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

(Arabic prayer)

Dear brethren, dear sisters! You are very welcome, [and] I welcome all of you from the bottom of my heart. [Once] you [are] in here, you are at your own home and among your brethren; this is how we look upon our Muslim brethren at any point in the world; [we are] brethren, [and] consider you as our brother and – through the divine assistance and through the divine help – have demonstrated our fraternal feelings in practice as well.
The subject of this meeting, which is the love of the Prophet’s Household (Peace Be upon Them) is a very important subject. The love for the Prophet’s Household is not special to a specific group in Islam; all Muslims love the Prophet’s Household; [and] all Muslims show veneration for the Prophet’s Household. There has been a very limited and small group in history known as Nawasib (those who hate the Prophet’s Household), and there is a probability that their motivations were political motivations, not religious motivations in the real sense [of the word]. However, most Muslims, from the early years [after the advent of Islam] up to the present day, are considered as those who love the Prophet’s Household. Well, this single sentence contains a lesson for us; that lesson is that it is possible to create consensus among Muslims through the love of the Prophet’s Household [and] this [issue] can be taken as a pivot for unity and solidarity among Muslims. Just in the same way that the blessed being of the Prophet of Islam is a means and pivot of unity among Muslims, and just in the same way that the Quran and the Honorable Kaaba are pivot of unity among Muslims, the love for the Prophet’s Household can be [taken as] a pivot of unity among Muslims and can bring [Muslims’] hearts close together.
And I tell you dear brethren that today, the Islamic world is in dire need of this unity and this empathy. At the present time, the body of the Islamic world is wounded; today, the enemies of Islam have been able to weaken Muslims, preoccupy them with one another, and keep their enemies in a safe margin by causing war and division among Muslims themselves. [The goal of our enemies is that] in the West Asia region, the usurping Zionist regime should live in security, [but] Muslims must be fighting one another. This is a truth and reality that exists at the present time and this step is a step taken by enemies of Islam, is a step taken by America, is a step taken by international Zionism, and is a step taken by their proxies and stooges in this region. Unfortunately, we must accept that within the Islamic Ummah and among the Islamic states there are those who are doing exactly the same thing that America wants and Zionism wants; they undertake its costs, prepare [necessary] grounds for it, [and] become tools in their hand; what for? [They do this] in order to inflict wounds on the body of the Islamic Ummah. Under such conditions, [promoting] unity among the Islamic Ummah is the highest obligation; we must [become united and] come together.
The love for the Prophet’s Household is rooted in the Quran, [and] is rooted in the hadith; [therefore,] it is not anything new. The one hadith, on which all Islamic sects are unanimous, is the Hadith al-Thaqalayn (The Two Weighty Things) [which quotes Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as saying:] “Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of God and my kindred, my Household, for indeed, these two will never separate until they come back to me by the Pond (of al-­Kawthar on the Day of Judgment).” Of course, what [this hadith] teaches us is to obey the Prophet’s Household, but obedience does not mean anything without love; [therefore, the need to have] love [for the Prophet’s Household] is deduced from this hadith as well. If the Quran says: “Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] Household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification,” this removal of impurity and purification, which the Almighty God has intended to exist in the Prophet’s Household, is requisite for this love and affection that Muslims have for the Prophet’s Household; therefore, this turns into a means of [promoting] unity among Muslims.
The interest of the enemies of Islam is to take the war to the Islamic world, and unfortunately, they have done this. We have stood against, and will stand against, this enemy’s plot. And let me tell you that we believe that through the divine assistance and by relying on the divine will and Providence and through permission of the Almighty God, we will emerge victorious in this confrontation with enemies.
At the present time, the issue of Palestine is the number one issue of the Islamic world. Anybody who understands and perceives the issue of Palestine in a correct way will admit that the issue of Palestine is the number one issue of the Islamic world. The issue of Palestine is the key to overcoming the enemies of Islam. And the most important issue of the Islamic world at the present time is the issue of Palestine; why? Because Palestine is an Islamic country, [but] they have come [from all parts of the world] and usurped this [country], [and] have taken it from its people. The issue is not usurpation of a village or a city; the enemy has usurped a whole country and has made it a base in order to disrupt security in the regional countries; [this is why] this cancerous tumor must be fought against. Now, you see [how it is possible for] somebody who is a religious scholar to issue a fatwa [saying] that struggling against Zionism is forbidden and helping that given group, which is fighting against Zionism, is not authorized? This is really a catastrophe that some people in the Islamic world would act like this against the interests of Islam, [and] have friendly relations with enemies. Just on the opposite of the clear text of the Quran, which introduces the faithful as being “forceful against the disbelievers, [and] merciful among themselves,” these people are “forceful against Muslims,” and “merciful toward disbelievers; they are good with those [disbelievers], but see how they treat Muslims! This sowing of discord [and] creation of this evil tree of Daesh and the likes of Daesh in Iraq, in Syria, [and] in other places [is a good example to the point].
Of course, this tree was uprooted in Iraq and Syria, but one cannot be sure, and they may do similar things in other places. [Know that] America will never stop its hostility against Islam. [Therefore,] we must be awake, must be vigilant, must maintain our preparedness, [and] must not be taken by surprise. [The first Shia Imam, Hadhrat] Amir-al-Mo’menin (PBUH) says in Nahj-ul-Balagha: “[I swear] by God, I am not like that hyena that is put to sleep by the sound of stakes pounding around it;” we must be like this; we cannot fall asleep; we cannot become negligent; [and] we cannot ignore the enemy’s deception. We must be awake.
 This awakening has its own requisites. One of its requisites is this very [feeling of] fraternity and compassion, which we must have [for one another]. This compassion requires struggle and confrontation with all those factors that are clearly showing hostility toward the Islamic world or are helping those enemies [of the Islamic world]; you [must] be messengers of this spirit in various countries; [and] must maintain the preparedness among Muslims to face and counter [their enemies]. The goal is not [to wage] military war [against enemies] in all cases, [but] you must make the minds of your audiences – [and] the people who listen to you – familiar with those facts that currently exist in the Islamic world. We will certainly not stop fulfilling this duty; [and] we will not let go of this duty and I am sure that the Almighty God will help us to go ahead with this job. Those people, who [act] against the Quranic verse, which says: “O you who have believed, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies, extending to them affection,” [and] befriend those who are enemies of Muslims and enemies of Islam and enemies of God, and establish friendly ties with them, these are real enemies of Islam within the Islamic society.
Praise be to God, the Islamic world has awaken today. We, Muslims in various countries, are a huge reality; we are a reality imposed on the [global] arrogance and on disbelievers. At the present time, the Islamic world can stand in the face of disbelief and arrogance and have its say. Praise be to God, a government under the name of Islam exists in the geographical expanse of Iran, which takes pride in being an Islamic government. Of course, not all our wishes for the realization of the governance of Islam has come true in this country; we are still half-way through, [and] we are half-way [to achieving our goal], but our goal is the realization of all Islamic objectives and full establishment of the Islamic Sharia. This is our goal and we will follow up on this goal through the divine assistance and with permission of the Almighty God, and this will become a means of gaining victory over the enemies of Islam; today, this reality exists here.
Dear brethren, dear sisters! About forty years have passed since the establishment of the Islamic Republic [in Iran]. Since day one up to the present time, America has been hostile toward  us, [and] the [common] front of disbelief and arrogance and Zionism has been hostile towards us, [and] they have plotted [against us] and have done against us anything that they could: they imposed sanctions, launched military attack [on us], [and] did various things. Despite all they have done, during about [the past] forty years, we have continuously progressed. At the present time, through God’s assistance, the advances of the Islamic Republic cannot be compared with [what existed] 30 years ago and 35 years ago. They have [always] wanted to annihilate us, [but] in spite of them, the Almighty God has made us stronger, has given us strength [and] has made us more powerful than what ourselves expected [to become]. At the present time, praise be to God, the Islamic Republic is at the highest point of power and strength, and stands [fast in the face of its enemies].
And we speak frankly and stand by what we say and wherever our presence is needed, wherever there is need for our help to counter and confront [the common front of] disbelief and arrogance, we will send our help there. We say this outspokenly, [and] we exercise no caution in saying this in [our] faceoff and encounter with the world of disbelief and arrogance. We stand on ceremony with nobody and say our word and express what is in our heart quite frankly. Today, such a reality exists in the Islamic world and we hope that, through the divine assistance, the day will come when Palestine is returned to [control of] the Palestinian people and the people of Palestine will own their land and Palestinian refugees will return to Palestine. That day will be the day of celebration and jubilation for the Islamic world and on that day, the real blow that crushes the [global] arrogance will be dealt to it and we endeavor and work toward it and, God willing, that day will come. Once again, I welcome all of you, dear brethren and sisters, and entrust all of you to God’s protection and I hope that, God willing, this conference of yours would be a blessed conference.

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