Struggle between Prophet's followers and followers of Ignorance persists - Imam Khamenei

AhlulBayt News Agency - The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 5, 2016 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the government officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and ambassadors of Islamic countries. The meeting was held on the occasion of Mab’ath (Ordainment of Prophet Muhammad).

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 and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth

I would like to congratulate you honorable participants, dear brothers and sisters, the honorable officials of the country, the ambassadors of Islamic countries who are present in this meeting, all the people of Iran, the entire Islamic Ummah, and the entire humanity on the occasion of Mab’ath. Today, humanity really needs- more than ever- to understand the meaning and truth of be’that (the appointment of prophet).

The Holy Quran has addressed the ayah “Now has come unto you a Messenger from among yourselves, it grieves him that you should perish, ardently anxious is he over you” [The Holy Quran, 9: 128] to the entire humanity. The last part of this ayah is “To the believers is he most kind and merciful.”

Despite this emphasis on “believers”, the pains of all human beings, the life problems of all people and all human societies are difficult for the blessed life of the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.). “Ardently anxious is he over you.” He is eager to guide them and to ensure their bliss. Be’that is for all humans. In the next ayah, the Holy Quran’s sympathy towards the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) is interesting: “But if they turn back, say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no God but He. On Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of mighty power” [The Holy Quran, 9: 129].

This ayah is addressed to the entire humanity. It says that we should step on the path of humanity’s salvation and reformation and that we should rely on Allah the One because everything is in His hands and divine traditions are at the service of this movement. Today, we need the meaning of be’that. Humanity- particularly the Islamic Ummah- needs this.

The eid of Mab’ath is the eid of stimulation with the purpose of wiping away the pains of humanity. Therefore, it is really an eid. The main pains of humanity that have continued throughout history- today too, these pain continue in different forms- are serving those other than God, establishing oppression and injustice, allowing a rift among different classes of people and witnessing the disasters of the weak and the oppression of bullies. These are the ever-present pains of humanity. These things have always been imposed on humanity with the filthy and corrupt motivation of bullying powers.

The goal of be’that is wiping away these pains. Mab’ath is, in fact, the day of returning to the divine nature. This is because all these pains, difficulties and chaotic situations have been rejected in the divine nature that has been installed and placed in human nature in the form of trust. The divine nature for human beings is supporting the truth, justice and jihad in the way of the oppressed. This is human nature.

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) has said something in the noble Nahjul Balaghah on which we should think very deeply. He says, “Messengers of God have come to get them [people] to fulfill the pledges of His creation…” [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 1]. Prophets urge humans to fulfill the pledge that has been installed in human nature and to acknowledge this pledge. Allah the Exalted has asked humans to be free, to live a life of justice and salvation and to avoid serving other than God. “To get them to fulfill the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties…” Allah has sent messengers to remind them of God’s forgotten blessings – divine blessings. We show negligence about the blessing of our existence, our health, our wisdom and the good qualities that Allah the Exalted has installed in human nature in the form of trust. Humanity forgets these blessings, but prophets remind them of these blessings.

“To recall to them His bounties, to exhort them by preaching…” He has sent prophets to clarify, and to convey and explain the message of the truth to them. The most important responsibility of prophets was to clarify and to explain. The enemies of prophets take advantage of ignorance and cover-ups. They make use of the veil of hypocrisy. However, prophets lift the veil of ignorance and hypocrisy.  “To unveil before them the hidden virtues of wisdom.” They have come to urge humans to think and to deliberate.

Notice what great goals these are. These are the goals of be’that. How desperately humanity needs these things today! And when the act of re-opening the treasure chest of wisdom is carried out, it is time “To show them the signs of His Omnipotence.” Wisdom guides humanity towards monotheism and divine signs. Prophets have come to show humans the signs of God’s power. A guidance-free mind cannot understand the truth the way it is. It cannot do so without the guidance of prophets. Prophets help the human mind. They guide it so that with the power that God has given it, it can take the difficult path of life and clarify the truths of the world for humans. The power of wisdom and reasoning is important for humans, but only with divine guidance – with God’s assistance. Well, these things constitute be’that.

The opposite front to be’that is jahiliyyah. Jahiliyyah should not be regarded as an issue that is related to a specific period of history so much so that we say that at that time, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was faced with jahiliyyah and that time is over now. Jahiliyyah was not particular to that time. Jahiliyyah continues today, as be’that continues in the present time.

 “These sweet and salty waters continue in separate veins

They flow on humanity until Judgment Day” [from a poem by Molavi].

These are the two fronts among humanity. This jahiliyyah - that confronts prophets - does not mean lack of knowledge. This ignorance is not ignorance against knowledge. Sometimes, knowledge serves jahiliyyah, as is the case in the present time. Today, human knowledge is advanced in the world, but it serves the same jahiliyyah for whose destruction prophets were sent. This jahiliyyah is the opposite of the wisdom that is guided by prophets and by God. When wisdom- one that benefits from the support and guidance of prophets- dominates humanity’s life, life will become blissful. We should pursue this. The day when this does not exist – that is to say, the day when human wisdom ceases to be the dominant force – lust, rage and selfish desires will become dominant. If this happens, humanity will burn in the hot furnace of disasters as we have witnessed this throughout history and as we are witnessing it today.

When lust and rage dominate human behavior, then you will witness that in two world wars, millions of humans roll in their own blood- that people’s lives become worthless and that human dignity is ruined. This domination of lust and rage or the opposite of it – the domination of wisdom, one that is guided by prophets – exists at all levels. It exists at an individual, societal and international level. If at the international level, God-given and guided wisdom dominates the behavior of global powers, the world will take a particular shape. However, when selfish desires, power hunger and sedition dominate these powers, the issue will be different. These are humans’ disasters. So, be’that is against this jahiliyyah orientation that is possible at all times. Therefore, all humans are responsible towards it.

Colonialism, the humiliation of peoples, the looting of nations’ financial resources and the corruption of their human resources originate from the rule of that jahiliyyah. When jahiliyyah becomes dominant, you will see that many nations in the world will be trampled under the boots of colonialism, that their resources will be looted, that they will be humiliated and that they will remain backward for many years. Some of the nations that were colonized fell behind for tens of years and some of them fell behind for centuries.

In his memoirs, Nehru says that before the domination of the English over India, India had an advanced civilization compared to those times. It even had an advanced industry and advanced products. However, the English came, took the affairs of that large country into their hands and kept it backward so that they themselves could grow. A small and remote country like England gained power only by looting the resources of a large country like India. As a result of this, they ruined that country. This is colonialism. This is the rule of lust and rage.

On the basis of what is said and written, since the conclusion of World War I and World War II, tens of civil wars have been waged, all of them by superpowers. Take a look today and see what is going on in West Asia and North Africa. Who waged these wars? Who gave weapons and resources to malicious and corrupt individuals? Who encouraged them to create fitnas in certain countries and destroy their infrastructure? Shaitan means this: “Likewise did We make for every Messenger an enemy - evil ones among men and jinns, inspiring each other with flowery discourses by way of deception” [The Holy Quran, 6: 112]. This is how things are. When shaitans join hands, they create systems. When they dominate the ruling systems of the world, humanity gets stuck in this situation that you witness today.

The enmity of true believers and the Islamic Republic towards Zionism originates from such realities. We show no enmity towards others in the natural course of events. When the Zionist regime and the large network of Zionist capitalists dominates governments and when it dominates a government like the government of the United States of America – the progress and power of every person and political party is dependent on their support – the world becomes like this, as you can witness today. These are the roots of the great movement of the Islamic Ummah, the people of Iran and Islamic Awakening in the world. This is why they find the cure in slandering Islam, Iran and Shia.

Today, one of the definite policies of the American government and those governments that follow it is Islamophobia, Iranophobia and Shiaphobia. They are moving forward like this. This is their definite policy. When nations remain ignorant, they advance. However, when nations become vigilant, they will be faced with opposition. And under such circumstances, they become angry, shouting why we are present in West Asia, thus preventing them from doing what they want to do.

It was yesterday or the day before yesterday that American spokespeople announced that Iran’s opposition towards American policies in West Asia – that they refer to as “the Middle East” – causes them to confront and impose sanctions on that country. What does this mean? It means, “You people of Iran – who are vigilant and insightful and who understand what is happening in the region – should retreat and allow us to do our job and to do whatever we want.” This means the continuation of their mischievous behavior. This is the condition of jahiliyyah and this jahiliyyah exists today.

When jahiliyyah emerges and when satanic powers become dominant, then chaos occurs. Taghut means this: “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of taghut” [The Holy Quran, 4: 76]. This is the criterion. Every step that an individual takes on the path of strengthening taghut makes them be in the camp of taghut. This is taghut’s job: corrupting individuals and behaving in a corrupt manner. “When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief throughout the earth and destroy crops and cattle” [The Holy Quran, 2: 205].

God wants salvation for humanity, but taghut wants corruption for it. With one bomb, they kill hundreds of thousand people in one, two cities and after the passage of many years, they are not even willing to apologize. When people say to them that they should apologize for the event of Hiroshima, they answer, “No, we will not apologize.” They are not even willing to apologize! Either they or their agents destroy the infrastructure of countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and some other regional countries, but they pretend that nothing has happened and they continue the same path.

This is the manifestation of “When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief throughout the earth and destroy crops and cattle.” This is the same orientation and front of jahiliyyah. In soul and spirit, today’s jahiliyyah is the same as the jahiliyyah of the Holy Prophet’s (s.w.a.) time. Of course, it benefits from new tools, new measures and a new shape. This situation definitely imposes a responsibility on all Muslims and on the entire Islamic Ummah. This responsibility is confronting taghut.

Since the beginning, the Islamic Republic has not begun a war and it has not made any military moves against any country. However, it has always announced its claims and slogans in a loud voice. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) put American Islam on the same footing as reactionary Islam. Both of these are against original Islam. They are afraid of original Islam.

The deviant and corrupt groups who are acting in a corrupt manner in Islamic countries, who slander Islam, who - in the name of Islam - pull an individual’s liver out of his body and tear into pieces with their teeth- in front of people and cameras, who burn individuals, in the name of Islam, in front of cameras and in front of several billion people- are supported, approved and assisted by wicked western powers. An anti-DAESH coalition has apparently been formed, but news and information shows that this coalition is not a real coalition and that this fight is not a genuine fight, rather it is merely a formality and a feigned course of action.

And when they want to speak about these deviant and corrupt groups in their propaganda, they refer to them as the “Islamic State”. In other words, those who treat people like this, who kill and deceive children in that horrible manner and who make them enter the arena for suicide missions, are members of the Islamic State. This is the meaning of Islamophobia.

Today, the responsibility of us Muslims is to familiarize ourselves and the whole world with the truth of be’that. Be’that means stimulation for humanity’s salvation. Be’that means establishing the system of good and peace among the human community. This is the meaning of be’that. Be’that means wishing good for all human beings. We want good things for all humans. We even pray that Allah the Exalted guides those deviant and corrupt leaders of taghuti regimes. We pray that He either guides them and makes them return from that deviant path or that He shortens their life so that they do not display any more corruption and do not bring about more divine rage. This is truly a well-intentioned prayer. Islam and the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) want salvation for all humans.

And this movement of the Islamic Ummah, which has begun with the formation of the Islamic Republic in the world, will definitely become victorious. This movement is one that they could not destroy although they tried their best. Despite their efforts, it has become stronger and deeper on a daily basis. The enmity of the enemies will not be able to destroy this great movement.

We should act on the advice and edict of the holy Quranic ayah that I recited in this meeting: “But if they turn back, say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no God but He. On Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of mighty power.” If you see that they turn back, if you see that they have surrounded you from all sides with different tools, “Say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no God but He. On Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of mighty power.” It was our magnanimous Imam’s (r.a.) reliance on God that showed the path to us and helped us reach this point. With the same reliance on God, the people of Iran will – by Allah’s favor – continue the same path and with the help of Islamic Awakening, the Islamic Ummah will manifest these truths on a daily basis.

And in the end, the victory of Islam and Muslims is definite. However, we have certain responsibilities. Individuals, the masses of the people, the political personalities of countries and heads of Islamic governments have certain responsibilities. Each of them who carries out their responsibilities will be rewarded by Allah the Exalted. And if they do not carry them out, “Soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him” [The Holy Quran, 5: 54]. If they do not fulfill their duties, Allah’s load and burden will not remain idle on the ground. This path will continue. I hope that by Allah’s favor, we will be among those who never put this load on the ground.

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings






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