Sermons of Eid al-Fitr Prayer at Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) Prayer Ground

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

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light. Then those who disbelieved in their Lord are equal. I praise Him, seek His help, ask for His forgiveness, and turn to Him. I send blessings and peace upon His beloved and chosen one, the master of creation, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the guided, the infallible, the honored, especially the Remaining One of God among the worlds, and upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

I congratulate all the brothers and sisters present at this great and enthusiastic gathering, and all the people of Iran, and the entire Islamic Ummah on the blessed Eid al-Fitr, which is said to be a day when "the good-doers are rewarded and the wrongdoers are at a loss"; those who have worked hard, made efforts, and performed good deeds, today is the day of their reward. Thanks be to God, our nation is mostly among the "good-doers".

It is said: Indeed, God has made the month of Ramadan a race for His creatures, so they may compete in obedience to Him towards His pleasure. The Almighty God has made the month of Ramadan a field of competition among the believers to draw closer to divine satisfaction through obedience to God. Every year in this competition, thanks be to God, our nation achieves more distinctions. When we compare each year with the previous ones, we see an increase in spirituality, in good deeds, and in actions that bring humans closer to the Almighty God among the people each year. The recitation of the Quran, the reading of the Quran in parts began in a city a few years ago; today in many cities across the country, this very commendable and beautiful tradition has been repeated during this month of Ramadan. The gatherings for supplication, the gatherings for communion, the state and presence of the people in these gatherings are increasing every year. This year I investigated and gathered information; the gatherings for supplication, remembrance, communion, intercession, and sermons have been warmer, more engaging, and more populous than ever before. This is the very field of competition.

Providing iftar for the people; a tradition that has fortunately become common among the people in recent years; in mosques, in streets, in alleys, they lay out carpets and provide simple iftar or distribute iftar packages among the people. This year, these activities were more abundant and more vibrant than in previous years; this is progress in this competition.

And the peak brightness of the month of Ramadan was on the nights of Qadr, and that great gathering of people in various parts of this city and all cities across the country, where people raised their hands in supplication, spoke with the Almighty God, made requests, communed, and increased the purity and clarity of their souls. These are the very efforts in the field of competition.

Then the Quds Day march, which is truly a unique phenomenon in the Islamic Republic, was more prominent this year than ever before; under that scorching sun, on long days, with fasting mouths and after the night of worship on the twenty-third of Ramadan; a few hours after the end of the night of revival, people came out into the streets with this enthusiasm and joy; those who calculate these matters have reported to us that this year in most cities of the country, the number of marchers was more enthusiastic and quantitatively greater than in previous years.

This nation is awake. This nation is motivated. This nation is not tired. Those who, following the propaganda of the enemies, promote that this nation is tired, is unmotivated, are themselves tired, they are the ones who lack motivation! They generalize, they compare to themselves. This nation, after a night of revival, with that excitement, with that enthusiasm, from all segments of the people - men and women, old and young - come into the streets and initiate that march; this nation is not tired, it is not hopeless. This nation sees the field of work as a field of competition, its spirituality is increasing day by day, thanks be to God. Every year, the spirituality of our people and their purity during the month of Ramadan increases; this means that the Iranian nation, despite the efforts of the policies that seek to distance people from spirituality, remains committed to spirituality, stands firm against the world that is moving towards corruption and moral decline. And the main factor behind all this effort across the country is primarily the youth of this country; and this is an unparalleled spiritual asset that the youth of the country possess, and it is the keeper of the identity, independence, dignity, and greatness of the country.

O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, grant this dignity, this spirituality, this greatness, this forward movement to this great and faithful nation, enduring and lasting.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say: He is God, the One. God, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Second Sermon: In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the guided, the infallible. O God, send blessings upon Your guardian, the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and upon his beloved, Fatimah al-Zahra, and upon Hasan and Husayn, the masters of the youth of Paradise, and upon Ali ibn Husayn, the Lord of the Worshippers, and upon Muhammad ibn Ali, the Baqir of the knowledge of the first and the last, and upon Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, and upon Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim, and upon Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, and upon Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad, and upon Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi, and upon Hasan ibn Ali al-Zaki al-Askari, and upon the Awaited Mahdi, may Your blessings be upon them all, and send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

This year's Quds Day had more vibrancy and flourishing among other nations; the news we received from various countries indicated that nations in different countries commemorate Quds Day. This means that despite the propaganda of the enemies, the closeness between the Muslim nations and the great nation of Iran has increased, their orientations have become closer to each other.

Of course, the evil powers are constantly plotting and scheming against the Iranian nation; because they are worried about its standing, its power, its independence, and its innovative and lofty thoughts for national life among the nations. Of course, these powers make their efforts, and God willing, they will always be defeated. The President of the United States announced that they have spent seven trillion dollars in this region of West Asia! He himself says that it is not about millions, it is not about billions, it is about trillions. "We have spent seven trillion - seven thousand billion - dollars in this region and gained nothing," he says; this means defeat; America has failed in the region. America has not been able to achieve its goals in this region, the Great Satan, with all its efforts, with all its temptations and whispers. They have spent money, and they will soon regret it; this is a verse of the Quran, they spend money but gain no benefit from it; after this, the evil powers in this region, whatever money they spend, will face the same outcome.

But the Iranian nation must remain vigilant; it must recognize the plots. Dear brothers and sisters! Across the country, today the enemy's plot is economic pressure on the masses of the Iranian nation to exhaust them, to make them hopeless; know that everyone must strive in this regard; both the government must strive, and the officials must strive; the government, meaning the collection of governing bodies. Thanks be to God, fortunately, a central hub has been formed to address these matters with the presence of the heads of the three branches and the active officials of the three branches to follow this important issue of the economy step by step and make decisive decisions and implement them; this work must, God willing, be pursued with seriousness.

But the people also have responsibilities; they must fulfill these responsibilities; the masses must pay attention to the issue of wastefulness. A few years ago, we raised the issue of wastefulness; extravagance, spending excessively on unnecessary matters, should be set aside for the benefit of the country, for the benefit of the underprivileged and the oppressed.

The Iranian nation should know that today liquidity in the country is very high; those who have financial resources, those who are the owners of this liquidity, should direct it towards production so that work can get underway; the wheels of people's lives turn with production; this is a task that falls upon all people.

Those who are engaged in trade and commerce outside these borders should be cautious, they should take care not to import goods that are produced domestically; they should not import unnecessary goods that are far from the needs of the people. These are tasks that the people can undertake; it is the responsibility of all individuals.

And all the actions that can help the independent economic movement of the country should be enumerated. Those who have become accustomed to traveling abroad should abandon this habit. Going on recreational trips to various countries - of course, except for pilgrimage trips to holy sites or Hajj, which are not under consideration; they do not impose such costs on the country and have their own blessings - should be set aside. It has been reported and heard that the Ministry of Economy has made decisions to enhance the business environment, eliminating obstacles that hinder the flourishing of the business environment; this is a positive action, and it should be pursued. The issue of combating corruption must be pursued seriously; likewise, the fight against wastefulness. Young people who are active in production and construction sectors - which, thanks be to God, have greatly expanded in the country, with young people engaged in productive work, striving, and producing beneficial products - should be encouraged.

Another important issue is the unity of all people - national unity and social unity among the people. Unfortunately, today in the public space, in virtual spaces, insults and slanders against each other have become common among a group; of course, this group is certainly not large, but their actions harm the country and the public atmosphere; some of these are major sins. The spirit of unity and the spirit of concern should prevail; they should set aside mutual attacks for another time; today, when the enemy stands against the country, everyone should join hands, be united, and work together for the independence and greatness of the country.

We also ask that the enemy's propaganda - which is essentially psychological warfare aimed at undermining the morale of the people - not be repeated by some in these newspapers, media, and outlets. The enemy says something to weaken the spirit of the Iranian nation, and sometimes we see someone inside repeating the same words; the same lies, the same falsehoods, they express them either for the satisfaction of the enemy or due to a lack of proper analysis of the issues; we should abandon these.

God willing, the future of the country, with this spirit, with this movement, with this nation, with this spirituality, with this sense of independence that exists in these people, will, by God's grace, be many times better than today. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, unite the pure soul of the Imam, the pure souls of the martyrs with Your friends; bless this Eid for the Iranian nation.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised one another to truth and advised one another to patience.

And peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.