Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with State Officials on Eid al-Ghadir

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

I sincerely congratulate all Muslims of the world, seekers of truth and justice everywhere, especially the dear nation of Iran and you brothers and sisters present in this gathering, upon whom the fundamental and heavy responsibilities of managing the country rest, on this great day.

What can be understood from the event of Ghadir, from the perspective of those who study it like us, is the essence of this divine appointment regarding the quality of governance and the selection of righteous individuals for great responsibilities. Of course, those who possess a high mystical insight and a heart connected to sources of light and knowledge may understand other truths in this event.

What we perceive in this event is that with the appointment of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, on the day of Ghadir, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, by the command of the Lord, revealed this truth from Islam that the great responsibility of governing society in the Islamic system is not something that can be overlooked concerning Islamic criteria. In this great task, Islamic values and standards must be considered one hundred percent.

Who is higher than the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him? All the characteristics that are valued from the perspective of Islam, and of course, from the perspective of sound reason coupled with fairness, were present in the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. His faith, his sincerity, his sacrifice and selflessness, his piety, his struggle, his precedence in Islam, his indifference to anything other than God and any non-divine goal, his disregard for material adornments, the worthlessness of the world in his view, his knowledge, his understanding, and the pinnacle of humanity in him from all dimensions are characteristics evident in the life of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. Claiming these words is not exclusive to the Shia. All Muslims, historians, and narrators who have wanted to speak fairly about the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, have stated these characteristics and more.

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on that day, in front of the eyes of those who recognized these characteristics in the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, appointed him to the position of guardianship. The meaning of this appointment is to give importance to those criteria. This is the point that should be considered by everyone in the Islamic system and society until the rise of the Mahdi. If Muslims throughout history have not been able to fully benefit from Islamic blessings, it is due to the great deficiency arising from not recognizing the criteria.

The matter does not end here. The point that is important for us, the officials and administrators of the Islamic system in Iran, is that when a person like the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is placed at the head of the prophetic Islamic system - that is, the Islamic system crafted by the sacred hand of the Prophet in the early period - it means that throughout history, in all fundamental responsibilities in the Islamic system, criteria must be observed. Observing criteria is not exclusive to the leadership of the Islamic society; rather, giving importance to Islamic values, criteria, and standards is a pervasive and ongoing matter in the entire Islamic society, and this is what brings blessings to Muslims. To the extent that we, the people of Iran, have been able to realize this high Islamic principle in our living environment, we are witnessing its blessings today.

This awareness of the Iranian nation and its sense of pride in Islam is precisely the opposite of what the enemies of Islam have always wanted. They have instilled the idea that Muslims should be ashamed of their Islam and try not to show the effects of Islam and being Muslim in their actions and movements. Instead, what they show should be an anti-Islamic inclination and a tendency towards the enemies of Islam.

One of the actions of the colonialists in Islamic societies has been to make Muslims, at every level and rank of importance and responsibility in life and society, draw closer to non-Islamic values. That is, their clothing should be like theirs, their behavior like theirs, their outlook like theirs, and their actions like theirs. In reality, they should consider their values as values, their anti-values as anti-values, and forget about Islam. They have tried to do this. Unfortunately, they have succeeded in most Islamic regions over the years of colonialism and the entry of colonial culture into Islamic countries. They changed clothes, changed behaviors, changed lifestyles, changed outlooks, and distanced Muslims from Islam, bringing them closer to what is anti-Islamic and non-Islamic.

Today, when the Iranian nation insists and persists on adhering to Islamic positions, Islamic values, and Islamic culture in its behavior, in its movements, in its clothing, in its global interactions, and in choosing its friends and enemies, it faces the most attacks for this very reason.

In such a world, the Iranian nation has been able to restore pride in its Islamic identity and personality. That is, our people feel proud to be Muslims; and this is indeed the truth. "And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers." (Quran 63:8) Believers are honorable. Whoever has faith in their heart and in their actions observes what is required by faith is truly honorable. Thanks be to God, the feeling of honor is also present in the hearts of our nation, and this is one of the blessings of observing the same values that were established in Ghadir.

We, especially those who adhere to Ghadir, consider the issue of Ghadir as the foundation of our beliefs. In fact, the Shia considers the issue of Ghadir as the basis and root of its Shia beliefs. We must make maximum adherence and use of this issue. During the era of the tyrant, when Eid al-Ghadir was customary, we used to recite: "Praise be to God who made us among those who adhere to the guardianship of the Commander of the Faithful and the Imams, peace be upon them." This adherence to guardianship was in beliefs and emotions at that time; but in practice, there was no guardianship. In practice, it was the guardianship of the tyrant; the guardianship of global arrogance; the guardianship of the enemies of religion. At that time, our friends used to recite: "O God, make us among those who adhere to the guardianship of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him." That is, they asked God to make them adhere to the guardianship of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. Today, this prayer has been answered. Today, with the Islamic system that was extracted from the core of the Quran and religion by the wise leadership of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and implemented in this country, the Iranian nation has adhered to the guardianship of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. We must increase this adherence as much as possible. The foundation of adhering to guardianship is adhering to Islamic values. Whatever is valued in Islam, you must strive to attract in practice. Whether individual values - such as those related to each person's relationship and connection with their God, which is one of the most important values of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him; that is, connection with God, resorting to the Lord, and improving one's relationship with God - or social values related to society - such as political, economic, and international values - and values related to public customs and habits. See which characteristic and action Islam has considered valuable; then strive to implement it. In other words, apply those values in the work environment, in choosing colleagues, in executing missions, and in preparing plans for the section you are working in. This is the meaning of complete adherence to guardianship.

My dear ones! The more we implement and apply values, the more honorable the Islamic society will become; the stronger the Islamic nation will become, and in all stages of life, our progress will be greater. Today is a sensitive and important day. After the revolution, if we have had several important phases, one is this era, which is the era of repairing past destructions; destructions that are not just one or two. If the Iranian nation cannot repair the destructions and build the country, in the eyes of the world's public opinion, its claim to Islam - God forbid - will turn out to be false. This is why you see the officials, administrators, and servants of the country and the three branches talk so much about the construction of the country. Today is the phase of construction. Today is the day when the nation has found this leisure after a long war, and it is precisely because of this sensitivity that you see how the world has targeted the constructive policies of the Iranian nation with its poisonous arrows from all sides. Propaganda in one way, politics in another, security provocations in another, and economic sabotage in another. The enemy does whatever it can, and thanks be to God, it is mostly unsuccessful. What you see of the enemy's conspiracies that succeed in society is actually a small part of its conspiracies. Perhaps it can be said: "It conspires ten times more, but thanks be to God, most of it does not succeed, and only a small part of it succeeds."

In such a time, what can make you successful, build the country, keep the Iranian nation on the scene, and mobilize all forces in the path of this sacred construction is to cling tightly to Islamic values. Of course, God Almighty must also grant success.

We hope that, God willing, our behavior will be such that divine successes will be attracted to us and that what we do, what we think, and what we perform as our duty will be accepted by the sacred essence of the Lord and pleasing to the Holy Presence of God, and God willing, the pure heart of the Imam of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him and may God hasten his reappearance, will be satisfied and pleased with us, and the pure soul of our great Imam will be made happy.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings