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

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

I also extend my congratulations on this blessed Eid to you, the esteemed audience, the hardworking and dedicated officials of the country, and to all our proud, great, and noble nation, as well as to all Muslims worldwide and the oppressed and needy who look to the blessed source of Ghadir.

Truly, it is a great day and a decisive and magnificent Eid. This day is significant both in terms of the personality of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, with the dimensions of this great personality and the personal, political, and social characteristics that existed in this divine and celestial man. Neither during the time of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, nor after him, do we find anyone with these characteristics other than the Commander of the Faithful. It is worthy of attention and consideration both in terms of the event itself and the remarkable appointment.

Regarding the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, all those familiar with the states of that great figure through documents must acknowledge that the Commander of the Faithful did not attain his exalted status because of Ghadir. Ghadir was not something that shaped the rare gem of the Commander of the Faithful. Ghadir was the result of the virtues, merits, and perfections of that noble person. Of course, the honor of receiving the divine command, the appointment by the Prophet, and the allegiance of the believers and companions is a great honor. But greater than that are the characteristics that existed in this unparalleled and noble human being, which led to such an event and divine appointment.

The event of Ghadir itself has many dimensions. Truly, the Muslims of the world can find in this event a means for the comprehensive and complete growth and guidance of the entire Islamic world. No one has denied the occurrence of this event and the issuance of those words from the Noble Prophet of Islam.

On such a day, in that important and sensitive position, when the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, was spending the last months of his blessed life, he appointed the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, to the Guardianship - meaning the leadership of the Muslims - and to governance - meaning the management of the Islamic society. The Guardianship that is appointed here and referred to by the Prophet of Islam is not merely that comprehensive divine spiritual guardianship based on other elements. Rather, it is a divine matter and a heavenly and celestial command, which cannot be appointed and established by this prophetic legislative statement that said, 'Whomsoever I am his master, this Ali is his master.' This statement of the Prophet, which entrusted the Guardianship to the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, signifies legislative appointment and means governance, management of the Islamic society, and the Guardianship of the affairs of the Muslims, which of course is accompanied by the comprehensive divine guardianship that existed in the sacred existence of the Prophet and the guided Imams, peace be upon them. That guardianship, in that sense, existed in the Imams who did not reach apparent guardianship. The guardianship that belonged to the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and was appointed by the Prophet was political guardianship. The same meaning that the Almighty Lord established and created through the Noble Prophet in Islam, and with it, it became clear that Islam, among its highest laws and regulations, includes the issue of governance, guardianship, and leadership of the nation. If someone looks at the subject of Ghadir from this perspective, many of the misconceptions that unfortunately have existed in minds for centuries should be removed for him.

Those who, under the guise of supporting religion, claim that 'religion should not engage in political matters' are unaware that this is a new tactic of arrogant and colonial propaganda against the sovereignty of Islam and the renewed life of Islam. Of course, the separation of religion from politics has been proposed for centuries. First, the agents of despotism, meaning the powerful who held the reins of society's affairs despotically and wanted to freely do whatever they wished with the nation and the country, proposed it. It is obvious that they did not want Islamic laws and the heralds of Islamic laws to interfere in their governance. Therefore, the despotic rulers and kings are considered the first pioneers of the deviant thought of 'separation of religion from politics.' Before the colonialists, before the foreign enemies, and before the political designers of Zionism and others, those who ruled this country and other Islamic countries despotically for years promoted and advocated this idea that 'religion is separate from politics.' When during the time of Naser al-Din Shah, a religious scholar intervened in a political matter and disrupted all the colonial schemes that secured the common interests of companies and the Iranian royal court, did not the courtiers and associates of Naser al-Din Shah think about why religion interferes in politics? As it exists in the literature of the time of Naser al-Din Shah - the mid and late Qajar period - this meaning exists that 'why do the scholars and those engaged in religious matters interfere in governance?' This meaning is clearly present in the writings of the Naserian era.

Thus, the issue first goes back to the despots and the unbridled rulers of our country and other countries who feared and opposed any interference from religion, religious people, and the heralds and scholars of religion in the realm of politics. The colonialists, seeing the matter aligned with their aspirations and policies, pursued it, and the theory of separation of religion from politics, after being imposed on the morals of devout individuals and even many scholars and being fed to them, also took on a foundational form. That is, they created arguments for it and turned it into a foundation and a thought.

All this pertains to the past. One of the greatest services of the great religious movement of the Iranian nation was that it dispelled and eliminated the false myth of 'separation of religion from politics.' Both the people entered the field with religious motivation and raised the banner of freedom, and by the command of religion, the heralds of religious laws and great scholars led their caravan and moved forward until that movement led to the sovereignty of God's religion in this country. Then it became clear to the Muslims that political matters - and above all political matters, the matter of governance and guardianship - are intertwined with religion and cannot be separated from religion.

