On the 19th day of the holy month of Ramazan, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei led the Friday prayers in Tehran on October 13, 2006.
In the first sermon of the Friday prayers, held on the campus of Tehran University, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the large congregation of devoted worshippers to observe pity and try to obtain the most spiritual benefit from the blessings of the holy of month of Ramazan.
The Leader referred to supplication, prayer and remembrance as the best means of communion with and attaining proximity to Almighty Allah. He stated that the holy month of Ramazan provides a precious opportunity for this purpose.
"The most significant result of prayer is that it boosts in human beings the spirit of submission and servitude to Almighty Allah," Ayatollah Khamenei told the worshippers.
Further in his statements, the Leader of the Islamic Republic described servitude and obedience to the Creator as the antithesis of selfishness and egotism and self-conceit.
"Supplication and prayer suppress the spirit of self-regard and haughtiness, whether toward the Creator or vis-à-vis other human beings or toward nature. As a result, the world and the environment in which people live will remain safe from rebellion and also from encroachment on nature," the Leader remarked.
Ayatollah Khamenei advised the worshippers, especially youngsters, to make the most of the blessings and mental and spiritual effects of prayers and invocations, specially the prayers and supplications that have been quoted from the infallible household of the holy prophet (peace and greetings be upon them).
"Almighty Allah has placed no conditions on the granting of prayers. But sometimes the acts of human beings prevent the granting of their invocations," Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader elaborated on the noble character and dignified personality of the Commander of the Faithful and Master of the Pious, Imam Ali-ibn-Abitaleb (greetings be upon him), whose martyrdom anniversary is marked by the 21st day of the holy month of Ramazan.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the Commander of the Faithful as an exemplary Muslim and a perfect human being as well as a model for the entire mankind.
"His Holiness Imam Ali-ibn-Abitaleb (greetings be upon him) had been brought up and trained by the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his immaculate household), and during all his life, he was the closest person to the prophet. Also, under the most difficult circumstances, he was the one that always took the lead in supporting Islam and the prophet," Ayatollah Khamenei observed.
The Leader described the short-lived rule of Imam Ali-ibn-Abitaleb (greetings be upon him) as a miracle of management, a unique government in the history of mankind and a rule characterized by absolute justice and bravery and, at the same time, suffering the utmost wrong and unfairness.
"His Holiness Imam Ali-ibn-Abitaleb (greetings be upon him) was a paragon of justice, valor, wisdom, equity and observance of human rights and a model of servitude to Almighty Allah," Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.
In the second sermon of the Friday prayers, the Leader of the Islamic Republic expounded on U.S. and Zionist plots to bring changes to the current situation in the Middle East region and pit the masses of people against each other in Palestine and Iraq.
Touching on the International Day of Quds, the last Friday in the holy month of Ramazan, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the International Day of Quds is the day when Muslim nations express their opposition to and abhorrence of these divisive plots and the injustice and inequity on the part of Zionists and the powers supporting them.
"Muslims throughout the world will mark the International Day of Quds with great rallies and gatherings. By the favor of Allah, the day will also be commemorated by the Iranian people the way they did so in the previous years," the Leader told the congregation.
Presenting an analysis of the current situation in the Middle East region, Ayatollah Khamenei described the victory of Hezbollah and the Lebanese nation in their 33-day war against the Israeli army as a unique and historic phenomenon.
"There is no doubt at all that, in addition to the occupier Zionist regime, the United States and its regional dependants also received a heavy blow in this war," he pointed out.
The Leader added that the joy and happiness expressed by the Islamic Ummah over the Lebanese nation's triumph indicates that all the Muslim nations share in this spectacular victory.
"Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim nations have once again witnessed the fact that when resistance against oppression and injustice is motivated by faith and characterized by devotion and self-sacrifice, it will surely result in a victory," Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic stated that Western countries provided the occupier Zionist entity with all kinds of arms and weapons over the past fifty years so that it may wield military supremacy in the region.
"However, the armed-to-the-teeth Israeli army suffered a crushing defeat in its attack on Lebanon and got bogged down in quagmire in the face of a resistance group with limited facilities. This defeat has dealt a heavy blow to Israelis and their supporters and has shattered their morale," the Leader pointed out.
He added that the Zionist regime and the United States are now trying to make up for their crushing defeat in Lebanon by hatching hostile plots in the regional countries.
"Among such plots are attempts at containing Lebanese Hezbollah and preventing it from getting stronger in various arenas. Besides, the United States and the Zionist regime are also trying to set the UN forces, which have been deployed in Lebanon to protect the Lebanese nation from alien incursions, against Hezbollah and the Lebanese nation," Ayatollah Khamenei told the worshippers.
He also stated, "But despite all such attempts, the Lebanese people of every creed and religion, including their Shia and Sunni and Christian personalities, consider Hezbollah as the pride of Lebanon, and they would not allow these plots to materialize."
Further in his statements, the Leader referred to the increasing pressure on the Hamas government in Palestine and the daily carnage of Palestinian people as among other U.S.-Zionist measures taken to make up for their defeat in Lebanon.
"Zionists and their supporters are seeking to change the situation in Palestine from the one in which Palestinians are lining up against Zionist occupiers to that in which Palestinians will line up against Palestinians," the Leader warned.
Ayatollah Khamenei described unity, vigilance and awareness on the part of all Muslim nations as the most important requirements of the Islamic world today.
"In Iraq also the enemies of Islam are pursuing the policy of pitting Iraqis against Iraqis, especially following their defeat in Lebanon, and they are supporting terrorists and fomenting discord and division between the Shias and the Sunnis in line with this policy. In other words, they are trying to change the present confrontation between the Iraqi people and the occupiers into a confrontation between the Iraqi people themselves," Ayatollah Khamenei told the congregation.
Referring to the British as experts in divisive policies, the Leader further stated, "The British have also instructed U.S. officials in these policies. However, the fact of the matter is that the Iraqi people, including both the Shias and the Sunnis, have always lived together peacefully, and now also they have joined hands in their opposition to the occupiers."
In conclusion, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Iranian government officials to make every effort to foil the enemies of Islam in their hostile plots and divisive policies.