The following is the full text of the speech delivered on March 15, 2009 by Ayatollah Khamenei the leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and Imam Sadiq (a.s.).
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to congratulate you honorable audience, government officials, and high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic on this auspicious Eid. I also congratulate the dear guests who have come here to celebrate Unity Week, ambassadors of Islamic countries, the entire Iranian nation, Muslims living in different parts of the world, and all the broad-minded people throughout the world as well as the entire humanity.
According to the famous traditions narrated by Shia hadith narrators, today is the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) as well as Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.), who was born in 83 AH. Today is a great day for the world of Islam.
The birth of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) is not just a historical reality. It was an event that determined the path of humanity. The phenomena that took place at the time of his birth and were recorded in history are a clear sign pointing to the significance and reality of this event. According to some traditions, the birth of the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) was a setback for all manifestations of atheism and polytheism throughout the world.
The Zoroastrian Temple of Fars, which had kept its fire alight for a thousand years, went out when the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was born. Idols collapsed in temples, leaving the servants of the temples wondering what was happening. That was the symbolic blow that the Prophet's (s.w.a.) birth dealt to atheism, polytheism, and materialism. In addition, the castles of the oppressive kings of the polytheistic Persian Empire were shaken. The battlements - fourteen battlements - of the Castle of Madaen collapsed. That was another clear sign pointing to the fact that the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) birth was a preface to fighting evil in the world. This birth had a spiritual as well as a practical aspect to it - that is, moral, intellectual, and social guidance of humanity. Fighting oppression, uncontrolled passions, and unlawful rule of oppressors over people were all the symbolic meanings of the Prophet's (s.w.a.) birth.
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) has described in many parts of Nahj al-Balagha the time before the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was born. Specifically, he said, "the world lost its light and pride appeared." There was no light for humanity. People lived in a dark era. Ignorance, rebellion, and misguided beliefs - whose manifestations were most obvious where the Prophet (s.w.a.) was born and subsequently chosen as the Prophet of Islam, Jaziratul Arab [Arab Island] - pervaded the lives of the people. All the manifestations of darkness and misguided beliefs were represented in one form or another in Mecca and Jaziratul Arab.
Misguided beliefs, polytheism that brings humiliation on mankind, savage social behavior, and brutal actions were examples of the norms at the time the Prophet (s.w.a.) was born and chosen as the Prophet of Islam. "And when the birth of a daughter is announced to one of them, his face becomes black and he is full of wrath. He hides himself from the people because of the evil of what is announced to him. Shall he keep it with disgrace or bury it (alive) in the dust? Now surely evil is what they judge!" [The Holy Quran, 16: 58-59]. That is an example of human morality at the time the Prophet (s.w.a.) was born and chosen as the Prophet. "And then there was guidance from misguided beliefs and light from darkness." Mankind was blind, but the Prophet (s.w.a.) made it see.
Darkness pervaded the world until the Prophet (s.w.a.) enlightened it. That is the significance of the Prophet's (s.w.a.) birth and being chosen as the Prophet of Islam. Not only Muslims, but all humanity has benefited from this divine blessing.
Although the Prophet's (s.w.a.) message has not been conveyed to the entire humanity yet, this radiant beacon of guidance is still alight and will gradually lead humanity towards the ultimate source of light throughout years and centuries. You can see this trend if you take a look at the events that took place after the time Prophet Mohammad (s.w.a.) was born and chosen as the Prophet. Humanity has moved towards moral values since then. Humanity has become acquainted with moral values. This trend will become more widespread and stronger on a daily basis until it engulfs the entire world by Allah's favor. "That He may make it prevail over all religions, though the polytheists are averse." [The Holy Quran: 9: 33].
This will continue until mankind starts its true journey on the divine path of righteousness, which will mark the beginning of the life of humanity. That day will mark the end of divine proof for humanity and mankind will keep moving on the broad path of righteousness.
As the members of the Muslim Ummah, we have been presented with this great blessing and we must make use of it. We must enlighten our hearts, faith, thoughts, and lives through the blessing of this holy religion. We must enlighten our world. Islam is a source of light and insight. We can get close to it and benefit from it. That is the responsibility of all Muslims.
Unity, which is among the greatest and the most important duties of all Muslims, is one of the issues that I will stress today. The week leading to Rabi al-Awwal 12 was named as Unity Week at the beginning of the Revolution. That was because according to famous traditions narrated by our Sunni brothers, Rabi al-Awwal 12 marks the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). But according to famous traditions narrated by the Shia, the Prophet's birth anniversary falls on Rabi al-Awwal 17. At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian nation and government officials named the period between these two dates as Unity Week. They wanted Unity Week to be a symbolic representation of unity among Muslims. But it is not enough to choose names and talk about things. We must engage in action. We must move towards unity. The world of Islam is in need of unity today. There will be obstacles and sources of discord, but we must overcome these obstacles.
All great aspirations require serious efforts. No great aspiration can be achieved in the absence of serious efforts. Unity among Muslims is not an exception: It requires efforts. It is our duty to make efforts to create unity in the world of Islam. This unity can solve many problems. It can bring about glory for Muslim nations and communities. Consider the current situation of the Muslim countries in the world. Look at the situation of Muslims, who currently make up one fourth of the entire world population. However, their role in world politics, even in their internal affairs, is far less important than the role of foreign governments and superpowers with evil intentions.
The fact that I constantly advise our people and my audience against foreigners is not just because superpowers are foreigners. Rather that is because they have evil intentions. They seek to dominate us. They seek to humiliate Muslim nations and force them into complete conformity. There are over fifty Muslim countries in the world. How can these Muslim countries stand up to these gross evil intentions of domination? Is there any way other than unity? We must get closer. There are two major obstacles to unity and we must think of a way to remove them.
There is the internal obstacle that is the result of denominational bias. This bias affects all groups of people. We must overcome this bias. Having faith in one's creeds is laudable. It is also good to insist on these creeds. But this faith must not cross the line between logical argumentation and aggressive rejection of others' beliefs. Our brothers who are part of the Muslim Ummah must treat each other with respect. They have a right to adhere to their own beliefs, but they must respect others, their rights, and their beliefs.
Muslims must leave ideological debates to scholarly meetings. Ulama and scholars may engage in religious debates. But there is a difference between religious debates at scholarly meetings and an exchange of insults in public and in front of an audience who are not capable of scholarly analysis. Ulama and government officials must keep this under control. That is a duty that lies on the shoulders of all groups of Muslims, both Shia and Sunni. Muslims must move towards unity. This ideological bias is an internal obstacle to unity.
One external obstacle to unity is the efforts on the part of the enemies of Islam to foment discord. We must be totally vigilant against such efforts. These efforts are not a recent issue. They came into being the day the dominant political powers in the world realized that they could influence other nations. But these goals are being currently pursued more vigorously than ever before. The modern means of communication have helped further their goals. These people try to foment discord. They coin incendiary slogans to create discord. We must be vigilant. Unfortunately, some people in Muslim countries act as a tool in the hands of the spiteful enemies who seek to harm us.
What happened in Lebanon and Palestine can teach us many lessons. Two years ago when the Lebanese resistance forces and the youth of Hezbollah inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Zionist regime, which was considered a victory for the world of Islam, the enemies immediately brought up the issue of Shia and Sunni and started to strengthen religious bias in Lebanon, in the Middle East, and in the entire world of Islam. They pretended as if it was a new issue. That was because the Muslim Ummah had almost achieved unity thanks to that great victory. They sought to drive a wedge between Shia and Sunni Muslims. That goes back to two years ago. Two months ago the Muslim Ummah gained another victory - that is, the victory of the Palestinian Resistance Movement over their Zionist enemies in Gaza.
That was a great and glorious victory. What victory can be more impressive than defeating a powerful army that had managed to defeat three powerful armies between 1967and 1973? What could be more impressive than 22 days of futile efforts of a powerful army against the resisting youth and persistent soldiers of Gaza? The Zionist army was forced to retreat empty-handed. In addition, the Zionist regime and its supporters, especially the US, were disgraced in the world. They were publicly disgraced. That was a great victory for all Muslims. It led Muslims to a kind of unity. This time they could not resort to the Shia-Sunni conflict. They brought up the issue of ethnicity this time. They started a debate, arguing that the Palestinian issue was an Arab issue and that non-Arabs had no right to get involved in the issue. The Palestinian issue is an Islamic issue. It is not peculiar to Arabs or non-Arabs.
If ethnicity was dragged into the matters of importance to the world of Islam, the greatest source of discord would be created. When ethnicity is dragged into the matters of importance to the world of Islam, Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Kurds, Indonesians, Malaysians, Pakistanis, and Indians will have to be separate from one another. What will remain of the Muslim Ummah if such a thing happens? Is it not a disaster for the Muslim Ummah and its collective capabilities?
These are the machinations of arrogant powers and, unfortunately, some people in the world of Islam have fallen for these machinations. They do not want to let the sweet memory of the victories in Lebanon and Gaza remain in the minds of Muslims. They found that situation unpleasant and, therefore, they thought up a source of discord to separate Muslims from one another.
The Muslim Ummah must be vigilant. It must stand up to these enemies. The most important duty lies on the shoulders of Muslim politicians. Government officials and heads of Islamic countries must be vigilant. Some of the politicians of the world of Islam may act as the mouthpiece of the enemies, but we must not make a mistake in this regard. We will not make mistakes in detecting the major causes of discord. The politicians of the world of Islam may shout the slogans of the arrogant powers. It is the arrogant powers that are opposed to Islamic unity. Even if such divisive slogans are shouted by the members of the Islamic Ummah, we have to believe that these Muslims have fallen for the enemies' machinations. Those slogans do not belong to Muslims. They belong to the arrogant powers. We can recognize their slogans.
The most important duty lies on the shoulders of politicians and government officials of Muslim countries as well as Muslim intellectuals and those who can influence the hearts and minds of the people - namely, religious scholars, intellectuals, writers, journalists, poets, men of letters, and the scholars of the Muslim world. These people have to shoulder the major portion of the responsibility to inform the people of the causes that may disrupt the process of achieving this unity or take this firm divine handhold away from Muslims.
The Quran tells us clearly to "hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited." [The Holy Quran: 3: 103]. It is possible to "hold fast by the covenant of Allah" one by one, but the Quran has told us to do it "all together and be not disunited". We have been ordered to stick together and "be not disunited" even when adhering to the divine covenant. The Quran has advised us against adhering to this divine covenant one by one, let alone choosing to let go of the covenant or adhering to a satanic covenant. Muslims have to stay together and preserve their unity even when they are supposed to adhere to the divine covenant. That is the greatest issue for the world of Islam.
I hope Allah the Exalted will bestow success on all the members of the Muslim Ummah, Muslim nations, and Islamic governments. I hope He will make them realize the importance of this issue and help them show their understanding in action. May God bless the soul of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) who called Muslims to unity in our time. I hope Allah the Exalted will further acquaint our hearts with the divine call. Hopefully, the future of the Muslim Ummah will be far better than its present situation.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings