governments, which are tools of global arrogance, are concerned for the interests and goals of arrogance, but not for the nations and their interests. This recent incident that occurred in Mina was truly a bitter and tragic incident. Of course, the incident is also suspicious. We do not easily accept what the Saudi rulers said and claimed about the cause of the incident. The incident is a suspicious incident. A large number of Muslim people and pilgrims lost their lives in this incident and died or were killed unjustly. It must be investigated. Muslims must investigate, and the leaders of Islamic countries must pursue this issue. Such a bitter and tragic incident is recounted in the statements and words of the Saudi rulers in a way that shows their disregard for the lives of Muslims and their existence; that too with the killing of hundreds and perhaps thousands of Muslims; while in Islam, even the life of one Muslim is respected. If in this incident, deliberate and treacherous hands were effective—as has been said and guessed and its opposite has not yet been proven—a great crime has occurred. A crime is not necessarily that a thousand and several hundred or more Muslims are killed; even if one person is killed in that way and unjustly and without crime, a great crime has occurred.

Of course, the words of a few court clerics from Islamic countries who praise and commend that you served so much and how you served do not absolve the Saudi rulers of responsibility. This is not the first case either; such incidents have repeatedly occurred until now. The massacre of Iranian pilgrims was the ugliest and the most savage example of it. Besides that, multiple incidents have occurred in the past. This recent incident itself is a very important issue.

Today, the nation and center to which Muslims turn their attention amidst all these troubles and find hope in their hearts is the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic system. These oppressed Palestinian and Lebanese Muslims who are daily subjected to Israel's criminal attacks and who have also been bombed in recent days and these crimes continue, their hope is not in any of these powers and claimants who make claims. If they have hope—and they do—it is in the Islamic Revolution and the blessed movement of our Muslim nation. You are the source of hope for Muslims.

Today, because of these characteristics in the Islamic Republic, anyone who strives for the honor and progress of this Republic, for the improvement of people's affairs in this Republic, and for the increasing successes of this sacred system, has strived and struggled for the entire Islamic world and has truly supported Islam. Today, the issue is not the issue of one nation. Our issues are the issues of the Islamic world and the issues of nations. Our issue is the issue of the essence of Islam and the flag and banner of Islam that has been raised in the world. Anyone who today acts in a way that weakens the Islamic Republic system, says something, or takes an action, the scope of his wrongful act extends to all Muslim nations. That is, he must know that this act is not just a betrayal of this nation; it is a betrayal of Islam and multiple nations and the history of Islam.

Today, the enemy is focused on creating division and rift among our people. Today, this is the only hope of the enemy. With a military attack—even with an atomic bomb—this revolution and this system cannot be destroyed. By joining hands and attacking from various sides, it cannot be done either. Global arrogance cannot solve the issue of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution for itself with military action; it cannot be done with economic pressure either.

In these eleven years, they have tested the awareness of our people. The people know the situation well. The people have endured many hardships and tolerated many shortages. All of this is due to the awareness of the people. The people know what global arrogance is pressuring the Islamic Republic system for and what it wants. Our people know that global arrogance is pressuring to reopen the path for the return of colonialists to this country. Our people know that many of the disorders and shortages and problems are due to the enmity and interference and malice of our global enemies. And they also know that by relying on their own strength, with resistance and perseverance and unity and cooperation and sincerity with the government and the executive officials of the country, they will be able to solve these problems; just as they have solved many of these problems.

Therefore, they know that they cannot harm this revolution and this Islamic Republic system from this path either. Their hope is in two or three internal points, and most importantly, creating division and rift between officials, between the government and the nation, between the masses of people, between various apparatuses, and between different personalities. This is their only hope. If they can create division, they will; if they cannot, they will pretend that there is division. Almost all the propaganda apparatuses of the world—those that are concerned with Iran's issues—have focused their efforts today on proving that there is a deep division in the main apparatuses of the Islamic Republic system! To portray the system as confused in the world and say it is a system afflicted with its own problems and engaged in power struggles—using such expressions—and also to make our nation and anyone else who hears them despair and lose hope.

I mention this point to draw your attention to how important the issue of division is for the enemy. Those whose words and pens work in society and whose minds and hearts and souls are attentive to them should be careful that the enemy does not misuse their statements. Today, any action that displays division and deep conflict and is accompanied by contradiction, and any action that weakens the officials of the system and the hardworking and dedicated and serving managers of the country, is an action against the interests of this nation and against the desires of Islam and our great Imam.

Thanks be to God, in our society, hearts are close to each other. Those selfish and power-seeking motives that are seen in the world are rarely seen in our society. I do not say they do not exist—Satan is everywhere—but as it is common in the world, it is not in our society. To the extent that it is everywhere, thanks be to God, it is not here. Here, spirituality and religious duty prevail. Strive to build and advance this society and this Islamic system and this Islamic country with unity of word, unity, management accompanied by love and emotions and cooperation of the people, so that the hope of nations increases by seeing you. This is what Islam wants from us.

Ghadir Khumm, for those who are people of meaning and spirituality and understanding of truths, has many and infinite and extraordinary lessons. For us too, it has lessons of sincerity and spirituality and piety in the management of the country and all the executive and operational arms. We must take this lesson from Ghadir, and surely in this path, the hand of divine power is our help and support. The divine will is that in this period, God willing, the word of truth will prevail, and Islam will find its prominent place in the world, and these efforts of the enemies will not reach anywhere.

God willing, may Almighty God grant all of you success and guide and help us to recognize the path and, God willing, traverse it with strength and steadfastness.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings