Supreme Leader’s Speech to Hajj Officials

Supreme Leader’s Speech to Hajj Officials
09/10/2010

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on October 9, 2010 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution to officials in charge of hajj affairs.

In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I solemnly pray to God to bestow success on each and every official in charge of this great movement and this glorious obligation so that they can successfully fulfill the responsibilities that this great obligation has placed on the shoulders of all Muslims, especially Muslim managers.

The important point is that each person, each government official and each hajji should consider themselves responsible towards this great collective movement of the world of Islam and the Islamic Ummah. If this unified and great movement by the Islamic Ummah is continued in a wholesome, perfect and flawless manner, the blessings will benefit the entire world of Islam - and, in a sense, the entire humanity - each year. "That they may witness things that are of benefit to them." [The Holy Quran, 22: 28]

The points that were mentioned in the report presented by the honorable officials from the organization in charge of hajj are all necessary and fruitful points. In my opinion, all these points and issues are important. But the important point is that the mangers and officials at different levels should make sure their plans and decisions are translated into action. Planning is only one side of the issue. The more important side is to put the decisions and plans into practice and to evaluate the outcome. If there are any flaws in planning or implementation, they should be carefully scrutinized, and efforts should be made in order to eliminate those flaws. These things are necessary.

Why am I stressing this issue so much? Because the hajj is important. The hajj is the focus of holy sharia. Today when you take a careful look, you realize that the hajj is more important and necessary than ever before. The hajj is important both in terms of its significance for our inner self and the Islamic Ummah and in terms of its international significance. Over centuries, they undermined the determination of the Islamic Ummah. They made the Islamic Ummah hopeless. They humiliated it. They used modern tools and tried to undermine spirituality, attention to God and humility before Him. The hajj remedies all these problems. It provides the Islamic Ummah with glory. It empowers the Islamic Ummah. It fills the Islamic Ummah with hope. The first effect of the hajj is observed within the Islamic Ummah and within our hearts. We need the hajj in order to improve and raise our morale and in order to feel that we are relying on God, that we are glorious and that we are a great Ummah. This is the internal effect of the hajj, which is important. On the other hand, the international effect of the hajj is also important. It weakens the enemy and destroys its morale. It shows off the greatness of Islam to the enemy and reveals the unity of the Islamic Ummah against the enemies. We are in need of these things.

Today a big camp has deployed its forces against Islam. Why do some people ignore this big camp? This confrontation is like the Battle of the Trench. Different anti-Islam, anti-spirituality and anti-truth cults have joined forces to fight Islam. They are carefully scrutinizing everything in order to find the weak points and exploit them. They are trying to find ways of infiltrating the Islamic Ummah in order to harm us. The hajj can stop these things.

As the gentlemen said, one line of action that they are following is to foment discord within the Islamic Ummah. They are working on it carefully. They highlight the differences. They strengthen misguided tendencies among both Shia and Sunni Muslims. Among Shia Muslims, they strengthen the Qarmati sect in the name of Shia Islam and give rise to corruption. Among Sunni Muslims, they strengthen the Nasebi sect in the name of Sunni Islam and pitch them against one another. We need to be vigilant. We need to observe and understand these things. These are the fundamental needs of the world of Islam today.

The world of Islam is in need of harmony, sympathy and cooperation. Why do they foment so much discord among Muslim governments? Why do Muslim governments fail to adopt a unified front and made a unanimous decision about something as important as the Palestinian issue? Is the Palestinian issue insignificant? Some people who do not believe in any religion have stood up against monotheistic faiths and all kind of spirituality. These people are not Jewish because pious Jews renounce the Zionist party. These people have occupied an Islamic territory - the original qiblah of Muslims, the holy spiritual center of Islam. They forced the people out of their homes and pressured them on a daily basis. It is 50 years now that the world of Islam has been suffering from this problem. For some time, it was the Palestinians themselves who remained silent due to lack of vigilance. But why is the world of Islam silent now that they have stood up to fight and are demanding the Muslim world to help them? The Holy Prophet said, "Whoever spends a day without addressing the affairs of Muslims is not a Muslim." Did he not say this? Is the issue of Palestine not an instance of addressing Muslim affairs? Even in the case of such an explicit issue, so much injustice is being done to the world of Islam - both Muslims and Christians are being oppressed in Palestine. But the world of Islam has not yet adopted a unified front. Why? Where did this discord come from? These are the issues that can be addressed through the hajj.

The hajj must be the manifestation of unity. It must be the manifestation of harmony. It must be the manifestation of dialogue. It must be the manifestation of solidarity, cooperation and closeness of Muslims to one another. This is how the hajj should be performed. During the hajj, which is the axis of unity and convergence, some people may start fomenting discord - in Mecca or in Medina. Some people may start to act against Shia Muslims and pressure them during their daily affairs and in the course of doing their obligations and duties. They may start insulting Shia Muslims. Unfortunately, I have received some reports in this regard. Similarly, some Shia Muslims may do certain other unacceptable things in response to these actions. This is exactly the opposite of what should be done during the hajj. This goes against the philosophy of the hajj.

The hajj should be performed in an appropriate way. Compared to 30 years ago, today our hajj movement is far better. But this is not enough, and we need to go further than this. We need to improve our movement more. The behavior of an Iranian hajji should be indicative of all the characteristics of the obligations that lie on the shoulders of Muslims during the hajj. Supplication, reliance on God, attention to God, closeness to the Holy Quran, remembrance of God, bringing one's heart closer to God, spiritual enlightenment and returning home with spiritual achievements: These are the spiritual aspect of the hajj. Cooperation with the world of Islam is the social and political aspect of the hajj. Today one of the most important and urgent issues of the world of Islam is the issue that our Pakistani brothers are faced with. Of course our people helped them. Our government helped them. May God accept these acts and reward them. But the aid we have provided is not enough.

Those who go on hajj pilgrimage - especially Iranian pilgrims who are geographically close to the Pakistani people and see their sufferings - can cut back on many of the unnecessary expenses of the hajj in order to relieve the pains of their Pakistani brothers and sisters. These acts will be greatly rewarded by Allah the Exalted. This is a kind of practice and an experience. Pilgrims from other Muslim countries should do the same things. Deliver this message to them and encourage them to help the people of Pakistan.

Take the issue of unity very seriously. Today accurate plans are made in centers of plotting in order to turn different parts of the Islamic world against one another - peoples in one way and governments in another. Whenever there is a whisper showing that Muslim governments are getting close to one another, we suddenly see that a foreign element - a Zionist element, an American element - steps in and prevents Muslims governments from getting closer to one another. Whenever Muslim governments are on good terms and are close to each other, they start causing a fitna. They do the same to Muslim peoples. Peoples do not have any motives to fight each other. Therefore, they resort to religious, ethnic and nationalistic motives in order to pitch peoples against one another. If we fail to pay attention to these things, we will be harmed by the enemy. If we let down our guard, Islam will be slapped across the face. Today enmity towards Islam is something that is openly pursued by the camp of arrogance. Although they keep denying this fact, it is obvious that they are opposed to Islam. This makes our duties extremely heavy.

I hope Allah the Exalted will provide all of you and all honorable pilgrims from different Islamic countries with an opportunity to take one more step each year towards a perfect hajj.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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