Statements at the Meeting with Officials of the System and Guests of the Islamic Unity Conference on the Blessed Anniversary of the Birth of the Prophet and Imam Ja'far Sadiq (Peace Be Upon Them)

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 Muhammad and his pure family, and upon his chosen companions, and upon those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

I congratulate you on the blessed birth of the Great Prophet, the Master of the Universe and the Leader of Creation in existence, Hazrat Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and also on the auspicious birth of Hazrat Abi Abdullah al-Sadiq, the son of [the Prophet] and the proof of God on earth during the period of Imamate. We hope that God grants all of us, all Muslims, and all the enlightened ones of the world the success to recognize the value of these blessings, to understand their greatness, and to strive to move along the same straight path that these pillars of existence have shown us.

The existential importance of the sacred existence of the Great Prophet is such that the Almighty God bestows a favor upon humanity for granting this blessing; "Indeed, God has bestowed a favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves." Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) expresses in Sahifa Sajjadiyya: "Praise be to God who has bestowed upon us Muhammad, His Prophet, above the past nations and the previous centuries." The divine favor for this great gift to humanity is explicitly stated in the Quran and the words of the infallible Imams; this is a great honor. "A mercy for the worlds" is an expression that the Almighty God has used for the Prophet, not "for a group of humans" or "for a collection of the worlds"; no, it is a mercy for all the worlds. The message that he has brought from the Almighty God is a gift to humanity; it provides this insight, this path for all individuals of humanity.

Of course, there are those who are the possessors of power, wealth, and might, who do not wish for this vast table of divine mercy to be utilized by all people; they oppose their power; therefore, they stand against this divine movement. Then the Almighty God says: "O Prophet, fear God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites"; be cautious of them; elsewhere He says: "O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh with them"; fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites. He says "strive"; He does not say "fight"; "fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites" [combat] is not always necessary, but striving is always necessary.

Sometimes striving is political, sometimes cultural, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, sometimes with weapons, sometimes with knowledge; all of these are striving, but in all of these, it must be noted that this striving is against the enemy, against the enemy of humanity, against those enemies who impose their heavy existence and their desires upon humanity relying on their power and wealth. Compromise with them has no meaning; "Fear God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites."

The noble verses of the Quran regarding the Prophet and the teachings that He gives to the Prophet, step by step and word by word, in building the nascent Islamic society, are very numerous. Our recommendation to ourselves, to our youth, to the promoters of religious matters, to those who hold the reins of people's thoughts, is to refer to all these verses, to see all these concepts in the Quran; it is a complete collection. The problem with our work is that we neglect the complete collection of divine teachings addressed to the Prophet and the description that God gives of the Prophet. If we place this complete collection before our eyes, then the correct behavior, the straight path that the Prophet has been on, will manifest before us. "Indeed, you are upon a straight path"; this straight path must be found.

Since our dear brothers and sisters from our country, from other countries, the esteemed guests of the Unity Conference, the honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries, from various Islamic sects - Shia, Sunni, from various schools and ways of thought - are present in this session and these words will be heard afterwards, what I find necessary and appropriate to express in this session is that dear brothers, dear sisters! Today, the Islamic world is suffering from great tribulations, and the solution to these tribulations is Islamic unity. Unity, synergy, helping one another, transcending sectarian and ideological differences. Today, the gaze of the system of global arrogance and colonialism towards the Islamic world is such that they try to distance the Islamic world from its unity as much as possible. This is a threat to them: one and a half billion Muslims, so many Islamic countries with so many resources, this extraordinary human force; if this [collective] is united and moves towards Islamic goals with unity, the powerful will no longer be able to beat the drum of power in the world; America will no longer be able to impose its will on countries, governments, and nations; the malignant and wicked Zionist network will no longer be able to grasp various governments and powers in its grip of authority and lead them in the direction of its own path and work; if Muslims are united, this is how it will be.

If Muslims are united, the situation of Palestine will not be as we observe today; today the situation of Palestine is difficult; Gaza is one way, the West Bank is another. The Palestinian nation is currently under severe daily pressure; they want to erase the issue of Palestine from minds and consign it to oblivion. They want to occupy the region of West Asia - including our countries - which is an extremely sensitive strategic region, both geographically and in terms of natural resources, as well as water passages; they want Muslims to stand against Muslims, Arabs against Arabs, targeting and destroying each other so that the armies of Muslim countries, especially those armies that are neighboring the Zionists, are weakened day by day; this is their goal.

Today, two wills in this region are in conflict: one will is the will of unity; one will is the will of division. The will of unity belongs to the believers; the cry for unity and the gathering of Muslims is raised from the sincere voices and calls upon Muslims to pay attention to their commonalities; if this happens and if this unity occurs, the situation that Muslims have today will no longer be like this, and Muslims will gain dignity. Today, you observe the massacre of Muslims from the farthest East Asia in Myanmar to West Africa in Nigeria and similar places; everywhere Muslims are [being killed]; sometimes at the hands of Buddhists, sometimes at the hands of Boko Haram and ISIS and similar groups. Some are also fanning the flames; the English Shia and the American Sunni are alike; they are both blades of the same scissors; their effort is to incite Muslims against each other; this is the message of the will of division, which is a satanic will; however, the message of unity is that they should transcend these differences, stand together, and work together.

If you look today at the statements that emerge from the arrogant powers and those who manipulate the vital spaces of nations, you will see that they call for division; it has long been said about the English policy that it is the policy of divide and rule; "Divide and you will rule, prosper by virtue of division"; when England had power, this was their policy; today, the material powers of the world have this policy; whether America or recently again England. The English have always been a source of evil in our region, always a source of misery for nations; the blows they have dealt to the lives of nations in this region may have no parallel in the world from any power. In the Indian subcontinent - which today includes India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan - they struck hard, they pressured the people; in Afghanistan in one way, in Iran in another way, in the region of Iraq in another way; ultimately, in Palestine, they carried out that ominous and wicked movement and displaced Muslims and actually a nation from its home; a historically registered country from thousands of years ago - called Palestine - was destroyed by English policies. In this region, for the past two centuries - a little over two centuries, since around 1800 - everything that has emerged from the English has been evil, corruption, and threat; then this English official comes here and says Iran is a threat to the region; Iran is a threat to the region? This requires a lot of shamelessness for those who have been a threat and danger to the region over time to accuse our oppressed and dear country; this is how they are.

Since the signs of Islamic awakening have been seen in this region, the activities to create division have increased; they saw division as a means to dominate nations. From the moment it was felt that new words, new Islamic thoughts, the steadfastness of nations, the revival and awakening of nations were emerging in this region, the divisive movements of the enemies increased; when the Islamic system stood up in Iran, which raised the flag of Islam, held the Quran high, and proudly declared that we act according to Islam and brought along power, politics, resources, and the armed forces and everything, and strengthened them day by day, this divisive movement intensified. They intensified this divisive movement to counter this Islamic uprising and this Islamic dignity. Islam was a source of danger for them when it gave awakening to the Muslim nation; however, that Islam which has no government, no army, no political apparatus, no wealth, and no great and striving nation is different from that Islam which has all of these. The Islamic Republic has a vast land, a striving nation, young people, motivated, faithful, rich mines, superior talents compared to the average of the world, and is moving towards knowledge and progress. Of course, such an Iran is a source of danger for them; [because] it creates a model in front of the Muslim nations; they are against this. Even if they claim softness at some point, it is a lie; their essence is violence. These must be understood, these must be recognized; for confronting this enemy - an enemy that has no ethics, no religion, no fairness; it adorns its appearance, [but] in essence, it is a complete savage - nations must be prepared.

In our view, the most important preparedness today is unity among Muslims. Muslims should beware of creating differences; it does not matter, all sects, Shia and Sunni alike. All Islamic sects must strive to overlook their ideological differences under the many commonalities that exist and to disregard them. The sacred existence of the Great Prophet is the focal point of the affections and interests of all Muslim nations. Everyone loves the Prophet; this is the focal point, this is the main point. The Quran is the focus of attention and belief for all Muslims; the honorable Kaaba is the same; how many commonalities exist among Muslims! They should pay attention to these commonalities; they should recognize the factors of the enemies, the factors of global arrogance in the region. Unfortunately, that explicit enemy comes and says, "You are enemies with each other, this country is a threat to you," meaning you are their enemy, and they are your enemy! He is the enemy who says this, it is clear; those who hear his words - [those] who live and govern in the appearance of Islam - why should they accept him? Why should they affirm his words? Why should the policies of some regional governments, unfortunately, follow the policies of the explicit enemies of Islam and the explicit enemies of the Islamic nation?

What I convey to our nation - to the dear nation of Iran, which has truly given a good test in the years following the establishment of the Islamic Republic and also in the years of struggle that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution - is that do not abandon this path, which is the path of our great Imam and the path of our revolution; follow this path. The dignity of the world and dignity in the highest assembly depend on following this path: the path of adherence to the Quran and the Ahlul Bayt, the path of adherence to divine laws, the path of standing against the enemies, the path of not hesitating in expressing the truth and defending the truth; this is the path that if our nation follows - which, thanks be to God, has followed it until today, has followed the leaders of the country, and has pursued this glorious path - if this path continues and this struggle continues, the world and the hereafter of this nation will be secured, and other Muslim nations can also benefit. We invite all Muslim governments and countries to synergy and to help one another, and this invitation is beneficial for all.

We hope that the Almighty God bestows His goodness, blessings, and mercy upon all members of the Islamic nation and upon all Islamic countries and upon all Islamic peoples, and may He, God willing, reduce the evil of the enemies from this region.

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