Meeting with participants of unity conference

Practicing Islamic unity will allow Muslims to overcome all schemes by the enemies of Islam

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 25, 2018 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, ambassadors of Islamic countries and participants of the 32 Conference on Islamic Unity. The meeting was held on the occasion of the birthday anniversaries of the Holy Prophet of Islam and Imam Sadiq (greetings be upon them).

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, upon his pure and immaculate household, upon his chosen companions and upon those who follow them until the Day of Judgment

I would like to congratulate all, you dear participants, the dear guests of the Conference on Islamic Unity and the ambassadors who are present in the meeting on the birthday anniversary of the Prophet of Mercy – the Last Prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (God’s greetings be upon him and his household) – and the auspicious birthday anniversary of Hazrat Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, our great Imam. I would also like to congratulate all the people of Iran, all Muslims and all liberated individuals in the world – including Muslims and non-Muslims – on the birthday anniversary of the Holy Prophet.

He was a bright sun who shone during the time of ignorance and Jahili deception and who illuminated the world. As the Commander of the Faithful (peace and greetings be upon him) said, “While the world was devoid of brightness and full of open deceitfulness” [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 89]. This is the truth of the matter. The world was saturated with the darkness of Jahilliyah and deception during the time when the God of the World presented that Light to humanity. Today, the holy body of the Holy Prophet is not with us but “God sent him with guidance and true religion” [al-Kafi, Vol.3, page 423]. His religion and his guidance are with us.

If we follow this light and if we are among the people who are described as the ones who “follow the light which is sent down with him”, then the result is that “it is they who will prosper” [The Holy Quran, 7: 157]. Obeying divine guidance and the light which He sent down – this light is the Quran as it is the book of guidance and light – and obeying this divine gift given by God through the Holy Prophet, will help humanity to achieve bliss and salvation.

Humanity is after bliss and salvation. From the beginning until today, the plight of humanity has been lack of justice, mercy and guidance. The various forms of ignorance that humanity has experienced have made life difficult for it. Today, humanity is in need of the same source of light. Today too, humanity needs to accept the Holy Prophet’s invitation – which is an invitation to the truth, to integrity and to mercy. If humanity reaches such a level of intellectual maturity that it accepts the invitation of the Holy Prophet of Islam, then its maladies will be healed.

Today, the presence of powers and their oppression – originating from their audacity in perpetrating criminal activities – has caused the world to re-experience the days “devoid of brightness and full of open deceitfulness.” Today too, humanity is unfortunately suffering again. This suffering is not particular to the world of Islam, rather all of humanity is suffering. Even those countries which apparently enjoy civilizational progress and worldly ostentation are suffering deeply. This suffering results from ignorance, deception and lack of justice. And Islam has a solution for all these maladies. Islam guarantees the bliss and salvation of nations. We Muslims should learn this lesson.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that by Allah’s favor and grace, today the orientation of resistance against oppression and bullying exists in the world, one which is reliant on the Name of God and Islam. Our region is an example in this regard. In our region, the spirit of Islamic Awakening is prevailing in many nations and countries today. When you witness that the arrogant powers of the world headed by the criminal US – the Great Satan – are sensitive about the region, the reason is that the orientation and inclination towards Islam and Islamic Awakening are clearly noticeable in the region. They are opposed to the awakening of Muslim nations. They are afraid of the awakening of Muslim nations. Whenever Islam managed to dominate the hearts and lives of peoples, arrogance was slapped across the face and we firmly believe that once more, arrogance will be slapped across the face by Islamic Awakening in the region.

This is the essence of what I wanted to discuss with our Muslim brothers, Muslim nations, the intellectuals of the world of Islam and the honorable religious scholars in Islamic countries. You should strengthen this Islamic movement as much as you can. The way to the salvation of this region is strengthening Islamic Awakening and the movement of Islamic Resistance. This responsibility falls on all the masses of Muslims – in particular, the ulama of Islam, intellectuals, writers, poets, scholars, artists and political personalities. They are responsible for this. They are the addressees of the invitation of the Holy Prophet and of Islamic guidance. Today, the ground is prepared in the world of Islam. The ground is prepared in West Asia in particular for Islamic Awakening. Everyone should help so that this Awakening will yield results.

Our advice to the rulers of Islamic countries is to return to the Wilayat of Islam. They should place themselves under the Wilayat of Allah. The wilayat of the US and taghut will not work for them. Today, some Muslim countries in our region unfortunately stand under the flag and wilayat of taghut instead of the Wilayat of Allah. Instead of following Islam and the light of the Quran, they follow the US. And the US is humiliating them on the basis of its arrogant nature. You have heard – as everyone has – that the prattling US president has likened the Saudi rulers to a dairy cow. This is humiliation. This is an insult. It is an insult to the people of the region and the people of that country.

If the Saudis do not dislike being insulted, then to hell, they can enjoy being insulted! However this is an insult to the people of the region and to Muslim nations. Why should Islamic rulers follow the US in two criminal actions which have unfortunately damaged our region? One is the criminal action against the Palestinians and the important issue of Palestine, and another is the criminal action against Yemen. They should be sure that victory belongs to the people of Palestine and the people of Yemen and that the US and its cohorts will be defeated on this matter.

Today, the US is clearly weaker in the region than 10, 20 years ago. Today, the vicious Zionist regime is clearly weaker than the past. A few years ago, the Zionist regime was defeated by the Hezbollah of Lebanon. It managed to resist for 33 days and then, it [Zionist regime] was defeated. Two years later, it managed to resist for 22 days and then, it was defeated by the Palestinians. And a few years after that, it managed to resist for eight days against the oppressed people of Gaza and then, it was defeated. Just last week, it managed to resist for two days and then, it was defeated. This is the weakness of the Zionist regime. This is the increasing weakness of the Zionist regime. 

The nations who have a certain thought, identity and motivation are reliant on God. They rely on Allah and Allah the Exalted will help them: “If the unbelievers should fight you, they would certainly turn their backs. Then would they find neither protector nor helper. Such has been the practice of Allah already in the past: no change will you find in the practice of Allah” [The Holy Quran, 48: 22-23]. This is a divine tradition. If Muslims stand firm, they will achieve victory over all the apparatuses of Taghuti and arrogant powers.

Today, the people of Yemen are enduring the hardest tortures by the Saudi government, its followers and the US – its main supporter – but you should know that the people of Yemen and Ansarullah will certainly be victorious! They will not be defeated. The people of Palestine will not be defeated. The only way is resistance. What has made the US so agitated today that it resorts to blather and wrong measures is the resistance of Muslim nations and this resistance will produce results.

Dear brothers, dear sisters, it is 40 years now that the people of Iran have been resisting. On the first day, we were a thin sapling. We were vulnerable. However, thanks to the Holy Name of the Holy Prophet and the guidance of our magnanimous Imam, we managed to resist. Of course, some were martyred and we endured hardships, but we resisted. Today, the people and country of Iran are a strong tree. To hell that America and the Zionist regime threaten Iran! Their threats, their moves and their malevolence have been defeated today. And they will be defeated from now on too. Sanctions will fail and so will their policies, thanks to resistance.

And resistance is not possible except with faith in and reliance on Allah, and trust in divine promises. Allah the Exalted has emphatically promised that “Allah will certainly aid those who aid his cause” [22: 40].  He has emphatically promised to help and this promise will come true. If we correct our behavior and look at divine promises in an optimistic, not pessimistic way, we will be victorious. Having doubts about divine promises is something practiced by unbelievers: “(Those) who imagine an evil opinion of Allah, on them is a round of evil, the wrath of Allah is on them. He has cursed them and has hell ready for them” [The Holy Quran, 48: 6].

It is clear that those who doubt divine promises will not benefit from such promises. The people of Iran have proved their trust in divine promises and they have stood firm. We were attacked, we endured sanctions, they sent spies and we offered martyrs, but the Iranian nation stood firm like a mountain and it managed to remain firm and solid. Today, this pure tree – the pure tree of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation – is such a tree “whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches reach to the heavens” [The Holy Quran, 14: 24]. By Allah’s favor, we made progress and became stronger on a daily basis and this will be the same from now on too. This is the prescription for the movement and progress of Muslims in the world of Islam.

God’s mercy be upon our magnanimous Imam who opened this path to us. And God’s mercy be upon our dear martyrs who laid down their lives on this path and who brought triumphs to the people of Iran. By Allah’s favor, this will be the same in the future as well. If Muslim brothers think of unity, solidarity, unanimity and harmony in the entire Islamic region, they will overcome all these schemes, God willing.

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings

Tags

  • Islamic Unity
  • Prophet Muhammad
  • Unity Week

Comment