Statements of His Excellency in Meeting with Officials of the System and Various Classes of People on the Anniversary of the Prophet's Ascension

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

We congratulate this great and auspicious holiday to the entire vast Islamic Ummah, to the faithful and noble nation of Iran, and to you dear attendees - the officials of the country, esteemed guests, ambassadors of Islamic countries - rather, we must say that we congratulate this holiday to all of humanity; because the ascension of the Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) opened a door for all of humanity that would save them from the chronic and ancient pains of human societies. Some have responded to this call and have reaped its benefits, while others have deviated and tasted its harm.

Today, in our view, humanity is in dire need of the message of the ascension and of following the teachings of the great prophets, all of which are fully encompassed in the teachings of Islam and the Quran. At the forefront of the Islamic invitation are three things that are emphasized in the noble verses of the Quran: knowledge and wisdom, purification and ethics, and justice and fairness.

If we look closely, humanity today is still in need of these three things. Human knowledge has made significant advancements today; however, it has progressed in a specific dimension. Material and natural sciences - those related to material life - have advanced among humanity; but humans are in need of learning and acquiring knowledge in spiritual sciences - those things that enlighten the human mind regarding the origin of creation and divine oneness; that guide the heart towards the direction for which humanity was created. The Islamic invitation to knowledge is a comprehensive invitation. The issue of ethics and spiritual and moral purification is even more important today. The troubles of humanity stem from distancing from moral purification.

First and foremost, the elites of nations, the officials of countries and societies, are the audience of this speech. If at the peaks of human societies - where political, scientific, and cultural elites reside - there exists ethics, spirituality, and purification, this abundant source will reach the valleys, and people will also benefit from good ethics. The officials of the Islamic country are primarily the audience of this speech. Love of the world, love of desires, adherence to animalistic whims and passions, friendships and enmities that stem from animalistic and material origins; wars that arise from power-seeking and the desire for material expansion; insecurities that originate from the wickedness and political depravity of those in charge of the affairs of countries, are the major afflictions of humanity.

Moral purification for a country is a necessity; the affection of humans for one another, fairness among humans, consideration for the well-being of others in planning human life, compassion and kindness among individuals, are things that bring peace to human life. If we observe that the world today is burning more than ever in the fire of insecurities - insecurity is today the greatest calamity for humanity or at least one of the greatest calamities; humans do not have security within their families; they do not have security in their social living environment; they do not have security in their own country and homeland - this insecurity arises from poor policies, from power-seeking, from immorality, from the distance of humans from purification. And Islam invites us to purification, and this is a very significant aspect of Islamic teachings. "He recites to you Our verses and purifies you; and teaches you the Book and wisdom"; He recites the divine verses and purifies them; He teaches them.

And justice. The establishment of justice is the command of all divine prophets, who said that the sending of messengers and the sending of books and all the efforts that prophets and their followers have made, are for this: "so that people may establish justice"; the life of people should be a life accompanied by justice.

Dear brothers and sisters! Our aspiration in Islamic struggles has been to establish a society that possesses these characteristics. The Islamic Revolution did not come into being for the power-seeking of a group or a party or a collective. The Islamic Revolution was initiated by the Muslim people of Iran; the goal of this revolution is the establishment of an Islamic society, and the main criteria and indicators of an Islamic society are these: a society endowed with knowledge, endowed with ethics, and endowed with justice. Everyone must strive for this. The principles to which we adhere are these. The values for which the Islamic society was established are these. What can fully secure our material life, our welfare, our political and international dignity, our security, is these. Everyone must strive to create a society endowed with knowledge, endowed with ethics, endowed with justice. This is the duty of governments, the duty of all officials, the duty of managers in various sectors, and the aspiration of all people. What they demand and request from the officials is this: a society endowed with knowledge, ethics, and justice. From the beginning of the revolution until today, wherever we have acted according to our Islamic duty, respected divine commandments, stood firm on our responsibilities, we have progressed; wherever various considerations have dominated us, we have retreated from these fundamental principles of Islam, we have magnified the glitter of prevailing materialistic schools in our eyes and hearts, we have failed, we have been defeated, we have remained unsuccessful.

Today, the current schools of thought in the world - what the spokespersons of international politics in powerful countries are presenting today - cannot lead humanity to happiness. In addition, the slogans that are raised by the officials and managers of international powers are not genuine slogans. Today, humanity suffers from two major pains: one is that the path shown to humanity - the path of materialism - is a wrong path. The second is that those who are in charge of human affairs are not righteous people. Look at the state of the world, the oppression that is inflicted upon nations, the oppression that is inflicted upon the Islamic Ummah, the oppression that occurs in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, the oppression that is inflicted upon Islamic commandments, observe these. Those who are the source of terror, corruption, and bloodshed accuse Islam of terrorism! They accuse Islam of regression; those who wish to impose their absolute rule upon all humanity! Today, the United States of America, this tyrannical, satanic, arrogant power, is seeking to swallow the entire world. It seeks to expand its power into all aspects of human life. And then they claim democracy; they claim human rights! The most corrupt of humans have taken the banner of reforming humanity into their hands. This is a great calamity for humanity.

And our Islamic Ummah is now facing a very great historical experience. We do not look to others; we look to the Islamic Ummah itself. The Islamic Ummah has the Quran within itself, has Islamic commandments, has the clear lines of a prosperous human life in the Quran. The Islamic Ummah can stand against this destructive wave of all foundations of human life by returning to itself, by returning to its Islamic identity; if it strives. The Islamic Ummah must strive. First and foremost, the officials of Islamic countries are the audience of this speech; they must strive.

Islamic cohesion means that Muslim countries recognize the value of the great Islamic Ummah. We gain nothing from fragmentation. We gain nothing from enmity with one another. We gain nothing from exacerbating ethnic, sectarian, Shia and Sunni, Arab and non-Arab differences. The Islamic Ummah is a vast entity with many resources, with many assets; but the Western world has fragmented us, has set us against each other. Our ethnicities have been weaponized against our Muslim brothers, and we have, unknowingly and foolishly, accepted this conspiracy and trap and have fallen into this snare. We must awaken.

We did not make a pretense when we said that this year is the year of Islamic cohesion. We see the conspiracies against the Islamic world; we see the efforts being made; the money being spent to sow discord among brothers, to turn our forces against each other, to prevent us from progressing. We have a lot of backwardness. The Islamic world has a lot of backwardness. In the field of science and technology, we must advance; above that, in the field of self-purification, we must focus on ourselves, we must move forward.

What is proposed today by the Westerners as democracy is, in fact, not a people's government. The people's government was brought by Islam. In Islam, the relationship between the officials of the country and the managers of society with the people is a relationship of faith, a relationship of love, a relationship of sincere cooperation, a relationship of true satisfaction. This prescription is now at our disposal. Whenever we have acted according to these prescriptions, we have witnessed success and achievement firsthand. Today, the Islamic world is wounded. The heart aches for the Palestinian nation. The heart aches for the Iraqi nation. The heart aches for the sufferings of the Afghan nation. They are under pressure; under the pressure of the enemies of the Islamic Ummah.

Those who today put pressure on the Palestinians in the issue of Palestine; who trample upon the Iraqi nation, are those who have no specific enmity with the Iraqi nation or the Palestinian nation; they oppose the Islamic Ummah. Wherever they can reach, they will act in the same manner. For them, Sunni, Shia, Arab, non-Arab makes no difference. Power-seeking is what it is. Being intoxicated by power and seeing nothing but the material and sensual desires and the demands of money-making companies is the result for humanity. The Islamic Ummah must awaken.

The esteemed personality of the noble Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) is a central and pivotal point for the unity of all Islamic groups. The hearts of all are filled with love for the Prophet. All members of the Islamic Ummah are in love with and devoted to this chosen servant of God and this great human being throughout history; let this be a means of unity and the axis of the unity of the Islamic Ummah, and let the Islamic Ummah come closer together.

We hope that the Almighty God guides us; that He leads us to what is a means of growth and elevation for Islam and Muslims; that He assists us and, God willing, makes the sacred heart of the Awaited Imam pleased and satisfied with us. And we send our greetings to the pure soul of our great Imam and our esteemed martyrs who guided us on this path and helped us to tread this path.

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