The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 27, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials and the ambassadors of Islamic countries in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The meeting was held on the occasion of Mab'ath.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah and God's greetings be upon Muhammad, his pure household, his chosen companions and those who follow them until the Day of Judgment.
I would like to congratulate all you dear participants, dear brothers, dear sisters, dear guests, those ambassadors of Islamic countries who are present in this meeting and all the people of Iran - who showed that they are committed to the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) message of be'that and who emerged victorious out of a great and difficult test on this path - on the occasion of the anniversary of the Holy Prophet of Islam's (s.w.a.) be'that. Be'that is in fact, humanity's greatest Eid.
I would like to extend my congratulations to all Muslim nations, the entire world of Islam, each and every Muslim in any part of the world and all the liberated people throughout the world - those who feel excited about and enjoy the message of freedom, the message of justice and the message of human principles and human dignity - on the occasion of this great day.
Dear brothers and sisters, many different things can be said and discussed about the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) be'that. What is necessary for us people and for the world of Islam and what should receive attention is two, three main points: one is the point that the Commander of the Faithful (peace and greetings be upon him) raised in a Nahjul Balaghah sermon. In this sermon, he says that the reason for the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) and other great divine prophets' be'that is "To get them [people] to fulfill the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties... and to unveil before them the hidden virtues of reason [uqul]" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 1]. It means that the goal is to help human beings return to human nature - which is accompanied by dignity and honor - to remind them of God's forgotten blessings and to revive the spirit of reason.
It is in the shade of reason that people can understand the message of prophets, that they can overcome the fear of the problems and hardships that exist on the enlightened path of prophets and that they can put these problems behind them. It is in the shade of reason, wisdom and acumen that humanity can benefit from Quranic concepts in the right way. If the Islamic community can carry out this single command - that is to say, if it can make the power of reason, wisdom and acumen a common and public practice - the main problems of humanity will be solved. If it can do this, the main problems of the Islamic community will be solved.
Notice that today, some people in a corner of the world oppress innocent individuals in the name of Islam. Some people massacre Muslims because of Islam. In an African center and country, someone is murdered, raped and oppressed because of being a Muslim. In another area, some people abduct people's daughters in the name of Islam. These things happen because the message of Islam has not been fully understood by Muslims. We Muslims should gain a correct understanding of the Holy Quran and Islam and we should get to the depth of the teachings and message of the Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.).
When we show negligence about the message of Islam, when we treat the Holy Quran as a forsaken thing - The Holy Quran says, "And the Messenger cried out: Oh my Lord! Surely my people have treated this Quran as a forsaken thing" [The Holy Quran, 25: 30] - when we do not pay careful attention to Quranic teachings and when we do not adopt the right outlook towards Quranic concepts, which are a complete compendium for one's life, then we will slip up and our power of reason will fail to gain a correct understanding of Quranic concepts.
Today, certain enemies in the world confront Islam in an overt way. Primarily, their confrontation is through creating discord. The deepest and most dangerous kind of discord is ideological and religious discord. Today, arrogant hands make provocative moves in religious and ideological areas in order to pit Muslims against one another. Some Muslims say takfiri things against some other Muslims. Some Muslims draw swords against some other Muslims. Instead of cooperating with one another and joining hands, brothers join hands with the enemies against their brothers. They wage wars between Shia and Sunni and they increase their ethnic and tribal plots moment by moment.
Of course, the hands that do these things are well-known hands. If the power of wisdom and the light of reason and awareness is utilized - this is the Holy Quran's command to us - we will see the enemy's hands and we will understand the enemy's motivation.
Today, arrogant powers create discord among Muslims in the world of Islam in order to reach their arrogant goals and cover up their own problems. They promote Shiaphobia and Iranophobia in order to preserve the usurping Zionist regime and resolve - in some way - the contradictions which have inflicted a defeat on arrogant policies in the region. They find the solution in creating discord among Muslims. Well, this should be seen and this should be understood. This is what competent and outstanding personalities are expected to do.
What western political organizations promote today is the same ignorance that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) rose - out of the human environment - to destroy. Today, the signs of the same ignorance can be witnessed in this common and corrupt western civilization. The same injustice, discrimination, violation of human dignity and promotion of sexual issues and desires can be seen in this civilization.
The Holy Quran says to the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) honorable wives, "And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former times of ignorance" [The Holy Quran, 33: 33]. One of the signs of "the former times of ignorance" is dazzling display on the part of women. Today, one of the main manifestations of the western civilization is this dazzling display. This is the same ignorance, but it is one that has managed to equip itself with the weapon of modern propaganda and to conceal the truth. We Muslims should understand and know these things.
Today, the world of Islam needs to turn to wisdom and reason and to get used to thinking, to gaining a correct understanding of issues and interpreting them in the right way. Today, the world of Islam needs to gain a true understanding of the camp of the enemies of the Islamic Ummah. We should know our enemies and friends.
Sometimes, it has been witnessed that a group of Muslims cooperated with our enemies in order to strike our own friends and brothers. Well, this harms us and it agitates and weakens the world of Islam. This results from lack of foresight. Today, the world of Islam needs foresight, acumen and wisdom. It needs the hidden virtues of reason: "to unveil before them the hidden virtues of reason".
Another important need of the world of Islam is unity. We should pass through trivial, personal and ideological differences and we should form a united Ummah: "Verily, this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah, and I am your Lord and Nurturer: therefore serve Me" [The Holy Quran, 21: 92]. This is Allah the Exalted's command. Are belief in the Holy Quran, belief in the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), belief in a single God and belief in a single Ka'bah and qiblah and confrontation against a united camp of enemies not enough for the unity of the world of Islam? Why do some people not understand this? Why do some people not understand these clear truths? What is the purpose of America and the camp of westerners in promoting Iranophobia and Shiaphobia? Why do some people not think about their goal?
The usurping Zionist regime - today, the existence of this regime is the greatest disaster of the world of Islam - should be able to live comfortably? It should be able to resolve its problems and it should overcome the destructive factors which thankfully exist in the foundations of this usurping regime? This is not possible except by busying Muslims with trivial issues, creating discord among them and magnifying small issues.
In our opinion, Islamic Awakening has fully come into being. There was an effort by the enemies of Islam to suppress this Awakening - and they managed to suppress it in some areas - but Islamic Awakening is not suppressible. The flag of Islam has been raised and hoisted and the feeling of Islamic identity has been strengthened in Muslims all over the world and it will continue to be strengthened.
The people of Iran have had great responsibilities in this regard which they have managed to carry out. From now on too, they will carry out their responsibilities. The people of Iran are moving forward with belief in the Holy Quran and the message of be'that, with intrinsic unity among themselves, with a feeling of courage and fearlessness in the face of the enemy, with a feeling of hope in the divine promise of victory and with valuable resources. Victory is God's definite promise: "if you help the cause of Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7].
By Allah's favor, we will conquer the trenches which we need for fighting against oppression, ignorance and injustice and then we will advance. Thankfully, the people of Iran have benefitted from divine blessings and assistance. We have moved forward step by step. We have put problems behind us one after another and we will continue to do this by Allah's favor and grace.
Officials are working in different arenas with a sense of responsibility. Today, our administration is thankfully fresh and prepared to work with its feeling of love for Islam and for being a Muslim. Our officials feel that they are dignified because of having faith in God and they are right in having this feeling. They are busy working and showing diligence.
There are certain challenges and problems on the path of life. These problems exist. If wise and insightful individuals want to live a dignified life, they must endure problems in order to achieve dignity and human honor and respect and get close to God. Those individuals who are foolish have the same problems, but they endure them with humiliation. Instead of accepting the divine Wilayat, they accept the Wilayat of shaitans: "And they have taken for worship gods other than Allah, to give them power and glory. By no means! They shall soon deny their worshipping them, and they shall be adversaries to them" [The Holy Quran, 81-82].
This is the manner that the Holy Quran discredits the formula which foolish and negligent individuals and organizations choose and apply. Instead of seeking refuge in God, instead of accepting and holding on to the divine Wilayat, they turn to the Wilayat of the enemies of Islam and humanity in order to achieve dignity. This is while such dignity will not be achieved. Those malevolent people who are worshipped by these foolish individuals will not thank them either: "By no means! They shall soon deny their worshipping them, and they shall be adversaries to them". This Quranic statement is a clear one and we should learn a lesson from it. We should identify the right path. The line of Quranic guidance brings happiness to people. Therefore, we should only ask Allah the Exalted for help.
From the beginning until today, the Islamic Republic has thankfully relied on and trusted this divine promise. We trusted divine promises and pledges and we were optimistic about them. We did not doubt divine promises like faithless people and unbelievers. That is why we emerged victorious during the time of the Revolution and the Sacred Defense Era. That is why we have thankfully emerged victorious in different economic, political, social and international activities until today. And so it shall remain. This is the path of the people of Iran.
God's mercy be upon our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) who opened this path for us. God's mercy be upon our great martyrs who laid down their lives on this path. God's mercy be upon the people of Iran who showed their preparedness in all stages. And God's mercy and blessings be upon our government officials who are ready to work, show diligence and make sacrifices in this arena.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings