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

(Arabic prayer)

I congratulate you on the auspicious occasions of birth anniversary of the Grand Prophet [of Islam] (PBUH), the Master of the Universe and the centerpiece of creation in the existing world, Hadhrat Mohammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH), as well as the auspicious birth anniversary of Hadhrat Abi Abdillah al-Sadeq [the sixth Shia imam], the grandchild of [the Prophet] and God’s sign on earth in the time of imamate. I hope that God will help all of us, all Muslims, [and] all insightful people of the world to succeed in appreciating the value of these bounties, [and] appreciate and understand these [peaks of] grandeur and try to move along the same direct path, which these pillars of the existing world have shown us.
The existential importance of the sacred being of the Grand Prophet is such that the Almighty God has put humanity under obligation for having bestowed this bounty on it; [as put by the Quran:]: “Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves.” Imam Sajjad [the fourth Shia Imam] (PBUH) addresses the Almighty God in [his book of prayers] Sahifeyeh Sajjadiyeh, saying, “Thank God who conferred a favor upon us by [giving us] Mohammad as his prophet, [and] not giving him to past peoples and previous centuries.” The favor of God [on humans] because of this great gift to humanity has been specified in the Quran and the words of the Infallible Imams; this is very grand. [God has described the Prophet in the Quran as a source of] “mercy to the worlds,” [and this] is the words used by the Almighty God for [describing the status of] Prophet [Mohammad (PBUH)]; [God did] not [say that the Prophet is a source of mercy] “for a certain group of people” or “just for one people;” no, [he is] a source of mercy for the both worlds, [and] is a source of mercy for all. That message that he has brought from the Almighty God, and gives it to humanity as a gift; makes this insight [and] this path available to the entire humanity.
Of course, there are powerful people, [and there are people] with money and power, who are not willing for this spread of divine mercy to be used by all people; [because] they are against their power; [and] therefore, they stand in the face of this divine movement. Then the Almighty God says, “O Prophet, fear Allah and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites.” [God tells his prophet] do not follow them, [and] be careful. Elsewhere [in the Quran, God] says: “O Prophet, engage in Jihad against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them.” He says, “Engage in Jihad;” [God] does not [simply] say “fight them,” [and does not say] “fight against disbelievers and hypocrites,” because fighting is not always necessary, but Jihad is always necessary.
Jihad is sometimes political jihad, sometime cultural jihad, sometimes soft jihad, sometimes hard jihad, sometimes it is done with weapons, [and] sometimes it is done with science; all these [various varieties] are [different forms of] jihad, but in all these cases, it must be noted that this jihad is against the enemy, is against the enemy of humanity, is against those enemies, who impose their heavy presence and their own demands on humanity by reliance on their own power and money and force. [Therefore,] reaching a compromise with them is meaningless, [and this is why God tells his Prophet in the Quran:] “…fear Allah and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites.”
The number of noble verses of the Quran, which are about the Prophet and about the teachings that [God] gives the Prophet and teaches the Prophet how to build the nascent Islamic society step by step and word by word, is very high. My recommendation to myself, to our youths, to religious preachers, [and] to those, who determine the way that people think is that they should refer to all these verses [of the Quran], [and] see all these concepts in the Quran; they are a collection, [and] are a complete collection. Our problem is that we ignore the complete collection of divine teachings that are addressed to the Prophet and the way that God describes the Prophet. If we put this complete collection in front of our eyes, then that correct behavior, [and] that direct path, which the Prophet has been treading, will emerge before us. [The Quran says about the Prophet that] “Indeed, you are on a straight path;” this straight path must be found.
Since our dear brethren and sisters from our country, [and] from other countries, [in addition to] dear guests of the [Islamic] unity conference, [and] esteemed ambassadors of the Islamic countries, from various Islamic denominations – Shia and Sunni, from various sects and schools of thought – are present in this meeting, and then since these remarks will be heard, what I deem necessary and suitable to say in this meeting is that dear brethren, [and] dear sisters! Today, the Islamic world is afflicted with great sufferings and the solution to those sufferings is the Islamic unity. Unity, synergism, helping one another, [and] moving beyond religious and intellectual differences [are among necessary steps to be taken]. Today, the approach taken by the arrogant and colonialist system to the Islamic world is that it tries to take the Islamic world as far away from its unity as possible. This is a threat for them: [there are] one and half a billion Muslims, all these Islamic countries with all these resources, [and] this extraordinary manpower; if this [collection of resources and manpower] becomes united and move toward Islamic goals with unity, the powerful ones will not be able to show off their power in the world anymore; America will not be able to impose its will on countries and on governments and on nations; [and] the malignant evil Zionist network will not be able to keep different governments and powers in its clutches and drive them in the direction of its own path and its own goal; if Muslims were united, it would be [like this].
If Muslims were united, the situation in Palestine would not be like what we are seeing now; today, the situation of Palestine is a difficult situation; Gaza [is under pressure] one way, [and] the West Bank another way. The Palestinian nation is currently under increasing daily pressure; they want to push the issue of Palestine away from [people’s] minds and make it slip into oblivion. They want to [make countries in] West Asia region – including these very countries of ours – which is an exceptionally sensitive [and] strategic region, [I mean] both in geographical terms, and in terms of natural resources, and in terms of waterways is a sensitive region, busy with one another; [they want] Muslim [nations] to stand against [other] Muslim [nations]; Arabs to stand against Arabs and target each other and destroy each other, so that, armies of Muslim countries, especially those armies that are in the neighborhood of Zionists, will be weakened on a daily basis; this is their goal.
Today, there are two kinds of determinations at war in this region: one, the determination for [fostering] unity; [and] the other one is the determination for division. The determination for unity belongs to the faithful; the call for unity and solidarity of Muslims is coming out of devoted mouths and invites Muslims to pay attention to their common grounds. If this happens and if this unity is realized, the situation that Muslims have today will not be like this anymore and Muslims will find their dignity. Today, you just observe that from the remotest corner of Eastern Asia in Myanmar, Muslims are being killed up to West Africa in Nigeria and the likes of these; everywhere Muslims [are being killed]; now, in one place, they are killed by a Buddhist, [and] in another place by Boko Haram and Daesh and the likes of these. There is a group, which fans these flames; [in this regard], the British-style Shiism and the American-style Sunnism are like each other; all of them are like two blades of a pair of scissors; their effort is [aimed] to pit Muslims against one another; this is the message of the division-seeking determination, which is the evil determination; however, the message of [the determination that fosters] unity is that these [Muslims] must go beyond these differences, come together, and work together.
Today, [if] you look at the remarks made by the arrogant [powers] and those who have occupied vital spaces of nations, you see that [their goal] is to invite [people] to division. From old times, the policy of the British was described as the policy of “divide and rule;” divide and conquer; rule [people] through the blessing of dividing [them]. At that time, when Britain was powerful, this was their policy; today’s materialistic powerful [countries] of the world still follow this policy; be it America, or recently once again Britain. The British have always been source of evil in our region, [and] have always been source of misery for nations. The blows that these [British politicians] have dealt to the life of nations in this region rarely have any precedent by a power in another part of the world.
In the Indian Subcontinent – which is now [divided into] India and Bangladesh and Pakistan – they dealt a blow in that way, [and] put pressure on people in that way; in Afghanistan one way, in Iran another way, [and] in the region of Iraq another way; finally, they made that ominous and evil move in Palestine and made Muslims, and in fact an entire nation, homeless and drove them out of their homes. A historical country registered since a few thousand years ago – in the name of Palestine – was destroyed through the policy of Britain. In this region, since two centuries ago – two centuries and a bit more from about 1800s up to the present time – anything that Britain has done has been [source of] evil and corruption and threat. Now, this British official [Prime Minister Theresa May] comes here [in the region] and says Iran is a threat to the region; is Iran [really] a threat to the region? It needs a lot of shamelessness for those, who themselves have been [source of] threat and risk and misery for the region at all times, to come out and accuse our innocent and dear country; these [arrogant powers] are like this.
From the time that the signs of Islamic Awakening were seen in this region, activities for creation of division have been intensified, [because] these [Western powers] considered division as a means of dominating nations. From the time that it was felt that new words, new Islamic ideas, steadfastness of nations, [and] revival and strengthening of nations are coming into existence in this region, divisive moves by the enemies were intensified. When the Islamic establishment came into being in Iran, which hoisted the flag of Islam, brandished the Quran and said proudly that “we act upon Islam” and had the power and politics and potentialities and army and armed forces and every [necessary] thing with it, and took advantage of them and bolstered them day by day, this divisive move was sped up. They intensified this divisive move in order to counter this Islamic uprising and counter this Islamic dignity. For them, Islam was a source of threat when it caused awakening of the Muslim nation. However, that [version of] Islam, which has no government, has no army, has no political system, has no assets, [and] has no great and struggling nation [associated with it], it is different from that [version of] Islam, which has all of these.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a vast land, [which is characterized with] a struggling nation, [as well as] young, highly motivated, [and] faithful people, abundant mines, [human] talent over the world’s average and [rapid] movement toward [attaining] science and progress. Of course, such an Iran is a source of threat for them, [because] it will offer a model for Muslim nations; [and this is why] they are opposed to this. Even when they have a claim to leniency, it is a lie, [because] the nature of what they do is violence. These [facts,] must be understood, [and] these [facts] must be recognized. In order to counter this enemy – an enemy, which is neither bound by ethics, nor is religious, nor is fair, [and] while showing a decorated countenance and is a full-fledged wild [animal] in nature – nations must be ready.
In my opinion, the most important [area of] readiness at the present time is [to foster] unity among Muslims. Muslims must avoid sowing discord, [and] there is no difference [among Islamic sects in this regard, because] all sects [should do this and] it is not limited to Shia or Sunni Muslims. All Islamic sects must try to ignore their theoretical differences under many commonalities that exist [among them], and turn a blind eye to them. The sacred being of the Grand Prophet (PBUH), is the focal point of all loves and compassions [shown] by each and every Muslim nation. All [Muslims] love the Prophet, [and for this reason] this is the focal point [and] this is the main point [for all Muslims to get united]. The Quran is [also] subject of attention and faith by all Muslims; the Noble Kaaba is like this; [so, just see] how common grounds among Muslims are numerous! [All Muslims must] pay attention to these common grounds, [and in parallel, try to] identify the agents of the enemies [and] the agents of the arrogance in the region.
Unfortunately, that explicit enemy [UK’s prime minister] comes out and says ‘you are enemies with each other, [and] this country [Iran] is threatening you.” She means that you are their enemy, and they are your enemy too. [In reality, however,] she is the [real] enemy, who is saying this; well this is clear. Those [people] who hear what she says – [those] who are apparently Muslims and are living and ruling under an Islamic name – why they should accept what she says? Why they should confirm her remarks? Why the policy of some governments in the region is, unfortunately, the policy of following suit with explicit enemies of Islam and explicit enemies of the Islamic Ummah?
What I say to our nation – to the dear nation of Iran, which has really passed a good test during these years [that have passed] since the formation of the Islamic Republic establishment and also during struggle years, which led to the formation of the Islamic Republic establishment and [victory of] the Islamic Revolution – is that do not give up this path, which is the path of our honorable Imam [Khomeini] and the path of our revolution; [and] continue to follow this path. The dignity in this world and the dignity in the Afterworld depend on us treading this path: the path of resorting to the Quran and the Prophet’s Household, the path of resorting to divine principles, the path of standing against the enemies, [and] the path of not being impeded by formalities when expressing the truth and defending the truth. This is the path that if our nation follows – and praise be to God, it has followed this path up to the present time, [and our people] have moved behind the country’s officials and have followed this honorable path – if they continue to tread this path and if this struggle continues, it will meet [the needs of] this nation in this world and the next, and other Muslims in the world can be also benefited by it. We invite all Muslim governments and Muslim countries to synergism and helping one another, and this is an invitation, which is beneficial to all.
I hope the Almighty God would send down his good and blessing and mercy on all members of the Islamic Ummah and on all Islamic countries and on all Muslim nations and, God willing, repel the malice of the enemies from this region.

Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings