Message to the Noble Iranian Nation on the Occasion of the New Year

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

O Transformer of hearts and eyes, O Director of day and night, O Changer of conditions and states, change our condition to the best of conditions.

I extend my congratulations on the blessed Nowruz and the arrival of the new solar Hijri year, and the approach of the blessed days and nights of the month of Ramadan, to all of you brothers and sisters and the entire Iranian nation, and Iranians living in other parts of the world, and also to all Muslims around the world.

The arrival of each new solar year, which coincides with a kind of transformation in the world of nature, is an opportunity for a person to engage in inner transformation and the reform of spiritual, intellectual, and material affairs. This noble prayer that has been taught to us to recite at the beginning of the year is a lesson in this transformation. In this prayer, we ask the Almighty God to create a blessed transformation and change in our spiritual and psychological state. Creating transformation is the work of God; however, we are obliged to strive and endeavor for this transformation within ourselves, in our lives, and in the world.

All the evils and ugliness in the world and in the fabric of life are due to the evils and ugliness in human beings. If human beings are good, life is good and sweet. If the inner desires and the inner devil do not dominate human actions, life will proceed in a manner that is pleasing to the Most Merciful. It is human beings who make the fabric of life and the reality of the world bitter, satanic, ugly, and accompanied by pain and distress.

Wherever human beings become good, life will also become good. Wherever human beings create a deep transformation within themselves, a deep transformation will also occur in their lives. If we see that in this vast world, there is ugliness, injustice, discrimination, poverty, bitterness, and satanic traits, we must find the trace of the cause in human beings and their inner devil.

We, the people of Iran, have had the opportunity, and the Almighty God has given us this great blessing, to transform our lives and change ourselves from the bondage of the tyrant and the rule of Satan to the rule of God and the management of God's religion. The Almighty God appointed and raised a servant from among the righteous, the chosen, and the best among us, to guide us towards the path of religion with divine power and a merciful determination, to employ our forces, awaken our nation, make us aware of the enemy, and unite our hearts. With divine assistance and the leadership of that righteous, great, and chosen man, we have traversed this path, and thanks be to God, we have been able to establish Islam to a reasonable and feasible extent in our society during this period. This is a great blessing. This path still extends to the final destination, and we, the Iranian nation, have the duty to continue this path, which is only possible with divine and merciful will and inner transformation, and by discarding moral vices from our souls.

How appropriate and fitting it is that with the transformation of the year and the approach of the blessed month of Ramadan, which is the month of divine mercy and forgiveness, we also turn away from deficiencies, crookedness, ugliness, and evils within ourselves; that is, we repent. Repentance and turning back to God mean turning away from evils, which is the creation of transformation. "And ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favor his favor." Repentance and turning back to God and inner reform within ourselves will cause the Almighty God to bestow His grace, mercy, blessing, strength, and honor upon us more than before. All classes, whether people like me and those who have responsibilities—who must return to ourselves and reconsider more than others and eliminate the rule of desire and whim within ourselves—or the general public, need this return and reform.

Those who should have done something for God and the revolution and did not, those who acted contrary to the path of God and the revolution and did what they should not have done, must correct what has passed and repent for what has been issued. Even those who were and are against the revolution, although they are a small minority, they too are servants of God; if there is still a remnant of divine and human conscience in them—which God willing, there is—they should reconsider their behavior and strengthen the path of God and this divine and Quranic system with all their being.

Today, the blessings of your movement, the Iranian nation, are manifesting themselves in the world. Today, your action eleven years ago, which led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, has awakened nations and stirred the wave of Islam and spirituality throughout the world. Today, you, the Iranian nation, are witnessing the results of your great movement on a global scale, and of course, you will witness even greater and higher results of this movement and the continuation of this path in your lives and on a global scale.

This year, we celebrate Nowruz while the Almighty God has tested us with the great loss of our great leader and has passed a difficult period upon us. That loss was a great hardship. We hope that the Almighty God will unite the soul of that great man with the sacred souls of the prophets and saints and make him pleased with us and keep us steadfast and continuous on his path. We hope that God will continue His grace and love, which He has always had for this nation and this system over the past eleven years, and that we can, with God's help and by moving in His path and with repentance and turning to God, secure good provision, power, strength, and divine honor for ourselves and for this great and self-sacrificing nation.

In conclusion, I find it necessary to once again extend my sincere congratulations to all our dear nation, especially to the esteemed combatants—who are the guardians of our country and nation and are responsible for preserving and protecting our greatness and independence—and also to the esteemed families of our martyrs, veterans, and dear captives, and to ask for special divine grace and mercy for them.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings