Statements of the Supreme Leader at the Courtyard of Astan Qods Razavi

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, the Creator of all beings. Peace and blessings be upon our master, our Prophet, the beloved of our hearts, the intercessor of our sins, the healer of our souls, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, chosen, and infallible family, especially the remaining proof of God on earth. God, the Wise, said in His Book: "You can only warn those who follow the Reminder and fear the Most Merciful in the unseen. So give them good tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward."

First, I extend my congratulations on the blessed Eid to all the dear people of Mashhad and other cities of Khorasan, as well as to the guests of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him), the pilgrims, and visitors to this city, and to the entire nation of Iran. This year, the two Eids of Fitr and Nowruz have almost coincided. The beginning of the new solar year is an opportunity for the people of Iran to start a new life, personal and social conduct, and ethics. I hope, under the attention of the eighth Imam, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace and blessings be upon him), all of you dear ones will be included in divine blessings and the special attention of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

Today, I have prepared a brief discussion on one of the Quranic teachings to present, and afterward, I will speak a few words about the issues of interest to the Iranian nation in the global and domestic arenas. The gathering is very dense, and a large crowd is present in this environment and in other courtyards. I wish, with the help of the Lord, to make use of the Quranic teachings in this limited time, and for all of us to gain light from the divine words on this first day of the year.

One of the issues repeatedly mentioned in the Quran and emphasized is the issue of "remembrance." "Remembrance" means being mindful, being aware, and being attentive. The noble verse of the Quran states: "We have sent down to you a Book in which is your mention." This means that the Quran has been introduced as a means of remembrance and awareness for all Muslims because many people, over time, have become heedless of the truths of the world, and above all, heedless of the sacred essence of the Lord. In the chapters of the Quran, much has been said about remembrance and heedlessness, which, in my opinion, is emphasized more in the chapters of "Yasin" and "Anbiya" than in other chapters. The Quran wants Muslims not to be heedless but to be attentive. The opposite of this divine and Quranic desire is the desire of those who are intoxicated with power or lust, as the noble verse of the Quran in the chapter "Nisa" states regarding the will of the Lord: "God wants to make clear to you and guide you to the ways of those before you." This means God wants you to be guided, to find the way, for your eyes to see, and for your hearts to be aware. But in the next verse, the opposite is stated: "And those who follow desires want you to deviate greatly." But those who are intoxicated with power and lust are heedless and want you to be like them, to live in heedlessness, not to be attentive, and not to find your way. Therefore, the powerful and arrogant of the world, who possess power, lust, and position, and all the causes of heedlessness together, whenever they encounter people who are awake and whose hearts are illuminated by divine guidance, they want to make them heedless like themselves and to deviate them from the right path. The Almighty God has bestowed a favor upon us as a nation and awakened us. We too were previously in a slumber of heedlessness. We too, under the unfortunate shadow of tyrannical and monarchical systems, did not know the way. We too were distant from Islamic ethics. God bestowed a favor upon us, awakened us, and illuminated our hearts.

There was a time in our society when the Quran was not present. Prayer and the establishment of prayer, in its true sense, did not exist. We did not have Friday prayers. We did not have divine and spiritual gatherings as befitting a believing nation, and oppressors ruled over us. Those who lived at the head of society and as our leaders in this country were people of debauchery and sin; they were people of sin; they were people distant from the house of God; they did not know guidance; they did not know the way of God; they did not know justice; they were not reconciled with the prophets; they were not compatible with the way of God. We too, at one point in our long historical life, lived in that way. But God awakened us. This nation is awakened and guided by God. God showed this nation the way.

The work that this nation did, no nation in history has done with such power and greatness. That is why today, if you step into any Islamic country, you will see the prominent figures of that country, the intellectuals of that nation, the educated youth of that nation, and the aware men and women of that nation, their hearts beat in remembrance of the Iranian nation. They themselves express and say, "We have taken the Iranian nation as our model." Many have imitated you. Many have chosen your path, and of course, not all have had your success.

