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

First of all, I congratulate everyone on this auspicious day of the great birth. God willing, may the Almighty God bless this holiday for all segments of the Iranian nation, for each and every one of you dear attendees present here, and for all the free people of the world.

Secondly, I thank those dear ones who organized the program and honored this session in the name and memory of the Supreme Guardian of God, the Awaited Savior, may our souls be sacrificed for him. I also sincerely thank you brothers and sisters who expressed your feelings and fervor and faith in various ways, and I hope that the Almighty God bestows His special grace and kindness upon you dear youth, faithful and pure-hearted men and women, and illuminates your hearts more than they already are.

This birth and this great memory should teach us a lesson. Emotions are very good; feelings are the foundation of many good deeds of human beings; faith and heartfelt belief in the existence of this great savior of the world is a remedy for many spiritual, mental, and social ailments; but beyond all this, we must learn from this memory, from this recollection, and from this great event. Every year these celebrations are held and they perfume the hearts. If the profound lessons that exist in renewing this memory can serve as a teacher for our behavior and actions, certainly the progress of our society towards perfection will be smoother and faster.

One lesson from these lessons is that everyone should know and acknowledge that the movement of the world is towards righteousness and towards bright horizons. The arrogant powers of the world can say whatever they want; they can pretend to show off their power; but the army of truth and the caravan that leads humanity towards the destination of justice and fairness is increasing day by day. The passage of years cannot extinguish this hope in hearts or diminish its brightness that in the future - which we hope is not too far away - all of humanity will taste justice in the true sense of the word. The legitimacy of that divine government and the lordly rule on earth is that all of humanity will receive their share of the knowledge of truth and acting upon it. The powerful, the arrogant, the oppressors, the hoarders, and the tyrants of the world, no matter how much they have tried and will try, will not be able to stop this natural movement and behavior of humanity towards righteousness. Of course, God's work on earth is not in vain, and things happen according to the natural course; but the nature and essence of the world is to move towards perfection, and it will.

The slogans that Imam Mahdi (may peace be upon him) will raise and act upon will today be the slogans of our people; they are the slogans of a country and a government. This itself is a very significant step towards the goals of Imam Mahdi. Once, the slogan of monotheism, the slogan of spirituality, and the slogan of religiosity were obsolete in the world; efforts were made to completely consign them to oblivion; but today in this region of the world, these slogans are the official slogans of the government; they are the official slogans of the administration of the country and the entire nation; in addition, these slogans are the aspirations of Muslim nations in many countries of the world; and these slogans will one day be realized.

When these grounds are prepared; when it becomes clear that in the face of the material power of the arrogant powers of the world, there is a ground for humanity to stand firm on their rightful words, that day will be the day of the appearance of Imam Mahdi; that day will be the day when the savior of humanity will, by God's grace, appear and his message will attract all receptive hearts that exist everywhere in the world, and then the oppressive powers, the tyrannical powers, the powers relying on wealth and force will no longer be able to push the truth back or keep it hidden as they have always done before with their pressure of wealth and force.

You dear people - especially you youth - the more you strive for righteousness, knowledge, ethics, behavior, and acquiring qualifications within yourselves, the closer you will bring that future. These are in our own hands. If we bring ourselves closer to righteousness, that day will come closer; just as our martyrs brought that day closer by sacrificing their lives. The generation that made those sacrifices for the revolution brought that future closer with their sacrifices. The more good deeds and internal reforms we carry out and strive for the reform of society, the more we will constantly bring that outcome closer.

We hope that the Almighty God makes the pure supplications and attentions of the Awaited Savior perpetual for the Iranian nation and for you dear ones; may He grant the prayers of that great one for all of us; may He grant us the opportunity to meet that great one; may He make us among the companions, friends, and true followers of that great one; may He gather us in this world with the family of Muhammad, and in the hereafter with those great ones; may He keep us alive as true Muslims and believers and cause us to die as such.

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