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?Whom do the Angels love best and whom do they highly regard الَّذِینَ یَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ یُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَیُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَیَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِینَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَیْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِینَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِیلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِیمِ. That is may Allah, forgive the sins of those who have repented, from the love of those who committed injustice, on the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (S) Abubakr, Umar, Osmaan and th

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What is Khums and Zakat as per Ayat of Quran e Kareem. And what are the conditions and how to give these two and to whom it should be given. Learn all the basic essential rulings about Khums and Zakat as per Fatawas of Grand Ayatullah ul uzma Syed Ali Seestani.

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Imam Sajjad-s Duaa (suplication/prayer)in Bidding Farewell to the Month of Ramadan Kareem by Br. Syed Aftab Haider Naqvi at Al-Haadi Musalla Toronto Urdu.....English version of His Supplication in Bidding Farewell to the Month of Ramadan 1 O God, O He who desires no repayment! 2 O He who shows no remorse at bestowal! 3 O He who rewards not His servant tit for tat! 4 Thy kindness is a new beginning, Thy pardon gratuitous bounty, Thy punishment justice, Thy decree a choice for the best! 5 If Thou bestowest, Thou stainest not Thy bestowal with obligation, and if Thou withholdest, Thou withholdest not in transgression. 6 Thou showest gratitude to him who thanks Thee, while Thou hast inspired him to thank Thee. 7 Thou rewardest him who praises Thee, while though Thou hast taught him Thy praise. 8 Thou coverest him whom, if Thou willed, Thou wouldst expose, and Thou art generous toward him from whom, if Thou willed, Thou wouldst withhold. Both are worthy of Thy exposure and withholding, but Thou hast founded Thy acts upon gratuitous bounty, channelled Thy power into forbearance, 9 received him who disobeyed Thee with clemency, and disregarded him who intended wrongdoing against himself. Thou awaitest their turning back without haste and refrainest from rushing them toward repentance, so that the perisher among them may not perish because of Thee and the wretched may not be wretched through Thy favour, but only after Thy prolonged excusing him and successive arguments against him, as an act of generosity through Thy pardon, O Generous, and an act of kindliness through Thy tenderness, O Clement! 10 It is Thou who hast opened for Thy servants a door to Thy pardon, which Thou hast named "repentance". Thou hast placed upon that door a pointer from Thy revelation, lest they stray from it: Thou hast said (blessed are Thy names), Repent toward God with unswerving repentance! It may be that Thy Lord will acquit of your evil deeds and will admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, 11 upon the day when God will not degrade the Prophet and those who have faith along with him, their light running before them and on their right hands, and they say: "Our Lord, complete for us our light, and forgive us! Surely Thou art powerful over everything." What is the excuse of him who remains heedless of entering that house after the opening of the door and the setting up of the pointer? 12 It is Thou who hast raised the price against Thyself to the advantage of Thy servants, desiring their profit in their trade with Thee, their triumph through reaching Thee, and their increase on account of Thee, for Thou hast said (blessed is Thy Name and high art Thou exalted), Whoso brings a good deed shall have ten the like of it, and whoso brings an evil deed shall only be recompensed the like of it. 13 Thou hast said, The likeness of those who expend their wealth in the way of God is as the likeness of a grain of corn that sprouts seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains; so God multiplies unto whom He wills. Thou hast said, Who is he that will lend to God a good loan, and He will multiply it for him manifold? And Thou hast sent down in the Qur"an similar verses on the multiplying of good deeds. 14 It is Thou who hast pointed them through Thy speech from Thy Unseen and Thy encouragement in which lies their good fortune toward that which - hadst Thou covered it from them - their eyes would not have perceived, their ears would not have heard, and their imaginations would not have grasped, for Thou hast said, Remember Me and I will remember you be thankful to Me, and be you not thankless towards Me! Thou hast said, If you are thankful, surely I will increase you, but if you are thankless, My chastisement is surely terrible; 15 And Thou hast said, Supplicate Me and I will respond to you, surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter Gehennam utterly abject. Hence Thou hast named supplicating Thee "worship" and refraining from it "waxing proud", and Thou hast threatened that the refraining from it would yield entrance into Gehennam in utter abjection. 16 So they remember Thee for Thy kindness, they thank Thee for Thy bounty, they supplicate Thee by Thy command, and they donate for Thee in order to seek Thy increase; in all this lies their deliverance from Thy wrath and their triumph through Thy good pleasure. 17 Were any creature himself to direct another creature to the like of that to which Thou Thyself hast directed Thy servants, he would be described by beneficence, qualified by kindness, and praised by every tongue. So to Thee belongs praise as long as there is found a way to praise Thee and as long as there remains for praising words by which Thou may be praised and meanings which may be spent in praise! 18 O He who shows Himself praiseworthy to His servants through beneficence and bounty, flooding them with kindness and graciousness! How much Thy favour has been spread about among us, Thy kindness lavished upon us, and Thy goodness singled out for us! 19 Thou hast guided us to Thy religion which Thou hast chosen, Thy creed with which Thou art pleased, and Thy path which Thou hast made smooth, and Thou hast shown us proximity to Thee and arrival at Thy generosity! 20 O God, among the choicest of those duties and the most special of those obligations Thou hast appointed the month of Ramadan, which Thou hast singled out from other months, chosen from among all periods and eras, and preferred over all times of the year through the Qur"an and the Light which Thou sent down within it, the faith which Thou multiplied by means of it, the fasting which Thou obligated therein, the standing in prayer which Thou encouraged at its time, and the Night of Decree which Thou magnified therein, the night which is better than a thousand months. 21 Through it Thou hast preferred us over the other communities and through its excellence Thou hast chosen us to the exclusion of the people of the creeds. We fasted by Thy command in its daylight, we stood in prayer with Thy help in its night, presenting ourselves by its fasting and its standing to the mercy which Thou hast held up before us, and we found through it the means to Thy reward. And Thou art full of what is sought from Thee, munificent with what is asked of Thy bounty, and near to him who strives for Thy nearness. 22 This month stood among us in a standing place of praise, accompanied us with the companionship of one approved, and profited us with the most excellent profit of the world"s creatures. Then it parted from us at the completion of its time, the end of its term, and the fulfilment of its number. 23 So we bid farewell to it with the farewell of one whose parting pains us, whose leaving fills us with gloom and loneliness, and to whom we have come to owe a safeguarded claim, an observed inviolability, and a discharged right. We say: Peace be upon thee, O greatest month of God! O festival of His friends! 24 Peace be upon thee, O most noble of accompanying times! O best of months in days and hours! 25 Peace be upon thee, month in which expectations come near and good works are scattered about! 26 Peace be upon thee, comrade who is great in worth when found and who torments through absence when lost, anticipated friend whose parting gives pain! 27 Peace be upon thee, familiar who brought comfort in coming, thus making happy, who left loneliness in going, thus giving anguish! 28 Peace be upon thee, neighbour in whom hearts became tender and sins became few! 29 Peace be upon thee, helper who aided against Satan, companion who made easy the paths of good-doing! 30 Peace be upon thee - How many became freedmen of God within thee! How happy those who observed the respect due to thee! 31 Peace be upon thee - How many the sins thou erased! How many the kinds of faults thou covered over! 32 Peace be upon thee - How drawn out wert thou for the sinners! How awesome wert thou in the hearts of the faithful! 33 Peace be upon thee, month with which no days compete! 34 Peace be upon thee, month which is peace in all affairs! 35 Peace be upon thee, thou whose companionship is not disliked, thou whose friendly mixing is not blamed! 36 Peace be upon thee, just as thou hast entered upon us with blessings and cleansed us of the defilement of offenses! 37 Peace be upon thee - Thou art not bid farewell in annoyance nor is thy fasting left in weariness! font face=arial size=3> 38 Peace be upon thee, object of seeking before thy time, object of sorrow before thy passing! 39 Peace be upon thee - How much evil was turned away from us through thee! How much good flowed upon us because of thee! 40 Peace be upon thee and upon the Night of Decree which is better than a thousand months! 41 Peace be upon thee - How much we craved thee yesterday! How intensely we shall yearn for thee tomorrow! 42 Peace be upon thee and upon thy bounty which has now been made unlawful to us and upon thy blessings gone by which have now been stripped away from us! 43 O God, we are the people of this month. Through it Thou hast ennobled us and given us success because of Thy kindness, while the wretched are ignorant of its time. Made unlawful to them is its bounty because of their wretchedness. 44 Thou art the patron of the knowledge of it by which Thou hast preferred us, and its prescribed practices to which Thou hast guided us. We have undertaken, through Thy giving success, its fasting and its standing in prayer, but with shortcomings, and we have performed little of much. 45 O God, so to Thee belongs praise, in admission of evil doing and confession of negligence, and to Thee belongs remorse firmly knitted in our hearts and seeking of pardon sincerely uttered by our tongues. Reward us, in spite of the neglect that befell us in this month, with a reward through which we may reach the bounty desired from it and win the varieties of its craved stores! 46 Make incumbent upon us Thy pardon for our falling short of Thy right in this month and make our lives which lie before us reach the coming month of Ramadan! Once Thou hast made us reach it, help us perform the worship of which Thou art worthy, cause us to undertake the obedience which Thou deservest, and grant us righteous works that we may fulfil Thy right in these two months of the months of time. 47 O God, as for the small and large sins which we have committed in this our month, the misdeeds into which we have fallen, and the offenses which we have earned purposefully or in forgetfulness, wronging ourselves thereby or violating the respect due to others, bless Muhammad and his Household, cover us over with Thy covering, pardon us through Thy pardoning, place us not before the eyes of the gloaters because of that, stretch not toward us the tongues of the defamers, and employ us in that which will alleviate and expiate whatever Thou disapprovest from us within it through Thy clemency which does not run out, and Thy bounty which does not diminish! 48 O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, redress our being afflicted by our month, bless us in this day of our festival and our fast-breaking, make it one of the best of days that have passed over us, the greatest in attracting Thy pardon, and the most effacing toward sins, and forgive us our sins, both the concealed and the public! 49 O God, with the passing of this month make us pass forth from our offenses, with its departure make us depart from our evil deeds, and appoint us thereby among its most felicitous people, the most plentiful of them in portion, and the fullest of them in share! 50 O God, when any person observes this month as it should be observed, safeguards its inviolability as it should be safeguarded, attends to its bounds as they should be attended to, fears its misdeeds as they should be feared, or seeks nearness to Thee with any act of nearness-seeking which makes incumbent upon him Thy good pleasure and bends toward him Thy mercy, give to us the like [of that] from Thy wealth and bestow it upon us in multiples through Thy bounty, for Thy bounty does not diminish, Thy treasuries do not decrease but overflow, the mines of Thy beneficence are not exhausted, and Thy bestowal is the bestowal full of delight! 51 O God, bless Muhammad and his Household and write for us the like of the wages of him who fasted in it or worshipped Thee within it until the Day of Resurrection! 52 O God, we repent to Thee in our day of fast-breaking, which Thou hast appointed for the faithful a festival and a joy and for the people of Thy creed a time of assembly and gathering, from every misdeed we did, ill work we sent ahead, or evil thought we secretly conceived, the repentance of one who does not harbour a return to sin and who afterwards will not go back to offense, an unswerving repentance rid of doubt and wavering. So accept it from us, be pleased with us, and fix us within it! 53 O God, provide us with fear of the threatened punishment and yearning for the promised reward, so that we may find the pleasure of that for which we supplicate Thee and the sorrow of that from which we seek sanctuary in Thee! 54 And place us with Thee among the repenters, those upon whom Thou hast made Thy love obligatory and from whom Thou hast accepted the return to obeying Thee! O Most Just of the just! 55 O God, show forbearance toward our fathers and our mothers and all the people of our religion, those who have gone and those who will pass by, until the Day of Resurrection! 56 O God, bless our prophet Muhammad and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy angels brought nigh, bless him and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy prophets sent out, bless him and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy righteous servants - and better than that, O Lord of the worlds! - a blessing whose benediction will reach us, whose benefit will attain to us, and through which our supplication may be granted! Thou art the most generous of those who are beseeched, the most sufficient of those in whom confidence is had, the most bestowing of those from whom bounty is asked, and Thou art powerful over everything!

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Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And blessings of Allah and peace be on our Chief Muhammad, His Prophet, and on his children. O my Allah! (All) praise is for Thee for that which Thou decided upon and resolved in the matter of Thy friends, whom Thou purified for Thyself and Thy religion. When wisdom and high rank from Thee, prostrated themselves in adoration before them (from the Bountiful Preserving Lord), for whom neither there was any decreased, nor dispersion thereafter, then Thou stipulated for them piety and righteousness. While they were in this mean and crooked world, free from its pomp, vanity and false enjoyments, Thy overreaching authority made known their identity; and equipped them with sincerity and perfection stood surety for them and communicated intimately with them, sent the news of their auspicious arrival in advance, and praised them in clear terms for the benefit of one and all. Fell down on the ground in prostration Thy Angels before them, Thou chose them to reveal Thy Words, gave them Thy wisdom as a gift, set them up as the (only) medium to reach Thee, the only means to the eternal land of peace and happiness. One dwelled in Paradise until Thou sent him on (as the first Prophet). One was made to cruise the "Ark", and had been rescued, and kept safe from destruction through Thy mercy. One was chosen and prepared for Thy Mission, as (Thy) Friend, (who) made a request to Thee for a good report in (his) later generations, so Thou approved and complied with, exalted them and gave them authority. One was spoken directly through the Tree, his brother was appointed his successor and helper. One was brought in without a father, was given clear proofs, and was supported with the Holy Spirit. For each Thou prescribed a Divine law, and set up a traced out path, each was appointed a guardian-executor, (and each) fulfilled the duty after being kept safe and protected, in the term of establishing Thy religion, a witness and argument over Thy servants (mankind), Lest the truth staggered from its firm stand and foundation, and the falsehood conquered the hearts of the people, and might not say a single man: "If only Thou had sent a Messenger unto us as a Warner, to show us the path of wisdom and guidance, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus) humbled and disgraced!" Then Thou made plans to bring out the wonderful advent of Muhammad, (Send blessing on him and on his children). So Thou just as chose him master of Whosoever Thou created, made him (whom Thou Selected), pure, clean and the best, exalted and praised him (whom Thou elected), surpassed in generosity and liberality while bestowing high-mindedness and beneficence upon him (whom Thou took in confidence and relied upon); made him leader-in-chief of (all) thy Prophets, and sent him to the troubled world of men and jinn, among Thy servants, lowered and humbled before him the Easts and the Wests, under his total control was brought all affairs, exalted his soul in Thy heavens gave over to him the knowledge of what took place and what will happen, concerning facts and operation of creation. Then invested him with awe and majesty, Jibraeel, Meekaaeel, and distinguished Angels stood around; him at his beck and call, gave Thy word to him that Thou would make his religion prevail over all religions, however much the idolaters may be averse. Thereafter acknowledged his atonement and provided good and perfection for his children, allotted for him and his children the first sanctuary appointed for mankind, at Becca (Mecca), a blessed place, a guidance to the people, wherein are plain and clear signs; the place where Ibraahim stood up to pray, and whosoever enters it is safe. Thou said: "Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O "People of the House", and purify you with a thorough purification." Thereupon Thou settled conclusively fee (recompense) of Muhammad (Thy blessings be on him and on his children) love for them, in Thy Holy Book. So Thou said: "Say (O Muhammad): I ask of you no fee (recompense) therefore, save love of (my) Kinsfolk." And Thou said: "Whatever recompense (return) I have asked for you, (it) is only for yourselves." And Thou said: "I ask of you no reward for this, save that, whoso will, chooses a way unto his Lord." Therefore they are the (only) means to (approach) Thee, the (only) medium to get Thy favours. So Thou certainly did not let his hard work go waste, and gave authority to his successor, Ali ibne Abi Taalib, (Thy blessings be on them both, and on this children), a guide. At the time when he was made a warner and a guide for every people, said he (the Holy Prophet), their Guide, in a public meeting overflowing with people; "Of Whomsoever I am the Mawlaa (Lord, Master) Ali is his Mawlaa. O Allah! be a friend of him who is a friend of him, be an enemy of him who is an enemy of him, help that man who helps him, forsake that man who forsakes him" and said: "Of whosoever I am the Prophet Ali is his Chief." And said: "I and Ali are (one basic root of) a tree, and the rest of mankind are like diverse plants, he proclaims the position (relationship) of Haaroon to Moosaa." Therefore he told him: "I am to you as Moosaa was to Haaroon, but certainly there is no Prophet after me." His (Ali’s) life partner was his (Muhammad’s) daughter the chief of the women of the worlds. Lawful was for him (Ali), in "the mosque", that which was permitted to him (Muhammad), all doors were closed, except his door. He (Muhammad) gave his knowledge and wisdom into his (Ali’s) keeping. He said: "I am the city (center) of knowledge and Ali is its gate. Whoso desires to approach and dwell in the city of knowledge and wisdom should come through its door." Thereafter he said: "You are my brother, successor and inheritor, your flesh is my flesh, your blood is my blood, your truce is my truce, your fight is my fight, faith is blended, mixed and mingled (part and parcel) in your flesh and blood, just as it is compounded in my flesh and blood, you shall take charge of the reservoir of my inheritance, you are the fulfilment of my religion, you shall execute and keep alive my "way of life", your friends and followers shall speak with authority, command respect and hold the torch of good manners and refinements, their faces will be all around me in the eternal land of peace and bliss (Paradise), in my close company. Were it not you O Ali, the faithfuls would not know the truth after me." After him (Muhammad) be (Ali) was the guide for the wanderers, a bright light in the blind darkness, the strong rope of Allah, and the right path, did not ever hold back kindness and compassion from the common people, nor ever made excuses or delay to give priority to the matters of religion, nor blew his own trumpet nor felt proud of his glory, did the same thing the Messenger used to do, (Blessing of Allah be on them both and on their children) put an end to misinterpretation, did not lose temper, for the sake of Allah, if any one turned to mud-slinging and name-calling. He had thrown the proud tribal chiefs of Arabia into a fright, destroyed their heroes, attacked and dispersed their cavalries, because of which hatred and deep grudge took root in their hearts. Badr, Khaybar, and Hunain created jealousy and envy in them, therefore, united they joined hands to oppose him, and came out in great number to fight against him, till he destroyed all deserters, who had swerved from what was right, the shameless who deviated from true religion, while he was carrying out the important mission. Killed him a malicious criminal, a contemporary, serving the interest and following the doctrine of earlier impudent villians. An unparalleled and outlandish approach was applied to the directions of the Messenger of Allah, (Blessings of Allah be on him and on his children), concerning the "Guides" (Imaams), one after the other. The narrow-minded obstinate "ummah" did not care for and had ill-feelings towards him. Flocked together to pass up and deny his connection with his family, and pushed his children out of their way, but a handful of sincere faithfuls kept their promise and dutifully upheld the rights of his children; Some were slain, some were held prisoners, some were sent to distant foreign lands, and they met face to face (when came upon) their destiny (martyrdom). That which is given to each (of them) as reward of good deeds is the best recompense, since the earth belongs to Allah, and He gives it for an inheritance to whom He wants from among His servants, and the (good) end is for the God-fearing wise; glory to our Lord! Verily the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled; Allah does not break His word, He is Almighty, Wise. So be purified and refined by making known and remembering the choicest children of Muhammad and Ali, blessings of Allah be on them both, and on their children. The heartbroken, in tears, make their hearts bleed, together with them, the deeply moved perceptive men of letters describe their wisdom and liberality, as they themselves used to do, eyes of sensitive and thoughtful people are full of overflowing tears, their voices choked up with emotion; they cry out to protest against the injustice done, they call up dumb and insensate souls to stir and take notice. Where is Hasan? Where is Husayn? Where are the children of Husayn? The whole good, one and all! The truth altogether! Where is the regular unbroken vital connection? Where is the on going sequence of desirable goodness? Where are the clear source and spring of Light (vision and insight)? Where are the lively vivid handsome faces? Where are the distinctly visible pioneers? Where are the "know all the answers" scholars who communicated and made clear the religion of Allah? The fundamentals of knowledge and wisdom! Where is the ‘Everlasting legacy of God"? (never ever is the "family of Guides" without One). Where is the impenetrable defense who broke the back of the oppressive tyrants? Where is the "awaited saviour" who will set the have-nots and the depressed on their feet? Where is the "The Hope" who will put and end to tyranny and oppression? Where is the "preserved guaranty" who shall give new life to rule of law and refined way of life? Where is the "Chosen in preference good" who shall raise the spirits of the people and give currency to justice and fairplay? Where is the "hope-giving confidante" who shall make full use of the "Book" and define the sphere of action? Where is he who shall blot out dogma in the matter of religion and his (Muhammad’s) children? Where is he who shall break up meddlesome trouble and tampering? Where is he who shall pull down the foundations of confusion (polytheists) and hypocrisy? Where is he who shall stamp out corruption, vice, reaction and injustice? Where is he who shall trim the outgrowth of despair, longing and hardships? Where is he who shall erase the traces of unfairness and self-seeking conceit? Where is he who shall untie the twisted knotes of falsehood and disruption? Where is he who shall separate senselessness and insolence from the people? Where is he who shall tear up by the roots obstinacy, corruption and apostasy? Where is he who shall love dearly the favourites of Allah and take pains to tame and train the trangressors? Where is he who shall make people familiar with "words of wisdom"? Where is the ultimate (Divine) source of plenty and prosperity? Where is the "Divine aspect" the God-fearing may look up to? Where is the link that connects the cosmic complex? Where is the authority who shall communicate and make known the true point of view? Where is the author of the conception of peace, fairplay and welfare? Where is the defender of the traditions of the Prophets and their children? Where is the investigator of the blood of the Martyrs of Karbalaa? Where is he who shall get the upper hand over the perpetrators of crime and greed? Where is he who shall not rest until he answers the cries of help when called upon? Where is the foremost leader of the people – the just, the truthful and the wise? Where is the son of the chosen Prophet? The son of Ali Al-Murtaza! The son of Khadeejah, the resplendent! The son of Faatimah, the great! My father, my mother, and I turn to you for protection and sanctuary. O son of the favourite Leaders! O Son of the distinguished nobles! O son of the rightly guided Guides! O Son of the most refined high-minded liberals! O Son of the select generous Guardians! O son of the polite and pure purifiers! O Son of the impartial judges! O Son of the openhanded hosts! O Son of the mature teachers! O Son of the brilliant fulfillers! O Son of the clear and precise arguments who penetrated deep (into the domain of mind)! O inheritor of the made known prophesy! O inheritor of the clear preaching! O inheritor of the evident signs! O inheritor of the exact science! O inheritor of the widely sought after culture and customs! O inheritor of the milestones of glory and greatness! O inheritor of the extraordinary events! O inheritor of the reason that had been put to experiment! O inheritor of the Right Path! O inheritor of the Message that made deep impression on mankind! O Son of him who is in the "Mother of the Book" kept with Allah, the Highest High, the All-wise. O inheritor of the convincing proofs! O inheritor of the genuine evidence! O inheritor of the distinctly visible demonstration! O inheritor of the decisive information! O inheritor of the absolute joy and happiness! O inheritor of "T’aa-haa" and clear wisdom! O inheritor of "Yaa seen" and "Zaariyaat" O inheritor of "T’oor" and "A’adiyaat" O Son of him who "drew near and came down till he was two bows’ length or nearer." (The Highest High came near and received him gladly). If I but knew the destination of your purposeful journey! To which isolated land did you go? Good, pleasant and satisfying? Or otherwise? Or in well guarded concealment? It breaks my heart (when) I look at all that has been created, but cannot see you, nor hear a whisper about your whereabouts, nor any secret communication! It is disheartening to know that you are attending to and watching over the disorder and confusion, and I, in the thick of violent turmoil, am far away, unable to give report of injustice. I eagerly long for you who is out of sight, but has not forsaken us. I eagerly long for you who has departed and is invisible, but is not far from us. I eagerly long for you who inspires love and deep affection, and the faithful men and women take delight in your memorable glory. So we are excited with a longing desire. I eagerly long for you who is worthy of acceptance and lawful driving force of belief and conviction, never weary or annoyed. I eagerly long for you who is the root of praise and distinction, never can be uprooted. I eagerly long for you who is always tender, gentle and comforting, never makes one’s affairs worse instead of better. I eagerly long for you who is just and equitable beyond a trace of doubt, does not take severe action until misbehaviour trespasses the limit. O Master! How long and unto what is to be directed (my) request for friendly attention concerning you? And what is the message? It makes me sad to get favourable reply from anyone other than you, but to be duped and cheated in the end. It casts a gloom upon me that you suffered hardships and the chicken hearted deserters left you alone. It is painful for me what took place for you from them and that which had happened. Is there a helper with whom I may cooperate and take pains? Is there a restless with whom I may share when action is taken? Is there a faint twinkle of evidence to make me willingly take up the trouble? Do you O Son of Ahmed have means and ways to arrange our meeting? Can you once cleverly guide the course of time, so that we may obtain our wish? When shall we abridge the gap that separate us from the vision so that we may refer to the authority? How long shall we keep waiting for your pleasing satisfying essence and quality? Already the period of expectation has lasted too long! When shall we receive our share from you and have our minds set at rest? For we have fixed our eyes upon you and strive with perseverance. When shall we be happy, and see your beautiful form and fine aspect? Groups of cheerful willing disciplined helpers, in great numbers, gathering around you to carry out one work after the other! You fulfilling (every promise) and giving joy, heart and confidence (to the faithfuls); filling the earth with justice; making your enemies follow the law and accept the revolution; taking the wind out of the haughty and the boastful, and those who knew but denied the truth; breaking the back of the proud and the arrogant; uprooting the roots of the unjust; and we-singing the praise of Allah, the Lord of the worlds. O my Allah! Thou disperses the clouds of sorrows and hardships. Unto Thee we turn to ask for help against the enemy; for Thou (alone) helps and guides. Thou (alone) puts into good order affairs of this world and shall make better the Hereafter. So come to help! O He Who is called to help the helpless, Thy servants, surrounded by calamities. Show them the face of their Leader. O the Mightiest Almighty. Allow him to put an end to evil and corruption, and satisfy his Love (for the faithfuls) and dislike (for the sinners). O He Who, from the "Arsh directs and controls all creation, and unto Him is the return, final and ultimate. O my Allah! We are Thy servants, longing for Thy friend (appointed authority), who reminds us of Thee, and Thy Prophet, who was created as a refuge and asylum for us, established as a foundation and spring of truthfulness for us, and was made the Leader-Guide of the faithfuls. Convey to him our heartfelt congratulations and welcome. Make us feel more deeply for him. O Lord! Very Kindly, make his headquarters our place of domicile and dwelling abode, and fulfill Thy promise by returning him to us as our Leader Guide, so that he takes us to the eternal land of peace and bliss, where we shall rub elbows with Thy sincere servants who shed blood to pronounce the Faith. O Allah send Thy blessings on Muhammad and on the children of Muhammad. Bless his ancestor Muhammad, the Messenger, the foremost Leader, and bless his progenitor, the succeeding Leader, and his great grandmother, the ever truthful, Faatimah daughter of Muhammad, and his chosen virtuous forefathers, and send blessings on him, superior, whole, conclusive, staying, numerous, and full, not ever bestowed (even) on any of Thy sincerely attached and pious friends from among Thy creation. Bless him with blessings, (that) cannot be counted in numbers, cannot be "proximated" in space of time, cannot be consumed in terms of having nothing remaining. O my Allah! Set up truth, destroy falsehood, show the right path to Thy friends, humiliate Thy enemies, and do it without interruption, (through him). O my Allah! Unite us with him. Let us be friends with his ancestors. Give us courage to disperse those who oppose and try to prevent him, and make them stay in their shame and disgrace for ever. Help us to discharge the duties made incumbent upon us by him, and make every effort to obey him, keep from that which is declared unlawful by him, rely upon him to get his approval. Let us be with him when he makes peace, and frees mankind from fear, gives currency to love are kindness, brings bliss and happiness, spreads good and virtue, so that we may do our best to promote his cause through Thy mercy, and win victory for Thee. Accept our prayers, forgive our sins, fulfil our desires, give us means of livelihood, unrestricted, make less our hardships, meet our demands in full (through him). Turn towards us Thy kindness and loving aspects, and bring us close to Thee. Turn the eyes of Thy mercy upon us, to bring to fullness Thy kind favours, and after that do not ever let them disappear in the name of Thy generosity, and give us the opportunity to quench our thirst from the spring of his great grandfather (Kawsar), (blessing of Allah be on him and on his children), using his cup, filled by him, fresh and pure, sufficient, wholesome, clear and cool, not leaving any desire thereafter, O the Most Merciful.

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The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The speech was delivered at Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s shrine. 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, upon his immaculate, pure, chosen, guided and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. We are thankful to Allah the Exalted who gave us another opportunity to commemorate our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) on such a day and express our respect for him. Although the memory of Imam (r.a.) is alive among our people at all times, the 14th of Khordad is the manifestation of the Iranian nation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s love for him. This year the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) has coincided with the martyrdom anniversary of his great ancestor, Imam Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far (a.s.). Also, this occasion has coincided with the 50th anniversary of the determining and important event that took place on the 15th of Khordad in the year 1342. The 15th of Khordad was an important historical juncture. I would like to briefly discuss a few points in this regard and then I will discuss the pressing issues that are necessary to discuss. The 15th of Khordad was not the beginning of the great movement by the people and the clergy. Before the 15th of Khordad, important events had taken place in the year 1341 as well as at the beginning of the year 1342. For example, the event in Feiziyeh School took place on the 2nd of Farvardin in 1342: it resulted in the injury of seminarians and the insult to the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Golpaygani. Before that event, towards the end of the year 1341, there were demonstrations in Tehran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s bazaar and the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ahmad Khansari, was insulted. These things show that the movement by the clergy had reached such levels in 1341 and early 1342 that security forces of the oppressive regime had started to treat seminarians, religious scholars and even marja taqlids in a brutal way. However, the 15th of Khordad of 1342 was a very important juncture. The reason is that the event which took place on the 15th of Khordad revealed that the bond between the people and the clergy had reached a so-called dangerous level. In that year, on the anniversary of Ashura - which fell on the 13th of Khordad - our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) delivered a historic speech in Feiziyeh School. Later on when they had arrested Imam (r.a.), on the 15th of Khordad there was a great movement in Tehran as well as in Qom and other cities and the taghuti regime decided to do everything in its power to suppress the movement by relying on its army, police and security organizations. There was a popular uprising on the 15th of Khordad, which was indicative of the strong bond between the people of Iran and the clergy and marja taqlids, who were represented by Imam (r.a.). The point is that it was this bond that ensured the spread and victory of the movement. Wherever a movement is supported by the people, that movement will prevail. But if the people do not develop a bond with a protest movement, that movement will fail. For example, after the Constitutional Movement in Iran, there were certain events and certain activities by both leftist and nationalist groups, but all of them were destined to fail because they did not have the support of the people. When the people step into the arena and support a movement with their hearts and minds and with their presence, it becomes possible for that movement to prevail and achieve victory. The event that took place on the 15th of Khordad proved this point. It proved that our people support the clergy. The arrest of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) resulted in such an uprising in Tehran and certain other parts of the country that the regime had to step in to suppress the people in a brutal way. A large number of people were killed. The streets of Tehran were covered with the blood of pious people and youth. On the 15th of Khordad, the brutal and ruthless nature of the taghuti regime was fully revealed. Another point regarding the event which happened on the 15th of Khordad - a point to which our youth and dear people should pay attention - is that no international community and none of the so-called human rights organizations protested against the brutal killings in Tehran and other parts of the country. All of them stayed silent. The people and the clergy remained in the arena. Marxists and leftist groups and governments even condemned the popular movement of the 15th of Khordad. They said that it was a feudalist movement. The nationalists - who were claiming to support anti-government activities - also condemned the movement. They said that the movement was a blind and aimless movement, that it was a radical movement. Wherever lazy people fail to take risks and play a role in the arena, they accuse pious combatants of extremism. They said that the movement was an extremist movement. They rejected it as a radical movement. Imam (r.a.) remained in the arena, relying on the support of the people, and he managed to present the image of a truly decisive and determined spiritual leader to all people and to all history. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) had three beliefs which made him decisive, courageous and steadfast: namely, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself. These three beliefs revealed themselves in the character, decisions and actions of Imam (r.a.) in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) spoke to the people through his heart and the people accepted his call with their heart and soul. They stepped into the arena and resisted in a brave way. Their movement - which had no sympathizers in the world and received no assistance - gradually moved towards ultimate victory. I would like to briefly explain the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The points I will discuss in this regard are important points that can illuminate our path only if they find their way into our hearts. Regarding faith in God, Imam (r.a.) was the manifestation of this holy ayah: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered against you, therefore fear them, but this increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 3: 173] Imam (r.a.) was firmly committed to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" with all his heart and soul. Imam (r.a.) had faith in Allah the Exalted. He had faith in divine promises. He acted, worked and spoke for the sake of God and he knew that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"if you help (the cause of) Allah, He will help you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7] is a divine promise and that it is definite and inviolable. Regarding faith in the people, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) knew the Iranian nation in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) believed that our nation enjoys deep religious faith and is intelligent and courageous, a nation that has the capacity to shine like the sun in different areas only if it has competent leaders. One time an incompetent person like Shah Sultan Hussein caused the Iranian nation to retreat into a corner, but another time a courageous person like Nader Gholi - without those honorary titles - emerged among the people and became their leader by relying on his courage and as a result, our nation managed to expand the arena of its glory from Delhi to the Black Sea. Imam (r.a.) had noticed this truth about our history and he had witnessed the examples. He believed in this truth. He knew our nation. He had faith in the Iranian nation. The people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s deep religious faith - which had been concealed by materialistic people - was revived by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). He provoked the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religious pride and the Iranian nation became the role model of resistance and insight. In the eyes of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the people were the dearest and enemies of the people were the most hated. The fact that Imam (r.a.) did not stop his battle against the domineering powers even for one single moment, was mainly because the domineering powers were enemies of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s happiness, and Imam (r.a.) believed that enemies of the people were his enemies too. As for self-confidence, Imam (r.a.) taught the people of Iran to be confident. Before instilling a sense of confidence into the people of Iran, Imam (r.a.) first revived this sense of self-confidence in himself. He exhibited his faith in his capabilities in the true sense of the word. On the anniversary of Ashura in the year 1342, while he was alone, Imam (r.a.) threatened the Shah that he would ask the people of Iran to force him out of the country if he continued acting like that. He said this among the people and seminarians of Qom in Feiziyeh School and he threatened Mohammadreza Shah, who was wielding unrestricted power in the country by relying on America and other foreign powers. This threat was made by a cleric in Qom who had no weapons, no equipment, no money and no international support. He managed to resist in this arena by relying on his faith in God and in himself. The day when Imam (r.a.) returned from exile, he threatened the government of Bakhtiar at Behesht Zahra Cemetery and he announced in a resonating voice that he would punch Bakhtiar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s government in the mouth and that he would establish another government. This was indicative of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) self-confidence. Imam (r.a.) had faith in himself and in his capabilities. It was this self-confidence that was transferred to the people of Iran through his words and actions. My dear ones, for a hundred years, they had convinced us that we were incapable, incapable of managing the country, incapable of achieving dignity and glory, incapable of developing the country, incapable of moving forward in the arena of knowledge and other such things. And we had started to believe these things. Instilling a sense of inability - with the purpose of making nations lose faith in their capabilities - is one of the effective ways in which domineering powers spread their domination over different nations. In this way, they managed to keep the Iranian nation backwards in politics, science and economic activities as well as in all other arenas of life. Imam (r.a.) reversed this situation and took this means of hegemony away from the superpowers. He told the Iranian nation, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You can.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He restored our courage. He restored our determination. He restored our self-confidence. We people of Iran felt that we were capable again. We moved forward and we took action. For this reason, the Iranian nation has achieved victory over the past thirty-something in all the areas that I will discuss later on in this meeting. These three beliefs of Imam (r.a.) - namely faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself - became the axis of all his decisions, actions and policies. At the beginning of the movement, these three beliefs were a source of energy for Imam (r.a.). The same is true of the time when he was in exile, the time when he left for Paris and the time when he returned to Iran. It was these three beliefs that gave Imam (r.a.) the power to enter Tehran in those conditions. These three beliefs were exhibited in the events that happened during Bahman of 1357, in the fitnas that happened in the country, in the establishment of the Islamic Republic, in his open resistance against the oppressive global order, in the slogan of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"neither the East, nor the West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", in the imposed war and in all the events that took place in those eventful ten years of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s life. These three beliefs were the basis of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s decisions, actions and policies. Even in the last few days of his life, nobody noticed any signs of despair, doubt, exhaustion, weakness or submission in the words and actions of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Many revolutionaries throughout the world start to have doubts and become conservative as they grow older. Sometimes they even take back their main statements. The statements that were issued by Imam (r.a.) during the last few years of his life were sometimes even more strongly worded and revolutionary than his statements in the year 1342. He was growing old, but he was young at heart and his soul was vibrant. This is the same steadfastness that has been described in the Holy Quran: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 72: 16] In another ayah, Allah the Exalted says: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 41: 30] These three beliefs kept Imam (r.a.) young and vibrant. They consolidated Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s thought and path for our nation and then these three beliefs gradually spread among our people, our youth and individuals from different social backgrounds. These three beliefs created hope. They created self-confidence. They resulted in reliance on God. These things replaced despair and pessimism. The people of Iran changed their characteristics and Allah the Exalted changed their conditions. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 13: 11] The people of Iran reformed their path, their movement and their motives and Allah the Exalted helped and supported them. What was the result? The result was that Iran became an independent country. There are many lessons that our dear youth should learn from the dependence of the taghuti Pahlavi regime - which is was even worse than the reactionary and disgraced Qajar regime - on England and subsequently on America. Their dependence had reached a disgraceful level. After the Revolution, an outstanding American diplomat mentioned the same thing in his writings. He said that it was the Americans who used to tell the Shah what he needed and what he did not need. It was the Americans who used to tell him with whom to establish relations and with whom not to. They used to tell him how much oil he had to produce and sell. It was the Americans who used to tell him to whom he should sell oil and to whom he should not. Our country used to be managed on the basis of America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s policies and plans, and before that our country used to be run on the basis of the plans and policies of England. That dependent country transformed into an independent and proud country. Corrupt, treasonous and materialistic rulers, who were immersed in their carnal desires and human passions, were in charge of our country. They were replaced by representatives of the people. They were replaced by officials who had been elected by the people. In the past thirty-something years, the individuals who have assumed power in our country and taken control of our policies and economy, have been representatives of the people. They did not line their own pockets after assuming power, which is a very important point. Of course, some of them were more pious than others. Those evil, dependent and greedy politicians who were submissive against the enemies and treated the people in an angry way, were replaced by representatives of the people. Our scientifically backward country transformed into a country that was advanced in terms of science. Before the Revolution, we had not made any scientific achievements in the country. Today international centers say that the rate of Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s scientific progress is eleven times more than the global average. Is this an insignificant achievement? International scientific centers predict that in a few years - by the year 2017 - Iran will rank fourth in the world in terms of science. Is this an insignificant accomplishment? Our country, which had made no scientific achievements, has achieved this position. There was a time we had to ask foreigners to send their engineers to our country to build dams, roads and factories for us whenever we needed a road, a highway, a dam or a factory. Today Iranian youth are building thousands of factories and hundreds of dams, bridges, roads and highways in the country without receiving the slightest help from foreigners. Today our scientific and technological growth and our capabilities to develop the country have reached this level. Would it be appropriate if we ignored these things? In areas relating to health and medicine, Iranian patients who had the money had to travel to Europe for slightly complicated operations, and those who did not have the money had to die. Today the most complicated operations - liver transplants, lung transplants and important things in other medical areas - are being carried out in our country, not just in Tehran but in many distant cities across the country. These capabilities exist today in our country. The Iranian nation does not need foreigners in this area. Our nation has achieved independence and self-sufficiency in this vital area. Many parts of this country had been ignored. Before the Revolution, I used to travel to different places across the country. Remote parts of the country used to be completelyignored. However, different services are being offered in different parts of the country, including remote towns and villages. Today nobody can say that a particular area does not have electricity or roads and other such things. Before the Revolution, it was surprising to see a remote place that enjoyed such facilities. Today the opposite is surprising. At that time, our population was 35 million and there were 150,000 university students in the country. Today our population has increased a hundred percent, but the number of our university students has increased by 20, even 30 times. This means that we have paid attention to science. The number of students, professors and universities in the country is remarkable. In every remote town, there are one, two, five and sometimes ten universities. At that time, there were certain provinces in which the number of high schools was less than ten. Today in every city of the same provinces, there are several universities. This is a great movement by the people of Iran which is the result of the Revolution and selfless efforts of Iranian youth and government officials over the past thirty-something years. These are important developments. Thanks to the Revolution, many infrastructure-related projects were carried out in the country. Thousands of factories were built. Many mother companies were built. The products which we had to beg for and buy in small amounts from foreigners are being mass produced in the country today. It is necessary to see these things. All of these things are the blessings of the three beliefs that Imam (r.a.) instilled into our nation: faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself. I am not saying these things in order to create a false sense of pride and happiness. I am not saying these things to make you feel happy and thankful for the victory that has been achieved. No, there is still a long way to go. I would say that if we compare our conditions with the era of taghut, these achievements will look remarkable, but we will realize that we have a long way to go if we compare our conditions with the conditions of an ideal Islamic Iran - namely, a country which Islam wants us to have, a society that Islam wants us to have, a society in which there is worldly pride and welfare as well as religious faith, ethics and spirituality, all in abundance. I am saying these things so that our dear youth and our courageous nation realize that they can continue this path by relying on the three beliefs that I spoke about. You should know that there is a long way to go, but you have the capability. You have the power to continue this path. You have the necessary means. You can continue traversing this long path at a high speed until you reach the peaks in a powerful way. I am saying these things so that you realize that the enemies who want to create despair in our hearts are acting out of spite. All the signs show that we should remain hopeful. The roadmap lies in front of our eyes. We have a roadmap. What is this roadmap? Our roadmap is the principles of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the same principles that transformed that backward and humiliated nation into this pioneering and proud nation. These principles will be useful for us along the path and they will be our roadmap. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles are clear principles. Fortunately, his statements and writings have been made available to our people in the form of twenty-something volumes [of Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s speeches] and the main points have been presented in his testament. Everybody can refer to those documents and read them. I believe it is not advisable to keep mentioning the name of Imam (r.a.) but let his principles sink into oblivion. This is wrong. The name and memory of Imam (r.a.) is not sufficient in itself. Imam (r.a.) will remain a leader for our nation with his principles and his roadmap. Imam (r.a.) gave this roadmap to us. He had specific principles. As for domestic policy, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the votes of the people, preserving unity of the people, choosing rulers who are populist and non-aristocratic [humble], having government officials who are committed to national interests and making comprehensive efforts in order to bring about progress for the country. As far as foreign policy is concerned, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we put up a resistance against interventionist and domineering policies, that we establish brotherly relations with other Muslim nations, that we develop relations with all countries except the ones that have drawn their swords against the Iranian nation and are being hostile, that we fight Zionism, that we resist in order to liberate Palestine, that we help oppressed people throughout the world and that we put up a resistance against oppressors. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s testament is available to us. His writings and statements have been recorded and are available in the form of books. Regarding culture, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require rejection of the permissive Western culture, rejection of rigidity and reactionary attitudes, rejection of hypocrisy in religion, decisive defense of ethics and Islamic commands, and fighting the spread of immorality and corruption in society. As for economic matters, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the national economy, relying on self-sufficiency, ensuring economic justice in production and distribution, defending underprivileged people and confronting the capitalist culture coupled with respect for ownership rights. Imam (r.a.) rejected the oppressive capitalist culture, but he also stressed the need for respecting ownership and property rights, capital and labor. Also, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we resist melting into the global economy and that we preserve independence of our national economy. These are Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles regarding economic matters. These things are obvious in Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s statements. Imam (r.a.) always demanded government officials of the country to implement these principles in a powerful and wise way. This was the roadmap of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can bridge the gap between current conditions and those ideal conditions by following this roadmap, by relying on their firm religious faith, by remembering their Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can move forward. Considering its capabilities and talent and the outstanding individuals who are thankfully present among our people, the Iranian nation can continue the revolutionary path that we have been following over the past thirty-something years with more power and firmer determination. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, our nation will be able to become a genuine role model for other Muslim nations. Now let me speak about the elections, which is a sensitive and current issue these days. Dear brothers and sisters and dear people of Iran, elections are the manifestation of all the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and we should have faith in the same things. Elections are the manifestation of faith in God, because taking part in elections is a religious obligation. It is our responsibility to play a role in the destiny of our country. Everybody in our country has this responsibility. Elections are the manifestation of faith in the people, because the will of the people manifests itself in the form of elections: it is the people who choose government officials through elections. Elections are the manifestation of having faith in oneself, because anybody who casts his vote into the ballot box feels that he is playing a role in the destiny of the country and that his role is determining in its own right. This is a very important point. Therefore, elections are the manifestation of faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself. Giving rise to political valor through epic presence of the people at our polling stations is the most important point regarding the upcoming elections. What is the meaning of valor? Valor means that the attempt to achieve glory should be accompanied by excitement and enthusiasm. Every vote that you cast into the ballot box for any of the eight honorable candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic. A vote for any of the candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic: it is a vote of confidence for the [political] system and its electoral mechanism. When you enter the arena of elections - either as a voter or as a candidate - your mere presence in this arena means that you have confidence in the Islamic Republic and in our electoral mechanism. On a less important level, your presence results in a vote for the person whom you consider as more valuable for the future of the country than the other candidates. Our helpless foreign enemies are thinking of a way to turn this election into a threat against the Islamic Republic. This is while an election is a great opportunity for the Islamic Republic. They are hoping for a cold and lifeless election so that they can say the people are not interested in the Islamic Republic or they can create a fitna after the election, just as they did in the year 1388 after that enthusiastic election. These are what the enemies of our nation are after. But they are making a mistake. They do not know our people. The enemies of our nation have forgotten the 9th of Dey. Those who think that in our country there is a silent majority who are opposed to the Islamic Republic, have forgotten that over the past thirty-four years massive numbers of people have taken to the streets every year on the 22nd of Bahman in different cities of our country in order to support the Islamic Republic and shout \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"death to America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". In order to make our elections lifeless, their think tanks constantly produce ideas and feed them to their media and their spokesmen. One day they say our elections have been engineered, another day they say our elections are not free, yet another day they say our elections are not legitimate in the eyes of the people. They do not know our people, neither do they know our elections and the Islamic Republic. And those who are aware of the facts, make unfair comments. They do not shrink from making such comments. In which part of the world are different candidates - ranging from famous figures to unknown individuals - allowed to use national and state media equally? If somebody knows an exception, he should come forward and say it. In which part of the world does such a thing exist? Does it exist in America? Does it exist in capitalist countries? In capitalist countries, if candidates are members of the existing two or three parties and enjoy the support of capitalists, company owners, wealthy people and mafias of wealth and power, they can campaign and if not, they cannot even campaign. Anybody who has followed American elections - which I have - will confirm this. There were certain individuals who did not enjoy the support of the Zionists and blood-thirsty international capitalist networks, and they could not enter the arena of election no matter how hard they tried. They neither had access to a media outlet, nor were any TV channels available to them. For every second of campaigning, they had to spend huge amounts of money. In our country, candidates are given equal opportunities to speak to the people for many hours through state media without having to spend one single rial. In which part of the world do such things exist? The only thing that controls entry into our elections is the law. According to the law, some people can run in our elections and some others cannot. The law has specified what the conditions are, what the qualifications are and who are in charge of vetting. All of these things are being done on the basis of the law. Our foreign enemies close their eyes to these realities and say certain things, and as I have pointed out before, sadly there are impious people who repeat the same things. But by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and with their presence, resistance and firm determination, our people will respond to all these machinations and their response will be crushing and decisive. Now I would like to give a piece of advice to the honorable candidates. The honorable candidates speak critically in the televised programs. This is their right. They can criticize whatever they believe should be criticized. However, they should pay attention to the point that criticism should signify a determination to move towards a future that is full of hard work and glory. It should not signify an effort to paint a bleak picture and promote pessimism and unfair comments. They should pay attention to this point. I do not favor anybody. From this moment onwards, foreign media will say with ulterior motives that I favor a particular candidate. This is a lie. I do not favor anybody. I only lay out the facts. I advise the brothers who want to win the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s trust that their comments should be fair. They can make criticisms, but in doing so, they should not paint a bleak picture and deny the outstanding achievements that have been accomplished under the incumbent administration or previous administrations thanks to the constant efforts of individuals like themselves. Criticism does not mean denying positive aspects. Criticism means that one should point out the positive thing that has been done and then point out the weaknesses and flaws as well. The next president will not have to start from zero: thousands of outstanding things have already been done. Over the course of many years, thousands of fundamental infrastructure-related projects have been carried out in the country under different administrations. There has been scientific progress. There has been industrial progress. There has been progress in areas relating to infrastructure. Very important things have been planned and implemented in different areas. They should not disregard these things. Whenever they want to do something, they should start from the achievements that have already been made. We cannot afford to deny all this work under the pretext that we have economic problems, that we have the problem of rising prices and inflation. After all, this is not the right thing to do. Yes, we have economic problems and inflation. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the person who will be voted into office will be able to resolve these problems and remove these obstacles. This is the wish of the Iranian nation. However, this does not mean that we should deny everything that has been done in order to present a solution to the existing problems. Also, the candidates should not make impossible promises. You should speak in a way that if your recorded statements are replayed to you next year in Khordad, you do not feel ashamed. Make such promises that you would not have to blame other people under the pretext that they did not let you do what you wanted to do. Only make promises that you will be able to fulfill. In our country and according to our Constitution, the president has extraordinary powers. The Constitution has given vast powers to the president. The president has control over the national budget. He has control over all executive pillars of the country. He has control over the implementation of the laws and regulations in the country. He has the power to utilize the capacities of all experts throughout the country. The president has room for maneuver in the case of different issues. The only thing that restricts the president in our country is the law. His actions can only be restricted by the law, which is not in fact a restriction. The law provides guidance: it does not restrict. The law shows the path and tells us how to move forward. Those who address the people today and say different things, should discuss what they are capable of doing and what the people need. They should promise that they will act in a wise and prudent way. If they have plans for different areas, they should present their plans to the people. They should promise that they will move forward on this path in a persistent and steadfast way. They should promise that they will make use of all the capacities of the Constitution in order to carry out their great responsibility. They should promise that they will manage the conditions of the country. They should promise that they will focus their efforts on the economy - which is a challenge that has been imposed on the Iranian nation by foreigners. They should promise that they will not create controversy. They should promise that they will not give their friends and relative a free rein. They should promise that they will not prefer the interests of foreigners over the interests of the Iranian nation under different pretexts. Some people argue that we should make concessions to the enemies in order to appease them and in this way they effectively prefer the interests of the enemies over the interests of the Iranian nation. This is wrong. They are angry because you exist, because the Islamic Republic exists, because Imam (r.a.) is alive in the minds of the people and in our national plans, because the people show their feelings for Imam (r.a.) every year on his demise anniversary. These are the causes of their anger. The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s anger should be controlled and suppressed with our national power. If our nation becomes powerful and capable, if it reduces its needs, if it eliminates its problems, if it manages to improve the economy which is our main issue today, the enemy will be defenseless against the Iranian nation. In any case, what is important is to have determination, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in ourselves, and this applies to both the presidential candidates and the people. My dear brothers, my dear ones, there will a great test in ten days, and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor we hope that in this great test Allah the Exalted will cause an auspicious instance of valor with brilliant outcomes for our nation. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There is no power except with the permission of Great Almighty Allah.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings

Description:

Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print 29/07/2014 Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on. I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan. Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings. Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr. Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it. In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle. Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions. This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis. \\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌ Say: He, Allah, is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112] 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. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem. I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity. Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react. Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request. And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point. The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds. We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack. This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis. That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point. And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want. The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can. God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you. \\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌ Say: He, Allah, is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112] Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938

Description:

Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print 29/07/2014 Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on. I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan. Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings. Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr. Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it. In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle. Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions. This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌ Say: He, Allah, is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112] 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. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem. I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity. Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react. Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request. And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point. The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds. We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack. This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis. That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point. And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want. The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can. God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌ Say: He, Allah, is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112] Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938

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Dua Tawassul is a supplication recited by the Followers of the Family of the Prophet of Islam -Ahlulbayt- in which they ask Allah-the Exalted-for the intercession of those pure people whom He has spoken of in the Quran - when Allah says -None shall have the power of intercession but such a one as has received permission -or promise- from -Allah- Most Gracious - 19.87 - Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth 2.255 - no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by -God- 20.109 - And those whom they call upon besides Him have no authority for intercession. BUT he who bears witness of the truth and they know -him- 43.86 - And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession does not avail at all except after Allah has given permission to whom He pleases and chooses - 53.26 Question - Does Allah -swt- allow us to use others as a Wasila -means of approach- to him. Yes - Allah -swt- tells us in the Quran that the sole reason for creating Man and Jinn is so that they worship Him. We are here to worship Allah who also says in the Quran -Fear Allah and find a wasila to him 5.35. The definition of wasila is -a means of approach- so worship is not direct - it is attained via a means of approach - a guide. Remember Allah -swt- is not telling you to create a wasila - he is telling you to find it. So it exists - it is down to you to find it. For mankind that wasila can only be through a fellow human being - we have no contact with jinns and therefore they cannot act as a wasila. Angels likewise cannot act as a wasila to Allah -swt- as they have no contact with us until the time of death. The wasila will have to be a human being- because the earth is inhabited by humans and as Allah says when explaining the appointment of Prophets -If there were angels on the earth I would send them an angel as a Prophet from heaven -Surat al Isra verse 95 Question - Is this Dua authentic - Shaykh Tusi says - in his book Misbah - that Imam Hassan bin Ali Al Askari a.s. wrote this duaa for Abu Muhammad who requested him to teach him the proper way of reciting salawat. Allama Majlisi has mentioned this duaa on the authority of Ibn babawayh who confidently says that there is no difficulty or problem that this duaa does not solve. The merciful Allah is beseeched in the name of and for the sake of the Holy prophet and his Ahl ul Bayt. It is known as the Dua which fulfills all legitimate desires in a short amount of time. By Aba Thar Al-Hawaigi

Description:

The following is the full text of the sermons delivered on August 9, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, during Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Creator of all creatures, Whom we praise, from Whom we seek help, to Whom we repent, and Whom we rely on, and peace and greetings be upon His beloved and noble one, the best among His servants, the protector of His secret, the promoter of His message, the harbinger of His mercy, the warner of His chastisement, our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided, and who are immaculate and respected, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. I advise myself and all of you dear brothers and sisters, who said your prayers in this magnificent meeting, to fear God and engage in piety which is the source of happiness and victory in this world and in the hereafter. I would like to congratulate all of you, all the people of Iran and all Muslims throughout the world on the occasion of the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr. The month of Ramadan, which is full of divine blessings for our nation and other Muslims, is over and many happy people benefited from the blessings of this month. These people spent the day obeying God while they were fasting and while they felt hungry and thirsty in such hot weather and on such hot days and they avoided carnal desires and curbed their human passions. At night, many people engaged in prayer and dhikr and they kept a vigil for God. Those who carried out their responsibility by worshiping God and fulfilling divine obligations in this month feel satisfied and happy. Engaging in spiritual deeds and fighting against human passions in this month gives a feeling of joy and spiritual happiness to you dear people who are the masters of determination and willpower and who exercised patience in fasting. One of the characteristics of carrying out responsibilities for the sake of God and making efforts and engaging in jihad for the sake of God is that one feels happy although one endures hardships and difficulties. And God has connected this happiness with the happiness that we feel on the day of Eid ul-Fitr. In order to show the greatness of this day, I should merely say that, during the nine qunuts of the auspicious prayers of Eid ul-Fitr, you swear by the blessedness of this day: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"By the blessedness of this day I ask you...\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Mafatih al-Jinan, Eid ul-Fitr] I hope that Allah the Exalted accepts your prayers, bestows and showers His mercy and blessings on the people of Iran and bestows abundant rewards on you for the efforts that you made in this month. One of the great efforts that the people made in this month was the Quds Day rallies. One cannot describe in any way, how significant what you did is. Throughout the country, you marched on the streets in such hot weather and while you were fasting in order to prove the resistance of the Iranian nation on this important issue of the world of Islam and the history of Islam. This is the meaning of a living nation. I deem it necessary to express my gratitude, from the bottom of my heart, to the Iranian nation for this effort. This year, more than previous years, a good tradition was witnessed. It is good to pay attention to this issue which is the act of providing the people with simple and unadorned iftar meals in our mosques and on the streets of many cities of the country. Unlike the act of offering extravagant iftar meals which we heard a number of people did, this is a very appropriate act. Under the pretext of offering iftar meals, these people engaged in extravagant acts. Instead of becoming an instrument for establishing a psychological relationship with the poor and the deprived in the month of Ramadan, they indulged themselves in carnal desires by doing this. We do not want to say that if somebody eats a delicious food during iftar, this is forbidden. No, according to Sharia, these things are not forbidden. But extravagance and overindulgence are forbidden. The extravagance which is sometimes witnessed in such occasions is forbidden. It is so much better for those who want to offer iftar meals to do this by cherishing the tradition which has become common. In such traditions, a number of individuals offer free iftar meals - with great generosity - to people and passers-by and those who like to benefit from these iftar meals on the streets and in different Hussayniyyahs. I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings on all of you people of Iran and accepts your actions. I hope that He bestows on you the blessing to preserve the achievements of the auspicious month of Ramadan until next year. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful I swear by the time, Most surely man is in loss, Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 103] 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 upon the Commander of the Faithful, the Mistress of all Women, Hassan and Hussein- the children of mercy and the Imams of the guided, Ali ibn al-Hussein Zayn al-Abidin, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far al-Kadhim, Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi, Hassan ibn Ali al-Askari and Hujjat al-Qaem al-Mahdi. Greetings be upon them all and upon the Imams of Muslims, supporters of the oppressed, and those who guide the faithful. We ask for Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s forgiveness and we turn repentant to Him. I advise all the brothers and sisters to observe piety in their speech, behavior and positions and in different social, economic and political arenas. These days, many events are taking place in West Asia, North Africa and, generally, in Islamic regions. I will briefly refer to a number of these events. In our own country, the important event is the formation of the new administration. Thankfully, with the determination and all-out efforts of the people, this legal request was granted and this national tradition was preserved in the best way possible. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, after the Majlis carries out its responsibility of choosing competent ministers, the administration will be formed and it will start to fulfill the great and important tasks which it is in charge of although it has already started to fulfill many of the tasks. I hope that the honorable president and the executive officials of the country will benefit from divine blessings. I hope that the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s support and assistance will help them carry out the great responsibilities - great responsibilities have great advantages as well as great difficulties - which they have in the best way possible. However in countries which are located around us - countries in West Asia and North Africa - the events that are taking place are not happy events. Rather, they are worrying events. One event is the event of the oppressed Palestine. After the passage of 65 years since the official occupation of Palestine, this oppressed nation continues to suffer from oppression and cruelty on a daily basis. Houses are destroyed, innocent people are arrested, children are separated from their parents and prisons are filled with people who are innocent or who have served their prison terms. What is distressing is that western powers support these criminals with all their power. One of the disasters of today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s world is that an act of clear oppression, which is a combination of tens and hundreds of oppressive acts, is supported by those who claim they support human rights and democracy and who chant beautiful and colorful slogans, but who support criminals in practice. Now, a number of negotiations have begun again between the self-governing government of Palestine and the Zionists. These negotiations will definitely not produce any results other than what happened during previous negotiations in which Palestinians gave up their rights and encouraged the transgressors to transgress more and stop the lawful political activities of the people of Palestine. They destroy houses, build unlawful buildings for the people who have occupied Palestine and then they say that they are negotiating. Now, they have announced that negotiations will be conducted in secret. The way global arrogance cooks these negotiations will definitely be to the disadvantage of the Palestinians. We believe that the world of Islam should not back down on the issue of Palestine and it should condemn the usurping act of the predatory and wolf-like Zionists and their international supporters. It should not let these negotiations which are conducted with the so-called mediation of America lead to more oppression against the people of Palestine and to the isolation of Muslim Palestinian fighters. In fact, America is not a mediator. Rather, the Americans themselves are one side of these negotiations and they are on the side of the usurpers of Palestine, the Zionists. Another issue is the issue of Egypt. We are concerned about what is happening in Egypt. Considering the things that are being done in this country, the idea that a civil war may break out in Egypt is gaining strength on a daily basis and this is a disaster. It is necessary for the great people of Egypt and political, scientific and religious personalities in this country to take a look at the current situation and see what catastrophic consequences this situation may have. They should see the current situation in Syria. They should see the consequences of the presence of western and Zionist mercenaries and terrorists wherever they are active. They should see these dangers. Democracy should receive attention. The killing of people is vigorously condemned by Muslims. Using the language of violence and bullying by different groups of people is absolutely useless and it will cause great harm. The intervention of foreign powers - the way it is witnessed in the present time - will produce nothing except for loss and harm. The problems of Egypt should be solved by the people of Egypt and the outstanding personalities of Egypt. They should think about the catastrophic and dangerous consequences of this situation. If, God forbid, there is mayhem and if, God forbid, a civil war breaks out, what can then preclude this? In such conditions, there will be excuse for the intervention of superpowers which are the greatest disaster for any country and nation. We are concerned. We would like to offer a brotherly piece of advice to outstanding Egyptian personalities, the people of Egypt, political and religious groups and religious scholars. They should think of a solution on their own and adopt this solution on their own. They should not allow foreigners and powers - whose intelligence services have, most likely, played a role in creating this situation - to make more interventions. Another issue is the issue of Iraq. In Iraq, a democratic administration and government has come to power with the votes of the people. Because superpowers and the reactionary forces of the region are unhappy about this situation, they do not want to let the people of Iraq feel comfort. These explosions, these killings and these criminal and terrorist activities results from the assistance and financial, political and arms support of a number of regional and ultra-regional powers which do not want to let the Iraqi nation live its life the way it wants. It is necessary for Iraqi politicians and officials, Iraqi groups, Shia and Sunni Muslims, Arabs and Kurds to take a look at the situation which exists in a number of other countries. They should notice that the consequences of civil wars and domestic conflicts, which destroy the infrastructures of any country, ruin the future of any nation. In all these events, the Zionist regime and usurpers sit and watch this situation with satisfaction and they feel comfort. Should this be allowed to continue? Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), awaken us from ignorance. Dear God, cut off the hands of malicious people and transgressors in Islamic nations and countries. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), make Islam and Muslims achieve victory wherever they are. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful To you, have We granted the Fount (of Abundance), Therefore to your Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice, For he who hates you, he will be cut off.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 108]

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Eidul Fitr 1436 Sermon by The Leader of Islamic Ummah Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print 18/07/2015 Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 18, 2015 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran. First Sermon In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. All praise is due to Allah Whom we praise, Whom we remember, to Whom we repent, and peace and greetings be upon His beloved and noble one, the best among His servants, our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. I would like to congratulate all you dear brothers and sisters, the dear people of Iran and all Muslims throughout the world on this auspicious Eid. I advise you who say prayers and myself, to observe divine piety, piousness, safeguarding the inner self and avoidance of sins. This year, the month of Ramadan was an auspicious month in the real sense of the word. In this month, divine blessings were showered on the people. The signs of these blessings were witnessed in the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s fasting during the long and hot days of Ramadan, in large Quranic meetings all over the country, in great dua and supplication meetings - where thousands of youth, elderly people, men and women engaged in dua and supplication and where they spoke to their God in a pure and humble way - in donating charity, in the large iftar meals that have fortunately become common for several years now, in mosques, on the streets and finally in the magnificent Quds Day rallies. These are signs of divine mercy. The people participated in these great rallies in a hot summer day while they were fasting and while they had kept a vigil the night before - on the 23rd of the month of Ramadan - on the occasion of the Nights of Qadr. This is the right way to know the people of Iran. These are the people of Iran. It is the people of Iran who paint such a picture of themselves on the scene of worshipping God during the month of Ramadan and on the scene of fighting against arrogance, each in different ways. Our people should not be known through the hostile words of others. Rather, they should be known through themselves, through their slogans, through their movements and through such magnificent reflections. These are the people of Iran. The picture that the enemy tries to portray about the people of Iran- unfortunately some obtuse individuals repeat this- by using propaganda, is deviant and wrong. The people of Iran are the same people who showed their different aspects and dimensions in this month of Ramadan. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, all of you will pass your test today. As well as passing this test, some of you will - by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor - receive rewards, gain promotion and achieve spiritual transcendence today. The slogans of the people of Iran showed what our orientations are. On Quds Day, the slogan of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Death to Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Death to America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" shook the scene of the country. And these slogans were not particular to Tehran and large cities. The entire country stood under the umbrella of this movement. Dear God, accept what the people of Iran have done with Your mercy and kindness. Dear God, shower Your grace, mercy and infinite blessings on our people. Dear God, bestow Your mercy and forgiveness on our dear martyrs, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and all those people who helped and supported the people on this path. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, I swear by the time, Most surely man is in loss, Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 103]. Second Sermon In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household. And greetings be upon the Imams of Muslims and supporters of the oppressed, especially upon the Commander of the Faithful, the Mistress of all women, Hassan and Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of the guided - Ali ibn al-Hussein Zayn al-Abidin, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem al-Mahdi, Your representative among Your servants and trustworthy ones in Your land. The first thing that I would like to say in the second sermon is to greet and congratulate all the brothers and sisters who say prayers and to advise them to observe piety. The events that occurred in our region during the month of Ramadan and before that, were and still are bitter events. Unfortunately, some vicious hands made the blessed month of Ramadan bitter for the regional peoples. Many Muslim peoples in Yemen, Palestine and Syria experienced difficult days and fasts because of the evil plots of the enemies. All these events are important to our people. Another issue is a domestic one: the issue of the nuclear negotiations. I deem it necessary to raise a few points in this regard. The first point is a word of thanks to officials in charge of these long and arduous negotiations - the honorable President and particularly the negotiation team who really made great efforts and worked hard. They will certainly be divinely rewarded whether the document that has been prepared will- through its determined legal procedures- be ratified or not. We have said this to those brothers in person as well. Of course in order to ratify this document, there is a clear legal procedure that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, has to be taken. We expect that these officials take the interests- interests of the country, interests of the people- into consideration by paying careful attention, so that when they deliver the matter to the people, they can do so with their heads held high in front of Allah the Exalted as well. The next point is that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, no one will be allowed to take advantage of this document in any way and to undermine the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic whether this document is ratified or not. The defense capabilities and the security area of the country will- by God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s grace- be protected although we know that the enemies have placed great emphasis on these areas. The Islamic Republic will never give in to the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s greed in the area of protecting its defense capabilities and security- particularly in this environment filled with the enemies\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' threats. The next point is that whether this document is ratified or not, we will not abandon our regional friends: the oppressed people of Palestine, the oppressed people of Yemen, the people and government of Syria, the people and government of Iraq, the oppressed people of Bahrain and the sincere mujahids of the Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine. These people will always enjoy our support. The next point is that our policy towards the arrogant government of America will not change in any way despite these negotiations and the document that has been prepared. As we have said many times, we have no negotiations with America on different global and regional issues. We have no bilateral negotiations with America. Sometimes, we have negotiated with them in exceptional cases such as the nuclear issue and we have done so because of our interests. The nuclear issue was not the only case. There were other cases as well which I have referred to in my previous public speeches. The American policies in the region are 180 degrees the opposite of the policies of the Islamic Republic. The Americans accuse Hezbollah and the Lebanese Resistance - who are the most self-sacrificing forces in their country in the area of national defense - of terrorism. There is no injustice worse than this. This is while they support the terrorist child-killing government of Zionism. How can one do business, negotiate and reach an agreement with such a policy? There are other cases as well and I will expand on them in other speeches. Another point is about the Americans\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' blustering in recent days. In the recent days that the negotiations have been concluded, the American excellencies - their male and female officials - are busy blustering. Each of them is blustering in a different way. Of course, this is alright with us. Their domestic problems force them into blustering. They claim that they have dragged Iran towards the negotiating table, that they have made Iran surrender, that they have obtained such and such concessions from our country and other such claims. However, the truth is something else. They say that they have prevented Iran from building nuclear weapons, but this has nothing to do with our negotiations with America and other countries. They themselves know this and sometimes they have spoken about the importance of the fatwa that bans nuclear weapons. According to the commands of the Holy Quran and Islamic sharia, we consider building, keeping and using nuclear weapons as haraam and therefore, we will not do so. This has nothing to do with them and with these negotiations. They themselves know that this is the truth. They know that what prevents the Islamic Republic from building nuclear weapons is not their threats and intimidating behavior. There is a religious barrier behind this and they know the significance of this fatwa, but they still claim that it was they who prevented Iran. They are not honest with their own people and they do not tell them the truth. On various other matters, they say that they have adopted such and such a measure about Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s nuclear industry and that they have forced Iran to surrender, but they can only see Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s surrender in their dreams. From the beginning of the Revolution until today, five other U.S. presidents died or were lost in history dreaming that they would force the Islamic Republic to surrender. You too will enjoy the same fate. You too will never achieve the dream of forcing the Islamic Republic to surrender. There was one point in the statements that the American president made in recent days: he admitted to America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s past mistakes. Of course, he said a hodgepodge of things. He admitted that the Americans made a mistake in Iran on the 28th of Mordad. He admitted that the Americans made a mistake in helping Saddam Hussein. He admitted to two, three mistakes, but he did not mention tens of others. He did not speak about the 25-year oppressive and treacherous rule of the second Pahlavi monarch. He did not speak about the many instances of torture, looting, massacre, disaster and calamity that were caused by America. He did not speak about the destruction of the Iranian peoples\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' dignity and America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s efforts to trample upon their domestic and foreign interests. He did not speak about the Zionists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' domination, the killing of Iranian passengers on a passenger plane and many other things. Nonetheless, he mentioned a number of mistakes. I would like to offer a friendly word of advice to these excellencies: today - after the passage of many years from the 28th of Mordad, the eight-year war and the defense that the Islamic Republic put up there - you acknowledge that you have made certain mistakes. I would like to say to you that you are making a mistake in the present time as well. In the present time too, you are busy making mistakes in different places in the region and particularly towards the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran. In a few years, someone else will turn up and show you your mistakes, just as today you are admitting to the mistakes that your predecessors made. You are making mistakes as well. Therefore, you should awaken, correct your mistakes and understand the truth. You are making grave mistakes in the region. What I want to say to the people of Iran is that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, the Islamic Republic has become powerful and strong. It has become stronger on a daily basis. It is 10, 12 years now that six great global powers - which are among powerful countries in the world in terms of economic wealth - have been sitting in front of Iran, trying to prevent it from pursuing its nuclear industry. They have said this openly. Their real goal is to open the nuts and bolts of the nuclear industry. They have said this to our officials many years ago. In the present time too, they pursue the same dream. The result of a 10, 12-year struggle with the Islamic Republic is that they have been forced to tolerate the operation of several thousand centrifuges in the country. They have been forced to tolerate the continuation of this industry in our country. They have been forced to tolerate the development of this industry and the continuation of research on it. Research and developing the nuclear industry will continue. The cycle of the nuclear industry will continue. This is what they have been trying to prevent for many years, but today they have signed on paper that they have no problem with our nuclear industry. Apart from the power of the Iranian people, what other meaning does this have? This has been achieved because of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s resistance and steadfastness and our dear scientists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' courage and innovation. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon the likes of Shahriari, Rezainejad, Ahmadi Roshan and Ali Muhammadi. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon our nuclear martyrs. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon their families. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon a people who stand by their truthful claims and rights. I would like to raise another point which is the last one. An individual has said that he can destroy Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s army. Our predecessors used to call such statements, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"boasting among strangers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [audience laughs]. I do not want to say anything more in this regard. If those who will hear this statement want to know the truth and if they are willing to use their experiences correctly, they should know that should any war break out - of course we do not welcome and begin any war - he who will emerge humiliated [literally: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"head-cracked\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"] out of it, will be transgressing and criminal America. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful When there comes the help of Allah and the victory, And you see men entering the religion of Allah in companies, Then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Surely He is oft-returning to mercy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 110]. Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings

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Recite \"Chapter Hamd” in Prayer! A tradition says, “When a servant stands up to pray, if his desires and heart are with God (while praying) - meaning that he keeps his mind on this and finishes his prayer in that way - he will become pure like the day he was born from his mother.” Recite “Chapter Hamd” in prayer. Is it possible to pray and not recite Chapter Hamd? It means recite Chapter Hamd in prayer with attentiveness. You’ll be reborn. “All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Universe, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” (Qur’an 1:1-2) Whenever I say “the Beneficent, the Merciful,” I think, “See. It said ‘the Beneficent, the Merciful’ a moment ago. Now, again it’s saying, ‘the Beneficent, the Merciful.’” “In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Universe, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” God, You insist very much that I see Your Mercy. Why do You say, “Look at My Mercy” this much?” “and Master of the Day of Judgment.” “The Beneficent, the Merciful (is the) Master of the Day of Judgment.” So, don’t be afraid. God, I’ve said, “The Beneficent, the Merciful (is the) Master of the Day of Judgment.” Now, will You punish me there? You Yourself said to say, ““The Beneficent, the Merciful (is the) Master of the Day of Judgment.” “(Lord), You alone we do worship.” God says, “I only help the one who seeks assistance from Me.” “And from You alone we do seek assistance.” God says, “Ok, I have to help you since you said, ‘Only You.’” “(Lord), guide us to … the path of those to whom You have granted blessings,” the path of Ali (‘a) to whom You have given so many blessings. “… those who are neither subject to Your anger...” It is as if “Chapter Hamd” is reciting a eulogy. Similarly, when people who usually go to religious eulogies go to Hajj, they have a lot to say and they do the circumambulation beautifully. Especially when these people do the walking between “Safa” and “Marwah”, they really enjoy it. They walk where Hajar walked and read eulogies (in poems), “When did my Ali Asghar start talking?!” They say this as they walk and cry. Such people know what to say. Others don’t know what to say. Others say, “Which supplication should we recite now?” But, these people read eulogies even when reciting Chapter Hamd. God has said this Himself in this chapter. “…those who are neither subject to Your anger…” Don’t take me on the path of the murderers of Imam Husayn with whom You are angry. Don’t take me on the path of those who slapped the face of Hazrat Fatimah Zahra (‘a). You hate them. Separate me from them. This is the high point of the “Kumayl Supplication” too. The high point of the Kumayl Supplication is where it says, “Do You want to put me in the same place with Your enemies.” Even if I tolerate Your torment, how can I tolerate them?! “…those who are neither subject to Your anger…” is the peak of the Kumayl Supplication. The supplication first moans because of the torment, then it says, “Fine. If I tolerate this, how can I tolerate that?” I ask God that you can pray with attentiveness. [From the series of speeches under the topic of, “Controlling One’s Mind on the Path to Getting Closer to God.”] =================================== Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/ =================================== Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/c/PanahianEnglish =================================== See our pages in various languages: https://panahian.net/ ===================================

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You have said that I was dragged like a camel with a nose string to swear allegiance (to Abu Bakr at Saqifah). By the Eternal Allah, you had intended to revile me but you have praised me, and to humiliate me but have yourself been humiliated. What humiliation does it mean for a Muslim to be the victim of oppression so long as he does not entertain any doubt in his religion, nor any misgiving in his firm belief! This argument of mine is intended for others, but I have stated it to you only in so far as it was appropriate. وَقُلْتَ: إِنِّي كُنْتُ أُقَادُ كَمَا يُقَادُ الْجَمَلُ الْـمَخْشُوشُ حَتَّى أُبَايِعَ، وَلَعَمْرُ اللهِ لَقَدْ أَرَدْتَ أَنْ تَذُمَّ فَمَدَحْتَ، وَأَنْ تَفْضَحَ فَافْتَضَحْتَ! وَمَا عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ مِنْ غَضَاضَة فِي أَنْ يَكُونَ مَظْلُوماً مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ شَاكّاً فِي دِينِهِ، وَلاَ مُرْتَاباً بِيَقِينِهِ! وَهذِهِ حُجَّتِي إِلَى غَيْرِكَ قَصْدُهَا، وَلكِنِّي أَطْلَقْتُ لَكَ مِنْهَا بِقَدْرِ مَا سَنَحَ مِنْ ذِكْرِهَا. Then you have recalled my position vis-a- vis \'Uthman, and in this matter an answer is due to you because of your kinship with him. So (now tell me), which of us was more inimical towards \'Uthman and who did more to bring about his killing; or who offered him his support but he made him sit down and stopped him; or who was he whom he called for help but who turned his face from him and drew his death near him till his fate over took him? No, no; by Allah: Indeed knoweth Allah those who hinder others among you and those who say unto their brethren \"Come hitherunto us\", and they come not to fight but a little. (Qur\'an 33:18) ثُمَّ ذَكَرْتَ مَا كَانَ مِنْ أَمْرِي وَأَمْرِ عُثْمانَ، فَلَكَ أ َنْ تُجَابَ عَنْ هذِهِ لِرَحِمِكَ منْهُ، فَأَيُّنَا كَانَ أَعْدَى لَهُ،أَهْدَى إِلَى مَقَاتِلِهِ! أَمْ مَنْ بَذَلَ لَهُ نُصْرَتَهُ فَاسْتَقْعَدَهُ وَاسْتَكَفَّهُ، أَمْ مَنِ اسْتَنْصَرَهُ فَتَرَاَخى عَنْهُ بَثَّ الْـمَنُونَ إِلَيْهِ، حَتَّى أَتَى قَدَرُهُ عَلَيْهِ، كَلاَّ وَاللهِ (لَقَد عَلِمَ اللهُ الْمُعَوِّقِينَ مِنْكُمْ وَالْقَائِلِينَ لاِخْوَانِهِمْ هَلُمَّ إِلَيْنَا وَلاَ يَأَتُونَ الْبَأْسَ إِلاَّ قَليلاً). I am not going to offer my excuse for reproving him for (some of) his innovations, for if my good counsel and guidance to him was a sin then very often a person who is blamed has no sin and “sometimes the only reward a counseller 4 reaps is suspicion (of evil)”. I desired naught but reform what I am able to (do); and my guidance is not but with Allah; On Him (alone) do I rely, and unto Him (alone) do I turn. (Qur\'an, 11:88) وَمَا كُنْتُ لاِعْتَذِرَ مِنْ أَنِّي كُنْتُ أَنْقِمُ عَلَيْهِ أَحْدَاثاً، فَإِنْ كَانَ الذَّنْبُ إِلَيْهِ إِرْشَادِي وَهِدَايَتِي لَهُ، فَرُبَّ مَلُوم لاَ ذَنْبَ لَهُ \"وَقَدْ يَسْتَفِيدُ الظِّنَّةَ الْمُتَنَصِّحُ\" وَمَا أَرَدْتُ (إِلاَّ الاْصْلاَحَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلاَّ بِاللهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ). You have mentioned that for me and for my followers you have only the sword. This makes even a weeping person laugh. Did you ever see the descendants of \'Abd al-Muttalib running away from battle, or being frightened by swords? \"Wait a little till Hamal 5 joins the battle\" shortly, then he whom you are seeking will seek you and he whom you think to be far away will approach near you. I am (shortly) speeding towards you with a force of Muhajirun and Ansar and those who follow them in virtue. Their number will be great and their dust will spread all round. They will be wearing their shrouds and their most coveted desire is to meet Allah. They will be accompanied by the descendants of those who took part in the battle of Badr, and they will have Hashimite swords whose cut you have already seen in the case of your brother, maternal uncle, your grandfather and your kinsmen. Nor are they far distant from the unjust ones. (Qur\'an, 11:83) وَذَكَرْتَ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِي وَلاَ لاِصْحَابِي عِنْدَكَ إِلاَّ السَّيْفُ، فَلَقَدْ أَضْحَكْتَ بَعْدَ اسْتِعْبَار! مَتَى أُلْفِيَتْ بَنُو عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ عَنِ الاْعْدَاءِ نَاكِلِينَ، وبِالسُّيُوفِ مُخَوَّفِينَ؟! \" فَـ لَبِّثْ قَلِيلاً يَلْحَقِ الْهَيْجَا حَمَلْ\" سَيَطْلُبُكَ مَنْ تَطْلُبُ، وَيَقْرُبُ مِنْكَ مَا تَسْتَبْعِدُ، وَأَنَا مُرْقِلٌ نَحْوَكَ فِي جَحْفَل مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالاْنْصَارِ، وَالتَّابِعِينَ [لَهُمْ] بِإِحْسَان، شَدِيد زِحَامُهُمْ، سَاطِع قَتَامُهُمْ، مُتَسَرْبِلِينَ سَرَابِيلَ الْمَوْتِ، أَحَبُّ اللِّقَاءِ إِلَيْهِمْ لِقَاءُ رَبِّهِمْ، قَدْ صَحِبَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّةٌ بَدْرِيَّةٌ، وَسُيُوفٌ هَاشِمِيَّةٌ، قَدْ عَرَفْتَ مَوَاقِعَ نِصَالِهَا فِي أَخِيكَ وَخَالِكَ وَجَدِّكَ وَأَهْلِكَ، (وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيد)

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PREPARE FOR THE FINAL UPRISING OF IMAM MAHDI (a.j) - Urdu Msg English. There was Imam Hussain (as) who stood for the protection of Islam, for the protection of the Values of the Prophet (pbuh). Where are the followers of Imam Hussain (as)? There was Zainab binte Ali (sa), the beloved sister of Imam Hussain (as), who supported Truth even in the most difficult of situations. Where are those followers who will support the movement of Truth without any fear today? There was Abbas ibne Ali (as), the faithful Standard Bearer of Imam Hussain (as). Where are those followers who will take hold of the Banner of Imam Mahdi (atf)? There was Ali Akbar, the beloved son of Imam Hussain (as), whom the Imam (as) sent to the battlefield without any hesitation to fight Evil, and there were Aun and Muhammad, the beloved sons of Zainab binte Ali (sa), whom their mother sent to the battlefield without any hesitation to fight Evil. Where are those fathers and where are those mothers who will send their sons and daughters to aid Imam Mahdi (atf), without any hesitation? And where are those sons and daughters who will go forth in the Way of Allah to protect Islam from its enemies? There is the cry of Hal min Naasirin Yansurna? Where are those followers who will respond to this call? There was the camp of Imam Hussain (as). Where is the camp of Imam Mahdi (atf)? O followers of the oppressed Imam (as), enter the camp of Imam Mahdi (atf).

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The Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (HA) delivered a speech on the 6th of June 2011, to mark the opening of an International Conference in Lebanon, which deals with the personality and thoughts of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Sayyed Ali Al-Khamenei (HA). Sayyed Nasrallah testifies to the glowing and magnificent reality of Imam Khamenei as the Leader of the Islamic Ummah, by giving several examples which he experienced with the Imam himself. Sayyed Nasrallah also touches upon the various dimensions of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s character, abilities and excellences. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We are in front of a personality whom the enemies siege, and whom friends do not recognise its rightful status\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".

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In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful As-Salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household and chosen companions and upon those who follow them appropriately until the Day of Judgment. Allah the All-Wise said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed and most surely Allah is well able to assist them. Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause only because they say our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s name is much remembered. And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayahs 39-40] I would like to welcome the all dear guests and the honorable audience. Among all the issues that deserve to be discussed by religious and political figures from across the world of Islam, the issue of Palestine enjoys special importance. Palestine is the primary issue among all common issues of Islamic countries. This issue has unique characteristics. The first characteristic is that a Muslim country has been taken away from its people and entrusted to foreigners who have come together from different countries and formed a fake and mosaic-like society. The second characteristic is that this historically unprecedented event has been accompanied by constant killings, crimes, oppression and humiliation. The third characteristic is that Muslims\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' original qiblah and many respected religious centers which exist in that country have been threatened with destruction, sacrilege and decline. The fourth characteristic is that at the most sensitive spot of the world of Islam, this fake government and society has played the role of a military, security and political base for the arrogant governments since the beginning up until today. And the pivot of the colonialist west - which has been opposed to the unity, development and progress of Islamic countries for various reasons - has always used it like a dagger in the heart of the Islamic Ummah. The fifth characteristic is that Zionism - which is a great ethical, political and economic threat to the human community - has used this foothold as a tool and stepping stone to spread its influence and hegemony in the world. Other points that can be added include: heavy financial and human costs that Islamic countries have paid so far, preoccupation of Muslim governments and people, the sufferings of millions of displaced Palestinians many of whom still live in refugee camps after the passage of six decades and putting an end to the history of an important civilizational center in the world of Islam. Today another key point has been added to these causes and this key point is the wave of Islamic Awakening which has engulfed the entire region and has opened a new and determining chapter in the history of the Islamic Ummah. This massive movement - which can undoubtedly lead to a powerful, advanced and coherent Islamic alliance in this sensitive part of the world and can put an end to the era of backwardness, weakness and humiliation of Muslim nations relying on Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and the firm determination of the followers of this movement - has borrowed an important portion of its force and courage from the issue of Palestine. The Zionist regime\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s increasing oppression and bullying and the cooperation of certain autocratic, corrupt and mercenary rulers on the one hand and the spirited Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the miraculous victories of faithful youth in the 33-day war on Lebanon and in the 22-day war on Gaza on the other hand - were among the important factors which made turbulent the seemingly calm ocean of the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan nations as well as other regional nations. It is a fact that the Zionist regime, which is armed to the teeth and claims to be invincible, suffered a decisive and humiliating defeat in Lebanon during an unequal war against the clenched fist of faithful and brave mujahids. Later on it re-tested its blunt sword against the innocent and determined resistance of Gaza and it failed. Serious attention should be paid to these points when analyzing current conditions of the region and the appropriateness of every decision should be evaluated against these points. Therefore, it is an accurate judgment to say that today the issue of Palestine has gained increased importance and urgency and the Palestinian nation has the right to expect more from Muslims countries in the current regional conditions. Let us take a look at the past and the present and prepare a road map for the future. I will discuss certain topics in this regard. More than six decades have passed since the tragic occupation of Palestine. All the main causes of this bloody tragedy have been identified and the colonialist English government is the most important cause. The policies, weapons and military, security, economic and cultural power of the English government and other arrogant western and eastern governments were put to the service of this great oppression. Under the ruthless clutches of the occupiers, the defenseless people of Palestine were massacred and forced out of their homes. Until today even one percent of the human and civil tragedy - which was carried out at that time by the claimants of civilization and ethics - has not been properly portrayed and this tragedy has not had its fair share in the media and visual arts. The owners of visual and cinematic arts and western movie mafias have not been willing to allow this to happen. An entire nation was massacred and displaced in silence. Certain instances of resistance emerged at the beginning, which were harshly and ruthlessly crushed. From outside Palestinian borders and mainly from Egypt, a number of men with Islamic motives made certain efforts which were not sufficiently supported and could not have an effect on the scene. Afterwards there were full-scale and classical wars between a few Arab countries and the Zionist army. Egypt, Syria and Jordan mobilized their military forces, but the unconditional, massive and increasing military and financial support of America, England and France for the Zionist regime overwhelmed Arab armies. Not only did they fail to help the Palestinian nation, but they also lost an important portion of their territories during these wars. After the weakness of Palestine\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Arab neighbors was revealed, cells of organized resistance were gradually established in the form of armed Palestinian groups and after a while they came together to form the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This was a spark of hope which shone brightly, but it did not last long. This failure can be attributed to many factors, but the essential factor was their separation from the people and from their Islamic beliefs and faith. Leftist ideology or mere nationalistic sentiments were not what the complicated and difficult issue of Palestine required. Islam, jihad and martyrdom were the factors that could have encouraged an entire nation to step into the arena of resistance and turned it into an invincible force. They did not understand this properly. During the first few months of the great Islamic Revolution, when the leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization had found a new spirit and they used to visit Tehran repeatedly, I asked a pillar of the organization why they did not raise the flag of Islam in their righteous battle. His answer was that there were a number of Christians among them as well. Later on that person was assassinated by the Zionists in an Arab country and I hope Allah the Exalted has bestowed mercy on him. But his reasoning was flawed. I believe a faithful Christian who fights alongside a group of selfless mujahids - who carry out jihad in a sincere way while having faith in God, the Day of Judgment and divine assistance - would be more motivated to fight than a Christian who has to fight alongside a group of people who lack faith, rely on unstable sentiments and lack loyal support of the people. Lack of firm faith and separation from the people gradually made them neutral and ineffective. Of course there were honorable, motivated and valorous men among them, but the organization went off in a different direction. Their deviation has been a blow to the issue of Palestine. Like certain treacherous Arab governments, they too turned their back on the ideal of resistance which has been the only way of saving Palestine. And of course not only did they deliver a blow to Palestine, but they also delivered a strong blow to themselves. As the Christian Arab poet says, لئن اضعتم فلسطيناً فعيشكم طول الحياة مضاضات و آلامٌ Thirty two years were spent in this misery, but suddenly God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s hand of power turned the tables. The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the year 1979 completely changed the conditions of this region and turned a new page. Among the amazing global effects of this Revolution and the strong blows that it delivered to arrogant policies, the blow to the Zionist government was the clearest and the most immediate. The statements of the leaders of that regime during those days are interesting to read and they show how unhappy and anxious they were. During the first few weeks after the victory, Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s embassy in Tehran was closed down and its staff was expelled. The embassy was officially given to the Palestinian Liberation Organization whose representatives are still there. Our magnanimous Imam announced that one of the goals of the Revolution was to liberate Palestine and to remove the cancerous tumor, Israel. The powerful waves of this Revolution, which engulfed the entire world at that time, conveyed this message wherever it reached: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Palestine must be liberated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Even the repeated and great problems that the enemies of the Revolution imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to discourage the Islamic Republic from defending Palestine. One instance of the problems that they caused was the eight-year war waged on Iran by Saddam Hussein who had been goaded by America and England and was supported by reactionary Arab governments. Thus, new blood was pumped into the veins of Palestine. Muslim mujahid groups started to emerge in Palestine. The Lebanese Resistance formed a powerful and new front against the enemy and its supporters. Instead of relying on Arab governments and seeking help from global organizations such as the United Nations, which were accomplices of the arrogant powers, Palestine started to rely on itself, its youth, its deep Islamic faith and its selfless men and women. This is the key to all achievements. Over the past three decades this process has been accelerated on a daily basis. The humiliating defeat of the Zionist regime in Lebanon in the year 2006, the humiliating failure of the arrogant Zionist army in Gaza in the year 2008, the Zionist regime\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s escape from South Lebanon and withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of the resistance government in Gaza and in brief, changing the Palestinian nation from a group of helpless and hopeless people to a hopeful, resistant and self-confident nation - these were the outstanding characteristics of the past thirty years. This general picture will be clear when attempts at compromise and treacherous activities - whose goal is to break down resistance and make Palestinian groups and Arab governments acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel - are also reflected upon in an appropriate way. These activities, which were initiated with the Camp David Accords by the treacherous and unworthy successor of Gamal Abdel Nasser, have always been aimed at undermining the steely determination of resistance forces. During the Camp David Accords, for the first time an Arab government officially acknowledged that the Palestinian lands belonged to the Zionists and it signed the papers according to which Palestine was recognized as the homeland of Jews. From that time until the Oslo Accords in the year 1993 and later on in complementary plans - which were imposed one after the other on compromising and careless Palestinian groups with the intervention of America and the cooperation of colonialist European governments - the enemy tried its best to discourage the Palestinian nation and Palestinian groups from resisting through the use of empty and deceptive promises and making them busy with amateur political games. The uselessness of all these accords was revealed very soon and the Zionists and their supporters repeatedly showed that they consider these accords as worthless pieces of paper. The goal of these plans was to create doubt among the Palestinians, make materialistic unbelievers greedy and cripple Islamic resistance. So far, the spirit of resistance among the Islamic Palestinian groups and the Palestinian people has been the antidote to all these treacherous games. They stood up against the enemy with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s permission and as promised by God, they benefited from divine assistance: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayah 40] The resistance of Gaza in spite of a comprehensive siege was an instance of divine assistance. The collapse of the treacherous and corrupt government of Hosni Mubarak was divine assistance. The emergence of the powerful wave of Islamic Awakening in the region is divine assistance. The removal of the mask of hypocrisy from the face of America, England and France and the increasing hatred of the regional nations towards these countries are divine assistance. The repeated and innumerable problems of the Zionist regime - from its domestic political, economic and social problems to its isolation in the world, to public and even academic hatred of the Zionists in Europe - are all instances of divine assistance. Today the Zionist regime is weaker, more hated and more isolated than ever before and its main supporter, America, is more embattled and confused than ever before. Today the general history of Palestine in the past 60 years is in front of our eyes. It is necessary to delineate the future by considering that general history and learning lessons from it. Two points should be clarified in advance. The first point is that our demand is the liberation of Palestine, not the liberation of a part of Palestine. Any plan to divide Palestine is completely unacceptable. The two-state idea which has been presented in the self-righteous clothing of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"recognizing the Palestinian government as a member of the United Nations\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is nothing but giving in to the demands of the Zionists - namely, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"recognizing the Zionist government in Palestinian lands\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This would mean trampling on the rights of the Palestinian nation, ignoring the historical right of the displaced Palestinians and even jeopardizing the right of the Palestinians settled in \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"1948 lands\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". It would mean leaving the cancerous tumor intact and exposing the Islamic Ummah - especially the regional nations - to constant danger. It would mean bringing back decades-long sufferings and trampling upon the blood of the martyrs. Any operational solution must be based on the principle of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"all of Palestine for all Palestinian people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Palestine is the land that extends \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"from the river to the sea\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", not one inch less than that. Of course it should be noted that through its elected government, the Palestinian people will run the affairs of the any part of the Palestinian soil they manage to liberate, just as they did in the case of Gaza, but they will never forget the ultimate goal. The second point is that in order to reach this lofty goal, what is necessary is action, not words. It is necessary to be serious, not to make ceremonial gestures. It is necessary to have patience and wisdom, not engage in a variety of impatient actions. It is necessary to consider horizons that lie far ahead and to move forward step by step with determination, reliance on God and hope. Muslim governments and nations and the resistance groups in Palestine, Lebanon and other countries can each identify their share of work in this general struggle and solve the puzzle of resistance with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s permission. The solution of the Islamic Republic to the issue of Palestine and this old wound is a clear and logical proposal that is based on political wisdom accepted by global public opinion and it has been presented in detail previously. We neither propose a classical war with the armies of Islamic countries, nor do we propose throwing Jewish immigrants into the sea or intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations. We propose a referendum among the Palestinian people. Just like any other nation, the Palestinian nation has the right to determine its own destiny and to elect its own government. All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants - should take part in a general and orderly referendum and determine the future government of Palestine whether they live inside Palestine or in camps or in any other place. The government that is established after the referendum will determine the destiny of non-Palestinian immigrants who migrated to Palestine in the past. This is a fair and logical proposal which global public opinion understands and it can receive support from independent nations and governments. Of course we do not expect the usurping Zionists to willingly accept this proposal and this is where the role of governments, nations and resistance organizations becomes significant. The most important pillar of supporting the Palestinian nation is to stop supporting the usurping enemy and this is the great duty of Islamic governments. After the people have stepped into the arena and shouted slogans against the Zionist regime in a powerful way, on what logical basis do Muslim governments continue their relations with the usurping Zionist regime? The proof of Muslim governments\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' honesty lies in their support for the Palestinian nation and in their decision to break off their overt and secret political and economic relations with the Zionist regime. The governments that host Zionist embassies or economic offices cannot claim to defend Palestine and no anti-Zionist slogan on their part will be considered serious and genuine. Today Islamic resistance organizations, which have been shouldering the heavy burden of jihad over the past years, are confronted with the same great responsibility. Their organized resistance is an active arm that can help the Palestinian nation move towards the ultimate goal. Brave resistance of the people whose homes and country have been occupied has been recognized in all international conventions and it has been praised. Allegations of terrorism by the political and media network affiliated with Zionism are hollow and worthless claims. The obvious terrorist is the Zionist regime and its western supporters. Palestinian resistance is a movement against the oppressive terrorists and it is a human and sacred movement. In the meantime, it is appropriate for western countries to evaluate the situation from a realistic perspective. Today the west is at a crossroads. It should either stop bullying and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian nation and refuse to follow the plan of the bullying and anti-human Zionists, or they should wait for stronger blows in the not so distant future. These crippling blows are not limited to the continual collapse of their puppet governments in the Islamic region. Rather the day when European and American peoples realize that the majority of their economic, social and ethical problems result from the octopus-like hegemony of international Zionism over their governments and that their statesmen give in to the bullying of parasitic Zionists who own companies in America and Europe for the sake of their personal and partisan interests, they will create a such hell for them in which no salvation will be imaginable. The US President says that Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s security is his red line. What factor has determined this red line? Is it the interests of the American nation or Obama\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s personal need for the money and support of Zionist companies to ensure his second term as US President? How long do you think you will be able to deceive your own nation? What will the American people do with you the day they realize you have agreed to give in to humiliation and obedience to wealthy Zionists for the sake of remaining in power for a few more days? What will they do with you when they realize that you have sacrificed the interests of a great nation at the feet of the Zionists? Dear brothers and sisters, know that this red line drawn by Obama and people like him will be crossed by Muslim nations that have risen up. What is threatening the Zionist regime is not the missiles of Iran or resistance groups, so they can build a missile shield here and there in order to confront it. The real and inescapable threat is the firm determination of men, women and youth in Islamic countries who do not want America, Europe and their puppets rulers, to dominate and humiliate them any longer. Of course those missiles will fulfill their duty whenever the enemy poses a threat. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Therefore, be patient. Surely the promise of Allah is true and let not those who have no certainty make you impatient.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura ar-Room, Ayah 60] Wa salaam alaykum wa rahmat Allah http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527

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In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful As-Salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household and chosen companions and upon those who follow them appropriately until the Day of Judgment. Allah the All-Wise said: \"Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed and most surely Allah is well able to assist them. Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause only because they say our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah\'s repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah\'s name is much remembered. And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayahs 39-40] I would like to welcome the all dear guests and the honorable audience. Among all the issues that deserve to be discussed by religious and political figures from across the world of Islam, the issue of Palestine enjoys special importance. Palestine is the primary issue among all common issues of Islamic countries. This issue has unique characteristics. The first characteristic is that a Muslim country has been taken away from its people and entrusted to foreigners who have come together from different countries and formed a fake and mosaic-like society. The second characteristic is that this historically unprecedented event has been accompanied by constant killings, crimes, oppression and humiliation. The third characteristic is that Muslims\' original qiblah and many respected religious centers which exist in that country have been threatened with destruction, sacrilege and decline. The fourth characteristic is that at the most sensitive spot of the world of Islam, this fake government and society has played the role of a military, security and political base for the arrogant governments since the beginning up until today. And the pivot of the colonialist west - which has been opposed to the unity, development and progress of Islamic countries for various reasons - has always used it like a dagger in the heart of the Islamic Ummah. The fifth characteristic is that Zionism - which is a great ethical, political and economic threat to the human community - has used this foothold as a tool and stepping stone to spread its influence and hegemony in the world. Other points that can be added include: heavy financial and human costs that Islamic countries have paid so far, preoccupation of Muslim governments and people, the sufferings of millions of displaced Palestinians many of whom still live in refugee camps after the passage of six decades and putting an end to the history of an important civilizational center in the world of Islam. Today another key point has been added to these causes and this key point is the wave of Islamic Awakening which has engulfed the entire region and has opened a new and determining chapter in the history of the Islamic Ummah. This massive movement - which can undoubtedly lead to a powerful, advanced and coherent Islamic alliance in this sensitive part of the world and can put an end to the era of backwardness, weakness and humiliation of Muslim nations relying on Allah\'s favor and the firm determination of the followers of this movement - has borrowed an important portion of its force and courage from the issue of Palestine. The Zionist regime\'s increasing oppression and bullying and the cooperation of certain autocratic, corrupt and mercenary rulers on the one hand and the spirited Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the miraculous victories of faithful youth in the 33-day war on Lebanon and in the 22-day war on Gaza on the other hand - were among the important factors which made turbulent the seemingly calm ocean of the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan nations as well as other regional nations. It is a fact that the Zionist regime, which is armed to the teeth and claims to be invincible, suffered a decisive and humiliating defeat in Lebanon during an unequal war against the clenched fist of faithful and brave mujahids. Later on it re-tested its blunt sword against the innocent and determined resistance of Gaza and it failed. Serious attention should be paid to these points when analyzing current conditions of the region and the appropriateness of every decision should be evaluated against these points. Therefore, it is an accurate judgment to say that today the issue of Palestine has gained increased importance and urgency and the Palestinian nation has the right to expect more from Muslims countries in the current regional conditions. Let us take a look at the past and the present and prepare a road map for the future. I will discuss certain topics in this regard. More than six decades have passed since the tragic occupation of Palestine. All the main causes of this bloody tragedy have been identified and the colonialist English government is the most important cause. The policies, weapons and military, security, economic and cultural power of the English government and other arrogant western and eastern governments were put to the service of this great oppression. Under the ruthless clutches of the occupiers, the defenseless people of Palestine were massacred and forced out of their homes. Until today even one percent of the human and civil tragedy - which was carried out at that time by the claimants of civilization and ethics - has not been properly portrayed and this tragedy has not had its fair share in the media and visual arts. The owners of visual and cinematic arts and western movie mafias have not been willing to allow this to happen. An entire nation was massacred and displaced in silence. Certain instances of resistance emerged at the beginning, which were harshly and ruthlessly crushed. From outside Palestinian borders and mainly from Egypt, a number of men with Islamic motives made certain efforts which were not sufficiently supported and could not have an effect on the scene. Afterwards there were full-scale and classical wars between a few Arab countries and the Zionist army. Egypt, Syria and Jordan mobilized their military forces, but the unconditional, massive and increasing military and financial support of America, England and France for the Zionist regime overwhelmed Arab armies. Not only did they fail to help the Palestinian nation, but they also lost an important portion of their territories during these wars. After the weakness of Palestine\'s Arab neighbors was revealed, cells of organized resistance were gradually established in the form of armed Palestinian groups and after a while they came together to form the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This was a spark of hope which shone brightly, but it did not last long. This failure can be attributed to many factors, but the essential factor was their separation from the people and from their Islamic beliefs and faith. Leftist ideology or mere nationalistic sentiments were not what the complicated and difficult issue of Palestine required. Islam, jihad and martyrdom were the factors that could have encouraged an entire nation to step into the arena of resistance and turned it into an invincible force. They did not understand this properly. During the first few months of the great Islamic Revolution, when the leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization had found a new spirit and they used to visit Tehran repeatedly, I asked a pillar of the organization why they did not raise the flag of Islam in their righteous battle. His answer was that there were a number of Christians among them as well. Later on that person was assassinated by the Zionists in an Arab country and I hope Allah the Exalted has bestowed mercy on him. But his reasoning was flawed. I believe a faithful Christian who fights alongside a group of selfless mujahids - who carry out jihad in a sincere way while having faith in God, the Day of Judgment and divine assistance - would be more motivated to fight than a Christian who has to fight alongside a group of people who lack faith, rely on unstable sentiments and lack loyal support of the people. Lack of firm faith and separation from the people gradually made them neutral and ineffective. Of course there were honorable, motivated and valorous men among them, but the organization went off in a different direction. Their deviation has been a blow to the issue of Palestine. Like certain treacherous Arab governments, they too turned their back on the ideal of resistance which has been the only way of saving Palestine. And of course not only did they deliver a blow to Palestine, but they also delivered a strong blow to themselves. As the Christian Arab poet says, لئن اضعتم فلسطيناً فعيشكم طول الحياة مضاضات و آلامٌ Thirty two years were spent in this misery, but suddenly God\'s hand of power turned the tables. The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the year 1979 completely changed the conditions of this region and turned a new page. Among the amazing global effects of this Revolution and the strong blows that it delivered to arrogant policies, the blow to the Zionist government was the clearest and the most immediate. The statements of the leaders of that regime during those days are interesting to read and they show how unhappy and anxious they were. During the first few weeks after the victory, Israel\'s embassy in Tehran was closed down and its staff was expelled. The embassy was officially given to the Palestinian Liberation Organization whose representatives are still there. Our magnanimous Imam announced that one of the goals of the Revolution was to liberate Palestine and to remove the cancerous tumor, Israel. The powerful waves of this Revolution, which engulfed the entire world at that time, conveyed this message wherever it reached: \"Palestine must be liberated.\" Even the repeated and great problems that the enemies of the Revolution imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to discourage the Islamic Republic from defending Palestine. One instance of the problems that they caused was the eight-year war waged on Iran by Saddam Hussein who had been goaded by America and England and was supported by reactionary Arab governments. Thus, new blood was pumped into the veins of Palestine. Muslim mujahid groups started to emerge in Palestine. The Lebanese Resistance formed a powerful and new front against the enemy and its supporters. Instead of relying on Arab governments and seeking help from global organizations such as the United Nations, which were accomplices of the arrogant powers, Palestine started to rely on itself, its youth, its deep Islamic faith and its selfless men and women. This is the key to all achievements. Over the past three decades this process has been accelerated on a daily basis. The humiliating defeat of the Zionist regime in Lebanon in the year 2006, the humiliating failure of the arrogant Zionist army in Gaza in the year 2008, the Zionist regime\'s escape from South Lebanon and withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of the resistance government in Gaza and in brief, changing the Palestinian nation from a group of helpless and hopeless people to a hopeful, resistant and self-confident nation - these were the outstanding characteristics of the past thirty years. This general picture will be clear when attempts at compromise and treacherous activities - whose goal is to break down resistance and make Palestinian groups and Arab governments acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel - are also reflected upon in an appropriate way. These activities, which were initiated with the Camp David Accords by the treacherous and unworthy successor of Gamal Abdel Nasser, have always been aimed at undermining the steely determination of resistance forces. During the Camp David Accords, for the first time an Arab government officially acknowledged that the Palestinian lands belonged to the Zionists and it signed the papers according to which Palestine was recognized as the homeland of Jews. From that time until the Oslo Accords in the year 1993 and later on in complementary plans - which were imposed one after the other on compromising and careless Palestinian groups with the intervention of America and the cooperation of colonialist European governments - the enemy tried its best to discourage the Palestinian nation and Palestinian groups from resisting through the use of empty and deceptive promises and making them busy with amateur political games. The uselessness of all these accords was revealed very soon and the Zionists and their supporters repeatedly showed that they consider these accords as worthless pieces of paper. The goal of these plans was to create doubt among the Palestinians, make materialistic unbelievers greedy and cripple Islamic resistance. So far, the spirit of resistance among the Islamic Palestinian groups and the Palestinian people has been the antidote to all these treacherous games. They stood up against the enemy with Allah\'s permission and as promised by God, they benefited from divine assistance: \"And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayah 40] The resistance of Gaza in spite of a comprehensive siege was an instance of divine assistance. The collapse of the treacherous and corrupt government of Hosni Mubarak was divine assistance. The emergence of the powerful wave of Islamic Awakening in the region is divine assistance. The removal of the mask of hypocrisy from the face of America, England and France and the increasing hatred of the regional nations towards these countries are divine assistance. The repeated and innumerable problems of the Zionist regime - from its domestic political, economic and social problems to its isolation in the world, to public and even academic hatred of the Zionists in Europe - are all instances of divine assistance. Today the Zionist regime is weaker, more hated and more isolated than ever before and its main supporter, America, is more embattled and confused than ever before. Today the general history of Palestine in the past 60 years is in front of our eyes. It is necessary to delineate the future by considering that general history and learning lessons from it. Two points should be clarified in advance. The first point is that our demand is the liberation of Palestine, not the liberation of a part of Palestine. Any plan to divide Palestine is completely unacceptable. The two-state idea which has been presented in the self-righteous clothing of \"recognizing the Palestinian government as a member of the United Nations\" is nothing but giving in to the demands of the Zionists - namely, \"recognizing the Zionist government in Palestinian lands\". This would mean trampling on the rights of the Palestinian nation, ignoring the historical right of the displaced Palestinians and even jeopardizing the right of the Palestinians settled in \"1948 lands\". It would mean leaving the cancerous tumor intact and exposing the Islamic Ummah - especially the regional nations - to constant danger. It would mean bringing back decades-long sufferings and trampling upon the blood of the martyrs. Any operational solution must be based on the principle of \"all of Palestine for all Palestinian people\". Palestine is the land that extends \"from the river to the sea\", not one inch less than that. Of course it should be noted that through its elected government, the Palestinian people will run the affairs of the any part of the Palestinian soil they manage to liberate, just as they did in the case of Gaza, but they will never forget the ultimate goal. The second point is that in order to reach this lofty goal, what is necessary is action, not words. It is necessary to be serious, not to make ceremonial gestures. It is necessary to have patience and wisdom, not engage in a variety of impatient actions. It is necessary to consider horizons that lie far ahead and to move forward step by step with determination, reliance on God and hope. Muslim governments and nations and the resistance groups in Palestine, Lebanon and other countries can each identify their share of work in this general struggle and solve the puzzle of resistance with Allah\'s permission. The solution of the Islamic Republic to the issue of Palestine and this old wound is a clear and logical proposal that is based on political wisdom accepted by global public opinion and it has been presented in detail previously. We neither propose a classical war with the armies of Islamic countries, nor do we propose throwing Jewish immigrants into the sea or intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations. We propose a referendum among the Palestinian people. Just like any other nation, the Palestinian nation has the right to determine its own destiny and to elect its own government. All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants - should take part in a general and orderly referendum and determine the future government of Palestine whether they live inside Palestine or in camps or in any other place. The government that is established after the referendum will determine the destiny of non-Palestinian immigrants who migrated to Palestine in the past. This is a fair and logical proposal which global public opinion understands and it can receive support from independent nations and governments. Of course we do not expect the usurping Zionists to willingly accept this proposal and this is where the role of governments, nations and resistance organizations becomes significant. The most important pillar of supporting the Palestinian nation is to stop supporting the usurping enemy and this is the great duty of Islamic governments. After the people have stepped into the arena and shouted slogans against the Zionist regime in a powerful way, on what logical basis do Muslim governments continue their relations with the usurping Zionist regime? The proof of Muslim governments\' honesty lies in their support for the Palestinian nation and in their decision to break off their overt and secret political and economic relations with the Zionist regime. The governments that host Zionist embassies or economic offices cannot claim to defend Palestine and no anti-Zionist slogan on their part will be considered serious and genuine. Today Islamic resistance organizations, which have been shouldering the heavy burden of jihad over the past years, are confronted with the same great responsibility. Their organized resistance is an active arm that can help the Palestinian nation move towards the ultimate goal. Brave resistance of the people whose homes and country have been occupied has been recognized in all international conventions and it has been praised. Allegations of terrorism by the political and media network affiliated with Zionism are hollow and worthless claims. The obvious terrorist is the Zionist regime and its western supporters. Palestinian resistance is a movement against the oppressive terrorists and it is a human and sacred movement. In the meantime, it is appropriate for western countries to evaluate the situation from a realistic perspective. Today the west is at a crossroads. It should either stop bullying and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian nation and refuse to follow the plan of the bullying and anti-human Zionists, or they should wait for stronger blows in the not so distant future. These crippling blows are not limited to the continual collapse of their puppet governments in the Islamic region. Rather the day when European and American peoples realize that the majority of their economic, social and ethical problems result from the octopus-like hegemony of international Zionism over their governments and that their statesmen give in to the bullying of parasitic Zionists who own companies in America and Europe for the sake of their personal and partisan interests, they will create a such hell for them in which no salvation will be imaginable. The US President says that Israel\'s security is his red line. What factor has determined this red line? Is it the interests of the American nation or Obama\'s personal need for the money and support of Zionist companies to ensure his second term as US President? How long do you think you will be able to deceive your own nation? What will the American people do with you the day they realize you have agreed to give in to humiliation and obedience to wealthy Zionists for the sake of remaining in power for a few more days? What will they do with you when they realize that you have sacrificed the interests of a great nation at the feet of the Zionists? Dear brothers and sisters, know that this red line drawn by Obama and people like him will be crossed by Muslim nations that have risen up. What is threatening the Zionist regime is not the missiles of Iran or resistance groups, so they can build a missile shield here and there in order to confront it. The real and inescapable threat is the firm determination of men, women and youth in Islamic countries who do not want America, Europe and their puppets rulers, to dominate and humiliate them any longer. Of course those missiles will fulfill their duty whenever the enemy poses a threat. \"Therefore, be patient. Surely the promise of Allah is true and let not those who have no certainty make you impatient.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura ar-Room, Ayah 60] Wa salaam alaykum wa rahmat Allah http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527

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The Term \"Shia\" in Quran and Hadith The word \"Shia\" means \"followers; members of party\". As such, the term \"Shia\" alone has no negative or positive meaning unless we specify the leader of the party. If one is a Shia (follower) of the most righteous servants, then there is nothing wrong with being Shia, specially if the leader of such party has been assigned by Allah. On the other hand, if one becomes the Shia a tyrant or a wrong-doer, he shall meet with the fate of his leader. In fact, Quran indicates that on the day of Judgment people will come in groups, and each group has its leader in front of it. Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said: One day We shall call every group of people by their respective Imams. (Quran 17:71) In the day of judgment, the destiny of the \"followers\" of each group highly depends on the destiny of his Imam (provided that they really followed that Imam). Allah mentioned in Quran that there are two types of Imams. Some Imams are those who invite people to Hell fire. They are tyrannical leaders of each era (like Pharaoh, etc.): And We made them (but) Imams inviting to the Fire; and on the Day of Judgment no help shall they find. In this world We continued to curse them; and on the Day of Judgment they will be among the hateful. (Quran 28:41-42). Certainly, being the members of the parties of such Satanic Imams has been severely denounced in Quran, and the followers of such parties will meet the fate of their leaders. However, Quran also reminds that there are Imams who are appointed by Allah as Guides for the mankind: \"And We ASSIGNED from among them some Imams who GUIDE by Our authority since they were patient and believed firmly in Our Signs.\" (Quran 32:24) Certainly, the true followers (Shia) of these Imams will be the real prosperous on the day of resurrection. Thus being a Shia does not mean anything, unless we know the Shia of whom. Allah mentioned in Quran that Some of His righteous servants were Shia of His other righteous servants. An example was Prophet Abraham who was mentioned in Quran specifically as the Shia of Noah: \"And most surely Abraham was among the Shia of him (i.e., Noah)\" (Quran 37:83) \"And he (Moses) went into the city at a time when people (of the city) were not watching, so he found therein two men fighting, one being of his Shia and the other being his enemy, and the one who was of his Shia cried out to him for help against the one who was of his enemy\" (Quran 28:15) In the above verse of Quran, one is named the Shia of Moses (AS) and the other one is named the enemy of Moses, and the people at that time were either the Shia or the enemy of Moses (AS). Thus Shia is an official word used by Allah in His Quran for His high rank prophets as well as their followers. Do you want to say Prophet Abraham was sectarian? How about Prophet Noah and Prophet Moses? If somebody calls himself a Shia, it is not due to any sectarianism, nor any innovation. It is because Quran has used the phrase for some of His best servants. The above verses that I mentioned in support of Shia, has used this term singular form (i.e., one group of followers). This means that it has special meaning, such as: THE Shia of Noah (AS), THE Shia of Moses (AS). Also in the History of Islam, Shia has been specially used for the \"followers of Ali\". The first individual who used this term was the Messenger of Allah himself: The Messenger of Allah said to Ali: \"Glad tiding O Ali! Verily you and your companions and your Shia (followers) will be in Paradise.\" Sunni references: 1.Fadha\'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p655 2.Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu\'aym, v4, p329 3.Tarikh, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v12, p289 4.al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani 5.Majma\' al-Zawa\'id, by al-Haythami, v10, pp 21-22 6.al-Darqunti, who said this tradition has been transmitted via numerous authorities. 7.al-Sawa\'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami , Ch. 11, section 1, p247 Thus the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) used to say the phrase of \"Shia of Ali\". This phrase is not something invented later! Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) said that the TRUE followers of imam Ali will go to Paradise, and this is a great felicity. Also Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari narrated that: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: \"The Shia of Ali are the real victorious in the day of resurrection/rising\" Sunni references: al-Manaqib Ahmad, as mentioned in: 1.Yanabi al-Mawaddah, by al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi, p62 2.Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, who quotes the tradition as follows: \"We were with the Holy Prophet when Ali came towards us. The Holy Prophet said: He and his Shia will aquire salvation on the day of judgment.

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[17 July 2012] Iran biggest fraud trial ends - English Iran's Big Fraud Trial Ends. People will hear about the fate of defendants for whom the bill of indictment has been issued in the biggest fraud case in Iran's history. There are more than a hundred people arrested in this case out of which thirty nine bills of indictment have been issued up to now. The last three defendants for whom a bill of indictment was issued defended themselves in the fifteenth court session, held in Tehran. The lawyers in previous sessions had stated that the people put on trial here had created many jobs and the judge started the session by answering them.

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DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday, Following is the full text of the interview: Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President. President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus. Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness? President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else. Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example. President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces. Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria? President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir. Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel. President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon. Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference? President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else. Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command? President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance. Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance? President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now? President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action. Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak? President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change. Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game? President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan. Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do? President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons. Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles? President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future. Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis? President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names. Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups? President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves. Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month? President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend. Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options. President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see. Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions? President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear. Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term? President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\\\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government. Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014? President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk. Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League? President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League. Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations? President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them. Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted? President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house. Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel? President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world. Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon. Al-Manar: Thank you.

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DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday, Following is the full text of the interview: Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President. President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus. Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness? President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else. Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example. President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces. Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria? President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir. Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel. President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon. Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference? President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else. Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command? President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance. Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance? President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now? President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action. Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak? President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change. Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game? President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan. Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do? President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons. Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles? President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future. Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis? President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names. Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups? President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves. Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month? President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend. Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options. President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see. Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions? President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear. Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term? President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government. Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014? President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk. Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League? President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League. Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations? President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them. Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted? President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house. Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel? President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world. Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon. Al-Manar: Thank you.

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As Lebanon is grappling with an influx of Syrian refugees, the latest UN figures highlights the extent of the crisis. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said one out of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the conflict in neighboring Syria. Some 30 percent of the Refugees live in substandard shelters. Lebanon\\\'s government has refused to set up official camps for the refugees fearing a crisis similar to that of the Palestinian refugees 52 thousand of whom were living in Syria. Many of Syrian refugees are unregistered and undocumented migrants and live in hundreds of unofficial tent settlements on northern and eastern peripheries. The figures provided by the UNHCR do not include hundreds of thousands of refugees who are not registered. But estimates show that there could be over one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon living in tents like these. Some, 280,000 are children of school age, and over 70% very much dependent on any humanitarian aid they can get. The greatest suffering in the camps is seen in the eyes of the children. This boy was eager to go on television hoping that our presence would attract humanitarian aid. The women complain about how they\\\'re not getting enough help for their children: This man was a school teacher in Syria\\\'s Hama. Now he\\\'s trying to help create an educational center for children of school age, many of whom have not received any education for two years: Lebanon currently hosts the highest number of refugees from Syria. More than a million other Syrians have fled to Jordan and Turkey. The United Nations has warned that the number of Syrian refugees will almost double over the next year to top four million.

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Marching to Karbala (Touching Latmiyya) Who is this Husain whom the whole world is crazy about. While millions march towards to center of Love, we pray for their safety on this walk to Karbala. Duration = 3:21 Follow us: Shiatv.net/user/IslamicPulse Fb.com/IslamicPulse Telegram.me/IslamicPulse Who is this Husain whom the whole world is crazy about. While millions march towards to center of Love, we pray for their safety on this walk to Karbala. Duration = 3:21 Follow us: Shiatv.net/user/IslamicPulse Fb.com/IslamicPulse Telegram.me/IslamicPulse

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Why does GOD allow suffering? | Answering Atheism 3| BISKIT If God is real… Why all the pain? Why all the suffering? And more importantly, why can’t I afford all the lovely things I want? Surely, if God was real, the world would be a glittering dimension of absolute bliss- not this hellish pit! …Right? Wrong. The Prophets and Messengers, whether Abraham, Jesus or Muhammad (S), all taught that the world is a place of trials and hardships and, more importantly, that it is is a temporary realm! So get over yourself and try to make this dull place a little brighter! God wants you to try and rid the world of corruption, spread his praises and rid the world of poverty. Ironically, when it comes to stepping up and making this change happen, it’s those who have disbelief in their hearts who become stingy! \\\"And when it is said to them: Spend out of what Allah has given you, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed him whom, if Allah please, He could feed? You are in naught but clear error.” -The Holy Qur’an (36:47) Both Muslims and non-Muslims have this unfortunate attitude: \\\'the world’s a mess, but God can sort it out\\\'. While the reality is, God has placed the burden of making the world a better place on the shoulders of his creation: you and me! This attitude exists in those who do not sincerely believe, some of whom are Muslims simply because they were born into Muslim households… which incidentally, is one of the key arguments that Atheists present...

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The Strategic Role of a Bad Trait Sometimes there is only one bad trait, but it causes a person to go to Hell. Very simple. It makes a society wretched. This means this evil has a strategic role. Some evils in general have a strategic role. For example, jealousy is strategic. Amru Aas’s son narrated, “Once, I was sitting in the Mosque. The Prophet of God (s) said, ‘Whoever wants to look at a person that will go to Heaven, look at this old man who will enter now. He will definitely go to Heaven.’” Amru Aas’s son was a sensitive and astute person. He wondered about him?! He was young. He came to the old man’s house and said, “I have had an argument with my father and don’t have a place. Will you let me stay in your house?” The old man accepted. He stayed there for three days and watched him day and night. He saw that he was a regular person. He couldn’t find anything special in him! He prayed, slept, ate, worked, etc. He didn’t recite the Qur’an or fast in a special way. After three days, he told the old man, “I’m sorry. I lied that I said I had an argument with my father. I wanted to watch you closely to see how you are. And I saw that you are a very normal person.” The old man responded, “Was I supposed to be abnormal?” He replied, “The Prophet (s) said that you will go to Heaven. You have something that we don’t.” The old man replied, “That’s very kind of the Prophet to say so. I don’t know.” He asked, “Talk some about your mood and work.” The old man replied, “I am like ‘this and that.’” Suddenly the old man said, “If God gives a virtue to anybody, it isn’t hard for me.” I say, ‘How nice. Good for him. How beautiful.’” Amru Aas’s son said, “This is what we are unable to tolerate.” I am unable to tolerate for God to give something to someone with no reason. I say, “What about me?!” Some traits are strategic. Like the trait of jealousy. Actually, what is the first negative trait that is born in a human being? Jealousy starts from the age of three. It bothers the child too. You should have children very close in age, not very close, at least three years between them, so that this child feels jealous, becomes bothered, and learns to pass on it. You vaccinate him or her. “This is how it is! You have come into this world to pass the test of jealousy. With your small brother or sister, see how it is. Feel what Cain, Talha, Zubayr, Mu’awiah, and Umar Sa’d felt. The story started from here. Fight! Fight with your jealousy my little one.” Let your child practice and you help him or her. This is the way it is. Is it possible for God not to tell us to work on such a strategic trait like jealousy every day? Is it possible? What part of the Qur’an is obligatory to recite every day? Chapter ‘Hamd.’ “(Lord), guide us to the right path, the path of those to whom You have granted blessings.” (Qur’an 1:6-7) You didn’t feel bad?! God has granted them blessings. What about you? “No, guide me to their path. It’s not a problem that He has granted them blessings. I’m not jealous.” Good job! Good job! “…the path of those to whom You have granted blessings,” means that I’m not jealous. Actually, I’m humble in another way too. Not only I’m not jealous or miserly, but I’m humble in another way too. What is that? “Guide me to their path.” Jealousy is the basic theme of God’s test about religion. Guardianship shows itself there. One of the miracles of our religion is the religious mourning ceremonies for Aba Abdillah al-Husayn, which work on our most basic, strategic, bad trait. In each meeting, your jealousy towards the “Guardians” will be struck down so that you won’t become like Cain. It brings us out from being like Cain. When they talk about Abel’s tragedies, your heart softens and warms so that you won’t become Cain. May I be sacrificed for Husayn (‘a) and his children that they were all beaten so much to create this humbleness in us. You will see on the Day of Judgment how much Husayn (‘a) has struggled for us. This was God’s design! This Able (Husayn) that we burn for helps us not to become Cain. [From the series of speeches under the topic of “Being Independent, Being Passive.” Muharram 2019.]

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How do I prevent myself from sinning? In this video, Sheikh Akram tells a story of a sinning mn who sought advice on how to prevent himself from sinning. The man who tried to help him suggested that he should always remember whom he is disobeying, and that would hinder him from sinning. Note: This video is part of the series by Sheikh Akram Barakat called DeenDotCom. In this video, Sheikh Akram tells a story of a sinning mn who sought advice on how to prevent himself from sinning. The man who tried to help him suggested that he should always remember whom he is disobeying, and that would hinder him from sinning. Note: This video is part of the series by Sheikh Akram Barakat called DeenDotCom.