First Sermon:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds. “All praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light. Yet those who reject faith equate others with their Lord” )Quran 6:1). I praise Him, seek His help, seek victory from Him, ask Him for success, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. May peace and greetings be upon His beloved and chosen one, the master of His creation, our Master and Prophet, Abul-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, untainted, chosen Progeny, the guides and the guided ones, the Infallible Imams, particularly the Remnant of God on earth
My congratulations to all the honorable people attending this prayer, the entire Iranian nation, and the entire Islamic Ummah on this auspicious occasion of Eid al-Fitr. Furthermore, my congratulations on Nowruz, the New Year, and on the occasion of the 12th of Farvardin — the Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is the great celebration for the Iranian nation.
The month of Ramadan finished this year too, and our dear nation, praise God, successfully experienced this valuable, divine blessing. The month of Ramadan is a monotheistic phenomenon. In other words, it draws hearts and people closer to Almighty God. The month of Ramadan is a realm for getting closer to God, and it’s the place of the promise for renewing spiritual life. In other words, by ordaining the fast of the month of Ramadan, God Almighty has given you and I an opportunity — an entire month in a year — to cleanse our hearts, purify ourselves, and, if we can, free ourselves from impurities and conform ourselves with monotheism.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan, intimacy with the Quran during the month of Ramadan, the Night of Qadr in the month of Ramadan, the invocations, supplications, and prayers in the month of Ramadan — all of these are character-edifying. The month of Ramadan is truly, genuinely one of the greatest divine blessings. Whoever observes and practices the etiquettes of the month of Ramadan — to any extent they do so — will, in equal measure, have their heart, soul, and inner self becoming shaped and directed toward monotheism. God has stated, "So that you may attain piety" (Quran 2:183). The month of Ramadan is for taqwa [piety]. It’s for cultivating piety in people’s hearts and souls.
This year, praise God, we had a rich and spiritually fruitful month of Ramadan. The prevalence of the Quran was clearly evident this month of Ramadan — the recitation of the Quran, the recitation of its juz’ [sections], and contemplation on its verses. There was a notable increase in charitable acts and gatherings for giving iftar [the evening meal for breaking the fast] in mosques, shrines, streets, and public centers. The people’s fervent and dense presence, especially the youth, in gatherings for prayer, reading supplications, beseeching God, and seeking intercession was completely tangible throughout the month of Ramadan that has just passed, praise God.
People from all walks of life and with various appearances took part in these ceremonies, benefited from them, prayed, spoke with Almighty God, asked Him, put their trust in Him, and gained numerous benefits. "May these blessings be sweet to the possessors of the blessings." May those who have benefited, God willing, use the benefits from this month of Ramadan throughout the year, keep their hearts pure, and maintain this spirituality until the next month of Ramadan. God willing, they will ascend to a higher degree and progress even further during the next month of Ramadan.
The end of the month of Ramadan was marked by an exuberant, meaningful rally. The people, the Iranian nation, carried out a remarkable movement on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, which communicated numerous messages from this vast assembly to the world. Those who need to understand, those who need to recognize the Iranian nation, received many messages from this tremendous gathering that you, the dear people, formed in Tehran and in various small and large cities. The people were able to convey this message, and a very important task was accomplished. Spiritual growth combined with political effort and action driven by faith were some of the achievements of this past month of Ramadan. Let’s preserve this.
Today is an Eid. Ask Almighty God to assist you on this auspicious day so that, God willing, you may preserve these valuable achievements for yourselves, your country, and your future.
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Say, 'He is Allah, the One. Allah is the All-embracing. He neither begat, nor was begotten, nor has He any equal'" (Quran 112:4).
Second Sermon:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and greetings be upon our Master and our Prophet, Abul-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his untainted, pure, chosen Progeny, particularly Ali, the Commander of the Faithful; Al-Siddiqah al-Tahirah [Fatimah al-Zahra]; Hassan and Hussain, the Masters of the youth of paradise; Ali ibn al-Hussain, Zayn al-Abedin; Muhammad ibn Ali, the Splitter of knowledge from the first to the last; Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim, Ali ibn Musa al-Reza; Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad; Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi; Hassan ibn Ali al-Zaki al-Askari; and al-Hujjat al-Qa’im al-Mahdi — peace be upon them all, upon the Imams of the believers, and the guides of the oppressed.
In the second sermon, I will share another aspect with you about the month of Ramadan that has just passed. The Iranian nation and other nations tasted the sweetness of Ramadan, but the bitter events of this Ramadan have left a bitter taste for all those who were fasting in the Islamic world due to the tragic events in Gaza, Lebanon, and Palestine. Once again, they [the Zionists] are committing genocide. Once again, children are getting killed. Once again, the US is supporting the vicious acts of the malicious, usurping Zionist regime. Once again, they're assisting the vicious acts of this murderer and terrorist gang who has usurped Palestine and is ruling over Palestine and the Palestinian people. They're helping and supporting them [the Zionists].
In the political statements made in the West, you’ve repeatedly heard them talk of proxy forces. They accuse the brave nations and valiant youth of this region of being proxies. I want to tell you that there is only one proxy force in this region, and that’s the evil, usurping Zionist regime. The Zionist regime in acting as a proxy for the colonialists, ignites fires, commits genocide, and perpetrates crimes. If that regime is able to, it will invade other countries just as it’s invading Syria today. They’ve entered Syrian territory and advanced to within a few kilometers of Damascus. They do this on behalf of the colonialists. Those are the same people who interfered in this region after World War II and shaped it into what it is today. Now, the Zionist regime in acting as their proxy is carrying out and completing their work.
In the statements made by the colonialists — those who govern the world and countries with their money and media — terrorism is considered to be a crime. Terrorism is said to be a crime. But for that malicious, criminal regime, terrorism is a permissible, acceptable act.
If other people defend their rights or protect their land, they’re labeled as terrorists. But the malicious Zionist regime openly commits genocide, kills children, attacks large populations, assassinates specific individuals, and says that they’ve done these things too, while Western colonialists turn a blind eye to these actions. They smile and give their assistance and support too.
For years, the Zionist regime has been carrying out mass killings in Palestinian cities and villages. This is something that began early on and continues to this day. In addition, one of their other common practices has been the assassination of prominent figures. They assassinate people. They assassinated Abu Jihad in Tunisia, Fathi Shiqaqi in Cyprus, Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, and Imad Mughniyeh in Syria. They assassinated numerous Iraqi scientists in Baghdad after the US invaded Iraq 20 years ago. They assassinated [Iranian] nuclear scientists in Tehran. Their actions and their moves are clearly acts of terrorism, and the US supports this. Some Western governments support this too, while the rest just watch and look on. In less than two years, the Zionist regime has martyred around 20,000 children in this recent period leaving their parents in mourning. Those who chant human rights slogans are watching and take no action against this.
Nations around the world are angry and upset about the things that they are aware of. Many nations around the world aren’t aware of many matters and crimes. The fact that you see them chanting slogans against the Zionist regime in the streets of Europe and even in the US is due to the limited knowledge that they do have. If they had more information, they would protest even more. The result of what I am saying is that this criminal gang must be totally eliminated from Palestine, and, by the will and power of God, it will be eliminated. Now, striving for this goal and on this path is a duty. It’s a religious duty, a moral duty, and a human duty. Everyone has a duty to strive and work toward this [goal] to eliminate this vicious, criminal entity from the region.
Everyone should know that our stances remain unchanged. The animosity of the US and the Zionist regime is also the same as it has always been. They threaten to commit some vicious act. Of course, if there are any vicious acts — we aren’t so sure that will happen and we don’t believe it's likely that it will come from the outside — but if it does happen, they will definitely receive a strong, reciprocal blow. And if they're thinking of stirring up a sedition inside the country, as they've done in some previous years, the Iranian nation itself will answer them, just as it has in the past. May God grant you success and support.
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. By Time! Man is indeed 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 103:3).
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
