Statements at the Meeting with Guests Participating in the Fourth International Assembly of Ahl al-Bayt (Peace Be Upon Them)

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

We welcome the dear guests and participants in this assembly and gathering. We also congratulate everyone on the blessed births of Sha'ban; the birth of Imam Hussain, Imam Zain al-Abidin, and Abu al-Fadl, as well as the auspicious birth of Imam al-Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

The focus of this assembly and your gatherings, my brothers and sisters associated with the Ahl al-Bayt Assembly, is a very exalted theme; that is, the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This is the very matter that has been emphasized in the Holy Quran: "Indeed, Allah intends to remove the impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and to purify you with a thorough purification," and in the prophetic traditions, there are numerous clear and undeniable statements regarding the Ahl al-Bayt; among them is the famous Hadith of Thaqalayn, which places the Ahl al-Bayt alongside the Book of Allah: "I am leaving among you the two precious things: the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt," which is widely accepted among Muslims. Also, there is the well-known and perhaps widely transmitted Hadith: "The example of my Ahl al-Bayt is like the Ark of Noah; whoever embarks upon it is saved, and whoever turns away from it drowns," along with many other narrations.

The present gathering's central theme is this noble and exalted title. Of course, all Muslims have affection for the Ahl al-Bayt, except for a very few who are the Nasibis and their ilk. The sects of Muslims all have respect for the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet and acknowledge their high status in knowledge and action; however, the Shiites are those who, as expressed in the Ziyarat al-Jami'a, are recognized as followers of the Imams and affirmers of the Imams (peace be upon them) and recognize their spiritual ranks and accept their status in the Islamic community and in the succession of the Prophet. The fact that the focus of these gatherings is such a significant matter elevates the level of work, the greatness of the work, and the value of the work; it gives importance to the mission of the work. Why do we gather together? We must clarify this goal specifically; we must know what we are pursuing.

Today, the Islamic world is in need of the message of the Ahl al-Bayt. The issue of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt and the Ahl al-Bayt Assembly and the call of the Ahl al-Bayt in Shiite communities is not a divisive call; contrary to what some narrow-minded individuals on one side and some malicious individuals on the other side think and continuously trumpet in their propaganda. The issue is not one of negation; it is one of affirmation. The school of the Ahl al-Bayt has truths, teachings that the Islamic world is in need of today.

If someone looks at the blessed Sahifa Sajjadiyya - which, due to the birth of this great figure, deserves more attention and care - they will find a summary and essence of the thoughts of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) contained in this book. In the Sahifa Sajjadiyya, there is profound faith, clear and unambiguous mysticism, complete attention to the source of greatness and the Divine Essence, concern for the affairs of the people, Muslims - the affairs of individuals connected with humanity - and an emphasis on the Islamic honors and the early days of Islam. It is a book of life that is mystical, passionate, wise, and rational; it is a collection of these elements. And the vast sea of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) is another aspect. These are the things that the Islamic world is in need of today.

If we gather around the blessed name of the Ahl al-Bayt, it is not to build a wall around ourselves that separates us from the rest of the Muslims; rather, it is the opposite, to open new horizons before the eyes of Islamic thinkers; to open new windows so that they can see new truths. This is our mission and responsibility.

First and foremost, the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt must acknowledge and confess to this exalted identity and recognize this precious gem that they hold in their hands so that they can then present it; they must have the courage to display this precious gem in the marketplace of various commodities; to place it before the eyes of others.

The mission of the Ahl al-Bayt Assembly is this: to feel pride and honor in the identity of following the Ahl al-Bayt. We take pride in having recognized these great figures. We thank God that we have not remained heedless of the ranks of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him); God guided us, and we understood and recognized. And we must feel that we should present these truths before the eyes of the people of the world; just as the Imams did; not with narrow-mindedness, not with hostility, not by mixing superstitions and falsehoods with these gems, which is one of our current issues. We must rid religious concepts of superstitions. In general, one of the concepts that exists in the realm of the knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt and the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt is this issue, and this is the work of scholars; it is the work of the distinguished; it is not the work of everyone, and this duty weighs heavily on the scholars and specialists. Just as it has been narrated: "Introduce the beauties of the words of the Ahl al-Bayt to others," for "if people knew the beauties of our words," they would naturally turn their hearts towards them and be captivated by them; this is our duty today.

There is a deep and dangerous conspiracy - which is very old - to create discord among Islamic sects; today, the issue of Shia and Sunni is being raised in the world, but this discord is not limited to Shia and Sunni; rather, they want the other Islamic sects to also confront each other within Shia and within Sunni - the fundamental sects, the jurisprudential sects, the theological sects - to grab each other by the throat and shout against each other; this is what the enemy wants, and especially the British are skilled in this matter; they are very experienced; they have been working in this field for many years - for decades, perhaps it can be said for hundreds of years - they know how to identify weaknesses; they point to them to create discord. They are currently very active in this regard. Of course, it is not only the British here; the intelligence and security services of Israel and America are all involved in deepening this discord. They create rumors; they speak to a certain Sunni country’s official in such a way that they feel that the Shia is threatening them as a danger. Here, they speak to the Shia community - the officials of the Shia country and the rest of the countries where Shia are present - in such a way that they feel that the Sunnis are threatening them and destroying their existence and identity. This is the enemy's work. This must be recognized.

One issue is the principle of "creating discord and anxiety" so that they do not unite. So that this unity does not create a great unit - which the greedy arrogant powers tremble at the thought of - that is, the united Islamic Ummah. If the Islamic Ummah is formed in the true sense of the word, it terrifies the colonizers and the greedy ones and those who want to exploit this region for their own benefit. They do not want this to happen.

The principle of "creating discord" has another motivation that, after the uprising of the Iranian nation and the raising of the flag of the Islamic Revolution in this country, was added to that previous motivation, and that is that they fear that the thoughts of pure Islam, Islam of jihad, Islam of independence, Islam of dignity and identity, which considers the domination of foreigners and enemies over the Islamic Ummah as a sin and does not accept it at any price, will spread from Iran to other Islamic communities and multiply their problems. They try to sow discord between Islamic Iran and other regions of the world. They know that the thoughts that awaken a nation - a colonized nation like ours during the tyranny - bring it to the scene, compel it to struggle, dispel its fears, and draw it into the midst of a great international battlefield and lead it to victory in all stages, are very dangerous for the world oppressors, for those who have plans for the Middle East and for oil and other matters here. They do not want to allow it; of course, they have tried hard, but they have not succeeded until today.

Until today, the thoughts of the Islamic Revolution have penetrated all over the Islamic world, despite their efforts, despite all the destructive actions and opposing propaganda. Of course, if it were not for their propaganda, the situation would be different. Therefore, today there is a lot of propaganda against the Islamic system and the Islamic Republic. On one hand, there is propaganda against Shia for the same reason. The group that wants to be in the forefront as followers of the Ahl al-Bayt must pay attention to these matters and choose their priorities in light of these realities.

Dear brothers and sisters! You have taken on a great task. The Ahl al-Bayt Assembly has defined great responsibilities for itself. These formal activities - a few seminars here and there - are small tasks. Your fundamental work is the one that must be realized through these activities, and that is to introduce the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) to the Islamic world, indeed to the entire world; because today the whole world is thirsty for spirituality, and this spirituality exists in Islam and is comprehensively and completely present in the Islam that is introduced through the school of the Ahl al-Bayt; spirituality that is not isolated, not separated from life, spirituality that is accompanied by politics and mysticism, along with social activity, supplication, and crying before God Almighty, and accompanied by jihad. These are the things that exist in the school of Islam, manifested and embodied in the teachings and knowledge of Shia, and we have seen its living examples; in contemporary history, we have seen many such examples in Islamic Iran. This is the main duty.

Of course, we are certain that in this battle between truth and falsehood, which has today commenced - the battle between Islam and Islamic teachings and Islamic awakening on one side, and the greedy ambitions of the arrogant powers and the policies of the devils of the world, at the forefront of which is the Great Satan, namely the United States, on the other side - victory is with us; victory is with the side of truth. There is no doubt about this. All signs indicate and confirm this. The nature of divine traditions is such; that is, it does not mean anything else. Those who are supporters of the truth, if they stand firm and take action, there is no doubt that they will be victorious over falsehood. The divine traditions are in favor of strengthening the truth, and the natural expectation from the flow of divine traditions in history necessitates this. We are also witnessing this through experience. If today the Islamic movement in the world is compared to twenty years ago, it will be observed that it has significantly more vitality and progress than twenty years ago. Particularly if you look at the Islamic Republic - compare this year with twenty years ago - you will see that the Islamic Republic has made astonishing advancements in all dimensions; in terms of science, technology, politics, and management, it has become more efficient; it has gained more strength. In the Islamic world - in Africa and Asia, even in countries where Muslims are in the minority - one can see that this sense of identity among Muslim communities is increasing day by day; this is from one side.

On the other side, today’s America is significantly weaker than the America of twenty years ago. Today’s America does not have the grandeur of that America, nor does it have its power. It has endured setbacks that have increasingly weakened it; it has fallen into traps that, as time goes on, it sinks deeper into, and it outlines a dangerous future for America and for all those who have gone down the dangerous political and other paths with the rope of America. This is our experience, this is our perspective; these are the realities that stand before us; however, we should not become arrogant about these realities.

It must be understood that divine mercy and assistance depend on the movement and efforts of the faithful believer; on their righteous actions. We must be present in the field, we must not forget our sense of duty; we must not forget our struggle; jihad in various arenas is our duty and the guarantee of our progress and victory. There is jihad in the political arena, there is jihad in the cultural arena, there is jihad in the propaganda and communication arena, there is jihad in the social arena. Jihad is not only military jihad; all kinds of human life arenas are arenas of jihad.

Wherever we are in the world, the connections between brothers must become stronger day by day, their work more concentrated, their priorities clearer, and their energies more focused on priorities. Certainly, the outlook for the future of the Muslim community in general and the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt in particular will be better than their present, and God willing, they will be closer to their lofty goals and ideals.

We hope that God Almighty will bestow His favors upon all brothers and sisters; that He will make us aware of our duties; that He will grant us success in fulfilling these duties, and God willing, He will make the holy heart of Imam al-Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him) pleased and satisfied with us, and God willing, the pure spirit of Imam Khomeini - who opened this path before us - and the pure souls of the martyrs will be pleased and satisfied with us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.