New Year Speech Addressed to the Iranian Nation on the Occasion of the New Year and the Prophet's Ascension

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad (peace be upon him) and upon his pure and infallible household, especially the remainder of God on earth. O God, send blessings upon Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, Your guardian, as numerous as what is in Your knowledge, with a continuous prayer for the duration of Your kingdom and sovereignty. O God, send peace upon Your guardian, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, as numerous as what is in Your knowledge, with a continuous peace for the duration of Your kingdom, sovereignty, and might.

Every year, we hold the first of the year ceremony under the shadow of the sanctuary of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him) in the service of the dear people of Mashhad and the honored pilgrims who come from all over the country; our Nowruz is adorned with this meeting, but this year we are deprived.

Although we are distant, we speak of You. Distance of the home does not exist in a spiritual journey.

I think it is better that each of us, wherever we are, offer the special Salawat from afar: O God, send blessings upon Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the chosen Imam, the pious and pure, and Your proof over those above the earth and those beneath the soil, the truthful martyr, with abundant, continuous, pure, and repeated prayers, better than what You have sent upon any of Your friends.

I congratulate you on the blessed occasion of the Ascension; today is among the greatest Islamic holidays. I also once again congratulate the dear nation on the arrival of Nowruz and the spring.

The day of the Ascension is a day of great significance; we must understand and know the importance of the Ascension. The Ascension of the Prophet of Islam is an event that God Almighty has taken a covenant from other prophets regarding this event. And when God took the covenant from the prophets, He said: "When I give you a book and wisdom, and then a messenger comes to you confirming what is with you, you must believe in him and support him." According to this noble verse, God Almighty has taken a commitment from the great prophets throughout history to believe in the Prophet of Islam, who will be sent like today, and to support him. Well, belief is clear. Support means introducing him to their people, to their followers, and asking them to believe in him; at least, the support of the prophets is this; God has taken this covenant from them. Therefore, you see in one verse of the Quran: "Those who find him written with them in the Torah and the Gospel;" meaning the name and characteristics of our Prophet exist in the unaltered Torah and Gospel. Or in another verse, God speaks through Jesus, saying: "And when Jesus, the son of Mary, said: O Children of Israel, I am the messenger of God to you, confirming what is before me of the Torah and giving glad tidings of a messenger who will come after me, his name is Ahmad;" Jesus even mentions this great man's name. Therefore, this is an event that has also been referred to in Nahj al-Balagha, where the Imam says: "Until God sent Muhammad, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) to fulfill His promise and complete His prophethood, a covenant was taken from the prophets;" meaning God Almighty has taken a covenant from the prophets that they should behave in this way with him.

Well, this Ascension had a tremendous content. I will briefly speak about this content of the Ascension and connect this issue with our current situation, which is practically and applicably significant for us, not just a matter of belief.

The Ascension and divine revelation clarified truths for the people; it clarified truths for humanity. These truths are such that if individuals and various human societies believe in these truths and practically adhere to them, a good life will come to them. What does a good life mean? It means a sweet, beneficial, and desirable life, a pure life; its purity means that it should be desirable, sweet, and help a person move towards perfection and enjoy all beauties and goodness, both in this world and the hereafter. This is a good life. If hearts become familiar with these teachings, these truths, believe in them, and adhere to their requirements, a good life is certainly in store for them.

Well, one part of these truths consists of the epistemological system of Islam, which means Islam's view on existence, on humanity, on the role of humanity in the world, on the essence of the Almighty Lord, on the attributes and names of God that we read in Dua Kumayl: "You have filled the corners of everything," or in the supplication of the month of Rajab we read: "With them, You have filled Your heavens and Your earth," which contains very important truths about the path of humanity in this world and after death and similar matters, and these are the epistemological series of Islam, the epistemological system of Islam; it teaches these to humanity and awakens and enlightens people.

Another part of these truths is the value system of Islam, the values that Islam has established, meaning it has recognized them as values; that individuals and communities are obliged to bring themselves closer to these values and move towards them; their happiness lies in this. From individual moral qualities, such as being patient, having forbearance, having forgiveness, and similar traits that are individual attributes of humans, to public and life-building concepts such as freedom, social justice, human dignity, and lifestyle; these are part of that series of Islamic values that have been expressed in Islam and understood by us. Some mistakenly think that these common concepts, such as social justice and freedom, have come from the West to the Islamic world, or that Islamic thinkers have learned them from the West; this is completely wrong. The West has only become familiar with these concepts for three or four centuries, since the Renaissance; whereas Islam clearly articulated these concepts 1400 years ago; with the difference that the Westerners who have raised these issues have never acted sincerely upon them - they have neither acted on freedom nor on social justice - they spoke and did not act; these concepts were in Islam and were practiced during the time of the Prophet. This phrase "I have been commanded to establish justice among you" is from the Quran; the Prophet's command is to implement justice; this is the same social justice and comprehensive justice; or He says: "Indeed, We sent Our messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the balance so that people may maintain justice;" meaning the essence of the sending of all prophets and the sending of messengers and books was to establish justice - that is, social justice, economic justice - among the people; therefore, these are ancient Islamic concepts.

Or regarding freedom; this statement of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in Nahj al-Balagha, a thousand years before the issue of freedom was raised in Western countries like France or elsewhere, states: "Do not be a slave to others while God has made you free;" what could be clearer than this? It means that humans are free; freedom encompasses all types of freedom. Or another well-known phrase: "You have enslaved people while God has created them free;" this is addressed to some of the governors of that time, saying: "You have enslaved people;" you want to treat people like slaves while God Almighty has created them free? These are Islamic teachings. There are many such teachings in Islamic knowledge; there are numerous statements in Nahj al-Balagha regarding this and in other Islamic sources. Therefore, this series of values and this series of knowledge and the epistemological system and the value system are in this form. Behind these are the laws; that is, the "must" and "must not"s, the "do" and "do not"s; these Islamic laws - whether individual or social - all arise from that knowledge and are in accordance with those values; that is, all these obligations that God Almighty has set for the Muslim individual stem from those fundamental and epistemological concepts and align with the value concepts and assist in ascending this path. Well, this is the collection that was actually gifted to the people at the time of the Ascension.

Now, if we want these to be realized, if we want these teachings to truly materialize in the ideological space of society, if we want these values to manifest in the actions of the people, if we want these laws, which are the means of progress and movement, to be realized, it requires political power; without political power, the bullies will not yield, the lazy will not act, the blackmailers of the bullies and the arrogant powers and the wealthy will follow them, meaning the purpose of prophethood will not be achieved; hence, the Quran states: "And We did not send any messenger except that he should be obeyed by permission of God." This does not only pertain to our Prophet; it relates to all prophets; they must come to be obeyed in the country, and the people must obey them. Therefore, when they came from Yathrib to invite the Prophet to migrate to Medina, the Prophet pledged allegiance with them right there.

Allegiance means that you are under our command; we come there on this condition; then, when the Prophet entered Medina, the first thing he did was to establish political and social power; that is, he formed a government; therefore, this is one of the necessities of prophethood. Of course, prophets have many enemies: "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy, devils among men and jinn;" when they establish a government, foreign enemies also add to these; it is clear that with the establishment of a government, in addition to internal enemies, foreign enemies also emerge; this is evident; because if there is no political world and no political power, the foreign enemy does not pay much attention; whatever someone says, they do not follow it much; when they reach political power, then the foreign enemy, the one who opposes justice, the one who opposes freedom, the one who opposes the right of every human being to live well and independently, will naturally oppose.

Well, my message today is this: I want to say that this is the same prescription that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) acted upon; it is exactly the same prescription of the Prophet's Ascension; the teachings are the same teachings that the Prophet conveyed to the people from God Almighty; the values are the same; the laws are the same; and the movement towards realizing these laws required strong faith, high ambition, and a heart "trusting in God"; all of these were present in the Imam, and he took action, God Almighty helped, and this movement took place. Of course, the Imam knew that Islamic faith is deeply rooted in the hearts of the Iranian nation; they are a believing people; this, in itself, is a separate discussion and has been thoroughly proven that the Iranian people, both then and now, despite some appearances, have a strong faith and deep-rooted belief in their hearts; one of the characteristics of our nation, thanks be to God, is this.

The Imam knew this, and therefore he raised the issue of Islam, Islamic governance, and the Islamic system, and the groundwork was also prepared, and the Imam recognized this groundwork; it consisted of the widespread oppression and endless corruption of the Pahlavi regime; they were both dependent and corrupt, both oppressive, and there was no true human knowledge in them, and this overflowed to the people; everyone saw the situation of that corrupt and oppressive regime; this was also a good groundwork, and the great Imam utilized this groundwork, and the miracle of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic came to fruition. Truly, the realization of the Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic was like a miracle that occurred; this was due to this great movement.

The first Islamic society - that is, the society that the Prophet established in Medina from a few thousand people; the people who lived in Medina, perhaps seven, eight, or ten thousand people at most when it was first formed - by the blessing of the Prophet's guidance, by the blessing of the Prophet's laws and the teachings that the Prophet had gifted, despite the fact that during this period after the Prophet, some fundamental problems arose, nevertheless, this movement was so rooted and solid that day by day it progressed towards strength, day by day it became stronger. To the extent that - as is a matter of historical certainty - in the fourth century AH, that is, three hundred years after the Prophet's Ascension and after the emergence of the Islamic community, the Islamic community was the largest political community in the world; it had the strongest army in the world; it had the most advanced level of knowledge and culture in the entire world; that is, three centuries after the Ascension, this Islamic community made such a movement that in terms of military, political, and scientific and cultural aspects, it reached this rank. This was even during the time when corrupt and incompetent caliphs like the Umayyads and Abbasids were in power. If instead of them, the Imams of guidance had been in power or those appointed by them, certainly the advancements would have been many times greater than what occurred. This is the nature of Islam; the nature of this movement is to progress and become strong.

Today's prescription is the same. If today we sincerely move, act, do not become lazy, do not act shortsightedly, we can bring Iran to that peak. Of course, bringing Iran to the peak of scientific, cultural, industrial, military, and political aspects and similar matters is our near goal; the distant goal is the Islamic civilization, which is another matter.

And we should not be surprised by the enmities; well, we have many enemies, we should not be surprised. I mentioned that in the Quran, God Almighty says: "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy, devils among men and jinn, who inspire some of them to others with adorned speech, deluding;" both jinn enemies and human enemies exist, and they help each other; the intelligence systems of many countries cooperate against us; they inspire some of them to others with adorned speech, deluding. Therefore, it was that at the beginning of Islam, during the Battle of the Confederates, when all the enemy forces of the Prophet from the Arab tribes, from various tribes in Mecca, in Ta'if, and in other places gathered together, allied with each other, and saw the Jews who were near Medina and brought them along, well, this was a very strange event for the Muslims [but] the Muslims were not surprised. The Quran says: "And when the believers saw the confederates, they said: This is what God and His Messenger promised us, and God and His Messenger spoke the truth;" meaning when they saw the enemies moving against them like this, they said: This is the promise that God Almighty has given that you will have enemies who will come and attack you; now they have come; thus, this enemy movement caused our belief to increase, because "God and His Messenger spoke the truth"; this prophecy of God Almighty and the Prophet of God came true; and it only increased them in faith and submission.

Today, of course, our most wicked enemy and the enemy of the Islamic Republic is America. Of course, we have many enemies, but the most wicked and hostile is America. American officials are both liars, deceitful, shameless, greedy, and charlatans - if you listen to their actions and words, you will see they speak in a charlatan manner; that is, they possess all kinds of ugly moral traits - and they are also oppressors, cold-hearted, extremely ruthless, and terrorists; that is, everything good that others have, they possess all of it! This is the kind of enmity that exists against us today.

God has given instructions to the Prophet to confront enmities; from the very beginning of the Ascension, God Almighty commanded the Prophet to be patient. In Surah Al-Muddathir, which is among the early Surahs of the Ascension, He says: "And for your Lord, be patient;" be patient for your God. In Surah Al-Muzzammil, which is also among the early Surahs of the Quran, He says: "And be patient over what they say." In other places in the Quran, this meaning is repeatedly present. In two places, He says: "And be steadfast as you have been commanded;" both in Surah Hud and in Surah Ash-Shura. Therefore, the instructions have been given.

Now, what does patience mean? Patience does not mean sitting idly and waiting for results and events; patience means standing firm, resisting, not changing your correct and precise calculations with the enemy's deceit; patience means pursuing the goals you have set for yourself; patience means moving forward with spirit and continuing; this is the meaning of patience. If this steadfastness and resistance, accompanied by wisdom and consultation - as the Quran states "Their affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves" - is maintained, victory will certainly be achieved. I firmly state that the Iranian nation is a patient nation; they have shown that they have patience. We, the officials, have sometimes shown impatience, but the nation has not; the nation has been completely patient; this forty years is a clear indication of this. Some of our so-called intellectuals have unfortunately shown impatience, some of them have even brought impatience to the brink of cooperation and collusion with the enemy; of course, some have been like this. The opposite of this is the believing youth who, thanks be to God, are numerous and will hopefully increase day by day; in the fields of culture, science, technology, politics, and understanding international issues - meaning they correctly understand and comprehend international matters - there are these kinds of youths who I mentioned, thanks be to God, are increasing day by day. Therefore, patience means not submitting, not becoming weak, not becoming doubtful, confronting the enemy with courage and wisdom, and defeating the enemy, at which point the Quran states: "If there are twenty of you who are patient, they will overcome two hundred;" ten of you can confront a hundred, and twenty of you can confront two hundred of them under certain conditions; in one condition, ten times, in another condition, two times, you can face them.

In my recent talks, I have repeatedly emphasized that the country must become strong; strengthening the country is among our goals. This is also one of the main lines of the prescription of the Ascension; this is also taken from the Ascension; this is also taken from the Quran. The Quran states: "And prepare for them whatever strength you can;" increase strength as much as you can. Now, this strength, at first glance, may seem to be military strength, but it is evidently much broader than the scope of military strength. The dimensions of strength are vast; it has economic dimensions, scientific strength, cultural strength, political strength - which is the basis for political strength, political independence - and propagandistic strength. Over time, other areas for strengthening the country and the nation will emerge. For instance, today, maintaining the young population of the country is one of the tools of strength; the reason I emphasize births is because of this. Today, our country is a young country; if births in this country are not produced sufficiently - which they are currently not - in a few years, the young generation will become scarce. At that time, a country with a low youth population will also have low progress. One of the tools of power is to maintain the majority of youth in society. Or today, strength in cyberspace is vital; today, cyberspace dominates the lives of humans all over the world; and some people carry out all their work through cyberspace; strength in this area is vital. Or, for example, strength in health and treatment is vital; thanks be to God, our experts and doctors and those who are knowledgeable in this field have done a lot of work.

And the "production leap" that I mentioned this year is, in fact, one of the tools of power. Production must leap; not just the prosperity of production that we talked about last year. Prosperity of production means that a movement is created in production, which has taken place, but this is not enough. We need much more than this; a leap in production. Of course, a leap in production has its requirements; it is not just a matter of the owner of capital or the owner of the workshop striving for more production; it requires that all relevant agencies do their jobs; smuggling must be prevented, excessive imports must be stopped, incentives must be given to producers, and serious judicial action must be taken against those who misuse state financial aid. There are many such tasks that, if carried out - which, God willing, must be done this year - a leap in production will be realized.

Of course, these days we are facing the phenomenon of a widespread international pandemic; this virus is causing casualties and is progressing in almost all countries of the world. Now, some say what is happening in their country, while some conceal it; one can understand from some statements that these statements are not very consistent with reality; this virus is at work. This [disease] is an example of this noble verse: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits;" it brings fear with it, and some truly fear, it also creates economic problems, and it accompanies a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; but then God says: "And give good tidings to the patient;" here too, patience is necessary. Patience here means doing the right thing, doing the wise thing; of course, the responsible officials have given instructions regarding this, and God willing, these instructions must be acted upon; everyone must act upon these instructions; this is for preserving their own lives and the lives of the people of the country and controlling this dangerous disease; therefore, everyone must act.

Among the topics related to Corona that I should mention here is that the American leaders have several times said that we are ready to help you with treatment and medicine; they have repeated several times that just ask us, and we will help you with medicine and treatment. This is among the very strange statements that they tell us to ask them for treatment and medicine. First of all, you yourselves are suffering from shortages; now the news coming from America, that is, the statements made by the Americans themselves, the mayor of a certain city, the head of health in a certain area, the head of a hospital in a certain state, they are explicitly saying that they are suffering from terrifying shortages; both in terms of preventive equipment against the outbreak of the disease, in terms of treatment, and so on. If you have something and your hands are free, use it for yourselves. Secondly, you Americans are accused of having produced this virus; I do not know how true this accusation is, but when this accusation exists, which sane person would trust you to come and bring them medicine; your medicine might be a means to further spread this disease. You have no credibility; there is no trust in you. You might prescribe a medicine or import a medicine that prolongs this virus and prevents its end; that is, if this accusation is true and you have created this virus, these actions are within your capabilities. Or if you want to send someone as a healer and doctor, they might want to come here to see the practical effects of the poison they have produced; because it is said that using Iranian genetic knowledge obtained from various means, they have specifically created a part for Iran; well, this might want to come to see how its effect was; to complete their information and increase their enmity; therefore, this is not something that anyone from the Iranian nation would accept.

My final message to our dear nation is this: My dear ones! The experience of forty years shows us that the country has the capacity to confront issues and challenges at any level; that is, the country has extraordinary capacities to face all the issues and problems and challenges that have arisen or may arise and to overcome them. The capacity of the country is very high; the important thing is that this capacity should be identified by the officials, and in all sectors, believing individuals, motivated youths should be employed; young, motivated, believing, and religious elements; because someone who is religious has much less chance of betrayal than someone who does not believe in religion. This is what brings us closer to our goal.

And I once again recommend that everyone act upon the instructions that the officials of the National Coronavirus Combat Headquarters have disseminated and announced. They have even suspended religious gatherings, which is unprecedented in our history that everywhere, even for example, holy shrines and Friday and congregational prayers, have been suspended; this is unprecedented, but there has been no other choice; they have deemed it in this way and acted accordingly; these should be observed so that, God willing, God Almighty will soon alleviate this calamity from the Iranian nation and all Muslim nations and all of humanity.

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