Statements of the Supreme Leader in Tehran Friday Prayers

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. I praise Him, seek His help, ask for His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. I send blessings and peace upon His beloved, His chosen one, His confidant among His creation, the keeper of His secrets, and the conveyer of His messages; the bearer of His mercy and the warner of His grace; our master, our Prophet, the beloved of our hearts, and the intercessor for our sins, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad and upon his pure, chosen, and immaculate family; the guided, infallible, purified, and honored ones, especially the remaining proof of God on earth. God, the Wise, said in His Book: "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided."

I advise all dear brothers and sisters who are performing the prayer, as well as myself, to observe God-consciousness. Observing the greatness of the Almighty and the ever-present and all-seeing Lord, even in our thoughts and intentions towards others, let alone in our actions and behaviors, is piety. This month is the month of piety, and we have passed its midpoint. During this time, God has illuminated hearts, granted forgiveness to souls, and bestowed His grace upon individuals. Are we among them? If not, time is short. However, the best season for supplication, attention, humility, and submission, which are the nights of Qadr, is ahead of us.

This year, I had concerns from the beginning of Ramadan about the nights of Qadr because the start of the month was not confirmed for us. Wednesday was the official and calendrical start, but on the night of Wednesday, we were not informed that the moon had been sighted; it was not confirmed. I was worried that we, the Iranian nation, might not experience the night of Qadr this year! From the beginning of the month, our brothers in the office were following up to see if anyone had sighted the crescent on Wednesday or Thursday night. Last night, God Almighty granted us this gift, and by His grace, it was confirmed that Wednesday was the first of the month. Therefore, today is the seventeenth, tonight is the eighteenth, and tomorrow night is the nineteenth, the first of the nights of Qadr. We hope that the Iranian nation will appreciate these nights and days and benefit from the virtues of these precious hours as much as possible.

Today, I was hesitant about whether to speak in the first sermon about the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, to whom these days are dedicated, or about supplication. I realized that the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, was martyred in the path of humility, submission, and closeness to God. We hope that the Iranian nation will hear many words about that great figure during these days. A separate discussion is needed about supplication, and it is appropriate to dedicate a sermon to it over these long periods. I preferred to present a few points about supplication today. I will mention some of the main issues related to supplication in the first sermon:

One point is that in supplication, three things are hidden, which are the benefits and outcomes of supplication. There is no supplication that lacks two of these three things; whether it is the transmitted supplications from the infallibles, peace be upon them, or the supplications that a person offers to God out of need and request. Two things are certainly present in these supplications.

However, some supplications have three things in addition to these two, which are very important. One of these three things is the general purpose of supplication, which is asking and receiving from God Almighty. We humans have many needs, and our existence is full of needs. If you examine yourself, you will see that from breathing and eating to walking, listening, and seeing, all indicate our needs as humans. God Almighty has provided a set of facilities and powers for you and me, with which we can live, and all are under the will of the Lord. If any of these powers and facilities are lacking, a person will face fundamental problems in their life. For example, if a vein or a nerve strand stops working, if a muscle has a problem, it extends to issues outside of human existence or spiritual or social issues.

Humans are full of needs. From whom should we ask to solve these problems and meet these needs? From God Almighty, who knows our needs. "And ask Allah of His bounty. Indeed, Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing." God knows what you want, what you need, and what you ask and request from Him. So, ask from God. Elsewhere, He says: "And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'" Your Lord has said: "Pray to Me," meaning "Call upon Me; I will answer you." Of course, this answering does not mean fulfilling the need. He says: "I will answer and say 'Here I am'; I will respond to you." However, this divine response is often accompanied by granting the need and what you requested. So, the first point is that humans have needs, and to meet these needs, they must ask from God. They must go to God's door to be free from pleading before others.

Since it is Friday, a day of attention and understanding the words of the Prophet and the Imams, peace be upon them, let me read a few short and concise hadiths. In a hadith, it is said: "The best worship is supplication." Another hadith, a prophetic hadith, states that the Prophet said to his companions: "Shall I not guide you to a weapon that will save you from your enemies and increase your provisions?" This is the same asking from God for the fulfillment of needs. "They said: Yes, O Messenger of God." "They said: Yes, please tell us." He said: "Call upon your Lord." "Pray to God; call upon God." "By night and by day." "For the weapon of the believer is supplication." "The weapon of the believer is supplication." That is, pursuing needs with the weapon of supplication. Confronting the enemy, the incident, and the calamity with the weapon of supplication.

There is a narration from Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, which says: "Supplication repels the calamity that has descended and that which has not yet descended." Both the calamity that has come towards you is repelled by supplication, and the calamity that has not yet come. That is, if you do not supplicate, that calamity will be directed towards you.

It is a very important issue. God Almighty has given humans a means by which they can fulfill their needs, except in exceptional cases that I will mention. What is that means? Asking from God Almighty.

A saying from the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is narrated that he said: "Then He placed in your hands the keys to His treasures, by allowing you to ask Him." "God Almighty, by allowing you to ask Him, placed the keys to all His treasures in your hands." So, the permission that God Almighty gave to ask whatever you want from Him is the key to all divine treasures. If a person uses this key correctly—asks from God—He will certainly place it at the person's disposal. "Whenever you wish, you open the doors of His treasures with supplication." See! This is a very important issue. Why should a person deprive themselves of this important means?!

Here, several questions arise: One is that if supplication has such a miraculous role, then what are these worldly means, these tools, and science and industry and the like? The answer is that supplication is not a competitor to material tools. It is not that when a person wants to travel, they either go by car, train, or plane, or they go by supplication! Also, it is not that if a person wants to obtain a means, they either spend money, or if they do not have money, they resort to supplication to obtain that means! The meaning of supplication is that you ask God to arrange these means. Then the material causes, each in their place, are arranged. This is how answered supplication is.

When you supplicate for a need to be fulfilled, if God Almighty answers that supplication, His response is that the material and ordinary means of this request are arranged. That is, God arranges it. Suppose you have a debt from someone who does not pay you. But at some point, it occurs to them, and they come and pay your debt. This is a means. What prevents supplication from arranging this means for a person?

All the means of the world are of this kind. Therefore, supplication should not cause anyone to be lazy. Supplication should not cause anyone to abandon knowledge, science, material tools, and the natural cause and effect; no. Supplication is not a competitor to them, but it is in line with them. Supplication arranges them.

Of course, this is often the case. Meanwhile, sometimes God Almighty also shows miracles, which is another discussion. Miracles occur in exceptional cases, and in non-exceptional cases, supplication arranges the normal course. When you ask God for an event to happen that you need, alongside supplication, you must also use your strength. For example, if you feel lazy and supplicate for God Almighty to remove this feeling from you, alongside supplication, you must also exert will and determination. That is, here too, there is another material and natural means, which is determination. You must exert will and determination. No one should think that if we sit at home and do not strive and act, do not even exert will, and only engage in supplication, God will fulfill our needs; no. Such a thing is not possible. So, supplication is alongside effort and with effort. Sometimes many efforts do not yield results; but as soon as you supplicate, it will yield results. This is one point.

Another point is that sometimes, no matter how much a person supplicates, it is not answered. Why? Religious narrations have solved this problem for us. For example, it is mentioned in narrations that if the conditions for supplication are not met, the supplication is not answered. After all, supplication also has conditions. The greats of religion have said: "Do not ask God for impossible things." In a narration, it is mentioned that one day one of the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, supplicated in the presence of the Prophet and said: "O God, do not make me dependent on any of Your creation." "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Do not say it like this." "For there is no one except that they are in need of people." Is it possible for a person not to be in need of others? "Do not say, 'O God, do not make me dependent on anyone.' This is against human nature, against divine tradition, and against the nature placed by the Lord in human existence." Why do you say "O God, do not make me dependent on anyone"? This supplication is not answered. That individual said: "O Messenger of God! Then how should I supplicate?" He said: "Say, 'O God, do not make me dependent on the wicked among Your creation.'" "Say: O God! Do not make me dependent on the wicked among Your servants. Do not make me in need of wicked people. Do not make me dependent on mean people. This is correct. This is possible. Ask this from God." So, if we ask God Almighty for something that is impossible and against the usual traditions of the world, it will not be fulfilled.

One of the conditions for the acceptance of supplication is that it should be presented with attention. Sometimes, the tongue utters phrases like "O God, forgive us," "O God, grant us ample provision," and "O God, pay off our debt." A person supplicates like this for ten years, and it is not answered at all. This is of no use. One of the conditions for supplication is that it is said: "Know that God does not accept the supplication from a heedless heart." God Almighty does not accept the supplication from a heedless heart—a heart that is not aware of what request it is making and with whom it is speaking." It is clear that a supplication with these characteristics is not answered. You must supplicate earnestly and sincerely. You must ask God Almighty with insistence. Keep asking and keep asking. In this case, of course, God Almighty will answer the supplications.

Another point about supplication is that for the fulfillment of needs, no need should be considered so great that we say: "This need cannot be asked from God because it is too great." No. If the need is not against the nature and traditions of creation, if it is not impossible, no matter how great it is, it is not an issue, and you should ask from God. Every day in the month of Ramadan—according to the transmitted tradition—after each prayer, you say: "O God, bring joy to the people of the graves. O God, enrich every poor person." You ask God to enrich all the poor. You do not say only the poor of Iran. "Enrich every poor person" means all the poor of Islam should be enriched. These are very important. (I will return to this topic in the second direction, God willing.) It is a great request when you say "O God, enrich all the poor." Well; we ask from God. Why can't it be asked?! If the obstacles to enrichment are removed, why can't it be?! The phenomenon of poverty is not an inherent matter in society. Poverty in human societies is an imposed matter. Oppressive and greedy powers of the world impose poverty on individuals and nations. If these powers are removed, why shouldn't the supplication "O God, enrich every poor person" be answered?! Such a need may be fulfilled.

In continuation of this supplication, you say: "O God, satisfy every hungry person. O God, clothe every naked person." A person asks God for a need of this magnitude! In the dawn supplication of Friday—which is recommended—a short but very good supplication is recited. If you have the opportunity, be sure to read this supplication. First, requests are made from God, and then this phrase comes: "O my God, the ambitious hopes have failed except with You, and the aspirations have been disabled except with You." "O God! Ambitious and great hopes and desires are doomed to disappointment unless they are presented to You." The caravan of our requests is doomed to halt unless it comes to Your door.

God does not fear the great need of a person! Ask God for whatever is greater. Never let a person say to themselves: "Well; what I want, if I ask for myself, is possible. But asking for well-being for all humans is very great. How can I ask this from God?!" No; ask. Ask for humanity. Ask for all humans. Ask for some things for all Muslims. In this supplication, the phrase "O God, reform every corrupt matter of the Muslims" is for the Muslims. It is a supplication specific to the people of Islam. Of course, it also has reasons why? Perhaps it is not possible for non-Muslims, and perhaps without the rule of Islam, it is not possible for God Almighty to remove all corruptions. It is simply not possible. The condition is Islam. So, this is one side of the issue.

Meanwhile, do not hesitate to ask for small things. Ask God for even the smallest needs. In a narration, it is said that even your shoelace—which is a very insignificant thing—ask from God. There is a narration from Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, which says: "Do not underestimate small needs, for the most beloved believers to God are those who ask the most." "Do not underestimate small needs and ask from God."

Well; a person needs a shoelace; they go to the shop and buy it. Does this also require supplication?! Yes! As soon as you feel that you need a shoelace or anything else of this small size, turn your heart to God and say: "O Lord! Grant this to me as well." How is it granted? It is granted by putting money in my pocket, going to the corner shop, buying it from the store, and then using it. In any case, you must ask from God. Even if you went to the shop, paid money, and bought the shoelace, it was still given to you by God. Nothing is obtained by humans except through God. Whatever reaches us, God gives it to us.

What God gives, we must ask from God beforehand. Why should we ask? One of the reasons why it is said to ask even for small needs from God is to pay attention to our needs, helplessness, insignificance, and poverty, to see how destitute we are. If God Almighty does not help, does not provide, does not give strength, does not give thought, does not give initiative, and does not arrange the means, even the shoelace will not reach us. If you leave the house intending to buy a shoelace, on the way, your pocket is picked, or your money is lost, or the intended shop is closed, or an important incident occurs on the way that forces you to return, you will not get the shoelace. Therefore, ask for everything from God; even the shoelace, even the smallest objects, and even your daily sustenance. Let this false, magnified "I" in our chest—which we say "I" and imagine we are the assembly of forces—be broken. This "I" makes humans miserable. This is also a point about supplication, that a person obtains their requests through supplication.

Now look at your needs, the needs of Muslims, the needs of your country, the needs of your believing brothers; the sick, the caregivers, the disabled, the grieving, the worried eyes, the numerous needs of people around you, under your roof, in your country, in the Islamic world, on the earth. Ask for all these needs one by one from God Almighty during these nights of Qadr. Of course, in the next point, I will also explain this matter.

And the second thing that exists in supplication is knowledge. And this is specific to the supplications that have reached us from the infallibles. Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, arranged "Sahifa Sajjadiya" in the form of supplication and actually supplicated; but this book is full of divine and Islamic knowledge. Pure monotheism is in Sahifa Sajjadiya. Prophethood and love for the sacred position of the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him and his family, are in Sahifa Sajjadiya. Like other transmitted supplications, the knowledge of creation is in this book. The same "Supplication of Abu Hamza Thumali," which is specific to the dawns—try to read it and pay attention to its meaning—and the same "Supplication of Kumayl," which is recited on Friday nights, are among the supplications that are full of Islamic knowledge and in which truths are expressed in the language of supplication. Not that the great Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, did not want to supplicate and used supplication as a cover; no. He was supplicating, conversing, and speaking with God. However, a person whose heart is familiar with God and divine knowledge, their speech is also like this. Wisdom overflows from them, and their supplication is also pure wisdom.

The supplications we read are full of wisdom. In the transmitted supplications from the Imams, peace be upon them, that reach us, there are points derived from knowledge that are truly needed by humans. Those great figures, by bringing these points in supplications, teach us what to ask from God.

I will present a few passages from the noble supplication of Abu Hamza Thumali for you. This long supplication has a strange state of supplication, which I will mention in the third part. However, among these supplications, the real needs of humans are hidden. The real needs are those that this great figure asks from God Almighty. For example, in a passage from the supplication, addressing the Almighty, he says: "Make my life a pleasant life." Having a pleasant life is not with money, not with power, and not with having wealth and force. Because a person, despite having all these facilities, may not have a pleasant life. They have a worry that makes life unpleasant for them. They have a family problem that makes life unpleasant for them. Their child has a problem—God forbid, we seek refuge in God, one of their children has a bad character—life is no longer pleasant for them. A bad news reaches a person; life becomes bitter and unpleasant for them. This person has money, power, facilities; they have everything; but they do not have a pleasant life. A poor person who has a very simple life and lives in a humble room with their family and children in poverty may have a more pleasant life than that wealthy and powerful person who has everything.

See how Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, focuses on the main point. He says: "Make my life pleasant and manifest my chivalry." Apparently, the meaning of the second phrase is "Create a field so that I can manifest the attribute of chivalry in it." Not that "People see that I am chivalrous;" no. Because if we want chivalry to manifest, we must act chivalrously. It is not enough for chivalry to exist within a person. A person must bring chivalry to the stage of action and act chivalrously towards others. This becomes "Manifest my chivalry."

He continues: "And rectify all my affairs." "Rectify all my affairs and conditions. Rectify the state of my supplication. Rectify the state of my ordinary life and my family. Rectify the state of the job I have. Rectify all my characteristics." Rectifying each matter, according to itself, is a complete and comprehensive supplication. "And make me among those whose life You have prolonged, whose deeds You have improved, upon whom You have completed Your blessings, and with whom You are pleased, and whom You have given a good life." He says: "Make me among those whose life is long, accompanied by good deeds, along with the complete blessing of God, along with the pleasure of the Lord, and a good life." Is there anything better than this?!

The infallibles, peace be upon them, teach us what to ask from God. The things that should be asked from God are those that those great figures present in supplications. Some people in the world pursue the excesses of life. They say: Let such and such a deal be arranged for me. Let such and such a trip be arranged. Let such and such a job be obtained. And... Why doesn't a person ask for the main things from God?! The leaders of religion teach us: "Supplicate like this and ask for these things from God." Of course, the type of supplications they teach us is a long chapter in itself.

Another point is that they remind us of the vulnerable points of spirituality during these supplications and warn us that "You may be harmed and damaged from these points." In this noble supplication of "Abu Hamza," in a phrase, he says: "O God, specify me with Your special remembrance and do not make anything of what I draw near to You with during the night and the day, ostentation, or for reputation, or out of arrogance and pride." "O God! Make sure that the actions done by me are not for ostentation and reputation. Not for this and that to see. Not for it to be spread by word of mouth, and people to say to each other, 'Did you hear what a good deed so-and-so did and what good acts of worship they performed?' Not out of arrogance and pride." Sometimes a person does things out of arrogance and pride and boasts to themselves, saying: "Yes! We were the ones who did this."

These should not be. These are the vulnerable points. A person does many good deeds; but with a little ostentation and reputation, those deeds become "scattered dust." They are turned to smoke and sent into the air. The infallibles, peace be upon them, draw our attention and say: "Be careful not to let this happen!" "And make me among the humble ones for You" until the end.

So, the second point is that there is a lot of knowledge hidden in these supplications. For example, in the first passages of the Supplication of Kumayl, we all read: "O God, forgive me the sins that tear apart the veils. O God, forgive me the sins that bring down calamities. O God, forgive me the sins that change blessings." There are sins that tear apart the veils. There are sins that bring down divine calamities on a person. There are sins that take away blessings from a person. "O God, forgive me the sins that hold back supplication." There are also sins that hold back supplication.

We seek refuge in God! A person may commit a sin that, no matter how much they supplicate, that supplication becomes ineffective and useless. How is the ineffectiveness of supplication understood? It is understood when the state of supplication is taken away from a person.

In this regard, a phrase has been quoted from a great figure. I do not know if it is a narration from an infallible, peace be upon him, or a phrase from a non-infallible. Whatever it is, it is a wise phrase. It says: "I fear more that supplication is taken away from me than that the answer is taken away from me."

Sometimes the state of supplication is taken away from a person. This is a bad sign. If we see that at the time of supplication, at the time of humility, and at the time of attention and closeness, we have no enthusiasm or patience for supplication, it is not a good sign. Of course, it can also be corrected. A person can, with attention, with pleading, and with asking, seriously obtain the state of supplication from God. Therefore, we saw that there is knowledge in the Supplication of Kumayl as well. This is also the second point.

And the third and last point in supplication is the main point of supplication. Even the two points mentioned are small compared to this last point. What is it? Humility before the Lord. The essence of supplication is this. This is why you see that it is narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, that he said: "Supplication is the essence of worship." Because in supplication, there is a state of absolute dependence on the Lord and humility before Him. The essence of worship is also this. Therefore, in continuation of the noble verse "And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you,'" it says: "Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell in humiliation." The essence of supplication is that a person throws themselves from the false human arrogance before God Almighty. The essence of supplication is humility before the Lord.

My dear ones! Wherever you look—whether in your environment, in your country, or throughout the world—and you see evil and corruption from someone, if you pay attention, you will see that the basis and source of that evil and corruption is arrogance, pride, and human conceit. Supplication should break this.

I once wanted to present a Quranic discussion on this subject, which is not the time for now. The Quranic discussion is related to the story of Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, which is one of the instructive and strange stories of history. No matter how much I say about this story, it will not end. Indeed, the Quran is a great treasure of Moses' experience for us. In this strange story, one of the prominent points is the corruption and ruin of some of Moses' companions who turned away from accompanying him. I mention these so that those who are interested in contemplating the verses of the Quran can follow them.

In the Quran, we have several instances of these issues, one related to Samiri, one related to Qarun, and one related to those who refused to enter the Holy Land. These are examples of apostasy and regression, and I spoke about apostasy and regression a couple of months ago. For example, the abominable, wicked, cursed Qarun is such a bad person that the Holy Quran dedicates a section to him. Qarun's problem is that when Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, tells him "The wealth you have acquired is an adornment" and advises him, he replies to the Prophet, saying: "I was given it because of knowledge I have." In today's terms: "I had intelligence and cleverness, I knew politics. Bravo to me for acquiring this wealth through these means. It is no one's business!" He did not understand that the wealth was given by God. Just as life is given by God to humans, children are given by God to humans, religion is given by God to humans, and everything belongs to God.

O ignorant human! Why do you rebel?! Why do you make a mistake and say "I am the one who acquired this wealth"?! Who is "I"?! God Almighty tells the self-sacrificing fighters who went to the battlefield; who made their lives a shield against the enemy's arrows; who fought and humiliated the enemy and ultimately defeated the enemy: "And you did not throw when you threw, but it was God who threw." This arrow that you learned how to shoot before, then aimed, focused, and shot until it hit the target, was not your doing. You did not hit it; rather, God hit it. My strength is also God's, my will is also God's, my precision is also God's. In fact, everything I have belongs to God. Then, in front of this encompassing, managing, and all-powerful God, I raise my head and say "I"?! This is the point of human corruption. Wherever this exists, it is bad and causes corruption.

A certain Zionist head of a certain multinational company, if he says "I" and imagines he is running the politics of the world, or for example, Hitler the fire-starter, or a certain tyrannical president of America, or a certain highway robber at a certain point, or a certain person dressed in religious attire but in reality calling to the self, or you and me who are none of these, but in our lives, we prioritize ourselves over everything else and show arrogance and pride, these will cause corruption. Of course, the greater the person and the more power they have, the more arrogance creates corruption. But if they are small, arrogance only harms themselves and causes less corruption for others. The property of supplication is that it breaks egotism. Therefore, it is said: "Even ask for your small things from God so that you understand that you are insignificant. Know that sometimes a mosquito or a fly can incapacitate a person and take away their comfort: 'And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they could not recover it from it. Weak are the pursuer and pursued.'" This is why supplication is for humility before God; for presenting needs before God; for humility and for coming out of the false shell of arrogance and pride. God Almighty sometimes creates problems for you and me to force us into humility, attention, and submission. Just as in the noble verses of the Quran, He says: "And We certainly sent [messengers] to nations before you, and We seized them with poverty and hardship that perhaps they might humble themselves [to Us]. Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made attractive to them that which they were doing." This humility is not for God's sake, but for our own sake. God has no need for our humility:

The axe strikes every vein and joint so that it may bind me with Your love.

This state of humility fills the heart with the love of God; it acquaints a person with God; it empties a person of self-conceit and self-regard that causes corruption and fills them with the sacred light of the Lord and divine grace. Appreciate this, for it is above all else.

This was our talk about supplication, which was said a little, and much remains.

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

Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent."

I want to conclude this sermon with a few supplications. God willing, pay attention and say "Amen." It is around noon; it is Friday; the gathering is great, and we are all fasting. Hopefully, God willing, these supplications will be answered on the day of Ramadan.

We ask You, O God, and we call upon You, by Your great, greatest, most honorable, most glorious, and most generous name, and by the firm Quran, and by Your guardian and proof, O Allah!

Our greatest need is the request for Your pleasure and forgiveness. This is our greatest supplication, which is above all else. O God! We beseech You by Your most beloved ones, make us in this month subject to Your mercy, pleasure, and forgiveness.

O God! In this month of fasting, make us benefit sufficiently and adequately from this divine banquet.

O God! Bad morals, bad characteristics, darkness, and obscurities have arisen in our hearts and souls. We beseech You by Your great Prophet, who is mentioned as "the word of Your light" in the supplication after the visitation of the family of Yasin; we beseech You by that greatest light emanating from Your will and power, which is the sacred existence of the Seal of the Prophets, to illuminate our hearts with the light of Your knowledge and love.

O God! Remove darkness and misguidance from our hearts.

O God! We beseech You by the right of Your guardian and proof, the dear promised Mahdi—if he accepts, we are his soldiers and servants—make his sacred heart pleased and satisfied with us on this Friday.

O God! We beseech You to make us benefit from the noble government in which the dear Mahdi is at the head. O God! We beseech You by the right of Your guardians to strengthen our relationship with the Quran, with religion, with remembrance, with supplication, with intercession, and with healing day by day.

O God! We beseech You by the Quran to make Islamic Iran, this center of the Quran's resurgence, subject to Your mercy and blessings.

O God! Make the Iranian nation proud.

O God! Make the Iranian nation victorious.

O God! Crush and defeat the enemies of the Iranian nation wherever they are in the world.

O God! Fill the hearts of the Iranian nation with Your grace and loyalty.

O God! We beseech You by the right of Your guardians to increase the love for them in the hearts of our nation day by day.

O God! There are those around the world conspiring against this nation, against this country, and against the government of the Quran—you know and recognize these conspiracies better than we do—by Your power and overwhelming strength, thwart all their conspiracies.

O God! Preoccupy our enemies with their own problems.

O God! Preoccupy the enemies of humanity, who are the same great powers and the heads of some countries, who are indifferent to truths and virtues and supporters of vices, more and more with their own problems.

O God! Make the enemies of this nation defeated by this nation.

O God! Make the voice of truth of this nation, which the propaganda clamor does not allow to reach the ears of healthy humans in the world, resonate in the world.

O God! Completely disappoint our enemies from this nation.

O God! Grant us the success of understanding the Night of Qadr and do not deprive us of the favors of the Night of Qadr.

O God! Remove the difficulties of the Iranian nation and fulfill the needs of our people wherever they are.

O God! Grant abundant reward and recompense to the pure individuals who have worked and strived for You in our country.

O God! We beseech You by the right of Your guardians and by the right of the pure and chaste Fatima Zahra, peace be upon her—that precious jewel of the Prophet's family—grant healing to all our disabled.

O God! Do not take away the hope of acceptance from our hearts and make the hearts of the grieving and distressed among us, in the Iranian nation, among Muslims, and among all oppressed humans, joyful.

O God! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, peace be upon them, grant healing to all the sick. Remove the difficulties from all the afflicted. Fulfill the needs of all the needy. Remove all enmities and grudges among Muslims. Remove the difficulties of Islamic countries.

O God! Our hearts are wounded and injured because of the issue of Palestine, because of the oppressed Muslims of Palestine, because of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and because of the Muslims of Chechnya. These are oppressed humans whom the world did not help. The world does not help Muslims anywhere. O God! Many Muslims around the world—in Kashmir, in Arab regions, in European regions, in the Americas, and in other parts of the world—have difficulties, problems, and trials. We beseech You by the right of the Night of Qadr, by the right of the martyr of the Nights of Qadr, by the right of all believers whose supplications You answer on the Night of Qadr, and by the right of the infallibles, peace be upon them, to remove their difficulties. Make them victorious over their enemies.

O God! Include these supplications in Your grace and acceptance, and do not take away the state of supplication from us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy.

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon our master, our Prophet, the beloved of our hearts, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad and upon his pure, chosen, and immaculate family. Especially upon Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and the pure and chaste Lady of the women of the worlds, and Hasan and Husayn, the two grandsons of mercy and the two Imams of guidance, and Ali ibn Husayn, Zain 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-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. I advise you, servants of God, to observe God-consciousness.

In this sermon, I want to briefly present only one point and say: The great advantage of our revolution is that it has relied on the people. Solving problems—of any kind—will only be possible with the support of the nation. The reason why the enemy has not been able to harm this country and this movement so far is that the people are the real support of the revolution.

The movement you, the Iranian nation, showed on the 22nd of Bahman this year was one of those miraculous movements that dealt a decisive blow to many conspiracies and enmities and left the conspirators and enemies frustrated. It has always been like this, and it must continue to be like this. From the 22nd of Bahman last year, or from Quds Day last year until this year, you neutralized a year of enemy propaganda with this movement. For a system, losing popular support is a very great loss and an indescribable defect. In fact, the greatest defect is that a system does not have popular support. Today, in the Middle East countries and also in the countries that America considers its friends, there are multiple systems that have no popular support. When you look at the world, you will see such countries with different systems, and you do not need to go far. This Islamic country, this Quranic country, and this people's country blinded the eyes of the enemies. That is why they tried to constantly repeat in their propaganda that "the people have turned away from Islam and the system and the government of the Islamic Republic and no longer accept it!" They even said these things on their radios.

This year, the 22nd of Bahman was a strange test scene that you, the Iranian nation, showed, and in fact, you delivered a strong punch to the mouths of the babblers. If I want to thank you with one sentence, I must say: I hope the sacred heart of the Imam of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him, is pleased with you, the Iranian nation, because of this action. God willing, this action of yours has been and will be appreciated by that great figure. Keep this remedy in mind in all matters.

Of course, if someone has tuned in to foreign radios after the 22nd of Bahman, they will notice how angry they were. Why and for what reason? Because they were faced with your great and indescribable movement. Indeed, this great movement and the massive turnout of the people and what happened in the streets of Tehran and the provinces were indescribable. But they tried to belittle such a movement. Well; say: Fools! Who are you trying to influence?! Who are you talking to?! The same people who saw with their own eyes what the reality was? You tell them "it was nothing"! The massive, unprecedented gathering of millions of people in Tehran was "a few tens of thousands"! Some say "a few thousand"! This massive, rare gathering was a few thousand?!

On the 22nd of Bahman, when I saw the great presence of the people, it occurred to me that today there is no country in the world whose government can bring out this massive volume of people for any slogan to the streets. Neither the government of America has such power, nor do the European and Third World governments possess such powers. There is no country that can display such a massive movement in the world. Of course, in Iran, no one brought the people to the streets. The people moved spontaneously; because in Iran, the people are the ones. The government is also the people, the officials are also the people, the government is also in the hands of the people, the system is also the people's own. Do not lose this.

The last point is that the Americans are trying, they are anxious, they are tearing their collars, they are drawing lines with all the people and governments they can reach or might reach, to put pressure on the Iranian nation; to force the Iranian government to surrender; to tarnish this sixteen-year resistance.

I say in the presence of the large congregation that has gathered for Friday prayers in Tehran today and in the presence of all the Iranian nation, from the language of the Iranian nation itself: O enemies of the Iranian nation! Know that with these tricks and with no other trick, you cannot bring the Iranian nation to its knees.

O God! This enthusiasm and vitality, which is not possible in a nation except with Your grace and favor and merciful gaze, increase day by day in this great nation and in these worthy servants of Yours.

O God! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, peace be upon them, our great martyrs; those great and outstanding individuals who sacrificed their lives to bring the Iranian nation and Iran to this point of greatness and perfection, include them in Your mercy, grace, and forgiveness in these days and nights of Qadr and also at this hour.

O God! The leader of the martyrs; that person by whose effort and will all this great movement in Iran was set in motion, that is, our great Imam, include him in the lights of Your mercy and grace. Gather him and our martyrs with the Prophet and Your guardians and make their sacred hearts pleased with us.

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.