When religious texts and scriptures revealed their meaning, everyone understood that for years they had not paid attention to such an obvious matter. It is evident that a deviation, when supported by the enemies of a nation's happiness, does not easily disappear. Therefore, new arguments were created for the separation of religion from politics. They argued that 'if we involve religion in politics and if the politics of a country originates from religion, since political matters and governance have problems, it leads to dissatisfaction, disillusionment, and failures. Therefore, this causes people to become disillusioned with the essence of religion. So, religion should completely withdraw from politics; it should gain sanctity; it should find illumination; it should sit aside and attend to the spiritual and mental and spiritual matters of the people.' Today, the agents of global arrogance, in the world - especially the Islamic world - promote this argument and theory in various ways.

The abrogator of these sophistries is Ghadir. In the matter of Ghadir, the Noble Prophet of Islam, following God's command and to act upon the explicit verses of the Quran, performed one of the highest obligations: 'And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message.' The issue of appointing the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, to guardianship and succession is so important that if you do not do it, you have not fulfilled your mission! Either it means that you have not fulfilled your mission in this particular matter because the Almighty God has commanded, 'Do this.' Or even more than that, the very essence of the Prophet's mission is undermined and its foundation is shaken by not doing this. This possibility also exists. As if the very essence of the mission has not been conveyed! It is possible that this means that in this case, the matter becomes very important. That is, the issue of establishing governance, the matter of guardianship, and the matter of managing the country are among the main texts of religion, and the Prophet, with this greatness, takes care and performs this mission in front of the eyes of all people in a manner that perhaps no obligation has been conveyed in this way! Not prayer, not almsgiving, not fasting, and not jihad. He gathers people from different classes, tribes, and regions at the crossroads between Mecca and Medina for the purpose of performing an important task; then he conveys such a mission, which resonates in the Islamic world: 'The Prophet has conveyed a new message.'

Regardless of the person of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and the subject of his appointment - to which the Shia adheres and is committed - others did not pay much attention to this part of the matter and did not consider the appointment of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. In this matter, the main issue of appointing a ruler is an important matter that is the message of Ghadir. Why should this clear message that the Noble Prophet - the founder of Islam - has given to all Muslims be ignored, God forbid? Where it says: 'Muslims! Do not separate religion from the foundation of life and from the matter of governance, which is the basis of individual and social life. Do not confine religion to the solitude of homes and minds and spiritual matters. Do not isolate religion.' The foundation of human life, which is based on governance, is a matter directed towards religion; it is a responsibility on the shoulders of religion, and religion must perform this task. No one thought that day that 'are people minors that they need a guardian?' A simplistic sophistry that some individuals with scientific and argumentative appearances propose. Guardianship does not always mean 'guardianship of an incapable person.' Teaching and instructing do not always mean teaching first-grade students, so if we call a university professor a 'teacher,' we say 'it was an insult because a first-grade teacher is also called a teacher'! Teaching in each place has its own meaning and implication. A university teacher has a meaning and implication. A first-grade teacher has a different implication. Guardianship of a minor and incapable person has a meaning and implication. Guardianship of the Islamic nation, guardianship of war, guardianship of peace, and guardianship of politics also have different meanings and implications. These cannot be mixed together. This is the message of Ghadir.

Our late great Imam has the greatest right in this regard over the Islamic nation, as he made the people aware of their responsibility, which is involvement in governance. Therefore, in the Islamic system, anyone who is devout to Islamic belief and law has a responsibility in governance. No one can withdraw from the matter of governance. No one can say, 'Something is happening; what does it have to do with me!?' In the matter of governance and political issues and public matters of society in the Islamic system, there is no 'what does it have to do with me!' People are not detached. The greatest manifestation of people's involvement in governance is Ghadir. Ghadir itself taught us this, and therefore Eid al-Ghadir is the Eid of Guardianship, the Eid of politics, the Eid of people's involvement in governance, the Eid of the entire nation and the Islamic Ummah. This Eid is not exclusive to the Shia. It is appropriate and rightful that the entire Islamic Ummah considers this day as their Eid. Ghadir is also the Eid of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and the Shia of that noble person especially benefit from this Eid.

We hope that the sacred existence of the Imam of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him, grants a suitable gift to the entire Islamic Ummah, especially to our great nation and to the Shia worldwide, on this day. May he be pleased with us, and may his holy heart be compassionate towards us, and may we be included in his pure prayers.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings