Imam Khamenei

The dawns of the month of Ramadan should not be missed

The following is an excerpt of the speech delivered on April 30, 2019, by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on the occasion of the imminent arrival of the month of Ramadan.

Dear friends, the month of Ramadan is a very good opportunity. It is a very good opportunity. It is an opportunity to do promotions [promoting Islamic values], to clarify, to get close to the people, to help the poor and above all, to worship God, to fast, to sit at the table of divine mercy and divine banquet. This well-known banquet is your act of fasting, engaging in Nafilah [prayers which are not obligatory] and saying daily prayers.

Of course, there are many acts and obligations in the month of Ramadan. Notice that in Iqbal – by Sayyid ibn Tawoos – so many acts, obligations and various prayers have been mentioned for every night. Some of us are really negligent in this regard as we are not aware of the significance of these acts – of course, I do not want to expand on this now. However, there are certain minimums and obligatory requirements which should be observed.

Everyone wakes up at the dawns of the month of Ramadan. The dawns should not be missed because it is a very good opportunity. I have said many times that if we do not benefit from the dawn, then we will have no time in this noisy and overwhelming world to have solitude in order to attend to ourselves, to our hearts and to our God. There will really be no time. We are really preoccupied. Out of these 24 hours [of the day], we spend some hours sleeping and when we are not sleeping, we have different tasks and preoccupations. Everyone has certain preoccupations and duties.

Nowadays, there is no free time, contrary to the past. Of course, this is not a shortcoming of the present time; rather, it is one of its characteristics. After all, there are various diversions and instruments today and life has become mechanical. Today, there are some phenomena which did not exist in the past. So, there are many preoccupations. We do not have any free time during the day.

Of course, there are some individuals who are close to God at all times and who engage in dhikr in a constant manner: when going to different places, when doing a transaction, when doing technical work and when working with the computer. “Those who remain steadfast to their prayer” [The Holy Quran, 70: 23]. Some people are always saying daily prayers. We cannot be like them and we are miles away from them, but there are some people like that in any case.

The only opportunity that we have is the dawn. If we miss the dawn, there will be no time left for us [at this point, a clergy says, “Hajj Agha (a title which is frequently used in reference to a religious personality), if you give iftar meal to your pupils, it will be very good, God willing.” And the Supreme Leader responds jokingly by reciting a poem from Sa’adi, “Where do we and you stand in this sea of reflection.”] I hope that God will preserve all of you, God willing.

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy