The Supreme Leader's Sermons on the First Friday of the Blessed Month of Ramadan

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

All praise belongs to God, the Lord of all worlds. We praise Him, seek His help, ask for His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. We believe in Him and rely on Him. We send blessings and peace upon His beloved, His chosen one, and the best of His creation, the Master of Prophets and Messengers, our Master and Prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen family, especially the remaining proof of God on earth. God, the Wise, has said in His Book: "He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His verses, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom."

O Lord! With all our being, senses, emotions, and feelings, we thank You for granting us the opportunity to witness another Ramadan and to once again enter Your blessed and spiritual banquet. If this great divine favor is accompanied by the success to truly benefit from this divine feast and partake in the divine blessings and bounties, even if we were to thank You for this blessing for the rest of our lives, we would not have given the necessary and true thanks. I congratulate you, dear brothers and sisters and worshippers, on entering this divine banquet.

What I wish to present in the first sermon today is, firstly, to recommend all of you, dear brothers and sisters, to piety. The purpose of fasting is divine piety, and it is one of the greatest achievements of the blessed month of Ramadan. I hope that you and I can, by the blessing of this month, establish divine piety and that great vigilance in our behavior, speech, feelings, and thoughts, and bring ourselves a step closer to human perfection. Then, I will briefly speak about fasting, which is considered the main duty in this blessed month.

God Almighty has created humans in such a way that they need education. They must be educated both from outside and from within themselves. In the realm of spiritual matters, this education is twofold: one is the education of thought and rational faculties, which is the domain of teaching, and the other is the education of the soul, spiritual faculties, and the faculties of anger and desire, which is called purification.

If a person is properly taught and purified, they are like a suitable material that has found its desired form in an appropriate factory and has reached perfection. In this world, their existence is a source of blessing and goodness and a means of prosperity for the world and the hearts of humans. When they enter the next world and step into the hereafter, their fate is the same fate that all humans have longed for from the beginning until today; that is, salvation, eternal blissful life, and paradise. Therefore, the prophets, from the first to the noble final prophet, peace be upon him and his family, have set their goal as teaching and purification: "He purifies them and teaches them the Book and wisdom." They provide both rational and spiritual education to humans.

All the acts of worship and religious duties that we are commanded to perform are, in fact, tools for this purification or education; they are for us to become complete; they are exercises. Just as if you do not exercise, your body will be weak, powerless, and vulnerable, and if you want to bring your body to strength, beauty, capability, and the manifestation of various powers and talents, you must exercise. Prayer is exercise; fasting is exercise; charity is exercise; abstaining from sins is exercise; not lying is exercise; goodwill towards humans is exercise. With these exercises, the soul becomes beautiful, strong, and complete. If these exercises are not performed, we may appear very commendable on the outside, but our inner self will be incomplete, weak, insignificant, and vulnerable. Fasting is one of these exercises.

Fasting is not just about not eating and drinking. This abstention must be with intention; otherwise, if you do not have time to eat for twelve or fifteen hours due to being busy or preoccupied, you will not be rewarded. But when you perform this abstention with intention—"Make us among those who intend and act"; intend and then act—this becomes that shining gem that gives you value and makes your soul precious.

The condition of fasting is intention. What does intention mean? It means directing this act, this movement, this abstention and practice, for God, in the way of God, for the sake of fulfilling God's command. This is what gives value to any action. Therefore, in the prayer of the first night of the blessed month, you read: "O God, make us among those who intend and act, and do not make us among those who are wretched and lazy." Laziness, lack of enthusiasm, and lack of energy for work—whether spiritual or material—is wretchedness.

Fasting is one of the best deeds. Although it appears to be inaction, it is, in essence, action, a positive deed. Because you have the intention for this act, from the moment you enter the scene of fasting—from after the moment of dawn—until the end of the day, you are constantly in a state of worship due to this intention. Even if you sleep, you are worshipping. If you walk, you are worshipping.

It is narrated from the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, that he said: "Your breaths in it are glorification, and your sleep in it is worship." How does sleep become worship? How does breathing become saying "Glory be to God"? This is because even if you are idle and do nothing, since you have entered this realm with this intention, you are constantly in a state of worship.

In another narration, it is said: "The sleep of the fasting person is worship, and their silence is glorification." Your silence is like saying "Glory be to God." "Their deeds are accepted, and their supplications are answered." Your silence is worship, your breathing is worship, your sleeping is worship. Why? Because you are experiencing this abstention and refraining from some physical pleasures for God during a thirty-day period—Ramadan.

All this worship and other acts of worship revolve around this axis: that a person fights against the desires and pleasures that degrade and enslave them. Letting the human soul run wild is not an art. To indulge in every pleasure you can is not perfection for a human; this belongs to the realm of animality. Humans also have an animal aspect; strengthening the animal aspect is part of us, and it is not intended for us not to have it. Eating, drinking, resting, and enjoying permissible pleasures are part of our existence; there is no problem with them, and no one has forbidden them. What is forbidden is for a person to be immersed in this aspect. Materialism leads a person to be immersed in this aspect. Religions and rational methods of the world—which are based on rational foundations—prevent a person from losing control and falling into this slope of indulgence in the pleasures and desires of life. Any invitation that leads a person to unrestrained indulgence in pleasures is an invitation to fire, misery, and destruction. In general, the invitation of the prophets, the invitation of the wise, and divine invitations are in the direction of restraining the soul from these pleasures, and fasting is one of these. For this reason, in our narrations, the month of Ramadan is considered a suitable scene for a person to practice and abandon all sins.

There is a narration from Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, addressing Muhammad ibn Muslim, saying: "O Muhammad! When you fast, let your hearing, sight, tongue, flesh, blood, skin, hair, and skin fast." Imam Sadiq tells this close companion and student that when you fast, your hearing should fast, your sight should fast, your tongue should fast, your flesh, blood, skin, hair, and skin should fast; do not lie, do not cause trouble for believers, do not deceive simple hearts, do not plot against your Muslim brothers and the Islamic community, do not wish ill, do not harbor malice, do not slander, do not cheat, be trustworthy. A person who fasts in Ramadan by restraining their soul from eating, drinking, and sensual and sexual desires should consider their tongue, eyes, ears, and all their limbs and organs as fasting and see themselves in the presence of God Almighty and away from sins. The continuation of the narration says: "Let not your day of fasting be like your day of breaking the fast"; do not behave on the day of fasting as you do on ordinary days. Pay attention to the education of the soul and seize this opportunity.

In another narration, it is said: "The fasting of the soul is the abstention of the five senses from all sins." It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, that the fasting of the soul is different from the fasting of the body and the fasting of the stomach. The fasting of the human soul is for all five senses to abstain from sins. "And the heart is free from all causes of evil"; the heart is free from all causes and reasons for evil and corruption. Let us purify our hearts with God Almighty and with God's servants, free from malice and deceit. There are many narrations in this regard.

Dear brothers and sisters! Let us use this opportunity. Ramadan is a very precious opportunity to bring ourselves closer to God, closer to perfection, away from corruption, and purified from sins. These prayers in this month, this recommended seeking of forgiveness, are all opportunities; let not these opportunities be lost. This Ramadan will soon end. If you live until the next Ramadan, it will also pass like lightning and wind. These valuable opportunities will be lost; you must use every day and hour. I recommend to you, dear brothers and sisters, especially the youth, to use this spring of divine mercy, seek forgiveness, go to God's door, and seek forgiveness for the sins of the body, the sins of the soul, and the sins of thought and heart. A society that is a place of divine forgiveness and repentance to God will be a luminous society, and by the blessing of that luminosity, God Almighty will bestow blessings upon the society; just as by the blessing of these pure hearts and pure souls of you people, during these eighteen, nineteen years of the victory of the revolution, He has bestowed His blessings and favors upon this nation and this country. To preserve and attract divine mercy, one must go to God's door.

Let me also say a few words as a prayer. Let us all ask God Almighty in these moments close to the noon call to prayer for the major needs of the Muslim nation, the Islamic Ummah, and this great nation:

"We ask You, O God, and we call upon You, by Your great, greatest, most honored, most glorious, most generous name, O Allah, O Merciful, O Compassionate, O Turner of hearts."

O Lord! Keep our hearts firm on religion and faith. Keep our steps firm and strong on Your path. Bestow Your victory upon the Iranian nation and the Islamic Ummah. Humiliate and crush the enemies of Islam and Muslims. In this month, shower Your mercy upon our bodies, souls, and living environment. O Lord! Make our hearts more affectionate towards each other. O Lord! Make this nation proud among the nations of the world; remove its difficulties; reform all its affairs and include those who serve this nation in Your mercy and favor. O Lord! Keep us alive with the Quran and Islam; let us die with the Quran and Islam and in their path; resurrect us with the Quran on the Day of Judgment. O Lord! Make the holy heart of the Guardian of the Age pleased and satisfied with us; include us in the pure supplications of that great one. O Lord! Make the pure souls of our dear martyrs, the pure soul of the Imam of the martyrs, may God be pleased with him, pleased and satisfied with us; make our path their path and our end their end.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say: He is God, the One. God, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

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

All praise belongs to God, the Lord of all worlds. Blessings and peace be upon our Master and Prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate, and chosen family, especially Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and the noble Lady Fatimah al-Zahra, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, and Hasan and Husayn, the Masters of the Youth of Paradise, and Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, and Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim, and Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad, and Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi, and Hasan ibn Ali al-Zaki al-Askari, and the Awaited Mahdi. Your proofs over Your servants and Your trustees in Your lands, and bless the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

In this sermon, I also invite and recommend dear brothers and sisters to divine piety. The topic I intended to present in this sermon is not such that I can delve into it in detail in this rainy weather—my mind is occupied with the brothers and sisters standing in the streets and open spaces—so I will suffice with a brief mention, and if I have the opportunity to visit the worshippers in Friday prayers again during one of the Fridays of this month, perhaps I will present more details at that time and opportunity.

The summary that comes to my mind to present now is that global arrogance places a lot of emphasis on propaganda, and of course, this is not wrong! In a sense, the system of domination is not mistaken in placing emphasis on propaganda. Both in political matters, when we discuss political matters, we refer to the opposing front as "global arrogance"—which has its reasons for this naming—and when we discuss the cultural struggle front, we refer to the opposing front as "Western culture" or "cultural invasion"—which also has its reasons for this naming—currently, my discussion is about the confrontation of global arrogance with the Islamic Republic system.

In fact, global arrogance has made propaganda the dominant field of struggle against the line and orientation of the Muslim nation. Not that we want to say from now on, but from the very first months of the revolution's victory, this was done. However, in reality, fortune was not with global arrogance; just as today, fortune is not with global arrogance in this regard! Those who place emphasis on propaganda do so because they have seen the effect of propaganda in the world. For example, propaganda played a very strange role in the events of the transformation and elimination of Marxist systems in Eastern Europe. We particularly followed some of these events closely and saw the effect of propaganda moment by moment.

For example, in Romania, American and Western propaganda guided the people step by step; or before that, in the propaganda of Poland, in that solidarity movement during the Marxist government, American radio and global propaganda almost guided the people step by step on what to do, which direction to move, who to raise, and who to bring down! They have seen these; even in the former Soviet Union and other places, it was the same.

Their mistake is that they compare Islamic Iran with Eastern Europe and the Iranian nation with the nations of Eastern Europe; while the Iranian nation has strange and deep differences with them. Firstly, this nation has a history with this global arrogance, which are the leaders of these radios—like America and like Britain—that has increased the gap and distance.

This nation has suffered for decades from the malice, wickedness, and enmity of these powers—these are not forgotten—then, from the beginning of the revolution until now, it has seen their malice in propaganda. For example, in the imposed war, it was the same Iranian nation and the same young people of the people who were on the battlefields; there was no one else. They saw how the propaganda of global arrogance reflected the realities of the war one hundred and eighty degrees opposite to what it was!

They wanted to portray Iraq in their propaganda as legitimate, acceptable, victorious, and triumphant—with all the crimes that were committed from that front at that time—and to portray Iran with these luminous young people, with these faithful people, with these noble and great individuals, with these outstanding and advanced morals, with this self-sacrifice, with this God-fearingness, and with these precious souls and hearts in these people, as a tyrant!

Well; people remember these and have not forgotten that hostile propaganda against us, which is managed by global arrogance, has such a bad reputation and bad history. Therefore, their propaganda has no effect. No matter how much they move, it is of no use!

But the Iranian nation must know that they place importance on propaganda. See; some evils and disorders among us are desirable for our enemy; they want these to materialize. If they can create these disorders and evils, they will create them. However, they cannot; when they cannot, at least they try to portray in their propaganda that these evils exist!

This is somewhat of a success for them that may disturb some minds, shake some hearts, or make friends of the Islamic Republic outside this country hesitant. I said in a speech some time ago that in fact, our enemies, with the points they highlight in their propaganda, are in a way serving the planners and operators of the Islamic Republic system! That service is that they reveal their hand; they show what they are sensitive about.

Today, if I want to briefly say what they are sensitive about, I must say, first and foremost, these three things: one is division. They insist on portraying that there is division in the Islamic Republic system. Sometimes they say: division among officials. Sometimes they say: division among the system's operators. In a broader circle, sometimes they say: division between the people and officials. Sometimes they say: division among the people! They try to portray that there is division.

Even after the grand Islamic conference held in Tehran, all the operators and politicians of the world were astonished; because they saw that the officials of the Islamic Republic are a cohesive group. As the youth say: a complete team; everyone does their job, all coordinated. It was very surprising for them; because the enemy's propaganda had suggested and shouted the opposite! Here they saw no; it is not like that, but a coordinated group with a strong focus on common issues, everyone knows and acts on their defined tasks and relationships. They try; even after that was clearly and evidently shown, the enemy's propaganda, in various languages, constantly tries to distort even that. So one issue is division.

The second issue is the inclination towards the West or the inclination towards America. They constantly try to suggest that yes, in Iran, a faction—sometimes they say a faction, sometimes they say someone, sometimes they say a group, sometimes they say the people, sometimes they say the government—wants to incline towards the West; to go towards America and reconcile!

They are pleased to promote this; because if they could do such a thing, they would certainly do it; now that they cannot and see that the Islamic Republic system has firmly maintained its logical, rational, and well-reasoned orientation, they find it in their interest to promote these. They say: so-and-so has an inclination towards America, so-and-so has an inclination towards the West, so-and-so acts in such a way and opposes others! To perhaps create doubt within, to perhaps create division among the people, to perhaps make friends in the world hesitant! This is another point they maneuver and move on.

The third point is the people's disbelief in Islam and the Islamic system and Islamic faith. They also strongly promote this. Well; inside the country, our youth, our students, this very University of Tehran, this mosque of the university, witnesses the worship, supplication, congregational prayer, retreat, and fasting of the most outstanding youth of this country. The best youth of any country are those who are thoughtful and intellectual. Generally and mostly among students, such individuals are abundantly found; of course, among non-students, there are also such good youth. But in the old days—when we were young—among students, in the University of Tehran and some other universities and throughout Iran, perhaps a thousand people did not retreat! In Qom, which was a center of religion and worship, perhaps a few hundred seminarians would retreat. It was not common; people were distant.

My dear ones! Let me say this right here that some hands—false and sometimes foolish and sometimes malicious propaganda—want to suggest that people in the past were more religious and moral than now! This is a lie.

The past means when? Two hundred years ago? Yes, maybe; of course, we have heard things about that too, we have not seen it.

The past that we remember—fifty years ago, forty years ago, thirty years ago—when a person entered the city of Tehran in Ramadan, there was no atmosphere of fasting in this city at all! People walked around and smoked comfortably, ate food, ate sandwiches! No one felt that it was fasting here! Mashhad, which was a religious city—we were in Mashhad—people comfortably and openly broke their fast; as if in some parts of the city, Ramadan had not come at all! In mosques—at noon in Ramadan in most mosques that one visited and went to, we saw—fifty people, forty people, at most a hundred people were sitting; unless there was a famous eloquent preacher somewhere!

Today, look! Everywhere is fasting, everywhere is in remembrance and attention, and the best fasters are among the youth. Quran sessions, prayer sessions, supplication sessions, long speeches are held. Is it even comparable to the past? Retreat was also very rare in the past; it was difficult, a difficult task. They had to fast for three days, stay in the mosque, and not leave the mosque; not everyone was willing.

Today, our youth—in a world where the younger generation is increasingly moving towards more corruption—are becoming purer, more virtuous, and more luminous day by day in this country. Then, the propaganda of global arrogance tries to portray this country and these youth, this university, this student, and this university professor, and also these various classes of people who all try to get closer to God and align themselves more with Islam and Islamic laws, as if they have distanced themselves from Islam!

The Islamic system has raised the youth in such a way and has brought such a government that when the whole world suffers from moral corruption, they are safe. In the great country of America, many reformers, thinkers, and spiritual men are crying out against the corruption that prevails there, all are lamenting and cannot find a remedy; but the Islamic Republic system has been able to create a safe and secure environment for the younger generation in such conditions.

These three axes are for their propaganda. Of course, my dear ones! You should know that now we are discussing these issues so comfortably in Friday prayers, and our dear people, thanks be to God, are vigilant, they themselves are aware, and they accept these words to the depths of their souls; but the opposing side, which is global arrogance, to establish those same words, spends billions of dollars; billions! If you knew how much this BBC radio and these American radios and televisions and Zionist radios spend to perhaps convey these words to the people so that perhaps someone believes them!

Well; "Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in deeds? Those whose effort is lost in worldly life," the complete example of this is these! They strive, they toil, they sit, they design, they make modern technical means, what do their radios and televisions do, to perhaps convey these words to the people, to affect their hearts! Many people do not pay attention or trust, they do not listen; some who hear, most do not believe. If someone has made a mistake, with the explanation given, it affects them. This is also a divine favor.

In any case, these three axes are among the sensitive axes of the enemy. So, they want and promote division. They want and promote inclination towards the West and America and insistence and intention for an incorrect and illogical action in the context of relations with the system of domination—which of course, all of these are contrary to reality; neither that is true, nor this—and they also promote the people's inclination towards distrust in religion and the Islamic system, which is another contrary to reality.

Thanks be to God, your people's method has answered all of these. This Friday prayer and these Ramadan ceremonies are. My dear ones! As much as you can, maintain your unity more, preserve your union with each other, bring hearts closer together. Government and people, as much as you can, get closer to each other. In the face of the system of domination, as much as you can, make yourselves united. As much as you can, get closer to God and God's door. Ask God, trust in God, and seek refuge in God. God Almighty, just as He has supported the Iranian nation in these eighteen, nineteen years and has brought the Iranian nation today from a nation without any equipment to this dignity, greatness, and material and spiritual progress, is still able to completely defeat this nation over its enemies—over its noisy and boastful enemies—and brighten the eyes of this nation and these people, especially the self-sacrificers and the families of the martyrs.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone]. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings