Tehran Friday Prayers Sermons

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

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, seek His help, believe in Him, seek His forgiveness, and rely on Him. We send blessings and peace upon His beloved, His chosen one, the best of His creation, the keeper of His secrets, and the conveyor of His messages, our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, chosen, and infallible family, especially the remainder of God on earth. God, the Wise, said in His Book: Moses said to his people, "Seek help from God and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to God. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous." (Quran 7:128)

I advise and invite all dear brothers and sisters who are performing the prayer to observe piety and righteousness and to pay attention to the importance of the role of piety in the pure life of humanity. I also advise all classes and individuals of the people, and everyone in any job or responsibility, to observe piety and righteousness according to their job and responsibility. That is, they should pay attention to what their divine duty is in this job and position and precisely fulfill that duty and responsibility.

Today, on the occasion of the blessed birth of the Master of the Universe and the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), which coincides with the public celebration days of our revolution, I extend my sincere congratulations to you, the worshippers, and to all the people of Iran and the Muslims of the world, and indeed to all the oppressed and justice-thirsty nations. I hope that God, by the blessing of the Commander of the Faithful, will bestow His grace and mercy upon the Islamic society and the Muslim people, especially in Islamic Iran.

The topic I will discuss in the first sermon is a brief matter concerning our great Islamic revolution, and that is that although in the current era and in this century - that is, in the twentieth century - various revolutions have occurred throughout the world, the Islamic Revolution in Iran was an exceptional revolution. So far, everything about this revolution has been exceptional, and in these respects, it is not comparable to other revolutions.

Of course, the discussion is about revolutions. The transformations that have taken place through military coups in the world, although in some countries they are also called revolutions, are not worthy of being discussed when we talk about revolutions. Their existence is another account and another issue. The discussion is about revolutions; that is, the transformations carried out by the people and related to the ideological and social principles of society. Although such revolutions have occurred frequently in the world in recent decades, none were like our Islamic Revolution, and for this reason, this revolution has maintained its brilliance on the global stage even after eleven years.

I will mention two exceptional characteristics of this revolution, which had the greatest impact on the image of this revolution in the world, just as they had the greatest impact on the victory and endurance of the revolution in the Islamic country. These two characteristics have ensured that even after several years, movements and efforts are being made in various parts of the world in emulation of this revolution and under its influence.

One of these two characteristics was that the foundation of this revolution was religious, ethical, and spiritual values, and the other characteristic was that the revolution remained based on the will and desire of the people in forming and managing the government. That is, after the victory of the revolution, the importance of the people's role was not taken away from them and remained as an element for the revolution. These two characteristics exist in our revolution.

Other revolutions were mostly based on materialistic thoughts. These thoughts might be materialistic ideological and doctrinal - that is, Marxist and communist thoughts - or they might not even believe in a materialistic doctrine; rather, they might act based on materialism - like nationalist and patriotic groups that take actions in some countries and do not have a religious perspective.

All revolutions are like this. Even revolutions whose preliminaries were religious or Islamic, in the end, deviated from being Islamic; like some countries where their revolution initially took shape in mosques and the movement started from mosques or religious schools - both in Asia and Africa - but later, as the movements grew, because there was not enough leadership strength among the religious, others came and seized control and diverted the line from being religious to irreligion.

I do not know of any point in the world where a revolution has occurred that is an exception to this general rule; but in our country, it did not happen this way. The revolution started from the house of religion - that is, the mosque and the religious school - and the religious orientation in the revolution increased day by day, and the role of religion and spiritual values became so strong that it brought people to the field of revolution who usually do not come to the field in any revolution. Even elderly people and those unaware of political issues and people living in remote cities and villages were brought to the field of revolution and struggle. In addition, the religious spirit in this revolution caused the least damage during the revolution. This is an important point that if anyone has studied the materialistic revolutions of the world - especially the October Revolution in Russia - they understand the meaning of this statement very well.

In places where a revolution based on irreligion has occurred, during the flourishing of the revolution and the peak of the revolutionary movement, many damages have been created; because people who are not under any law, rule, or regulation and have overthrown a system and have not yet replaced it with anything, naturally act very recklessly in their social transactions, interactions, and revenge-taking. In the revolution that was mentioned, many such incidents occurred. Those who have read about the events of that revolution and similar ones confirm this point. Revenge-taking, exploitation, inappropriate people occupying parts of the country for themselves, destroying many properties, and annihilating many innocent lives, and so on.

These issues did not occur in our revolution. Here, when the people of Tehran closed their shops and stopped their lives and all entered the field of struggle, people from surrounding cities and villages brought bread for the people; that is, they showed complete sympathy. Here, the issue of people's anger was not because of a material issue; rather, it was a matter of religion, spirituality, and God, and this affects people's lives and activities in a different way. Then, when the revolution succeeded, the government that was formed was an Islamic government based on the revolution; that is, the Islamic Republic. This government did not move to the left or right; rather, it remained on the straight path of religion. When the Islamic Republic was also formed, over time, it did not abandon the path of religion; rather, in legislation and the selection of officials and main executives of the system - like members of parliament and others - people entered the field with Islamic criteria.

Religion was a characteristic of the revolution and remained so. It was not that one day religion was a characteristic of the revolution and after a while, this characteristic was taken from the revolution and turned into something else. This characteristic did not exist in any of the revolutions, and this was one of the most important factors so that wherever in the world a heart beats for religion and Islam, it is interested in the Islamic Republic - which moves for Islam and thinks about the elevation of the word of Islam.

The second characteristic is being people-oriented. Other revolutions - those that were truly revolutions - after their victory, often became indifferent to the people. We do not consider coups and military movements and the like. Revolutions have always been created by the people everywhere in the world; but after they have achieved victory or are on the verge of victory, parties or a party have taken the place of the revolution and the people, and the people have been sidelined. Like the communist and socialist countries of the world, many of whose systems were created with a revolution and the people played a role in it and helped the revolutionary and fighting group of the people; but in all these countries, as soon as the revolution approached victory or achieved victory, the people became nothing, and the party became everything. The Communist Party or whatever name they had for the ruling party did whatever it wanted in the name of the people, but the people had no role in anything; the same people who had come to the streets or had supported the fighting group in some way.

The people did not even have the right to send a representative to the legislative assembly. In none of these countries that supposedly have national congresses, which are their legislative assemblies, do the people's representatives have a presence! The people had no role at all. This is very strange. But this strange thing was everywhere in the world.

In one of the trips we made a year or two ago to one of these socialist countries, one of our companions, who was a respected member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, had conversations with the officials of the national assembly of that country about the assembly. He provided them with information about our assembly and also received information about their assembly. We were sitting and talking about a subject. He came to us with a very serious face and said: We learned important things from these gentlemen - whom we were guests of. He said: When we talked about the assembly with them, we asked them how your assembly is, how many members it has, when it is formed, and how its president is elected? It turned out that their national assembly is composed of individuals who are formed by the party organizations affiliated with the government itself. That is, for example, five hundred or six hundred people are selected as members and representatives of the congress by the same party organizations. Then these individuals, whose gathering is called the national congress, hold a session twice a year!!

You see, in this country where their legislative assembly is only formed twice a year, who makes the law? Who has the authority to legislate? It is in the hands of those who are at the top of the government structure. If you ask what the name of your government is, they say: Democratic Socialist Government; that is, a people's government. Its name is people's, while in none of the affairs of that country do the people have any involvement, and these are the same people who brought the revolution to victory. The name of these countries is also revolutionary countries. All the revolutions we have seen in the world and the countries that have created a system based on a revolution were almost in the same shape that I mentioned.

In our country, from the first day, the revolution gave all roles in all matters to the people. That is, the assembly - which is the place of legislation - is formed by the people, and the representatives of the people go there, and no one has the right to impose a representative on the people. Not even one representative out of these two hundred and seventy people comes to the assembly without the votes of the people. The president - who is the executor of affairs and the manager and head of the country's administration - is elected by the people with their votes. They choose whoever they want. The choice is with the people.

The situation that the presidential elections in Iran have is not even in the Western democratic countries; because in those countries, parties line up against each other, and each party mentions someone as a candidate. The people who vote for that person are actually voting for that party, and many do not even know that person. For various economic and political and non-political reasons, they are supporters of this party, and because of supporting that party, they vote for the candidate of that organization, and they do not even know the candidate himself.

In Iran, it is not like this. In Iran, each of those who put the ballot paper in the box knows that person and votes for him as president. This period was like this. The two previous periods when I was president were like this. The period before that was also like this. In all these periods - which we have had five presidential elections so far - the people knew the person they voted for and voted for him. Therefore, in the selection of the legislative body, the people directly and directly intervene.

In the selection of the executive body and the head of the executive branch, the people themselves intervene. Even in the selection of the leader - although leadership is a divine position and subject to divine, spiritual, and real criteria - the people still have a role; as you observed, the Assembly of Experts, which are the representatives of the people, sit and determine and select someone. If the person selected by the Assembly of Experts is not accepted by the people, his leadership will not be established. Therefore, the individuals and the general public, in addition to indirectly - through the Assembly of Experts - determining the leader, also directly have an opinion and decision regarding the leader, and it is their opinion and decision and will that in fact makes a leader a leader and gives him the ability to command and the power to order and expand and contract. Of course, the way Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) was selected was not in the way I mentioned. In fact, the people's love for Imam (may God's mercy be upon him) and their obedience and following of him was more than their selection.

Here, the support and presence of the people in political and economic activities and military movement exist. If today, the government or one of the officials wants to take an action that the people do not approve of, they can stop it. The people are present everywhere. This is the characteristic of our revolution. No revolution in the world is like this. I say this with insight and close knowledge, and this is exceptional.

The result is that the system is a strong system; because it is popular. What can be removed by the superpowers is a government that is not reliant on the people. What can be removed and placed by the American intelligence agency in a country is a government or state that has no relationship with the people and does not have a strong, massive popular backing behind it. A government that a foreign enemy can incite and provoke four people against it to a coup is a government that sits on the throne of government, but the people are not connected to it. The people go their own way, and it moves on its own.

A system in which the ruler - whether the leader, the presidency, the head of the judiciary, or the Islamic Consultative Assembly - is reliant and connected to the people and is loved and supported by them is the Islamic Republic system, which neither America and its allies nor the East and West - when there were two great powers in the world - nor any power can dismantle or even shake this system and government.

Today in the Islamic Republic, two characteristics that are the desire of all nations exist in the best way: one is independence and the other is freedom. The independence of the Islamic Republic is rare in the world; if not unique. We know strong and large countries that are industrial and boastful and have various advancements, which despite all these characteristics, have made a deal with a country and sold a few items to a country and even received the money; but when they want to deliver the goods, the Americans from the other side of the world signal not to deliver, and this government no longer dares to deliver the goods! This country is European and industrial and advanced, and if you tell it you are not independent, the veins in its neck bulge!

We define independence correctly. Independence means the Islamic Republic and the situation we have today. No superpower or power in these eleven years has been able to impose the slightest thing on us in any of the affairs and matters. This is the concept of independence. No country has this independence. I want to say that even countries like America do not have this independence. Surely some will be surprised. No, it is not surprising. The American government is also dependent on international Zionist capitalists. Although those capitalists themselves may be American in nationality, the government is dependent. If a president in America takes a wrong step where the interests of the capitalists do not require it - like Kennedy and the like - they will remove him from the circle and destroy him.

Independence means what exists today in the Islamic Republic. No power, government, or organization in the world has been able to force this system to take a step contrary to what it deems its interest - the same that the officials determine. The freedom that exists today in the Islamic Republic system is nowhere else. People are free and express their opinions and express their views. It is the masses of people who have been present in Friday prayers and marches and in war and various ceremonies and in all things related to political and public issues. The people's words are the same words that we speak from their mouths. Their words are the same things that the officials trusted by the people say from the people's mouths. They themselves repeat the same things.

In the Islamic Republic, there have been and still are some from the beginning of the revolution who complain here and there and say: We do not have freedom! Where do they say this complaint? Do they say it in a closed room? In a system where there is oppression and no freedom, someone who does not have freedom cannot speak. If he wants to say I do not have freedom, he is forced to express this even in a back room and a private gathering - just as we were during the previous regime; but these gentlemen speak in a widely circulated newspaper and a magazine that may be printed in several thousand copies, even on the radio and television of the Islamic Republic, and say: We do not have freedom!! God exposed them by their own hands. The very fact that someone writes in a newspaper and it is printed and says we do not have freedom is proof that he is lying. If he did not have freedom, this statement should not have been printed or broadcast on the country's public loudspeaker. It is clear that he is saying something false and does not understand that he is discrediting himself.

They say: Those who come to Friday prayers are not the whole nation!! We say: Very well, what about those who are present in the million-strong march on the 22nd of Bahman? What about those who came to the funeral of the Imam and ten or eleven million people gathered in Tehran? Is that crowd the whole nation or not? The nation wanted Islam, wants the Islamic Republic, follows the leadership, stands behind the Islamic Republic system, and anyone who moves in the path of Islam and whose sincerity and honesty have been revealed to the people is trusted by the people, and the people stand behind him.

Dear brothers and sisters! What we conclude is that the past eleven years have shown us the successful experience of the Islamic Republic. The fundamental issue for a nation, in the first place, is this independence and freedom. Of course, the price of gaining independence and freedom is heavy, it has difficulties and problems, and for a while, it also has the hardship of life. My perception is that we have either passed all this period or a significant part of it, and God willing, we are moving towards a better life. The condition is that the people who were on the scene and created and preserved this revolution remain on the scene, and you people will remain. This is as clear as day to me, and the eleven-year experience has shown this.

I, for my part, as a student and a small servant of yours and a small student of the Imam and a small soldier of the revolution and Islam, say that we will not spare any effort in the path of Islam and the life and pure Islamic life for you people and the Islamic society in the world, and no factor, by the grace of the Lord, will be able to divert us from this straight path and clear line. The important thing is to maintain adherence to Islam and not to fear or be afraid of the enemies of God and Islam. We have learned this lesson from the Commander of the Faithful Ali (peace be upon him) and from his worthy student and son - our dear Imam - and they have drawn this line for us, and God willing, we will move forward.

Maintain unity, piety, fear of God, remembrance of God, and adherence to divine commands in all matters wherever you are, and keep your "Allahu Akbar." Keep enmity with the enemies of God in your hearts and maintain the motivation to serve Islam and Muslims throughout the world and work and strive to build this country of Islam and the Guardian of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him). Know that with these characteristics, no power will be able to do anything. On the day when there were two superpowers in the world and they could join hands and repeatedly did join hands, they could not deviate this nation from its path even a little and cause real harm to it. Today, too, when in fact, one of the two superpowers has fallen from superpower status, and the other is staggering and does not know what situation is happening in the world, and nations are moving towards greater awareness, by the grace of the Lord, the devils of the world will not be able to do anything.

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

By time. Indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.

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

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and the pure, chaste, and infallible family, especially the remaining proof of God on earth. I advise you, servants of God, to fear God and organize your affairs.

Let me mention just two short sentences: One is about the situation of Resolution 598, which the whole world should know that the Iraqi regime, contrary to its claims of seeking peace, was only looking for a ceasefire to save itself. This is something we have said many times in this sacred place of Friday prayers over the past few years. When they said: We want peace, the world told us: Why don't you accept? We said: They do not want peace; they are looking for a ceasefire to save themselves. This issue has now been proven.

Naturally, they also say to make themselves acceptable and justified that the Islamic Republic does not accept; but the realities are clear. Those who are wise can understand the issue without even a little reflection. Saddam Hussein has bad intentions and does not show good intentions. The situation he has created reduces confidence in the establishment of peace in the region. Of course, we find it unlikely that they would be so foolish as to want to ignite the fire of war again; because it is more to their detriment. But even if the war does not start, peace has not been established in the region, and there is no tranquility.

This is the situation they have created, and the way is to implement the resolution. The resolution is not divine revelation; but it is something that has been agreed upon. Whoever wants to undermine it, in fact, intends to cause disruption and sabotage. The excuses they present are all of this kind and in this way. They raise the issue of prisoners. We say: If you had implemented the resolution, the prisoners would now be in their homes. In fact, it is you who have kept the prisoners; because you are disrupting the implementation of the resolution.

The second point is that over the past eleven years, whenever global organizations have been very afraid of the influence of the Islamic Republic's word among nations, they have accused the Islamic Republic of several things. We understand their game. Whenever we see these accusations spreading widely in the world, we understand that the forces of global arrogance are very afraid of the influence of the Islamic Republic's word. There may be events in various places that we are not aware of, but they are informed and afraid, and they line up these accusations:

One accusation is the connection with Israel; because they know that Muslim nations are sensitive to the usurping Israel, and they also know that the government that is truly and sincerely in harmony with Muslim nations is, first and foremost, the Islamic Republic. They know that our late great Imam, from the early days of the movement, made the struggle against Israel a fundamental pillar of the movement. For this reason, to reduce the influence of the Islamic Republic among nations, they create a news, rumor, and whisper and say that somewhere, someone bought something from someone and sold something; one from the Islamic Republic and one from Israel!

This is one of those accusations that they always said, and strangely and ironically, the same people who raise these accusations in a sensational manner have open or secret relations with Israel themselves! Some of these reactionary governments in the region, which have secret and hidden relations with Israel, raise this issue in their radios in a sensational manner. We announce that not even for one day or one hour have we had friendship, affection, or the smallest and weakest type of relationship with the usurping, illegal, and wicked government of Israel, and we will not have it.

The third and last point is that we support the Islamic awakening throughout the world and endorse Muslims who want to return to their Islamic life and culture in various parts of the world; because it is their right. What is heard in the world today is not all the same. The slogans do not all point to the same truth. The judgment about the issues of Muslims in the world is not a uniform judgment for all; but what is respected for us is the return to Islam by Muslims. Today, the Muslims of the world have the right to honor and cherish Islam and the Quran, and they will honor and cherish them, and they will return to Islamic life, and efforts and suppressions will have no benefit.

The mercenary hands try to conspire culturally and propagandistically - like the conspiracy of writing the book "The Satanic Verses" by that mercenary pen for hire - to remove the value of Islam from the eyes and make Islam trivial and insignificant; but they are mistaken, they harm themselves. The one who wrote this book - which is, of course, an example - and our great Imam issued the ruling and fatwa for his execution, this ruling of the Imam remains in force and must be executed.

I greet all the oppressed peoples and all the sons of our Islamic nation, men and women, with the greeting of Islam. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.

I congratulate you on the anniversary of the birth of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), the caller to monotheism and justice, the fighter in the path of God with true jihad, the one born in the Kaaba, and the martyr of the mihrab, and I congratulate you on the eleventh anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the torch of liberation for oppressed peoples, the banner of confronting the global system of domination, and the voice of monotheism and human dignity.

The Islamic Revolution, which our people celebrate its eleventh anniversary, is a unique and great event that occurred despite all the preventive plans devised by the tyrants of the world, and it continued its path despite all the deep-seated hatred and intense hostility surrounding it. Rather, by the grace of God, it has increased in strength and solidity over the days, despite all the analyses and expectations.

This Islamic revolution was not merely a change of a political and social system for a country, nor was it just the overthrow of a system and its replacement with another system. It was a turning point in the course of contemporary history. This course, which was heading towards materialism and the confiscation of spiritual and moral values, towards distancing religion and establishing the dominance of rampant material forces, and towards concentrating hegemony in the hands of the tyrants of the global system of domination, changed its direction towards the blossoming of spirituality, connection with religion, the crystallization of popular governments, the shaking of the foundations of the tyrants' hegemony, and the collapse of the edifice of the despotic, atheistic, and inhuman system.

Therefore, this blessed revolution - even if it did not stand in confrontation with the social and political system of a country - it is in a strict confrontation with the global system of domination. It did not only confront the corrupt, tyrannical system ruling in Iran, but it confronted the corrupt entity of the tyrannical forces hostile to the peoples, and it is obvious that this does not mean declaring war on corrupt and oppressive governments and systems, but it means the spread of awakening on a global scale and the blossoming of hope in the hearts of the peoples, and therefore the arrogant forces relying on oppression and wealth, and working to spread what global arrogance does of material values, led by America, declared an all-out war in all dimensions on this revolution and its ideological foundation represented by the authentic Muhammadan Islam (peace be upon him and his family) and on its leader Imam Khomeini (may God's mercy be upon him) and on its burden-bearers from the Iranian people, and this war is still ongoing, and I declare with confidence and determination that global arrogance has been defeated in this war, and the clearest evidence of this is the survival and strength of this revolution and the Islamic Republic system and the spread of the principles of this revolution throughout the world.

The past eleven years - although short in the age of time - are very significant for us, the people of Iran, for what we have drawn and learned from struggle, patience, and lessons, and what we have drawn from Quranic lessons, and what we have touched of God's power and will in this universe. Today, we are determined to continue the path of the revolution with confidence in the future greater than what we had at the beginning of the journey, because it is based on the experiences of the eleven years, and with readiness greater than our readiness at the beginning because it is also based on those experiences.

After the journey of our great Imam - which was a great loss for the Iranian people due to his great personality - the enemy harbored hope in the deviation of the state's path in Iran from the path of the revolution, and when it saw on the practical level what disappointed it, it began to spread in its media the occurrence of such deviation, hoping to spread despair in the hearts of the peoples from the revolution and the noble Islamic system. And we declare here that these hopes will remain a regret in their hearts by God's will and power, and then they will be defeated. And in order to dispel the hopes pinned on this revolution and the Islamic Republic system, the enemy began to accuse the revolution of surrendering to the enemies of Islam and of establishing relations with America and Israel, and we declare that the struggle against the Zionist enemy government and the defense of the oppressed Palestinian people's struggle and the usurped Palestinian land is an inseparable part of the beliefs of the Islamic revolution.

Building our country on the basis of an Islamic economy based on justice and general welfare, unleashing the energies of work, creativity, and production, unlocking the keys to the treasures of the earth, and eradicating poverty is an urgent duty to which we dedicate all our energies, but alongside that, we are concerned with preserving the other Islamic principles and axes of the revolution with complete caution and utmost precision.

We consider the defense of all Muslims in the world and the defense of the sacred realm of Islam in all parts of the earth as part of our great mission, and therefore all those who plot against Islamic values and violate the sanctity of Islam through cultural and artistic conspiracy fall within the list of enemies.

And here I declare that the ruling of the Imam (may God's mercy be upon him) regarding the writer of "The Satanic Verses," who is himself an agent of the great Satan and the devils of global politics, that ruling is still in effect and all Muslims bear the responsibility of its execution.

Once again, I greet all the brothers and sisters from the Islamic world and from the oppressed peoples of the earth and rekindle hope in their hearts by reminding them of God's saying: "In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. God has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me." (Quran 24:55)

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

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