First Sermon:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds. "Praise be to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal with their Lord" )Quran, 6:1.(
We praise You, seek Your help, beseech You, seek Your forgiveness, and send peace and greetings upon Your beloved, the Master of Your creation, Abi al-Qasem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate, infallible Household, the chosen guides, especially the remnant of God on earth. And peace be upon the Imams of the Muslims, those who protect the oppressed and guide the faithful.
I congratulate all faithful Muslim brothers all over the world and the great nation of Iran and you who pray, on the blessed occasion of Eid al-Fitr. I congratulate you on spending a fruitful month of Ramadan full of divine generosity this year.
The month of Ramadan this year was a very delightful and lively Ramadan. In this month, there was prayer, supplication, and Tawassul (intercession), especially on the blessed nights of Qadr. Keeping all-night, soul-stirring vigils by the youths and the warm tears that trickled out of the blessed eyes of our pure young people were truly outstanding. Meetings and gatherings of teaching and learning spiritual lessons, Quran meetings, and recitations of the Quran in all parts of the country were, thank God, more outstanding than ever before during this year. The presence of people in martyrs’ flower gardens (martyrs’ cemeteries), in gatherings, in religious groups, and in mosques was a noticeable presence. In addition, the faithful help that people provided in this month — helping orphans, the needy, and the poor — I mean one of the most important duties in the month of Ramadan is this public presence and being by the side of the underprivileged and the poor. Moreover, there is this huge movement of people on the Quds Day, when the faithful people turned out massively throughout the country, even though they had kept a vigil during the previous night and were fasting on that day. These are divine blessings; these are divine favors. The month of Ramadan is both the month of supplication and the month of Jihad (struggle). At the beginning of the advent of Islam, the Battle of Badr was in the month of Ramadan, and the conquest of Mecca was in the month of Ramadan. Also in these years, Quds Day is the day of the struggle of the Iranian nation, and thank God, other nations also joined in this year, and their presence was widespread on a very large scale.
Our people had many achievements in this month: Tenderness of heart, closeness to God, purity of soul, attention and advice toward spirituality, getting acquainted with many divine and Islamic teachings, and dealing a blow to the enemy on the Quds Day. These were the achievements of you dear people, you faithful people, and you the great nation of Iran in this month. My request is to maintain these achievements. These are spiritual reserves. Keep these reserves for yourself until next year’s Ramadan and, God willing, strengthen this spirit during next year’s Ramadan. It is this spirit that will advance the nation materially and spiritually. It will solve all the problems and, by God’s grace, will bring you to the peak of the divine and spiritual movement that Islam has planned for the Muslim society.
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
By Time!
Indeed man is in loss
except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and enjoin one another to [follow] the truth, and enjoin one another to patience" (Quran 103).
Second Sermon:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad, and his immaculate Household, especially Ali - the Commander of the Faithful – and the pure, truthful one – Fatimah al-Zahra, the best of the women of the worlds - and Hassan and Hussain, the Masters of the youth of paradise, and Ali ibn al-Hussain, the Ornament of the Worshipers, and Muhammad ibn Ali, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad, and Musa ibn Ja'far, and Ali ibn Musa, and Muhammad ibn Ali, and Ali ibn Muhammad, and Hassan ibn Ali, and the successor, al-Mahdi - the one who will rise up. Greetings be upon them all and peace be upon the Imams of the Muslims, those who protect the oppressed and guide the faithful.
One of the features of the holy month of Ramadan is that it strengthens one’s determination. A great, important feature of fasting is that it strengthens your determination. Determination is a tool that the Almighty God has placed in human beings in order for them to move and to progress. This force, which has been strengthened and has gained more power during the month of Ramadan, should be used after the month of Ramadan on the path of pleasing God, on the path of progress, and in the direction that Almighty God has determined for human beings. The Islamic society is the guarantor that strengthens and smooths this path as well as making it easier to move on this path. The authorities in the country should use this capability. It is with this strengthening of people’s will that the knots can be untied and the big problems of the country can be solved — by using people’s strong will, that important tool that the Almighty God has provided people with.
A very important, fundamental strategy is cooperation between all of the country’s officials in the three branches of government, who are all present here, praise God. The people are present too, praise God, and then [the people] throughout the country will hear these words. The three branches of government should empathize with each other, cooperate, and work together. The Constitution has designed a good arrangement for the formation of these three branches. If these three branches cooperate fully, snags and problems will not arise at all. [The officials] must not put obstacles in front of each other. They should pave and open the way for each other. The officials of the country themselves — members of the parliament as well as the managers in the executive and judiciary branches who are present in this gathering — are well aware of how this cooperation, working together, and empathy can be brought about. This is a general strategy today.
Another important strategy is to focus on solving the problems and not becoming preoccupied with side issues. Side issues arise. It is not always the enemy that creates side issues. Sometimes due to negligence, various factors, and various motives a side issue is created around a project, a move, a person, or a manager. One should not become preoccupied with these things. Neither the people should pay attention to these side issues, nor should the officials become preoccupied with them. [Everyone] should focus on the fundamental issues of the country.
Our dear people, thanks to the blessings of the holy month of Ramadan and the great achievements made during this month, are also expected to maintain their unity. Praise God, our people have been united since the beginning of the Revolution when the honorable Imam [Khomeini] in his luminous words would constantly emphasize the unity and solidarity of the people. And in many cases, this unity was able to open up difficult paths and bottlenecks for the people and open the way. This unity must be preserved. The enemy is against the unity of the Iranian nation. It is against your being united. It is against harmony in the nation. The enemy wants people to fight with each other because of differences of opinion and taste. In each society, people have different tastes, people have different opinions, and people have different views on various issues. That’s fine, this is not a problem. Everyone should live together, work together, and be kind to each other. The people’s expressions of kindness to each other nullify the temptations of the enemy who is trying to make people pessimistic toward each other and pessimistic toward the hardworking officials of the country.
In the past, the colonizers used to enter countries using military operations. When colonizers wanted to take over a Muslim country, they would enter it using military force and occupy it. This tactic, this action, no longer works today, and the enemies of Islam have realized that military force cannot do anything. The US recently experienced this in Afghanistan and Iraq. It saw that nothing can be done with military force. Thus, they have changed their strategy and chosen another way. Today, they use the tactics of deception, distorting the truth, telling lies, tempting, showing realities upside down, humiliating nations, making nations pessimistic about themselves, and concealing capabilities, outstanding features, and the places where nations shine. These are the tactics that they are using today. All of us should be aware of this. I said a few days ago that we must be up-to-date in knowing the enemy’s moves, tactics, and the methods they use when expressing their enmity. They could do certain things 10 or 20 years ago, but they don’t do those things today. They have other methods now. We [must] find a way to nullify these methods. Praise God, the nation is vigilant and smart. You have defeated the enemy so far, and you will defeat the enemy, God willing, from now on as well.
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
When Allah's help comes with victory,
and you see the people entering Allah's religion in throngs,
then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and plead to Him for forgiveness. Indeed He is all-clement" (Quran 110).
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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