The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 5, 2008 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the officials in charge of Hajj Affairs.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I wholeheartedly pray to Allah the Exalted to bestow His blessings on your efforts. I hope that these sincere efforts - which are being made to get closer to Allah - will lead to the outcomes you intend to achieve, that is, a genuine Islamic pilgrimage that is to be satisfactory to the immaculate soul of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) of Islam.
Hajj is an opportunity that Allah the Exalted has bestowed on us. It is an opportunity for both the individual Muslim and the great Islamic Ummah. It is also an opportunity for the Islamic Republic that has raised the flag of Islamic leadership and sharia. We must all make the best of this opportunity.
For the individual Muslim, hajj is an opportunity to enter the vast world of spirituality, to get rid of the imperfections of daily life, and to enter a sincere, spiritual atmosphere. It is an opportunity to get closer to Allah and to practice voluntary asceticism. From the very beginning of the hajj rituals, pilgrims avoid the ordinary things that are permissible in daily life. Ihram is to consider as haraam things that are ordinarily permissible in everyday life. Some of these things that have been declared halal prepare the ground for lack of vigilance and some others bring about decadence.
During the hajj rituals, all the means of material and superficial pride are taken away from us. First, we lose our ordinary clothes. All pilgrims lose their ordinary clothes and social status and wear the same uniform. During ihram, pilgrims are not allowed to look at themselves in a mirror because this is indicative of a tendency towards narcissism. They are also not allowed to use perfume because it is a means of attracting attention. Pilgrims are not allowed to escape from sun and rain. Also they are not allowed to take shelter under a roof because all these acts signify a tendency towards laziness and luxury. Pilgrims are advised against pinching their nostrils when they go through a stinky place. These acts as well as all the other acts related to ihram take away all the means of material and superficial pride from us. Ihram is to consider as haraam the ordinary things that bring about luxury and sensual desires and give rise to arrogance and discrimination. During ihram, all these acts are avoided.
Then pilgrims enter Masjid al-Haram and feel its glory with their hands, eyes, and all their being. The glory of Masjid al-Haram is not because of its material attractions. Its glory cannot even be described by ordinary human beings. Afterwards, pilgrims go around the Ka'aba along with many other people while they are involved in dhikr and dua. Then the pilgrims go through the other rituals of hajj.
Quoting me, some of the friends mentioned that the pilgrims must have a comfortable journey, but this comfort is not the same as indulging in luxury. During the past years, I have always told the officials in charge of hajj affairs that this comfort is a means of involving oneself in spirituality and getting closer to God. You must prepare the ground for this kind of comfort so that the pilgrims can easily perform this religious duty in the best possible way. That is what I mean by comfort. Delicious food and ample sleep are not part of this comfort. I do not approve of this kind of comfort and I think we must not seek this sort of comfort during hajj.
Hajj is not an opportunity for having fun. It is a spiritual journey. Hajj is a journey towards Allah while the soul and body are together. This journey is not a material journey for mystics. It is a spiritual journey. Hajj is an opportunity to experience a material and spiritual journey. It is not right to go on this journey and leave our hearts behind. Those who have had the opportunity to go on this journey several times must guard against a gradual loss of its spiritual effects. They must beware of becoming unenthusiastic and failing to engage in a spiritual revolution.
God bless the late Sheik Mohammad Bahari - I think one of these days there is going to be a commemoration ceremony on the occasion of his demise anniversary. In one of his works, he has written that dua, dhikr, and prayers can make the heart ruthless when they are repeated without paying attention to their meaning. Why is that? That is because our hearts are inattentive during prayers. Therefore, prayers can be accompanied by attentiveness, which cause the heart to get tender, pure, and closer to Allah. On the other hand, prayers can also be performed without any attention, in which case - according to Sheik Mohammad Bahari - the heart becomes ruthless.
This is true of hajj as well. The rituals of hajj have to be performed attentively. As is mentioned in the Holy Quran, hajj is only "a certain number of days" [The Holy Quran, 2: 184], "on appointed days" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28]. Hajj provides us with an opportunity to practice leading a simple life. That is to say, during hajj one realizes that it is possible to lead a simple life. During hajj, one realizes that it is possible to ignore ostentation and material pleasures. This is not to say that we should spend all our lives as if we were in ihram. On the contrary, one must make use of the material blessings that God has declared permissible. However, dependence on material pleasures and feeling impatient in their absence are sometimes considered irremediable. We must dispel this illusion. We must realize that it is possible to spend part of our life, day, and midnight without these material blessings, while engaging in spiritual purification. This is something that pilgrims can practice and learn on hajj. During hajj, pilgrims realize that it is possible to do without material blessings. Therefore, hajj is a great opportunity.
