On the eve of the grand nights of Qadr in the holy of month of Ramazan, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei led the Friday prayers in Tehran held on the campus of Tehran University on October 21, 2005.
In the first sermon of the Friday prayers, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the large congregation of ardent and devoted worshippers to try to obtain the most spiritual benefit from the grand nights of Qadr. He described supplication, prayer and invocation as the best actions that may be performed on these nights.
"Prayer and supplication, which is the core and spirit of worship, keeps alive the remembrance of Allah in the minds of Muslims and obliterates negligence, which is the root of all deviations. It also boosts and reinforces religious faith in the hearts of Muslims," Ayatollah Khamenei told the worshippers.
The Leader further stated that invocation and prayer infuses Muslims with dedication, confidence and hopefulness, self-amelioration and self-discipline, moral virtues and devotion to Almighty Allah.
"The granting of prayers depends on several conditions. One of these conditions is to offer one's supplication and prayer with a pure, sincere and spotless heart. Considering that young people are mostly characterized by this quality, the prayers and invocations that are offered by young people are always more likely to be granted," the Leader noted.
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to praying with awareness, high-mindedness in prayer and having a humble heart as other influential factors contributing to the granting of supplications.
In the second sermon of the prayers, the Leader of the Islamic Republic expounded on several domestic issues, including the new Cabinet's firm intention and readiness to perform its legal responsibilities and fulfill its promises to the public and also the issue of Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy. He further referred to some significant international issues, including the issues of Iraq and Palestine.
"The new Cabinet is determined to serve the public and solve the people's problems. Therefore, instead of putting pressure on the government by making premature demands, efforts should be made to assist the government and allow it time to fulfill its promises to the public," the Leader pointed out.
He further stated, "The people and Parliament should show trust in the new Cabinet so that it may carry out its different tasks and responsibilities with care, prudence and seriousness. But if, God forbid, there are flaws and shortcomings in the new government's performance, I will be the first one who will take the government to task."
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the Iranian nation's attainment of nuclear science and technology and its peaceful use of nuclear energy.
"The world's domineering powers are creating obstacles to the Iranian nation's peaceful use of this great scientific achievement. But what the Iranian people are saying is that nobody has the right to adopt a double standard in international relations and deprive some nations of their right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
The Leader stated that the United States is the major opponent of the Iranian nation on the nuclear issue.
"The Iranian nation's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy is recognized by world nations. But U.S. administration and certain European countries like Britain, the countries which have close relations with Washington, are expressing opposition to this indisputable right of the Iranian nation," Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic further stated, "But it should be noted that the Iranian nation's attitude toward British government has not been shaped just by Britain's present stances; it is an old attitude that has been formed by the past performance of British government in Iran, despite the fact that British officials are still taking the worst stances against the Iranian nation."
Hinting at the false claims of the United States and its satellite countries accusing the Islamic Republic of seeking to build nuclear weapons, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that these claims like U.S. claims to support human rights are mere lies.
"Considering the human rights violations committed by U.S. forces in Guantanamo and AbuGhuraib prisons and U.S. administration's discrimination against Afro-Americans in extending relief aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, the falsity of U.S. claims to support human rights has already been revealed to the world public," Ayatollah Khamenei told the gathering.
With regard to Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy, the Leader stated, "As the officials of the Islamic Republic have often emphasized, Iran's nuclear activities are by no means aimed at building nuclear weapons, and there has been no deviation from the peaceful use of nuclear energy in our nuclear program."
He stressed that the revolutionary, motivated and staunch Iranian people would not forego their right to use nuclear technology under such pressures, and that they would not submit to the coercive demand of the United States and certain other countries.
Further in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei told the congregation that the belligerent and extremist U.S. administration is fomenting crises in different parts of the world so that it may divert American public attention from the domestic problems they are facing to foreign issues and in order that it may prepare the ground for U.S. domination of the world.
"The explicit opposition expressed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to U.S. domination, especially of the sensitive Middle East region which is also rich in natural resources, is the main reason for U.S. administration's hostility toward Iran," he pointed out.
Touching on the issue of Palestine in the second sermon of the Friday prayers, the Leader of the Islamic Republic referred to the international Day of Quds as a day of great trial for Muslim nations throughout the world.
"This year, observing the Day of Quds is of greater significance. Thus, I hope the day will be marked by Muslim nations this year in a more enthusiastic manner than ever," he remarked.
Elaborating on the increased significance of observing the Day of Quds this year, Ayatollah Khamenei stated, "The retreat from the Gaza Strip was a real defeat for the Zionist regime. To make up for this humiliating defeat, the United States and the Zionists have hatched an ugly plot to normalize the Islamic countries' relations with the Zionist regime. Therefore, observing the Day of Quds by Muslim nations is of greater significance this year."
As regards the issue of Iraq, the Leader told the gathering, "The holding of a referendum on a new constitution in Iraq was a great and auspicious move, a move which was quite contrary to what the occupiers had wished for. What is at present of great significance to the Iraqi nation is the upcoming parliamentary election in that country, and the occupiers are already trying to influence this election. Thus, the Iraqi people and different Iraqi groups should remain completely vigilant with regard to their upcoming election."
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that one of the major goals pursued by the occupiers is to foment discord and schism between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iraq. Condemning the vicious attacks on Iraqi Shias by an extremist group, he further stated, "This group which is acting like the former Iraqi dictator Saddam and which is furthering the goals of the occupiers by trying to foment discord between the Shia and the Sunni is neither Sunni nor Shia but hostile to both the Shia and the Sunni and opposed to Islam."
The Leader of the Islamic Republic described as wise and prudent the Iraqi Shia ulema's recommending self-restraint in the face of these attacks. He called on all Iraqi groups to condemn such moves so that the occupiers may be thwarted in their goals.