Message of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the Pilgrims of the Sacred House of God

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

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and his pure family and chosen companions.

I express my gratitude to the Great God for granting the blessing of pilgrimage this year to the vast multitude of believers from all over the world, so that they may benefit from this bountiful and abundant source. In the days and nights when the precious and blessed hours can transform hearts and purify and adorn souls like a miraculous elixir, they may be in proximity to the magnificent House of God and engage in worship, humility, remembrance, and closeness.

Hajj (pilgrimage) is a worship full of secrets, and the noble House is a place overflowing with divine blessings and a manifestation of the signs and clear proofs of the Almighty. Hajj can elevate the believing servant, who is humble and contemplative, to spiritual ranks and transform him into a noble and radiant human being; just as it can create a perceptive, courageous, and proactive individual. Both the spiritual and political, individual and social aspects of this unparalleled obligation are highly prominent, and the Muslim community today is in great need of both dimensions.

On one hand, the magic of materialism, utilizing advanced tools, is seducing and corrupting, and on the other hand, the policies of the system of domination are inciting discord and igniting fires among Muslims, turning Islamic countries into hells of insecurity and conflict. Hajj can be the healing remedy for both of these great afflictions of the Islamic Ummah; it can cleanse hearts from rust and illuminate them with the light of piety and knowledge, and it can also open eyes to the bitter realities of the Islamic world, solidifying resolve to confront them, and preparing hands and minds for action.

Today, the Islamic world is afflicted with insecurity; moral and spiritual insecurity, and political insecurity. The main factor is our negligence and the ruthless onslaught of the enemies. We have not acted according to our religious and rational duties in the face of the enemy's wicked assault; we have forgotten both "harsh against the disbelievers" and "merciful among themselves". The result is that the Zionist enemy is sowing discord in the heart of the geography of the Islamic world, while we, oblivious to our decisive duty to save Palestine, are preoccupied with internal wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain, and confronting terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

The leaders of Islamic countries and the political, religious, and cultural elites in the Islamic world have heavy responsibilities: the duty to create unity and to warn everyone against ethnic and sectarian strife; the duty to enlighten nations about the methods of enmity and treachery of global arrogance and Zionism; the duty to equip everyone to confront the enemy in various fields of soft and hard warfare; the duty to immediately halt the catastrophic events among Islamic countries, which today, bitter examples like the events in Yemen, cause sorrow and protest worldwide; the duty to firmly defend the oppressed minorities among Muslims, such as the victims in Myanmar, and so on; and most importantly, the duty to defend Palestine and to cooperate unconditionally with a nation that has been struggling for its usurped land for nearly seventy years.

These are important responsibilities on all of us. Nations must demand this from their governments, and elites must strive with resolute determination and pure intention to realize it. These actions are a definitive manifestation of supporting God's religion, which, without a doubt, will bring God's assistance in accordance with His promise.

These are part of the lessons of Hajj, and I hope we understand and act upon them.

I pray for an accepted Hajj for all of you and honor the memory of the martyrs of Mina and the Sacred Mosque, asking the Merciful and Generous God for their exalted ranks.

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

Sayyid Ali Khamenei Seventh of Shahrivar 1396 Seventh of Dhul-Hijjah 1438