Full Text of the Supreme Leader's Statements in Meeting with Officials and Servants of the System on the Occasion of Eid al-Ghadir

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

I sincerely congratulate this noble and great Eid to all Muslims around the world, especially to the Shiites - who are known for their adherence to the Ahl al-Bayt and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) among all Muslims - and to the great nation of Iran and to you dear attendees and esteemed officials.

Ghadir is referred to in our Islamic texts as "Eid Allah al-Akbar" (the Greatest Eid of God), "Yawm al-Ahd al-Mahd" (the Day of the Covenant), and "Yawm al-Mithaq al-Makhudh" (the Day of the Taken Pact). These expressions, which indicate a special emphasis and concern for this noble day, highlight its significance in the matter of guardianship. The factor that guarantees the implementation of Islamic laws is the Islamic government and the sovereignty of the Quranic laws; otherwise, if individuals have personal faith, belief, and action, but the sovereignty - whether in the legislative phase or in the execution phase - is in the hands of others, the realization of Islam in that society depends on the fairness of those others. If they are unjust individuals, Muslims will find themselves in the same situation that you have witnessed today in Kosovo, yesterday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today and yesterday in Palestine and in other places - we have also observed this in our deep and ancient Muslim Iran for many years - but if the rulers are somewhat just, they will allow these Muslims to observe some aspects of Islam within the limits of their homes - or at most local connections - but it will not be Islam!

"And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by the permission of God"; the issue of governance has been the foundation of all the prophets' matters. Now some people want to express false, rejected, and incorrect ideas in seemingly new forms! They say that if religion gains governance, it loses its sanctity! What does sanctity mean? Does sanctity mean that someone attaches a worthless thing, a name, or a fictitious and baseless status to themselves? Is this sanctity?! True sanctity is that a truth among people has a good effect on their lives and relationships, on the worldly and otherworldly affairs of people, and reforms their lives. This is religion; if a religion can do this, its sanctity belongs to it.

Now suppose, Zayd and Amr, who are in the position of governance in this religion, are subjected to accusations, insults, and slanders by some; it does not matter. Individuals, humans, I and thousands like me, sacrifice for the survival of religion; what importance does it have?! Religion must be implemented, religion must be realized, and this was officially and as a legal truth in Islam determined at Ghadir. Of course, from the beginning of the Hijra, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was the ruler; however, many hoped that when this person who brought Islam and this thread that connected individuals and hearts among people left, nothing would remain! With the appointment of the guardian, with the appointment of the ruler and the determination of someone who could be the thread of this work, this notion in the realm of legislation was prevented. The essence of the matter is that there must be a law; thus, he said: "Today those who disbelieve have despaired of your religion, so do not fear them"; from now on, since the guardianship has been determined and the duty of governance and leadership and administration of the country has been clarified, do not fear the foreign enemy anymore. "And fear Me"; now fear Me.

What does fearing God mean? It means now be careful of yourselves, be careful of your hearts and souls and actions, be careful of your piety and the stability and steadfastness that is expected from every human in this path. "Today I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you"; the day of Ghadir is such a day. Although there was a deviation from this law in its external realization in the Islamic world, the law remained and the duty was specified. This is important. It may be that some individuals or groups do not act according to the Quranic verse for a period or periods, but it differs from the fact that the Quranic verse has not been revealed. It has been revealed and recorded, and a footprint remains for a day when a people will act upon it. "Soon Allah will bring forth a people He loves and who love Him". It cannot be said that this verse has never been realized throughout the history of Islam. Yes; it has been realized in certain periods and through the servants of the right and divine guardianship; but we are proud and thank God Almighty that this matter was realized in our time through one of His most righteous servants, meaning the guardianship was realized. Guardianship means divine governance that has no trace of self-worship, kingship, and selfish authority in it. If it exists, it is not guardianship. The difference between divine governance and non-divine governance is that in divine guarantees, the guarantee is internal. If someone who holds a position does not have the conditions for it, this bond is removed from them by itself. This is a very important matter. The foundation of divine guardianship is based on being absorbed in the commands and prohibitions of the Lord; it is the exact opposite of material kings and human governments.

In human governments, what is attached to oneself and shows the manifestations of authority, kingship, and tyranny, and desires for oneself and negates others, is the opposite in divine governance; its manifestation is Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). In the era of governance, humility without weakness and authority without arrogance are characteristics of Amir al-Mu'minin. At the same time that he acts with utmost decisiveness against the deviant, the perverse, the one who is subject to divine punishment, and the enemy - in their own fields - at the same time, for himself - for that wretched self that arises in every existence, he will be ruined and miserable - there is no place in Ali's existence for it. Everything is absorbed in the divine will; he is a servant and slave of God. The greatest definition for a human - in divine and Islamic standards - is servitude to God. "I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger"; the "messenger" is mentioned after "servant". Amir al-Mu'minin is this. The meaning of guardianship in Islamic terminology and usage is this; it is a government in which there is the authority of governance, but there is no selfishness of kingship, there is decisive determination - that "when you have decided, then put your trust in God" - but it is not tyranny of opinion. Those who oppose the Islamic government and guardianship fear these things; they are against its Islam! Carrying the name of guardianship on concepts that either arise from ignorance and illiteracy and misunderstanding, or arise from malice and enmity! Guardianship means a government in which, despite the existence of authority, despite the dignity of a ruler and the decisive determination of a ruler, there is no sign of tyranny, selfishness, self-opinion, greed, and self-seeking. This is the main sign of this government. It is evident that in such a government, justice must be revived. Wherever we fall short in the matter of justice, our weakness lies in these characteristics. The fact that I repeatedly say we are far from reaching the desired point of Islamic governance - although we are also far from material governments; but we are also far from that main point - is because of this. Wherever and whenever we fall short in the matter of justice, in the matter of being absorbed and dissolved in the divine will and divine laws, it is due to our personal weaknesses; otherwise, the Islamic ruling and Islamic guardianship is this.

If there is Islamic guardianship, life under the shadow of Amir al-Mu'minin will be achieved for all - for the believer, for the sinner, and for the disbeliever - even disbelievers will live comfortably in it. It is not the case that only the pious people will be comfortable in it; non-pious people will also benefit from the security of that environment, from equality, from justice, and from spiritual peace in that environment. If it does not become divine governance, the society is a discriminatory society. Discrimination has various types. Where the rulers of the government and power are individuals who either do not fear anyone, or have no morals, and within them, there is no observer from God, this is the situation you observe today in the world! The killing of Muslims in Kosovo and the pursuit of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of exterminating the Muslim generation from the region of Europe! This is happening! Muslims in Europe should not have a country; they can live as second-class humans, that is acceptable! These are the realities of the events of this day. This is the goal of those who have joined hands from all sides to initiate the events of Bosnia and today the events of Kosovo have begun! You observe, Yugoslavia is at war on one side and the Western allies - NATO - on the other side; but what is the result? Did a Muslim feel at ease because they are apparently punishing Yugoslavia?! Absolutely not! Since the day these attacks began, the severity of actions against Muslims has increased!

Of course, their connection with each other regarding the issue of governance and tyranny and bullying - and that one must bring the Serbs under their command - necessitates certain things; but it does not matter for Muslims. Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina were also subjected to aggression for several years, beaten, killed, and buried in mass graves; with the intention of scattering and destroying them! In the end, they came and established peace in a completely undesirable form. Of course, when they saw there was no other choice, they acted; because the Muslims of Bosnia, honestly, stood firm. If there had been a choice, it would have continued until not a single person from that population in Bosnia and Herzegovina remained in that area! Although many of them are of the same "Slavic" race and part of that population; but their religion is different! Here too, it is the same; they continue to drive out Muslims and destroy Islam and the Islamic community! Why? Because they consider the existence of Muslims here contrary to their selfish and tyrannical goals. Now it is called democracy, fine; the name does not change anything! All these gentlemen who are there are democratic rulers and governments! Is this democracy?! Is the meaning of democracy this? Should humanity endure all these problems for these purposes?! If democracy is truly this, then there is no difference between tyranny and democracy! The democratic countries of the world and those who are in power with so-called democratic governments, in dealing with groups that do not share their views - or for some reason do not consider their existence beneficial for themselves, or consider it harmful - should they have the right to act with the most severe tools?! So if humanity rejects Western democracy, denies and disavows it, it has the right.

Islamic guardianship is not like this. Islamic guardianship is such that when the opponents in the government of Amir al-Mu'minin take the anklet from the foot of a Jewish woman, the Imam of that community and the wise ruler says: if a Muslim dies from the grief that in his governance an anklet has been taken from the foot of a Jewish woman - he has the right! Like Amir al-Mu'minin who does not exaggerate; he says if a person dies from this grief, he has the right. This is Islamic governance and guardianship.

The year of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) means we should revive these characteristics within ourselves. My dear ones; esteemed and hardworking officials who are serving in every sector of this country and the system's affairs - in the armed forces, in government sectors and the parliament, and in any other place - the guardianship of Amir al-Mu'minin, adherence to guardianship, and the revival of the name of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the year of the Imam, this is it; we must revive these in ourselves, we must embody these fundamental lines. "Between us and God" at a time when we visited the great Imam - and he faced the difficult test of governance in the hardest times - we found him, in comparison with that original model, honestly the best and closest person. We do not want to say that our Imam was like Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him); no. Our Imam was not even the dust of that great man's feet. Thousands of people like that great man cannot be compared to that Imam! He would tell his close companions: "You cannot do like me"; you cannot act like me. But with human characteristics and lacking infallibility, honestly, we saw our great Imam as the closest person to that model. He was very close and conveyed a lot of resemblance; one could recognize the face of those great ones in the behavior of this man. We thank God that we saw this living example up close. If we had not seen this Imam and later stories about him were narrated to us, it would not have been properly understandable for us; but we saw him up close. I once told him: if we had heard these characteristics, or if they had been told to us, we could not have imagined it correctly! How much we should thank God that this living example is before us! Let us draw ourselves closer to him. This model was in front of our eyes. His behavior and his firm and clear principles are before our eyes. Let us all strive to draw ourselves closer to him. The year of the great Imam is this; otherwise, we did not want to say that - perhaps - as a formality, for a year, four words from him should be narrated, printed, or said! Fortunately, the relevant officials of his noble office and blessed household are pursuing this work - they have ceremonies and activities - but the main work is what you and I must do. The main work is that we must draw ourselves closer to that model. We hope that God Almighty grants everyone the success to take these great steps in transforming ourselves and, God willing, in self-building that will be the source of great blessings for this country and for this nation and for the entire Islamic world.

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