The following is the full text of the sermons delivered by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on September 10, 2010 during Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
First Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. "All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. All praise is due to Allah Whom I praise, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent, and Whom I rely on, and peace and greetings be upon His beloved and noble one, the best among His servants, the protector of His secret, the promoter of His message, our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. And greetings be upon the leaders of Muslims, those who guide the oppressed and those who support the faithful. I advise you servants of God and myself to fear God.
I would like to congratulate the entire Islamic Ummah, the dear people of Iran and you honorable and esteemed people who engage in saying prayers on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr. I advise everyone and myself to observe divine piety and obey God's commands in our words, actions and thoughts.
I thank Allah the Exalted for giving us the opportunity and letting us live long enough to witness another Ramadan and another Eid ul-Fitr. It is a great blessing to witness the month of divine celebration. Our people really made full use of this month. They truly appreciated the value of this holy and dear month. By Allah's favor, the ceremonies, occasions, dhikrs, prayers and programs which the hearts and pure souls of most youth participated in will open the divine gates of mercy to the people of Iran. The value of these occasions should be appreciated.
The spirit of spirituality and devotion to the Holy One has been firmly established in the hearts and souls of our people. This spirit is deep and rooted. A number of people may make certain mistakes and commit certain errors in their personal lives, but the month of Ramadan gives them the opportunity to go back to Allah the Exalted, pay attention to Him and repent. This spirit of connection with spirituality exists in all people. This has been stated in a poetic way:
"When man was being created
A droplet of love was poured in his heart".
[Shaikh Bahai]
This love is not material love, one that is tainted with temptations. This is love of God. This is love of the One. This is love of the Creator which exists in all people and which has been firmly established in their hearts and souls: "The nature made by Allah in which He has made men" [The Holy Quran, 30: 30].
Materialistic factors, motives and attractions are like garbage which settles on this precious jewel. When the month of Ramadan arrives, it removes all this garbage like a breeze. Then, this jewel shows itself and attention to God is given fresh impetus. In this Ramadan - like in most previous Ramadans - we witnessed that people from different social backgrounds with different tastes, opinions, conducts and dress participated in different religious ceremonies - particularly during the auspicious Nights of Qadr. They benefited from these ceremonies and they shed tears.
"When the heart is saddened with tears
It is like the morsel of meat which is sprinkled with salt
When a lover sheds genuine tears
It is like the juice which drips from this morsel of meat"
[Shaikh Bahai]
In fact the tears which we shed, come from our vigilant and pure hearts. Our dear people should appreciate the value of this. You have accumulated certain provisions and you have achieved a product in this auspicious month. Therefore you should preserve it. You should establish a close relationship with the Holy Quran and you should preserve this relationship. Throughout the year, you should preserve the spirit of saying public prayers - and the prayers that you say in mosques - on time and in a careful way.
You should do your best to not allow worldly elements, garbage and ashes to settle on this precious jewel. A people who manage to preserve these characteristics, this spiritual transcendence and this perfection will be successful in all arenas including worldly and otherworldly arenas. They will be successful in arenas of achieving dignity, power and all kinds of national resources. By Allah's favor, this will happen for our people.
Today is Eid ul-Fitr. In a narration cited in "Elal", it has been described as "A day of Eid, a day of gathering, a day of fitr, a day of zakat, a day of enthusiasm and a day of supplication" [Elal al-Sharaye, Volume 1, page 268]. This day is both a day of Eid and a day of gathering. Today, people throughout the world of Islam participate in this Eid. Such focus of hearts on one point and at a particular time is a great opportunity for the Islamic Ummah. It is "a day of zakat and a day of enthusiasm". It is a day during which you pay attention to Allah the Exalted. And it is "a day of supplication". It is a day during which one supplicates before God. This Eid is the Eid of attention and meaning.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will bestow on all of you and us success in benefitting from today's - which is an auspicious Friday and a day of Eid - divine blessings.
"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him" [The Holy Quran, 112].
Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially upon the Commander of the Faithful, Saddiqat al-Tahera, al-Hassan and al-Hussein- the masters of the youth of paradise - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja'far , Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali al-Askari and Hujjat al-Qaem al-Mahdi. Greetings be upon them all and upon the Imams of Muslims, supporters of the oppressed, and those who guide the faithful. I advise you and myself - servants of God - to fear God.
The first point that I would like to raise in the second sermon is a word of thanks for the great people of Iran because of their glorious movement on Quds Day. The people of Iran showed their enthusiasm, morale, determination, willpower and vigilance in these great rallies. Thirty one years have passed from the day our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) introduced this day. The enemies expected that this day would be undermined steadily and that it would be consigned to oblivion. I thank God because this motivation and this bright flame showed itself in the hearts and actions of the people on a daily basis.
This year, Quds Day was commemorated in different countries - in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, America and Europe. Muslims throughout the world commemorated this day and the great people of Iran - who were the main pivot of this great movement launched by the Islamic Ummah - took part in Quds Day rallies in a glorious way. They showed that they carry out their responsibilities in a warmer, more enthusiastic and more motivated way at a time when global events require this.
The Zionist regime showed the peak of its cruelty and oppression. It showed indifference and it committed crimes despite the fact the voice of support [for Palestine] was raised from all corners of the world. This year, the Muslim people of Iran commemorated Quds Day in a warmer and more enthusiastic way than they did in all previous years. The hostile efforts of America and the West against the Islamic Republic made our people more motivated. For global arrogance and global imperialists, the issue of Palestine is one that should be isolated in any way possible. But the people of Iran gave prominence to this issue. Well done to these great people.
Hope and motivation radiate in the behavior and statements of our dear people. This year - in meeting with academic and outstanding personalities, with high-ranking officials of the country, with high-ranking managers and with entrepreneurs - I saw the reflection of this hope and motivation in their statements, behavior and faces. A people who have such a hope and who adopt such an optimistic and determined outlook towards the future will certainly reach peaks.
As for global and regional events, there are many issues which are important for the Islamic Ummah, but the issue which is of primary importance is the flood in Pakistan. This is referred to as a "flood", but it is in fact a great disaster and calamity for the people of Pakistan. These people are among the religious and Islamic people who have played a pioneering role in different issues. They have played a leading role in showing religiousness and religious zeal and commitment. Today, these people are suffering from a great disaster.
The Indus River has burst its banks from the north to south of Pakistan. A great flood, a great deluge and a great hurricane has completely destroyed people's lives throughout this long line - from the borders of China in north Pakistan to the Indian Ocean in south Pakistan. More than 10,000 villages have been destroyed. All farms and plantations which were a source of food, exports and wealth for these people have been completely annihilated. Tens of thousands of schools, mosques and Hussainiyahs have been destroyed throughout this long line.
According to the reports which have been delivered to me, the width of Indus River is normally about one and a half, two kilometers. But in certain places where it meets other rivers, it has inundated around 90 kilometers of land. The people, animals, lives, houses and hopes have been destroyed. According to estimations, the damage which this flood has caused is about 40, 50 billion dollars. Twenty million people have become homeless and several thousands of people - including children, infants, women and old and disabled people - have been killed.
Today, these people need water, food, clothes, shelter and other basic amenities. In the month of Ramadan, the people of Pakistan fasted in such conditions. Today is Eid ul-Fitr, the day of gathering and the day of the Islamic Ummah. Our people should make efforts to help them. The government of the Islamic Republic has offered some help. The same is true of a number of people, but it is not enough. We should help more. This is the responsibility of all of us.
Our religious and Muslim brothers in that country have faced such a great disaster. These statements are not only addressed to you people of Iran. Rather, they are addressed to the entire world of Islam, to all peoples, to all Muslims in Islamic countries and to the Islamic Congress. Everyone should make efforts to help. It has been said that about one, two billion has been accumulated, but how does this meet the great needs of these people? Their needs are not met with such things. Pakistan has received a severe blow. We should help it as much as we can. I hope that God helps us to help the people of Pakistan as much as we can. This is a very important issue.
Of course, we are concerned about political instability in Pakistan. The usurping and imperialist powers are taking advantage of this situation. Opportunists are taking advantage of this situation. Some usurping governments want to turn Pakistan into their military camp. These things exist. These are other concerns that we have and we hope that the brave people of Pakistan notice this themselves. The government of Pakistan knows its responsibilities and I hope that God will help them to save themselves from this disaster in the best way possible.
The issue of Palestine continues to be the most important issue of the world of Islam. Crimes continue to be committed in Gaza. Crimes continue to be committed in the west bank of the Jordan River. The Zionist regime continues to oppress the innocent people of Palestine with utmost shamelessness and audacity. This is while they hold a peace conference in Washington. Peace with whom? They want to cover up the issues of Palestine and the crimes committed by the enemies of the people of Palestine by conducting certain negotiations which they call "peace".
A usurper has usurped the home of a people. Besides, he is not satisfied with this. He uses any opportunity to oppress the people of Palestine and these people - the western world, the Americans and other such people - are sitting and watching these events with total indifference. They encourage transgressors, oppressors and suppressers. This is while they hold a meeting for peace. Which peace? What peace? Peace between whom and whom?
These shameless Zionist oppressors confront the Palestinians with utmost audacity and say, "You should accept Jewish settlements". Their greatest crime is that they want to build Jewish settlements. They want to turn Holy Quds - Muslims' and dear Palestine's qibla - into Jewish settlements and centers of oppression and conspiracy. This is our main issue.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will help Muslim peoples and Muslim governments to know their responsibilities towards this bitter event and incident. Of course, the people of Palestine have fortunately stood up against these pressures with great power and resistance. One cannot believe how resistant, determined and zealous these people are. These bizarre pressures have not managed to make them retreat and move back. Today, the Palestinians are stronger and more determined than they were 20, 30 years ago. Thankfully today, their capabilities are more than the past. Without a doubt, the Palestinians will be able to cut off the hands of transgressors and make this fake and false regime leave the land of Palestine.
Dear God, dear God, accept the prayers, efforts, humility and supplication of our people during the month of Ramadan and on Eid ul-Fitr with your generosity. Dear God, open the gates of mercy and forgiveness to our people. Dear God, solve the problems of our people. Dear God, facilitate and accelerate the movement of our people towards progress and peaks on a daily basis. Dear God, forgive us. Dear God, do not deprive us of the blessings of Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr, humility and supplication. Dear God, bestow Your kindness and blessings on our deceased. Dear God, make the Islamic Ummah more honorable on a daily basis.
"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I swear by time,
Most surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience" [The Holy Quran, 103].
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings