Statements on the Birth Anniversary of the Noble Prophet (PBUH)

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

I congratulate all of you esteemed attendees, the officials of the country, the high-ranking managers of the Islamic Republic, the dear guests of the Unity Week, the ambassadors of Islamic countries, and all the people of Iran and Muslims around the world, indeed to all the free people of the world and to the community of humanity.

Today, according to the well-known narration of Shia scholars, is the day of the birth of the Seal of the Prophets, and this day is also the birthday of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) in the year 83 AH, which is a very significant day for the Islamic world.

The birth of the Noble Prophet is not merely a historical event; it is a decisive event that determines the course of humanity. The phenomena that were witnessed at the time of this great birth, according to historical accounts, are significant indicators of the meaning and truth of this birth. It has been narrated that at the time of the birth of the esteemed Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), the signs of disbelief and polytheism in various parts of the world were disrupted. The fire temple of Fars, which had not been extinguished for a thousand years, was extinguished at the time of the Prophet's birth. The idols in the temples fell down; and the monks and servants of the idol-worshipping temples were bewildered, asking what kind of event this was! This is the symbolic blow of this birth against polytheism and disbelief and materialism. On the other hand, the palace of the tyrants of the polytheistic Iranian empire at that time faced an incident; the pillars of the palace of Madain - fourteen pillars - collapsed. This is another symbolic indication that this birth is a precursor and a foundation for the struggle against tyranny in the world; a struggle against the tyrants. That aspect of spirituality and the guidance of the heart and mind of humanity, this aspect of social and practical guidance for all of mankind. The struggle against oppression, the struggle against tyranny, the struggle against the illegitimate rule of oppressors over the people; these are symbolic indications of the Prophet's birth. And Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in Nahj al-Balagha describes the time in which the Prophet - this shining sun - appeared and rose, with multiple statements. Among them, he says: "And the world was darkened by light, manifesting deception"; (1) there was no light in the environment of human life; people lived in the darkness of life; the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of tyranny, the darkness of misguidance, which of course was manifested in the very place where the noble Prophet was born and then commissioned; that is, the Arabian Peninsula. All the darkness and misguidance had a sample in Mecca and the environment of the Arabian Peninsula. The intellectual and belief misguidance, that humiliating polytheism of humanity, up to that harsh social morality, up to that ruthlessness and hardness of heart that: "And when one of them is given the glad tidings of a female, his face becomes darkened and he is filled with grief, he hides from the people because of the evil of what he has been given the glad tidings of. Shall he keep it with humiliation or bury it in the ground? Evil is what they judge." (2) This is a sample of human morality at the time of the Prophet's birth and then during the Prophet's mission. "And after him was guidance from misguidance and light from blindness." (3) Humanity was blind, and it became seeing. The world was dark, and it was illuminated by the existence of the Prophet. This is the meaning of this great birth and then the mission of that great one. Not only are we Muslims indebted to God's grace and divine blessing because of this sacred existence, but all of humanity is indebted to this blessing.

It is true that the guidance of the Prophet has not yet encompassed all of humanity over the centuries; however, this radiant lamp, this ever-increasing flame among humanity exists and gradually over the years and centuries guides people towards this spring of light. And in the history after the Prophet's mission and the birth of that great one, if you look, you will observe the same management. Humanity has moved towards values, recognized values, and gradually this will expand, and its intensity will increase day by day; until, God willing, "He will make it prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists dislike it." (4) It will encompass the entire world, and humanity will begin its true movement on the path of guidance and the divine straight path, which is actually the beginning of human life from that day. The day when God's proof over the people will be completed and humanity will be placed on this great highway.

Today, we as the Islamic Ummah stand before this great blessing; we must utilize this blessing. We must illuminate our hearts, our religion, our thoughts, and also our world, our lives, and our environment with the blessings of the teachings of this sacred religion; because it is light, it is insight, we can draw ourselves closer to it and benefit from it. This is the general duty of us Muslims.

What I emphasize today, which is one of the great and primary duties of us Muslims, is the issue of unity. We have named this week leading up to the 17th of Rabi' al-Awwal as Unity Week since the beginning of the revolution, the reason being that the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal is the day of birth according to the well-known narration among Sunni brothers; and the 17th of Rabi' al-Awwal is the day of birth according to the well-known narration among Shia. The period between these two days has been designated as Unity Week since the beginning of the revolution, by the Iranian nation and the officials of the country, and this has been established as a symbol of unity among Muslims. However, naming alone is not enough; naming is not sufficient; we must act; we must move towards unity. Today, the Islamic world is in need of unity. There are factors of division; we must overcome those factors; we must prevail over those factors.

All great objectives require struggle. There is no great objective that can be achieved without struggle. Unity among Muslims will not be achieved without struggle. It is our duty to strive for the unity of the Islamic world. This unity can open many knots; it can honor Islamic societies and Muslim nations. Look at the situation of Islamic countries. Look at the situation of Muslims who today make up a quarter of the world's population; how weak their influence is in global politics, even in their own internal matters, compared to the influence of foreign powers and powers with ill intentions. This is not only due to the foreign nature of these powers - which we warn ourselves and our audiences about - they have ill intentions; they have motives of domination, they want to humiliate Islamic nations before themselves, crush them, and force them into absolute obedience. Well, these fifty-three Islamic countries, these Muslim nations, what is their way to stand against such clear, great, and tyrannical ill intentions? Is there any way other than unity? We must come closer together. There are two major and general factors against unity that must be addressed.

One factor is our internal factor: our prejudices, our adherence to our own beliefs; each group for itself. We must overcome this. Faith in our own principles and beliefs is a very good and commendable thing; insisting on it is also good; but this should not cross the line from affirmation to negation and be accompanied by aggression and enmity. Brothers who are part of the Islamic Ummah should maintain respect for one another; they want to preserve their own beliefs, they should preserve them; but they should respect others, the boundaries of others, the rights of others, and the sanctity of their thoughts and beliefs. Discussions and debates should be reserved for scholarly gatherings. Scholars and experts want to engage in religious debates, let them do so; but scholarly religious debate in a scientific gathering is different from public slander against one another, at the level of public opinion, in addressing thoughts that do not have the capacity for scientific analysis; this must be controlled by scholars; officials must control it. All Muslim groups have a duty in this regard. Shia also has a duty, Sunni also has a duty; they must move towards unity. This is one factor that is internal.

An external factor is the malicious hand of the divisive enemies of Islam. We must not be negligent of this. Not only today, but from the day that the dominant political powers in the world felt they could influence nations, this divisive hand has emerged and is today more intense than ever. The modern means of mass communication also helps. They are instigators; they are instigators; they create slogans for division. We must be aware; we must be vigilant. Unfortunately, some individuals within Muslim nations and countries become tools for the actions of those main enemies.

It is very instructive; you observe: two years ago, when the youth of the resistance in Lebanon and Hezbollah overcame Israel and humiliated the Zionist regime, this was considered a blossoming and a victory for Muslims in the Islamic world, immediately the divisive hands began to raise the issue of Shia and Sunni; they intensified religious prejudices; both in Lebanon, in the Middle East, and in the entire Islamic world. As if the issue of Shia and Sunni had just emerged! To separate the Muslim Ummah, which had come closer in the shadow of that great victory, from each other with the issue of Shia and Sunni. This was two years ago.

Two months ago, another victory for the Islamic Ummah occurred, and that was the victory of the Palestinian resistance over the Zionist enemy in Gaza, a great and brilliant victory. What greater victory is there than that an equipped army that had once been able to defeat three large armies of countries in the years sixty-seven to seventy-three AD, struggled for twenty-two days and could not force those resistant youths and these faithful fighters in Gaza to retreat and defeat them? They returned empty-handed, and in addition, the reputation of the Zionist regime and its supporters, at the forefront of which is America, was tarnished; their reputation fell to the ground. This was a great victory for Muslims; it brought Muslims closer together. Here, they could not raise the issue of Shia and Sunni. Now they have raised the issue of ethnicity; the issue of Arab and non-Arab; the dispute over whether the issue of Palestine is exclusive to Arabs and the insistence that it is exclusive to Arabs, so that non-Arabs have no right to intervene in the issue of Palestine! Why? The issue of Palestine is an Islamic issue; it has no distinction between Arab and non-Arab.

If ethnicity comes into play in the issues of the Islamic world, the greatest factor of division is created. When ethnicity is introduced into the issues of the Islamic world, they separate Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Indonesians, Malaysians, Pakistanis, and Indians; what remains? This is auctioning off the Islamic Ummah and the forces and capabilities of the Islamic Ummah.

These are the tricks of global arrogance that unfortunately some people in the Islamic world fall victim to. They do not want the sweetness of victory in that case of Lebanon and in this case of Gaza to remain in the mouths of Muslims; they immediately raise a factor of discord and division, creating it to separate them.

The Islamic Ummah must be awake; it must stand against these. The primary duty also falls on the shoulders of politicians. Officials and leaders of Islamic countries must be vigilant. This cry may come from the throats of some of our own politicians; but we do not make mistakes. We will not err in identifying the main factor of error. It comes from their throats, but it does not belong to them; the cry is the cry of others, related to the global arrogant powers. They are the ones who oppose the unity of the Islamic Ummah. Even if it comes from the throats of some within the Islamic Ummah, they have been deceived. This voice is not theirs. This is their voice; we recognize this voice. Primarily, politicians and officials, and importantly, thinkers, those who deal with the minds and hearts of the people; religious scholars, intellectuals, writers, journalists, poets, and scholars of the Islamic world, have this great duty to identify those fingers that want to disrupt this unity and take this divine strong bond from the hands of Muslims.

The Quran explicitly tells us: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah." (5) Hold fast to the rope of Allah together. Holding fast to the rope of Allah can also be done individually; but the Quran says: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah"; be together. "And do not be divided"; do not create division, even in holding fast to the rope of Allah; let alone that some want to hold fast to the rope of Allah, while others want to hold fast to the rope of Satan. Even holding fast to the rope of Allah, if everyone wants to do it, should be done "together"; with unity, this great issue of the Islamic world.

We hope that God Almighty grants all members of the Islamic Ummah and all Islamic nations and all Islamic governments the success to regard this important issue with its due weight, with the same amount of importance, and to implement it in practice. And may God's pleasure and mercy be upon the soul of our great Imam, who raised the cry of unity in our time and called Muslims to this unity. We hope that God Almighty makes our hearts more familiar with divine inspiration, with divine invitation; and that the future of the Islamic Ummah is far better than its past.

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