Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Officials on Eid al-Mab'ath

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

I also extend my congratulations on this great day to the entire great Islamic Ummah, especially the faithful and dear nation of Iran, and to you, the esteemed attendees who are the officials of the divine and Islamic system.

The day of 'Mab'ath' is undoubtedly the greatest day in the history of humanity. It is the day of the birth of the most distinguished and noble concepts and values. The mission of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was a practical movement to lead humanity, on one hand, to the pinnacle of individual, spiritual, and moral perfection, and on the other hand, to the elevation of social life and the reform of societal conditions. The issue is that in the Prophet's mission, what was gifted to the people was not merely a set of dry concepts and a path without followers or leaders. From the very first moment, this mission was realized in the existence of that great personage and then in the spirit, soul, and actions of the believers in this message. Ignorance was struck by this message from the first moment and opposed it. This is the characteristic of the missions of the prophets.

This is not exclusive to the prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets. Prophets move and demonstrate in practice what they offer to humanity in terms of teaching. They are the first to tread this path.

'Teaching them the Book and wisdom' is contingent upon the fact that the knowledge of the Book and wisdom exists in the sacred existence of the Noble Prophet at the highest level. 'Purifying them' is contingent upon the fact that the pure existence is purified to the highest possible degree for human nature. With this power, he can lead the world towards purification. This is something that leaders of various schools of thought and those who hold different philosophical, social, and political concepts are unfamiliar with. They conceive ideas in their minds, understand things in the realm of imagination, and deliver them to the people. Some learn from them, and some do not. This is different from the path of the prophets, which is movement from the beginning, action from the beginning, and realization of those slogans that exist in their words and actions from the beginning. This precisely occurred in the life of the Noble Prophet. From the first moment, that teaching and purification and that movement towards establishing justice began. Therefore, from the first moment, confrontation and opposition also began; from the time when the Noble Prophet expanded his invitation in response to 'And warn your nearest kindred,' to the time when he spread and publicized it among the general public, and to the time when he moved towards a social system - which was the system of justice - and established it. Of course, what we observe and describe in the mission is the apparent aspect of the mission. The divine and celestial truth and what occurs between the Almighty Creator and an exceptional and chosen human being is beyond the reach of our minds, and we do not understand what has happened. The event is extraordinarily great from this perspective and is beyond our imagination. What we see and what is in our view, each person understands something from it according to their understanding and contemplation, and this event affects its audience, humanity, and the world around it.

From the very beginning when this event occurred, two things existed as clear objectives: one was to create that inner, spiritual, and psychological movement by directing the inner self of humans towards the Almighty God. This is the first point. That is, the issue of faith, attention to the Lord of the worlds, or as many Quranic verses express it, 'remembrance.' What the Almighty God gives to humans through the mission, in the first degree, is remembrance and awakening of humans. This is the first step. Until this happens, none of the objectives of the missions and prophethoods will be realized. 'You can only warn those who follow the reminder.' One who brings this reminder into existence within themselves and follows it, after that time, is capable of warning, reform, guidance, perfection, and struggle for social goals. This is the first step. When humanity becomes heedless of spirituality, all doors of reform and righteousness are closed to them. Look at the material world today! Today, what can be considered the key to all reforms and happiness in the material world is that humans become aware, remember, seek the purpose of creation beyond these material appearances, and search for a truth beyond these material appearances of life, which are merely eating, sleeping, desires, power, wealth, and such things. The root of corruption is the lack of attention to this true inner world. The secret, meaning, and inner aspect of life and human existence is this: being attentive to a source and duty, awaiting inspiration, listening to the command of a governing, capable, and sovereign source from the unseen. This is the essence of the matter; which is again expressed in another Quranic term as 'faith in the unseen': 'Those who believe in the unseen.' They do not drown in these material appearances of life. They do not summarize life in merely eating, sleeping, desires, human inclinations, power, leadership, and the like. This is the first gift of the missions to humanity and the first goal of the Prophet; to remind them and give them faith; that too, faith in the unseen.

The second goal that the Prophet pursued from the first moment is to create a healthy and correct environment for human livelihood and human life. That is, a world in which there is no oppression and the weak are not devoured by the strong. A world in which there is no absolute failure for the weak and no law of the jungle. That is the same thing that in the terminology of the Quran, Hadith, and religious terms is called 'justice and equity.' That is the greatest aspiration of humanity. The greatest ideal of humanity from the beginning of human history (that is, from the time when humans gained intellect and thought came to them, and they organized and arranged their lives) until today, has been the aspiration for the realization of justice. Now, some raise the slogan of peace. Of course, peace is a very good thing; but peace is good when it is just. Many choose war to achieve justice and fight in the path of justice. So, it is clear that justice is higher and more important than peace. The truth is also this.

Human life without justice is what you observe in the ugliest faces of human history. It is also observed today in corners of the world. All the miseries you see in various societies are due to oppression and injustice. The apparent matters may not show this; but the inner aspect of the matter is this. If you see in a corner of the world, children losing their lives due to lack of food, the apparent matter is that due to the lack of rain, there has been a drought; but the inner aspect of the matter is something else. The inner aspect of the matter is injustice. If justice had ruled over that society from past generations and if justice had ruled over the human living environment, humans could have built their living environment under the shadow of established justice in such a way that it would be livable for them and their children would not fall into such misery and life would not become so ugly and painful. Due to injustice, humanity is afflicted with these diseases and pains.

The first goal of all prophets, alongside that remembrance, is to ensure justice. These are the two main goals. Of course, one is more fundamental, and that is the subject of remembrance. That is the root and foundation of the matter. If heedlessness comes, nothing will be achieved, and justice will not be established either. Therefore, you saw that those systems and people who claimed social justice could not offer anything of the kind of justice to the people of their societies. Yes; they gave other things! They gave them space travel, built intercontinental missiles for them; but they could not establish social justice! Social justice will be achieved under the shadow of human reform, souls, and inner selves and under the shadow of attention to God and remembrance. These two are the goals of the Prophet, and he was able to realize them; albeit within a limited circle.

He created a society that was aware, conscious, and enjoyed the highest level of social justice. It was possible that in a corner of that society, someone might oppress someone else; but this does not determine the absence of social justice. The criterion for the existence and absence of social justice is the establishment of social justice as a governing principle. In a society where the law and governance are just, the ruler is just, and the intention is the intention of justice, the general movement is towards social justice. It may take time to traverse this path sooner or later; but ultimately, it will reach social justice. Such a situation was created by the Noble Prophet. He did not tolerate or accept the slightest injustice. He showed a model, which of course, we saw the effects of that training in Islamic societies for a long time after the blessed life of the Noble Prophet, and again during the time of the Commander of the Faithful (peace and blessings be upon him), we observed the same absolute justice in the pure and noble ruler of the Islamic world at that time.

These two characteristics are among the features of the mission. We celebrate the mission to revive these features. We celebrate to keep personalities, paths, and events alive and to learn from them.

What makes the Iranian nation proud today is that it has undertaken a great and fundamental movement in the direction of this mission. The enemies say many false things about us; but they cannot deny that the Islamic Republic system and the Iranian nation have risen to revive the values of Islam and renew the mission of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and this is our pride. What has enabled this nation to resist on this path until today is precisely this. Therefore, if you observe the text of society, you will see that our society, thanks be to God, is not a heedless society. The people are a remembering and conscious people; they are in pursuit of truth and on the path of truth. For them, spiritual and divine values are truly valuable. They sacrifice material things for spiritual values; they do not sacrifice spiritual values for material things. The general course of our society is this. Of course, all kinds of people are found everywhere. In that second part too, the foundation of the Islamic Republic system is 'so that people may uphold justice.' The goal is social justice and equity. Society will reach true righteousness, prosperity, development, and salvation when this is ensured.

Capitalist systems in the world pursued prosperity, development, and scientific and industrial progress in their countries without paying significant attention to the principle of social justice. Of course, they were able to achieve many of those goals; like acquiring knowledge, comfortable living, advanced technology, luxurious living, and military power. These were achieved, and this is also a divine promise. The Almighty God has promised that any nation, if it seriously pursues any goal, will reach that goal. There is no doubt about this. Those who moved seriously also reached these appearances of life to the extent that they achieved wealth, military power, and scientific progress; but they did not become happy in their lives. In those countries, the pains of humanity have not ended. The wealth that exists in that society has benefited some individuals in the society; but they have not been able to eliminate discrimination and establish social justice. Even for those who enjoy comfortable living, they have not been able to create true comfort, spiritual peace, and a happy life. They cannot swallow a sip of water comfortably. Various types of troubles have gripped them. Of course, some troubles appear immediately, and some appear after a while, and now is the time for their troubles to appear. The material world may not have been like this twenty to forty years ago; but now the troubles of material life have gripped it. The reason is that it has not paid attention to spirituality and social justice.

A system built on the mission aims for happiness and comfortable living for humanity, and this is not achieved except with those two goals. If this is the case, then enmities will also have no effect. Many are perplexed as to how it was that on the day when there were two superpowers and both superpowers acted against us, they could not harm the Islamic Republic! Even today, when one superpower has been destroyed and one remains, it and its allies - whether advanced governments or weak governments that have accepted America's alliance out of humiliation and disgrace and are trying together - cannot inflict a decisive blow on the Islamic Republic. The secret is this faith, attention, and adherence of the people to religion, the presence of spirituality in people's lives, and this feeling that the system of society is moving towards justice. Of course, the enemy makes a lot of noise and threatens and acts a lot. However, its actions are not effective. There is a difference between a system that is cut off from its people and a nation that is not based on spirituality, and a spiritual nation that is united with its system and government and has strong connections between them. The people consider the government and the president as their own. Sometimes they love them more than their own children. The people are fond of the members of parliament and the heads of the branches. They consider them as their own and are also endowed with faith and spirituality. This nation and government cannot be compared to that system cut off from its people. Therefore, those threats have no effect.

Of course, the threats they have been making recently are at the level of vulgarity. These American government officials have brought the threat against the Iranian government and nation to the level of vulgarity and rudeness. They threaten with lightness. Their actions are rejected in the eyes of world public opinion, and they make inappropriate statements. The US Congress allocates a budget to carry out sabotage activities in the Islamic Republic. Well; hasn't sabotage been carried out in the Islamic Republic system until now?! Haven't your mercenary saboteurs tasted the iron fist of the Iranian nation that they want to try again?!

It is obvious that whenever the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic system feel that the mercenary fingers of America or any other aggressive power are active inside the country, they will deal with them decisively and crushingly. The nation, thanks be to God, is alive, awake, ready, and present on the scene, and you, the dear officials of the Islamic Republic system, serve such a nation. You work for these people. You, the officials and those involved in the three branches of government, the executive branch, the judiciary, the esteemed members of parliament, and others in various sectors, the military forces, the law enforcement forces, the army, the Revolutionary Guards, and all, work for these people; people with such faith and determination. Today's prayer also has this theme: 'And I have known that the best provision for the traveler to You is determination and will that chooses You.' This determination and will of a person, which leads to choosing the path of God, is the foundation of things, and the Iranian nation has this. You work for such a nation, you must value it greatly, and do your utmost, and do not tire of work, and God willing, be hopeful for divine reward.

We hope that the attentions and pure prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will include all of you and that you will be blessed with divine success.

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