Statements of the Supreme Leader on the Blessed Birth of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance)

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

I extend my congratulations on this great day and the commemoration of one of the brightest moments in history to all the oppressed of the world, especially the Muslims wherever they are, and particularly to the dear, great, and brave nation of Iran, and also to you, brothers and sisters—especially the honorable families of martyrs, the disabled, and the dear freed captives—who have graced us with your presence and made our celebration truly festive by forming this luminous and sincere gathering. We hope that today will be a blessed day for you and that you will be encompassed by the blessings of the birth of that manifestation of divine justice and the clear embodiment of the great covenant of the Lord.

The birth of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance) is a true celebration for all humanity and for those who have suffered oppression, endured hardships, shed tears, waited in anticipation, or witnessed adversities throughout their lives and in every corner of the world—and even in every corner of history—bearing calamities. All of them, on such a day and in remembrance of today, feel joy, hope, and vitality.

This great birth and this immense truth do not belong to a single nation or a specific time; rather, they belong to humanity. This is the 'Covenant of God which He took and confirmed,' the covenant of God with humanity. 'The promise of God which He guaranteed'; this is the promise of God whose fulfillment He has guaranteed. All people throughout history have felt a spiritual and heartfelt need for this great and astonishing phenomenon because history, from the beginning until today and from today until the moment of the rise of that radiant sun, has been mixed with oppression, evil, and corruption. All those who have suffered from oppression—whether they themselves were oppressed and suffered or they witnessed the oppression of others and suffered—find hope in their hearts with the remembrance of the birth of this great savior of history and humanity.

For this reason, you see that this truth is not exclusive to the Shia; rather, all religions and sects believe that a savior and a powerful divine hand will come at a point in history and perform miracles in saving humanity from oppression and tyranny. The difference between us Shia and others, and the rest of the Islamic and non-Islamic sects, is that we know this great and dear person; we know his name, we know the date of his birth, we know his father, mother, and noble ancestors, and we know his affairs; but others do not know these. They have not developed this belief or have not been informed and do not know; but we know. This is the difference. For this reason, the supplications of the Shia are more alive, more passionate, more meaningful, and more directed.

Thus, today is a true celebration; that is, the day of birth is a celebration for all humanity and history—even for those who have passed. There were those who lived and died in the dark times of Pharaohs, Nimrods, Abu Jahls, and oppressive kings, enduring poverty, oppression, and discrimination, and never saw goodness; today is a celebration for them as well. If their spirits in the intermediate world benefit from some of the favors that some spirits enjoy, they will surely rejoice on such a day. Today is different from other days and celebrations. Truly, if we call today 'the greatest celebration of God,' it is not an exaggeration.

In the matter of the birth of that great one and the belief in this truth, if one searches in two areas and in two directions, one will observe great effects:

First, from the spiritual and mental perspective and the proximity to God and aspects of individual human perfection. Someone who believes in this matter, because they establish a spiritual connection with the center of divine favors and the main point and source of the radiation of divine mercy, has more success in benefiting from the means of spiritual ascent and proximity to God. For this reason, those who are spiritual and inwardly focused, in their spiritual supplications, constantly pay attention to this great one and seek intercession and attention from him. The very connection of the heart and the spiritual remembrance and attention to that manifestation of divine mercy, power, and justice elevates and grows a person and provides the means for human progress—spiritually and meaningfully.

This is a vast field. Anyone who is connected with this great one in their inner self, heart, and soul will receive their share. Of course, attention to the source of light must be genuine attention. Lip service in this area does not have much effect. If a person spiritually turns and seeks intercession and creates sufficient knowledge for themselves, they will receive their share. This is an individual and personal and spiritual field of perfection.

The second direction and aspect is the field of social and public life and what relates to the fate of humanity and nations. In this regard, belief in the matter of Mahdi and the subject of appearance and relief and expectation is a great treasure from which nations can derive many benefits. Imagine a ship in a stormy sea! If those on this ship believe that there is no shore within a thousand leagues around them and they have little water, bread, and means of movement, what will they do? Is it conceivable that they will make any effort to move and advance the ship? No, because in their view, their death is certain. When a person’s death is certain, what movement and effort should they make? There is no hope or horizon.

One of the things they can do is that in this small group, everyone becomes preoccupied with their own affairs. The one who is inclined to die peacefully will sleep until they die, and the one who is inclined to violate others will take the rights of others to live a few more hours. Another way is that those on the same ship are certain and know that there is a shore nearby. Whether that shore is far or near and how much work they have to reach it is unknown; but certainly, there is a shore accessible to them. What do these people do? They strive to reach that shore, and if they are given even an hour, they will use that hour for correct and directed movement and effort, and they will combine their thoughts and unify their efforts to perhaps reach that shore.

Hope plays such a role. As soon as hope arises in a person’s heart, death folds its wings and steps aside. Hope causes a person to strive and move, advance, fight, and survive. Imagine a nation under the oppressive domination of a dominant power and having no hope. This nation is forced to surrender. If it does not surrender, it will engage in blind and aimless actions. But if this nation and group have hope in their hearts and know that there is definitely a good outcome, what will they do? Naturally, they will fight, organize the struggle, and if there is an obstacle in the way of the struggle, they will remove it.

Humanity throughout history and in social life, like those on a storm-tossed ship, has always been beset by problems from the powerful, oppressors, and the strong who dominate the affairs of oppressed humans. Hope causes a person to engage in struggle, clear the way, and advance. When you are told to wait, it means that this situation that causes you pain and heartache today is not eternal and will end. See how much life and vitality a person gains! This is the role of belief in Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him and may our souls be sacrificed for him). This is the role of belief in the promised Mahdi. This belief has carried the Shia through all the strange and complex twists and turns placed in its path, and today, thanks be to God, the flag of the dignity and pride of Islam and the Quran is in the hands of you, the Muslim and Shia nation of Iran. Wherever such a belief exists, there is hope and struggle.

For this reason, one of the fundamental tasks of colonialism and global arrogance and its agents has been to eliminate the belief in hope and struggle from the hearts of the people. They have repeatedly tried to extinguish this light, but they have not been able to. We know what efforts colonialism and global arrogance have made in this regard—not only in Iran but throughout the Islamic world—to extinguish this light. In a very important report from years ago, which is not new, the efforts of Christian missionary groups sent from Europe to North Africa to pave the way for colonialism were shown. One of the sorrows of the world’s religious people is that the dominant powers over Christian countries used the apparent promotion of Christianity worldwide as a means to advance the colonial machine, and these became the road clearers for colonialism. They sent missionary groups, ostensibly to promote Christianity—which outwardly was the promotion of Christianity, but the essence of the matter was to clear the way for European colonialists from various European countries of that day to enter Islamic countries and seize political power—around the world, and unfortunately, in many places, they succeeded.

This report pertains to missionary groups in North Africa. The reporter writes: 'One of our problems in the way of promoting Christianity and advancing colonialism in North Africa and the region of Tunisia and Morocco is that these people believe that the promised Mahdi will come and elevate Islam.' The reporter writes this in his official report and sends it to the committee responsible for these matters. Therefore, the very belief in the promised Mahdi was causing problems for global arrogance and colonialism, even though the belief that our brothers in those parts of the world have is not as clear and explicit as the belief we have here today; rather, there are more ambiguities and generalities than specific identification and naming and characteristics. Nevertheless, the colonialists feared this hope.

In our own country, one of the great scholars and respected clerics who, thanks be to God, is still among us and whose blessings continue to benefit the people, told me that in the early days of the rise of the corrupt, dependent, and illegitimate Pahlavi regime, that illiterate coup plotter devoid of any knowledge and spirituality called one of the court-affiliated clerics and asked him what this issue of Imam Mahdi is that has caused us such problems?! That cleric, according to his heart and desire, gives an answer, and that bully assigns the task to go and solve the issue and eliminate this belief from the hearts of the people! He says: This is not an easy task and has many problems, and we must start slowly and with preliminaries. Of course, those preliminaries, by the grace of the Lord and with the vigilance of the divine scholars and the aware people of this country, failed during that period, and they could not implement that sinister plan. In our country, a usurping coup plotter was assigned by colonial power apparatuses to come and seize Iran and hand the country over to the enemy with both hands, and to be able to dominate these people, one of the necessary preliminaries was to erase the belief in the promised Mahdi from the minds of the people.

The belief in Imam Mahdi does not allow people to surrender, provided that this belief is correctly understood. When this belief truly takes root in hearts, the presence of the hidden Imam is felt among the people. The great and dear and infallible Imam and the pole of the universe and the refuge of all creatures, although hidden and not yet appeared, is present. Can he not be present? The believer feels this presence in their heart and with their being and senses. Those people who sit, whisper, recite the supplication of Nudba with attention, and murmur the visitation of Al-Yasin and lament, understand what they are saying. They feel the presence of this great one, even though he has not yet appeared and is hidden. His absence does not harm the feeling of his presence. He has not appeared, but he is present both in hearts and in the life of the nation. Can he not be present?

A good Shia is one who feels this presence and feels themselves in his presence. This gives a person hope and vitality. This great nation needs this bright hope more than anything else; a nation that struggles and fights for the greatness of Islam and has become the pride of human history and all of Islamic history and has raised the flag of Islam in our time. Such a nation needs this bright hope more than anything else. That belief gives them this hope.

Before the victory of the revolution, the enemy used all means to make the people despair of the revolution’s victory. They said: 'Is it possible for such a revolution to be established and for the nation to defeat a fully armed regime with empty hands?! It is absolutely impossible!' They propagated this despair in a thousand languages among the people; but the people did not lose hope.

Our great Imam, as a complete leader, devoted most of his efforts to keeping the people hopeful. When people are hopeful, they move and strive. No power can resist the efforts of the people. People just need to be hopeful. Our great Imam used all divine, heavenly, and spiritual means and instilled this hope in the people, and thanks to that hope, this great victory was achieved.

After the victory of the revolution, the enemies of this nation constantly preached despair. They repeatedly said and say: 'You cannot manage the country! Is it possible to confront America?! Is it possible to resist the material world?! It is useless. You must surrender and accept!' Wherever there was a victory, they concealed it in the radios and global media; they did not say it or said it incorrectly! Wherever there was a minor failure, they made a mountain out of a molehill! Despite all this propaganda, our people did not despair. They endured the war, passed the post-war period, and engaged in reconstruction. Until today—thanks be to God—the people have strived and struggled, and their hope has increased day by day because they see progress.

Where was this nation at the beginning of the revolution, and where is it today? On that day, we had nothing but ruins, and this country was dependent on everything, and much of what remained from the previous regime was accompanied by dependency and weak and unstable foundations. Today, our nation has moved, become strong, assessed its military power, and observed its political power. It has seen how to resist the world of oppression and global arrogance. It has experienced reconstruction. Now—thanks be to God—for anyone who looks, the effort of reconstruction is evident throughout the country.

It is clear that they cannot take away the hope of this nation. Now, the enemy has resorted to disgraceful efforts. The fact that you see the American political apparatus staggering and making uncalculated moves and not knowing what to do in the face of the Iranian nation and government is due to your power and hope. It is because of the firm resolve of this nation that the enemy does not know what to do in the face of the Iranian people and makes foolish moves.

What is issued today by the powerful and politicians of America—whether its president or others who do these things and say these words—is to their detriment. The world’s judgment is also that it is to their detriment. A government must disgrace itself so much in the world that it allocates a budget for sabotage in another country?! Do you think that the wise and politicians of the world and cultured people do not understand how disgraceful and shameful this action is? It is obvious that their efforts are unsuccessful. Everyone knows this. From the first day of the revolution, they allocated a budget against the Islamic Republic, spent it, did not mention it, and did not write it anywhere. These bombings and these hypocrite nurturing are all funded by them. How successful have they been so far?! It is clear that today, like that time, they are unsuccessful. There is no doubt about this.

They have so disgracefully exposed their disgrace in the face of world public opinion that they passed their action as a resolution! This is the divine invalidation mark on their foreheads. Others and the wise of the world understand, but they themselves do not understand! The American regime thought that by approving an amount—not twenty million dollars; two hundred million dollars, two billion dollars—for sabotage in great, proud, and Islamic Iran, they would isolate our country; but they themselves became isolated without knowing and understanding!

They thought that world public opinion would not understand how disgraceful and scandalous this move is. Now that world public opinion has condemned this action, and the more time passes, the more it will be condemned, they may understand the realities and regret and do something to make this issue forgotten; but will we allow it? Will we allow this American disgrace to be forgotten? The whole world and all future generations must know that there was a time when the shamelessness of the American regime reached the point where it openly approved a sabotage budget against a free government and a powerful nation! The ugliest and most condemned action that a government can take in international relations is this action. American statesmen think that the world will submit to their dictatorship! This thought will be a very costly mistake for them! Of course, today they are busy and intoxicated with their usual inhumane election struggles and do not understand what they are doing. When the dust settles a little, then they will understand what a mistake they have made. They think that the world will submit to them. What a mistake!

Many nations around the world have united and endured deprivations and hardships and crushed domestic tyranny. Look; many countries fifty or sixty or a hundred years ago were ruled by tyrannical regimes; but the nations fought and struggled. All the struggles of the last hundred years—especially the fifty years in the middle of this century—were against domestic tyrannies. These nations fought and broke domestic tyranny; that is, if a compatriot wanted to oppress them, they pulled him down from the throne of power and government and did not tolerate it. Nations that did not tolerate domestic tyranny, will they tolerate American tyranny?! What a mistake and what a mistake!

Perhaps four weak and characterless governments disconnected from their people will submit to America’s bluster and threats and interference; but nations and governments with character that have appropriate relations with their people, neither in Europe nor in Asia nor in Africa, will not submit to America’s bullying. If a nation like the brave and courageous nation of Iran has experienced the fields of struggle and given so many martyrs and crossed seas of blood and its men and women have roared like lions in fields of danger; if America steps forward, this nation will strike it with such a fist that nothing will remain of it.

A nation that believes in and relies on God and is hopeful for the future and is connected with the unseen; a nation that has the sun of hope for the future and life and divine grace and assistance shining in its heart will never surrender and be intimidated and will not be driven out of the field by these words. This is the characteristic of belief in the spirituality of Mahdi (peace be upon him and may countless greetings and praise be upon him). Belief in Imam Mahdi has such a great impact both in the individual’s inner self, in the movement of society, and in the present and future. This should be appreciated.

I recommend that these supplications—which our people, thanks be to God, have had and continue to have, and by the grace of the Lord have multiplied several times in the years after the revolution—be continued with as much quality as possible and attract the attention and favors of that great one. That great one is present and is not separate or heedless of his nation and Shia. He is present among the people, and with attention and supplication to him, God willing, the path of growth, guidance, victory, and success will be achieved.

We hope that all of you dear ones will be encompassed by the pure prayers of that great one and that all waiting eyes will be illuminated by the beauty of that great one.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings