The following is the full text of the speech delivered on February 10, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with a group of government officials and ambassadors of Islamic countries.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to congratulate all the dear audience and the honorable brothers and sisters – particularly the esteemed foreign guests who have attended this meeting – on the auspicious birthday anniversaries of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and Imam Sadiq (a.s.). I would also like to extend my congratulations to the entire Islamic Ummah and the entire humanity, particularly the honorable people of Iran who have been present on the scene.
Thankfully, two great occasions have coincided this year: namely, these auspicious birthday anniversaries – which are a source of blessing and the key cause of the great and historic movement in the world of Islam – and the victory of the Islamic Revolution which was one of the outcomes of this great Islamic movement. The Iranian people will celebrate two Eids today. They will celebrate the birthday anniversaries of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and Imam Sadiq as well as the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. In fact the birth of the Islamic Revolution was a new Islamic occasion. At a time when the materialistic world and the materialistic hegemons thought they had managed to eliminate spirituality and religion – particularly, Islam – from the daily life of human beings, this great and historic voice was raised in this country, which both frightened the enemies of Islam, humanity and national independence and instilled hope into the hearts of the vigilant, aware and insightful friends. The day the Islamic Revolution broke out in Iran, nobody in the world would have thought the flag of Islam could be raised like this in such a region and in such a country which were under full control of the hegemons. Nobody in the world would have thought this Islamic movement would continue, develop and stand up against the enemies. Nobody in the world would have thought these things would happen.
The enemies of the Islamic Republic had promised themselves that they would bring the Islamic Republic to its knees in a couple of months or in a year, at most. And they tried their best to achieve this goal. Each and every day of the history of our Revolution holds a lesson for us. Each and every day of these years of hard work can be a lesson for other nations. In spite of all those plots and all those pressures exerted in different forms, the Iranian nation resisted under the leadership of that great man. Allah the Exalted had definitely entrusted in him a ray of the immaculate light of prophethood. Our magnanimous Imam, that great man, pursued the same path and the same movement. And the people of Iran proved their loyalty and sincerity: they remained on the scene, tolerated the pressures and overcame the enemy’s plots with their willpower. As a result, this immaculate tree was preserved. It put down roots and grew. And by Allah’s favor, it will grow more powerful on a daily basis. These are all blessings of Islam and the birth of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
In order to find the path of guidance, we Muslims only need to become familiar with the personality of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). Of course, we believe that the entire humanity should benefit from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and they do, but we members of the Islamic Ummah should be the first to do so. Allah the Exalted prepared him for the greatest mission in the history of mankind. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said, “The Almighty God educated His Messenger well and when he had educated him to perfection, he said: surely you have a great character. Then He entrusted him with the affairs of Islam and the Ummah so that he could educate His servants and manage their affairs.” Allah the exalted educated him and helped him improve. He provided him with all the means that he required for this great and historic achievement and then He put this heavy responsibility and this heavy and historic mission on his shoulders. Therefore, maybe we can say that today – which is the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal and the birthday anniversary of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) – is the greatest Eid in the history of mankind, a day on which Allah the Exalted bestowed this great gift on humanity and on the history of mankind. And the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) rose up relying on the tools he had been equipped with.
Today if we Muslims focus on the personality of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and if we are determined to learn lessons, this would be enough for our worldly and spiritual life. In order to restore our dignity, it is enough to consider his character and learn lessons from him. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was the embodiment of knowledge. He was the embodiment of trustworthiness. He was the embodiment of ethics. He was the embodiment of justice. What else does mankind need? These are what mankind needs. These are the needs that have not changed since the beginning. So many changes have taken place in the life of human beings since the creation of mankind, which have transformed the conditions of human life, but the main needs of humanity have remained unchanged. Since the beginning up until today, mankind has been after security and peace. Human beings have been after justice. They have been after good behavior. They have been after forming a firm bond with the Source of Creation. These are the main needs of mankind, which originate from human nature. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was the embodiment of all these needs. Today the Islamic Ummah needs all these characteristics. Today the Islamic Ummah needs scientific progress. It needs to firmly believe in God. We need healthy relationships and good behavior among ourselves. We should treat each other in a brotherly way. We should treat each other with mercy and patience. We need to be lenient towards each other. The Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) is the embodiment of all these characteristics: knowledge, patience, leniency, mercy, compassion towards weak people and fair behavior towards everybody in society. We should learn lessons from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). We need these things. Today we need to firmly believe in Allah the Exalted and His promises. Allah the Exalted has promised that if we struggle in His way and make efforts, He will help us achieve our goals. And you will achieve your goals as a result of resistance. We should not feel weak and helpless in the face of worldly passions. We should not feel weak in the face of material possessions, social status and different kinds of temptations. We should resist. These are the things that will help humanity achieve perfection. These are the things that will bring about dignity for nations and genuine happiness for society. We need these things. Our Prophet was the embodiment of all these things.
We know how the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) lived during his childhood and youth and before his be’that. He was so trustworthy that all members of Quraysh and all the Arabs who knew him would refer to him as “Muhammad the Trustworthy”. He used to treat people so fairly that when the Arab tribes were fighting over who was more qualified to return Hajar al-Aswad to its original place in Kaaba, they decided that he should be the arbiter. This was while he was a young man. This shows that he used to treat people fairly and everybody knew this. Everybody considered him honest and trustworthy. This was how he lived during his youth. And when God appointed him as prophet, he engaged in selfless struggle and resistance like that. Everybody was against him at that time. All that pressure during the first 13 years of his prophethood in Mecca: what difficult years! The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) stood firm and with his resistance, he trained Muslims to stand firm and not yield to any kind of pressure. These things are lessons for us. Later on, he established a civil society and he did not rule more than ten years, but he founded a society that remained the peak of human achievements in science, civilization, spiritual progress, ethical progress and wealth.
After the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), Muslims did not work as hard as they should have and they harmed the society he had built. We Muslims kept ourselves backward and now we must follow the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and make up for the backwardness we imposed on ourselves. Today the Islamic Ummah needs unity. The Islamic Ummah needs compassion. The uprisings that have taken place in the world of Islam and in the Arab world, the awakening of the people, the presence of the people on the scene, the repeated retreats by America and the arrogant powers, the increasing weakness of the Zionist regime – these are opportunities for Muslims and the Islamic Ummah. We should wake up. We should learn lessons. There is no doubt that this movement will continue thanks to the efforts of the Islamic Ummah, luminaries, intellectuals and scientific, political and religious figures. And by Allah’s favor, the world of Islam will restore its glory. I pray to Allah the Exalted to hasten that day and help all of us play a role in this regard.
Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings