Leader calls for practical adherence to path of Imam Ali (AS)

On the auspicious occasion of Eid al-Ghadir, the 18th of Zilhijja on which in the year 10 AH, on the express commandment of God Almighty, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), proclaimed as vicegerent his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS), the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, received at his headquarters in Tehran thousands of people from various walks of life.

 During the meeting, he congratulated the audience on the blessed day, noting that the most important message of the day of Ghadir, was to determine “Imamate” as the main rule and regulation for governance in Islam.

He said: “It is the issue of the leadership of the Islamic community. It is the issue of government and imamate in the Islamic community. Of course, it was possible that Muslims would not obey this edict and actually they did not do so! For several centuries, the Omayyads, the Abbasids and other such tyrannical groups lived like kings and ruled over the people in the name of caliphate and the like. However, this does not harm the philosophy of Ghadir.” The Leader of the Islamic Revolution enumerated the unrivaled merits of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), especially the characteristics of his model government of justice, saying these characteristics have inspired the seekers of truth throughout history and serve as models of emulation for the Islamic Republic government. Stay with us for excerpts.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed out that in addition to deciding the rule of governance, on God’s command, the Prophet introduced Imam Ali (AS) as the epitome of leadership, because of his greatness, multisided genius and impeccable personality. He said: “Of course, when it comes to Imamate and leadership of the Islamic society, nobody can achieve the unique peak of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), which means even the greatest scholarly and gnostic personalities in the history of Islam, like our honourable Imam Khomeini, who was a great, perfect and prominent figure, are merely like sunlight rays when compared with the resplendent sun that Imam Ali (AS) was.” the Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized, “The event of Ghadir forms the [main] regulation for governance in the Islamic society and shows that apart from the rule of Imamate and Velayat, Islam does not accept other models represented by monarchial, totalitarian, money- and force-based, bullying, and arrogant systems, which follow lustful desires [of their rulers] and are aristocratic [in nature].”

Reflecting upon the importance of the event of Ghadir, he referred to God’s commandment to Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) to the effect that completion of his prophetic mission hinged on promulgation of the issue of Imamate, and noted, “This Islamic belief has its root in strong fundaments and irrefutable arguments, but its expression must not lead to incitement of sentiments of our Sunni brethren, because this would be against the conduct of the Infallible Imams (peace upon them).”

Ayatollah Khamenei, reiterating the importance of unity in the Islamic world, said that some naïve people think that in order to prove they are Shi’a Muslims they should insult and curse the persons revered by Sunnis and other denominations. This is against the tradition of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, he said, pointing out that “When you witness that certain radios and television channels are launched in the world Islam whose job is to insult the great personalities of other denominations under the title and in the name of Shi’a Muslims, it is clear that this is funded by the English Treasury. No one should think that promoting the ideology of Shi’a Muslims and strengthening faith is dependent on such insults and such a manner of speaking. This is not the case because such courses of action produce the opposite result. When you say offensive things, a wall is built around them whose material is anger and hard feelings.

Under such circumstances, they cannot even stand listening to the truth. We have many cogent and logical ideas. We have many ideas that are cherished by anyone who thinks if they have the opportunity to hear them. You should allow these ideas to be heard. You should allow these ideas to have the opportunity to infiltrate the heart of the other side. When you swear and when you insult the other side, a dam is built around him with the result that your ideas are not heard at all. They will not listen. Under such circumstances, malicious, dependent and mercenary groups who receive money from America, from the CIA and from other intelligence services – groups such as DAESH, Jibhat an-Nusra and other such groups – create the situation that you witness in Iraq, Syria and other countries. And they do so by using a bunch of ordinary, foolish and ignorant individuals. This is the enemy’s job. He is waiting for an opportunity. In fact, he uses every opportunity. We have many truthful, logical and firm ideas… There are many Sunnis who have written about the unrivalled virtues of Imam Ali (AS). Even the Christian writer George Jordac has written a five-volume book about Imam Ali (AS).”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the spiritual and humanitarian traits and characteristics of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), including profound faith, proper cognition of God, piety, knowledge, wisdom, offering sacrifices on the path of Islam, courage, bravery on the battlefield, sympathy for the weak, selflessness and forgiveness. He added that another part of the Imam’s characteristics “is related to his style of governance, among which one can mention justice, fairness, treating all human beings equally, avoiding mundane attractions, foresight, taking rapid action when fulfilling his duty, elucidation [of various issues for people], guiding the society toward piety and acting upon what is right and in acting upon justice.”

Explaining Imam Ali’s avoidance of worldly attractions or personal use of government resources, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized, “Being tempted to take advantage of financial resources under control is one of those scourges, which afflicts [various] governments, while a government based on the concept of Imamate is seriously against such issues and prohibits personal use of public resources.”

He dwelt on the foresight of Imam Ali (AS) and emphasized that the Commander of the Faithful “showed foresight in identifying friends and foes as well as differentiating among the latter. And his behaviour with the enemies in the three wars which they had imposed upon him during his caliphate, was totally different.” The Leader described Imam Ali (AS) as a great and indescribable personality and added, “Our duty is to move toward this peak [of human perfection] and take advantage of those characteristics as much as our strength and faith allows [us].” Ayatollah Khamenei then emphasized the need for Shi’a Muslims to be a source of pride for the Ahl al-Bayt, the Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny through proper adherence to the Infallible Imams and choosing them as role models. He cautioned: “The person who accepts a bribe or makes illegal use of public funds or turns a blind eye to wrongdoing and feels no responsibility toward guiding the society, is not a source of pride for the Islamic establishment and society and, in fact, is a cause of shame for Islam.”

Stressing that “we can never be as ascetic as Imam Ali (AS)”, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “However, we can avoid extravagance and indulgence by moving along the illuminated trail blazed by him.” He said: “Unfortunately, our society is afflicted with the ugly phenomenon of extravagance and this extravagance is manifest in various aspects, including in personal lifestyles.”

One of the untoward outcomes of extravagance in the society is the blow that it deals to the country’s economy, he said, noting: “If a society wants to reach the optimal point in terms of internal economic strength, it should certainly prevent extravagance.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described prevention of extravagance as a duty for all people in the first place, and emphasized that adherence to the Leadership of Imam Ali (AS) must be reflected in a person’s actions. He said, “One of the best ways through which the enemy hits us is to exploit weaknesses of the society and these weaknesses must be corrected.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said that sabotaging the country’s economy was the main goal of the enemy, and reiterating on materialization of the Economy of Resistance, he added: “The enemy seeks to aggravate the economic conditions of [the Iranian] people and finally create dissatisfaction with Islam and the Islamic establishment.” He noted that under these conditions, making plans and taking action against the enemy’s objective was a duty for the Iranian administration, parliament and officials in different sectors as well as all the Iranian people.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution opined that despite all problems, the general movement of the country is good as a result of the efforts made by dedicated youths, who are incessantly endeavouring to reinvigorate Islam and promote religion. He said: “By the Grace of God, these youths will bring any enemy, including the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel] to their knees.” He then emphasized, “The reason why I express optimism toward the future in my remarks time and again is the existence of these desirable facts, which can drive the country forward.”

Pointing out the high number of faithful and highly motivated youths ready to attend all arenas of struggle to defend the country, the Leader noted, “This is the very motivation that must be strengthened, the one which will save the country.”

AS/SS