The Iranian nation is a nation that the Almighty God, after a period of heedlessness, made aware and awakened; showed the way and made its steps firm. This nation did not fear death, did not fear hardships, advanced, and thanks be to God, raised the flag of Islam and the Quran and the name of God and the prophets in the world. Because of this situation and because of the great success that the Almighty God has granted us, we must pay sufficient attention to this point and this issue and consider the issue of remembrance and guidance as our main and fundamental issue. Therefore, our nation today needs to pay proper attention to the issue of remembrance and avoidance of heedlessness. Everyone must strive to eliminate heedlessness—whether in personal matters or in political matters, social matters, and important world matters, especially the Islamic world (if it exists)—to create a bright and luminous atmosphere where all people can clearly understand the truths. This is what religion wants, and the Quran guides us towards it.

There is a point related to this matter in the life of Abraham, the Friend of the Most Merciful (peace and blessings be upon him), which is noteworthy in the verses related to this matter in the chapter "Anbiya." Abraham (peace be upon him), as a young caller to monotheism and the sole inviter to the knowledge of the Lord in a heedless and polytheistic society, entered the field of invitation; but all hearts were asleep, and minds had become petrified. Abraham (peace be upon him), by divine wisdom, had to shake the hearts, thoughts, and minds of the people so that in the shadow of this severe shake, he could convey his message to the depths of people's souls. That severe shake was created in such a way that Abraham (peace be upon him) would destroy the idol house and the center of blind and ignorant faith of those people.

He entered the idol house, broke the idols, and left only one idol, the great idol, intact; so that he could use this point to draw attention to the truth.

After the people realized that this action was the work of Abraham, the Friend of God, they said: Did you do this to our gods, O Abraham? "They said, 'Did you do this to our gods, O Abraham?'" And Abraham (peace be upon him) replied to them: "He said, 'Rather, this, their largest one, did it, so ask them, if they should [be able to] speak.'" From here, the intellectual struggle of Abraham (peace be upon him), who was one person against a world, began. The point is here. A dark world was against Abraham (peace be upon him); in it were the dazzling material powers, the first-class wealthy, the followers of power, and he was alone. This is a lesson. What state does a nation have when it stands against a world of opposition? Today, look at the Iranian nation! The Iranian nation speaks a word that none of the global powers like. In the case of Palestine, everyone compromised, and except for the Iranian nation, no one dared to say "no" and express the truth. In the cases of aggression and oppression and injustice that are happening to the Muslims of the world today, except for the Iranian nation, no nation dares to raise a voice, or their voice does not reach anywhere. Regarding the new order that the arrogant powers of the world, led by America, have created to dominate nations, except for the Iranian nation, no one in the world dares to say "no." That is, those who accept the belief of the Iranian nation are not few in the world. Even among the statesmen, there are those who accept your words, the Iranian nation. But they too are afraid! One of the so-called revolutionary presidents, seven or eight years ago, in one of the international gatherings where more than a hundred governments participated, and we were also present, said to me: "Except for you, everyone in this gathering is afraid!" Then he lowered his head and quietly continued: "I am also afraid!" This is the truth. They accept the truth, but they fear for their power, for their reign, for their presidency, and for their government! To remain at the head of power for a few more days, they do not speak the truth.

The nation and government of Iran and the sacred Islamic system in Iran speak their rightful words in the face of a world full of dazzling claims whose propaganda has taken over the whole world. This is a characteristic that all observers around the world admire. Then you see that a prophet, a single individual, speaks the truth in the face of all those opposing views and stands powerfully against opposing opinions. Abraham (peace be upon him) had such a situation. These are the ones who shape and direct history. The name of Abraham and the Abrahams and the great prophets of God is recorded in history for this reason. No power can erase the greats of the world and the brave men of God from the pages of time or diminish their names.

They said: "Did you do this?" Abraham (peace be upon him) replied to them: "He said, 'Rather, this, their largest one, did it, so ask them, if they should [be able to] speak.'" Following this severe shake that he gave them, he wanted to remind their minds and give them remembrance. He said: "If the idols speak, ask them themselves! If this great idol has the power to express and tell you the truth, ask it and see what it says!" In reality, he placed them in front of a matter that they had to understand and acknowledge. That is, there was no way to go and return! The model and example of giving remembrance to the audience was done by Abraham (peace be upon him) through a great and striking movement.

Now I will read and explain a few verses related to the subject until the end. Then we will turn to the great movement of the Iranian nation and that great divine leader who moved like Abraham and did what God wanted to do and left his impact on the world.

The Holy Quran, in continuation of the verses related to the action and movement of Abraham (peace be upon him), states: "So they returned to themselves." When he told them to "ask the great idol," they returned to themselves; that is, they suddenly became aware. This is the state of remembrance. "So they returned to themselves and said, 'Indeed, you are the wrongdoers.'" They returned to themselves, thought, and in my expression, said to themselves: "Truly, we are the wrongdoers." How can a person be so heedless as to go to something that cannot even defend itself instead of going to the capable, living, seeing, active, and willing God and blindly submit to it?! Although that idol was wooden, idols of flesh and bone are the same. Any power that is not reliant on God and whose power does not originate from the power of the Lord of the worlds is like that idol that cannot defend itself and its logic.

Yes; as you can see, the arrogant and tyrants of the world throughout the world—whether on an international level or in their own countries—are oppressive, but oppression cannot remain forever. Oppression does not last! What remains is the truth. That is why "Nimrods" went, and "Abrahams" remained. "Then they reversed themselves." After Abraham (peace be upon him) gave them remembrance and they became aware, they lowered their heads.

A heedless person does not understand what they are doing. If you look at the nations today that are under the influence of the imposed culture of superpowers, you will see the same heedlessness. They are moving with their heads in the air, and they deny everyone but themselves. Out of heedlessness, they belittle and disregard nations because they do not know the truth.

"Then they reversed themselves, saying, 'You have already known that these do not speak.' He said, 'Then do you worship instead of God that which does not benefit you at all or harm you?'" Abraham (peace be upon him) took advantage of a moment of their awareness and in a few sentences, expressed the only truth that could be stated at that moment. He said: "Do you worship besides God that which cannot benefit you at all or harm you?!" And you, my dear ones! Know that all non-divine powers are like this. Do not look at their apparent widespread power. Do not look at their modern and ultra-modern weapons and their money and wealth.

The factor that weakens nations in the face of powers is the lack of will of the nations themselves. If a nation moves with determination, relies on God, and obeys the divine command, no power can harm it. "Fie upon you and what you worship besides God." Abraham (peace be upon him) said: "Fie upon you and upon what you ignorantly worship and bow down to." The course of Abraham's (peace be upon him) movement was such that he first made a sharp move to draw attention to consciences and minds. Then, using the attention that hearts gained, he instilled the truth in a sentence into their hearts and minds. After awakening the people, it was the enemy's turn to react. Who is the enemy? It is the same as the Quran said: "And those who follow desires want you to deviate greatly." Those who are intoxicated with lust and power and money. They are the ones who want all people to be in a state of heedlessness. Everyone should be intoxicated because they are intoxicated! This is the issue. The nation and divine leader of Iran—the man who walked the path of the prophets—followed this path, and today you see that awakening has occurred in the world. This statement is not an exaggerated or hyperbolic statement; it is a truth. Do you see how the enemy reacts?! Do you see how the arrogant powers, led by the arrogant power of America, resort to threats and spend money on propaganda against the Iranian nation and the Islamic system?! This is their reaction. If they had not been harmed by the great movement of the Iranian nation, they would not have reacted.

When Abraham (peace be upon him) made that move and awakened the people, then: "They said, 'Burn him and support your gods.'" They said: "Burn Abraham!" Why should they burn Abraham? Because Abraham is harmful to them; because Abraham awakens the people; because Abraham raises a voice that shakes the foundations of the oppressive materialistic power of the intoxicated with power. This is what the rightful call of the great Imam and you, the believing nation, did to the arrogant powers of the world. Today, everywhere, when people turn on the radios of the enemies—the British state radio, the American state radio, the radio of the usurping Zionist government, the radios of their mercenary remnants, which the Iranian nation threw out like rubbish from its living environment—they hear them speaking ill of the nation; speaking ill of the government; speaking ill of the system; speaking ill of the Imam and Islam. If someone is heedless and lacks analytical power, they will say: "Wow! We are alone and have become weak." I say: O dear Iranian nation! O believing youth! O powerful arms that were able to bring the elite powers of the world, who were hiding behind Iraq, to their knees during the eight-year imposed war! Know that as a nation, you are indeed alone in the world; but you are the same lonely nation that the great arrogant powers fear to their core.

Because they fear, they campaign against you. Because they fear, they try to spread rumors. Because they fear, they try to create an atmosphere. If they were not afraid, they would not do these things! Well; what is the reason for their fear, and why are they afraid? Has the Iranian nation violated anyone's rights? Have we threatened anyone? Have we invaded anywhere? Absolutely not. We have not invaded anywhere; except when our borders were broken, and our land was occupied. At that time, like any noble person, our nation rose up; cleansed its land of pollution and expelled the enemy. That day is the day of defense; that day is the day of striking the mouth of the aggressor; that day is the day of slapping the wicked and vile people, of course, the Iranian nation enters the field manfully. But the Iranian nation has not threatened anyone. We have not threatened any country with military invasion and territorial aggression. The whole world accepts this, and they cannot present the slightest example against this statement. So, what are they afraid of? They are afraid that the Iranian nation has raised a slogan that is directly detrimental to all the tyrants of the world.

The Iranian nation says: "Nations must have independence. Nations must have control over their natural resources. The control of the natural resources of nations must be in their own hands." The Iranian nation says this. The Islamic Republic means this. Divine governance means this. Look at what the military, political, and economic powers of the world are doing to the so-called "developing" nations today! They do whatever they can to them. If a nation has natural resources within its own country, the tyrant governments of the world want to use its natural resources more than the nation itself. Of course, as long as they can, they use more than the nations themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen! There are two or three countries in the world—in Africa and Latin America—that almost supply all the copper in the world. The governments whose copper resources belong to them have been politically oppressed by the great governments because of these resources and eventually went bankrupt financially because of copper! This is while the same copper is exported from those countries to the wealthy and tyrant countries of the world, and they use this important and necessary material almost for free. Look at our own oil! I once addressed some politicians in other active oil-producing countries and posed a point and a question. I said: "Today we have oil. The countries on the shores of the Persian Gulf, some African countries, and some Asian countries also produce oil. They buy this expensive oil at cheap prices, at several times less than its true price, from these countries. These countries, because they need the money from selling oil, are forced to sell it at a low price. Then the arrogant powers go and make maximum use of this oil." The question I posed was this. I said: "Now suppose instead of the countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, the Emirates, Kuwait, and so on, oil was in the hands of America, England, Italy, and some other European countries, and we wanted to buy oil from them. By God, would they be willing to give us even a drop of oil?! If you wanted to get a barrel of oil from them, they would set a hundred conditions and then give it to you at whatever price they wanted! Today, the same oil, that is, the same valuable liquid, is bought at the lowest possible price, thanks to the betrayal of some oil-producing governments whose hands are in theirs, and in fact, it is looted and taken away, and all the foundations of the current industrial civilization are built on it. Their light is from our oil; their warmth is from our oil; their movement is from our oil; their factories and products are also from our oil!"

The tyranny of the tyrant governments of the world is like this, my dear ones! Today, the arrogant world is like this and behaves in this way. If they could, they would be willing to use weak countries like slaves and exploit them; as they did throughout history—in the era of direct colonialism. Today, they do the same thing in another way. In such a world with such a situation, the Iranian nation has risen; it has overthrown a government that was a puppet and servant of those tyrants in Iran—that is, the cursed Pahlavi dynasty—from the throne of power, driven them away, and expelled them from the country. They were the ones who, for more than fifty years, betrayed this country; kept everything of this nation backward and destroyed the wealth of this nation.

The governments that came to power by the will of these Muslim people are trying to repair and rebuild those destructions and fill the gaps. What is the slogan of the Iranian nation in this great movement? Independence. This nation says: "We want to be independent. We do not want America and England and other governments to dominate our destiny." This very slogan of independence is a slogan that the world's powerful people are harmed by. It is like the slogan of Abraham, the Friend of God, and there is no difference with it. Just as the "Nimrod" system of that day feared Abraham (peace be upon him)—while he was one person and only spoke one word—today the global arrogance system fears the nation and government of Iran; it fears the leadership of Iran; it fears the name of the great Imam.

So, when it is said that "global arrogance fears the Iranian nation," some should not take it as a point of weakness and say: "Let's see what you have done that they fear you?!" This fear is the fear of a criminal from a person who wants to put him in his place. It is the fear of a sinner from someone who knows the sin and wants to expose the sinner. The fear that arrogance has is such a fear. Let me also say this point: My dear brothers and sisters! Now, for fifteen years, the Iranian nation, by the grace of the Lord, has resisted all the pressures and threats of the enemies; and with great and magnificent resistance. It is this resistance of yours that has kept other nations hopeful. The enemy wants to break this resistance. When you see the leaders of global arrogance constantly proclaiming "We want to have relations with Iran," these are hypocritical and false statements. The real meaning of these statements and slogans is not love for the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic system. It does not mean accepting their past mistakes. It does not mean a commitment to the future—that they will not bully the Iranian nation from now on. This is a kind of deception. They apparently say "We are ready to establish relations" and subsequently state "provided that Iran abandons its extremist words." What are our extremist words? One of the extremist words of the Islamic Republic system and the Iranian nation is that we say "We do not want arrogant governments to interfere in our affairs." Is this word extremist?! This word, in the eyes of the leaders of arrogance, is an unspeakable word! They say why do you state that "do not interfere in our affairs"?! In this very Middle East region and our Islamic region, we know governments that if they want to establish relations with another government, they ask America for permission! They say to America: Do you allow us to have relations with such and such a government? They say this themselves. They are not ashamed and do not feel embarrassed!

In this very country of Iran, the treacherous Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for which prime minister should come to power; which head of the oil company should come to power; which defense minister or which foreign minister should come to power, would send for the ambassadors of America and England in Tehran and tell them: I want to bring such and such a person. What is your opinion? If they said "bring," he would bring, and if they said "do not bring," he would not bring! The Americans want this. Global arrogance wants this. There are governments that behave in this way and have emboldened these predatory wolves towards nations. The extremism of the Iranian nation is that it says: "The Iranian nation is a great nation, an ancient nation, a nation with an old culture, and a nation with a brilliant historical background. It is a nation whose men and women and mothers and wives have shown in the world's problems that they are like tempered steel. This nation is not willing to accept the guardianship of America and the arrogant governments over itself."

Our position on the issue of Palestine is also clear. We support the Palestinian nation. We support the freedom of Palestine. We support cutting off the hands of aggressors to the land of Palestine. We say that "the people of Palestine do not have security in their own home." Islam rejects this situation. Therefore, we also reject it; even if other countries sit at the negotiating table and sell Palestine—to their imagination—to the enemy. But they should know that the Muslim nations and the Palestinian nation will never sell the country of Palestine to the enemy.

We thank God that our nation is awake. We thank God that our nation is on the scene. Our nation is proud of what it has done so far. The statesmen are from these people themselves; with the same feelings, with the same faith, and with the same orientation. At the head of the country's executive branch is a faithful, jihadist president with clear and brilliant records and from the people themselves. The Islamic Consultative Assembly is composed of representatives of these very people; with the same feelings and with the same orientation and desire. The judiciary is a system belonging to these people and belonging to them. Of course, this nation has shortages and deficiencies at the national level. The officials must strive to eliminate and compensate for the deficiencies; to eliminate the shortages and bring the problems to zero. A great national Islamic movement governs this nation. The government and the nation strive together and must strive together.

We thank God that this path is a clear path that is available to the Iranian nation. This is one of the blessings of the Quran and the blessings of faith in the Quran and Islam. This is one of the blessings of divine guidance, the blessings of the guidance and instructions of the great Imam, and the blessings of your insight, the Iranian nation. Continue this path with the same power because victory is with the Iranian nation. No matter how arrogant and powerful the enemies are, they are forced to retreat in the face of the will of the Iranian nation. Just as they have retreated until today and just as they have been slapped until today. They wanted this system not to exist. They wanted the name of Islam not to exist. But by the grace of the Lord, Islam became more and more exalted, and this system became more and more stable.

O Lord! We swear by Muhammad and the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) to always keep the attention of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) continuous and enduring for this nation.

O Lord! Bless this blessed Eid for all the people of this nation.

O Lord! Bring joy and prosperity to all the homes of this country and this nation and to the hearts of all these people.

O Lord! Strengthen this unity and solidarity that exists among this nation and between the nation and the government day by day.

O Lord! Increase the proximity and elevation of the pure souls of our dear martyrs hour by hour.

O Lord! Unite the pure soul of the great Imam with your saints.

O Lord! With your power, resolve the problems and knots and disorders.

O Lord! Let this nation taste the pleasure of victory over the enemy.

O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), include guidance, remembrance, and insight for all of us.

O Lord! Let us benefit from the blessings of this pure grave and the graces of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace and blessings be upon him).

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