As the officials in charge of hajj affairs, you must make sure to help Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims to understand this opportunity. You must encourage them to make the best of this opportunity. This is one of the most important responsibilities that the officials in charge of hajj affairs have to take on. Not all pilgrims may realize the fact that hajj is a golden opportunity. Pilgrims have to realize that there are many people who wish to have this opportunity for a single day. There are many people across the world, who wish to go on hajj. Those who have this opportunity must appreciate it. This is the individual aspect of hajj on the basis of which the responsibilities of the officials in charge of hajj are specified. That is what I wanted to say about the first opportunity that hajj provides for us.
The second opportunity is one that has to be taken by the Islamic Ummah. That is because the Islamic Ummah is inherently susceptible to a number of splits due to the large number of races, ethnicities, cultures, geographical differences, and various tendencies that are embedded in it. Islam was not to be introduced to a particular race, culture, or geographical area. Islam was to be introduced to the entire humanity. Human beings are different in terms of their skin color, language, habits, tendencies, and historical and geographical differences. Therefore, the Islamic Ummah is susceptible to potential discord. Such discord must not be allowed to show up. Hajj is a great opportunity for the Islamic Ummah to restore its unity in spite of these natural-and sometimes artificial and imposed-differences.
Hajj is a great opportunity for the Islamic Ummah. Take a ten-year period and try to estimate the number of male, female, educated, and undereducated Muslims with different tendencies who take part in hajj from different parts of the world - such as Africa, Asia, and Europe. If this great congregation of Muslims come together under the Islamic call to unity, a great outcome will be achieved. All causes of discord would fade out. Sunni and Shia Muslims would live together peacefully. Different Shia and Sunni denominations as well as other Islamic denominations have various tendencies, which would normally cause splits among them. However, all these differences can be resolved through hajj. Hajj helps create an integrated Muslim community.
Let me digress for a moment and point out that it is a pity that some people take this means of unity and turn it into a means of discord. I address this point to all pilgrims. I do not mean to address this to the prejudiced Salafi-Takfiris in Medina who shout insults at what you hold sacred. Everyone must pay attention to this point. The officials in charge of hajj - the accompanying clergymen and the executive officials in charge of hajj - must beware not to turn this means of unity into a means of discord and fill the hearts of Muslims with pain and spite towards one another. I am not going to pinpoint all the potential causes of discord. I will leave it to you to figure out the things that make non-Shia Muslims spiteful towards their Shia brothers. You must identify the causes of discord and eradicate them. Hajj is a means for creating unity and unifying the Muslim nation. You must not allow hajj to turn into a means for causing discord and spite. You have to be extremely cautious to identify these causes and their manifestations. This is not a simple matter.
The third opportunity is for the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic has been oppressed. Let me tell you - I have repeated this for many years - that the Islamic Republic is a government that embodies all the principles of spiritual power. The Islamic Republic is powerful, but it has been oppressed. Being oppressed and powerful are not contradictory. There are several reasons why the Islamic Republic is considered oppressed. One of the reasons is that the enemies of the Islamic Republic have leveled various allegations against it in order to prevent its ideology from being spread among the great Muslim communities. They have resorted to different types of allegations - from ideological and intellectual allegations to allegations against different denominations, politics, and executive affairs. They criticize us for acting, talking, and thinking the way we do. They have been repeating these allegations for thirty years. The officials in charge of hajj, whose hearts are brimful of faith in the Islamic Republic, shoulder a great responsibility in this regard. This great duty is to explain the realities to your Muslims brothers who have been exposed to these types of propaganda. You must clarify the Islamic teachings as well as the principles of the Islamic Republic for them.
The Islamic Republic is an "Islamic" republic system. The majority of our people are Shia Muslims, but the Islamic Republic is comprised of both Shia and Sunni Muslims. The reason is that our Sunni compatriots as well as a large number of Sunni Muslims living across the world supported us before and after the Islamic Revolution and during the Sacred Defense Era. They stood up for us and some of them gave their lives for this cause. That is the reality behind the Islamic Republic.
In Muslim countries in Africa, Asia, and different parts of the world - and even at the heart of the United States of America which has been our most spiteful enemy - there are some non-Shia Muslims whose hearts are brimful of love for the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini (r.a.), and our great, determined nation. That is all because the Islamic Republic has been an Islamic republic. They are trying to stand the reality on its head. They are trying to label the Islamic Republic as opposed to different Islamic denominations. You must go and explain the realities. Our Muslim brothers and sisters living across the world must know that our country belongs to them. They must know that the event which took place in our country was one that all Muslims would desire wholeheartedly. There are no Muslims who do not want the world to live under the rule of the Holy Quran. Our people live under the rule of the Holy Quran and Sharia in this country.
Is there anyone in the world of Islam who is not deeply dissatisfied with the domination and influence of the infidels and foreigners over Muslim countries? The hearts of Muslims are filled with pain, but they cannot talk. They are not allowed to talk. The Islamic Republic is the means through which the stifled shouts of the Muslims nations are being expressed strongly.
That is the reason why the arrogant powers are opposed to the Islamic Republic. That is the reason behind the US enmity towards us. We are expressing the heartfelt feelings of the Muslim nations. The few corrupt governments [that are currently ruling some Muslim nations] are not the whole of what we call Muslim nations. Muslim nations are tired of the domination, interference, and arrogance of the US. Muslim nations are tired of American and non-American arrogance, but they cannot do anything about it. These feelings are being expressed by the officials serving at different levels of the Islamic Republic system. These are the exquisite realities that are being expressed by the Islamic Republic. You must express these realities across the world of Islam and the Muslim nations. Of course the scope of this duty must not be limited to a number of particular individuals - such as students who are studying in Muslim countries and who are directly in touch with the realities. All the people must have access to these realities. These are some of the opportunities to express the realities of the Islamic Republic.
Of course I believe we must not improve our outward appearance and leave our inward nature untouched. I really believe that our first duty is to improve our inner selves. We must improve our spiritual qualities and our national living conditions.
We ourselves are responsible for building our country. Our nation is faithful and determined. Our nation is determined and sincere. However, there are some individuals and groups - the so-called political elite and other individuals - that are trying to cause an atmosphere of political turbulence in the country. They are trying to remove sincerity from society. They are trying to cause distress and doubt among the people.
It was the Iranian nation that helped this Revolution to achieve victory. This impressive and strong government was founded by the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has protected the Islamic Republic for thirty years. These are indicative of the faith and determination of our nation.
These achievements have not been accomplished easily. These achievements would have been impossible to accomplish in the absence of national determination and sacrifices. We must not question the entire government just because we are opposed to a certain individual, administration, or executive official. Unfortunately, certain political intellectuals are currently doing just that.
The current atmosphere prevailing in the national press and the current political atmosphere are not satisfactory at all. We must set Islam as the model for our acts, behavior, and stance. We must know that the Islamic Republic, divine blessings, and divine grace will continue to benefit us only as long as we adhere to the principles. Allah will not bless us for nothing. I have said this many times before and I would like to repeat that Bani Isra'il has been constantly mentioned in the Quran. "O Children of Israel, call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations." [The Holy Quran, 2: 47]. Allah made them excel other people. However, the same Bani Isra'il was spoiled. They did not thank God for His blessings. "Be (as) apes, despised and hated." [The Holy Quran, 2: 65]. "And abasement and humiliation were stamped upon them." [The Holy Quran, 2: 61]. That is the way the Quran talks about them.
We can benefit from divine blessings only when we are careful about what we do and say. The unprincipled atmosphere in which different objections are being made against the administration and individuals is not something that Allah the Exalted will pass over easily. There are some people who make mistakes and are punished by Allah. "And guard yourselves against an affliction which may not smite those of you exclusively who are unjust." [The Holy Quran, 8: 25]. That is the punishment for some actions. There are some actions the consequences of which plague the whole community, and not just the one who perpetrates them. Sometimes people have to suffer because some individuals have been unfair in their acts, judgment, or speech. We must be cautious about such things.
All of us - both the pilgrims who go on this religious journey and the rest of us who pray and wish that the pilgrimage be accepted by Allah - must consider hajj as a lesson. May God bestow on us the blessing to make the best of the lessons of hajj.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings