Supreme Leader s Annual Hajj Messages 1994
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to God, the Sustainer of the Worlds and God's peace and blessing be upon the honorable, trustworthy Messenger and upon his blessed progeny and sincere companions and peace be upon us an
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Praise be to God, the Sustainer of the Worlds and God's peace and blessing be upon the honorable, trustworthy Messenger and upon his blessed progeny and sincere companions and peace be upon us and the righteous servants of God.
"And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path." (The Holy Quran, 22:27)
The sacred month of Dhu Al-Hijjah is upon us with its eternal resources for the Islamic Ummah. Thanks be to God for this unending gift and this ever-vital spring, by the grace of which the Muslims of the world can benefit and reap rewards according to their own efforts and wisdom.The extent and variety of the interests and benefits which the divine hand, with its knowledge and wisdom, has fitted into the duty of Hajj is of such magnitude that cannot be found in any other Islamic duty; ranging from spiritual presence and remembrance, the discovery of one's self when one finds himself alone with God and the cleansing of the heart from the stain of sin and negligence, to the sentiment felt by the individual who finds himself among a crowd and the sense of unity felt by each Muslim with the entire Islamic Ummah and the sense of strength arising from the greatness of the congregation of Muslims and to the effort made by every individual to attain a cure from spiritual wounds and diseases, that is, from sins, to curiosity and the will to understand and heal the profound scars and pains affecting the body of the Ummah, to sympathy with all Muslim nations, that is, the members of that body, are all contained in the Hajj and its various rites and rituals.
The Holy Quran describes the rituals carried out during the Hajj as "Sha'aer" (symbols, 2:158). This means that they are not merely individual actions aimed at fulfilling an individual duty; they are, rather, symbols intended at raising the level of awareness and wisdom of the human beings toward that which those symbols point to and indicate. Underlying all these symbols lies the message of tawhid (monotheism); that is, to reject all powers that, in some way, are seizing control of the bodies and souls of human beings and to confirm the sovereignty of divine rule over one's entire existence; in other words, the rule of an Islamic system and Islamic regulations over the personal and social lives of Muslims.
In the Quranic verses referring to the Hajj, the Holy Quran calls on everyone to disavow the idols worshipped by the mushrekin (polytheists):
"...But shun the abomination of idols..." (22:30)
These idols may in some point in time refer to the idols which were placed on the Ka'bah, but, undoubtedly, today and always, they refer to those powers that have unjustly taken charge of the rule over the lives of humanity and, today, refer, most clearly, to the power of arrogance and the satanic power of the United States and the power of Western culture and the corruption and decadence which they are inflicting on Islamic countries and nations. Of course, the pseudo-ulema affiliated to and mercenaries of some flimsy governments insist that, no, those idols refer only to Manat, Lat and Hubal [pre-Islamic idols]; those very same idols that were crushed and annihilated under the foot of the victorious soldiers of the Great Prophet (pbuh) on the day when Mecca was conquered. The intention of these court-clerics is to empty the Hajj of all political content to suit their own taste, ignorant of the fact that this very gathering of millions of Muslims that has come together from every corner of the world in one place at one time itself contains the richest political significance.
This is a display put on by the Islamic Ummah in which all differences of race, language, geography and history are set aside and in which everyone joins together to form a whole. In order to prevent Muslims from understanding the significance of this great unity and in order to prevent individuals from gaining a sense of collectivity, these pseudo-ulema and their masters have used every kind of lie, deceit and falsehood and will continue to do so in order to make life as difficult as possible for the people who call for unity and invite the pilgrims to disavow the ringleaders of shirk (polytheism).
Islamic Iran wished to do at least the minimum required by the Hajj, and that is to issue a call to unity to all Muslims, to invite all nations to learn the truth about one another and to ask people to express their hatred and disgust towards the ringleaders of shirk and corruption. Anyone who stands against these valuable and lofty aims is speaking unjustly, regardless of what he says. And the Holy Quran says:
"...Shun the word that is false" (22:30)
The word that is false is the unjust statements made by those who speak ill of the Islamic Republic, because the Islamic Republic rejects the rule of the Zionist government over Islamic Palestine and considers the compromises made with the usurpers by a few corrupt and isolated individuals as worthless. It condemns the master-like interventions of the United States in Arab countries. It exposes the ugliness of the treachery of some leaders of Muslim countries against their own Muslim nations for the pleasure of the United States and the Zionists. It calls on Muslims to recognize their own tremendous strength which no superpower can withstand today. It believes Islamic teachings and the rules of shari'ah are capable of ruling Islamic countries. It considers the imposed culture of the West, the manifestation of which lies in nakedness, drunkenness and faithlessness, to be harmful for Islamic countries, and simply insists on following the Holy Quran and the teachings of Islam.
Today, any Islamic country that states these things openly and adopts these same positions, that is, rejects the usurper Israel, rejects the bullying interventions of the United States, rejects drunkenness, decadence, sexual corruption and the immoral mingling of men and women, rejects the treachery of those who compromise with Israel, calls on Muslims to unite against and resist the superpowers, implements the rulings of Islam in government, the economy, politics and so on, will be on the receiving end of exactly the same kind of propaganda, insults and falsehoods which are spread throughout the world against Islamic Iran and its leaders. And the news agencies of the arrogant powers and Zionism and the radios of the United States and Britain and their allies will speak in exactly the same insulting way, with exactly the same kind of nonsense, about them. This is what was meant by the Holy Quran when it mentions "the word that is false," which was put alongside and on the same level as shirk by God. How amazing that court-clerics in some corners of the world imitate these anti-Islamic and unlawful actions of the propagandists of the United States and the Zionists. Of course, the total submission to tyrannical rulers that, unfortunately, is the fate of clergymen in some Islamic countries does not leave any room for surprise.
Today, the Hajj, God's great blessing, is before you. Every single Muslim and the Islamic Ummah must benefit from it and as has been commanded in Quranic verse:
"God made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, an asylum for mankind..." (5:100)
They must benefit from it to the advantage of their world and their religion.
Today, the religion of Muslims is threatened by the enemy's cultural onslaught and the spread of corruption, injustice, faithlessness and decadence among Islamic societies; something that is happening on the initiative of anti-Islamic powers and with the help of their propaganda and media and other tools, and the world is threatened by the ever-increasing hegemony of arrogance over the affairs of Islamic countries and by the ever-increasing pressure on and hostility against any government or group that wishes to direct the minds of people towards the true rule of Islam and towards the independence and strength of Muslim nations. And of course at the head of this all-embracing attack against Islam is the Great Satan, that is, the government of the United States of America. Any clear-sighted eye can see the hand and will of that anti-Islamic government behind all the hardships which are inflicted on Islam and Muslims.
In occupied Palestine, the main reason behind the impudent and the boldness of the Zionists and the most important factor behind the compromise made by most Arab governments before the endless demands of Israel is the United States. Without the backing of the United States, the reactionary governments of the region, which are well known for their submissiveness to the United States, would not have turned into the defenders of the usurping government and into the advisories of those Palestinians who are against compromise. And those who, according to their Islamic duties, must stand against Israel would not emerge as those who stand against the opponents of Israel. And without the unconditional support of the United States, the usurping government would not have been able to bring about a great tragedy such as the massacre at the noble shrine of Abraham, peace be upon him, and to avoid suffering all the consequences of such an action.
A similar situation applies to the Muslims of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The historical massacre of the people of Gorazde and Sarajevo by the Serbs, which can truly be seen as ranking among the most shameful deeds committed by humanity in our times, is a huge crime, the responsibility for which must be borne by the powers who dominate the world and, more than any other power, by the United States.
If it were not for their interference and their policies, the Muslims of Bosnia would not have been deprived of receiving assistance in the form of weapons in the face of well-equipped and well-armed Serbs, and a defenseless and besieged nation would not have been sacrificed to bloodthirsty, shameless and encouraged aggressors. What is painful is that the United States and NATO - after laying the groundwork in this merciless way for the massacre of Bosnian Muslims, after using the United Nations and its secretary-general totally for their own ends, after displaying signs of their own pleasure at the killing of Muslims at the hands of the Serbs and after several weeks had passed since the savage attack of the aggressors against Muslim women, children, the old and young and the death of thousands of innocent people and the inflicting of suffering on such a scale on the people of the city of Gorazde, after all that - should call a halt to the torture by threatening the Serbs with air attacks and then describe that as their humanitarianism, love of peace and neutrality.
Is it the case that, when a torturer stops torturing a person after hours and days, he can claim to be humane and use as evidence of his humanity the fact that he has stopped torturing his victim?
This apparently neutral, but in practice aggressive, stance against Muslims, is seen in America and its European collaborators, such as Britain, in every incident in which innocent Muslims constitute one side, and are subjected to their enemies' oppressive behavior and pressures. Amongst the examples are the sorrowful events of Kashmir and the intense suffering of the Muslims in Karabakh and Tajikistan.
Wherever a government or a group raises the slogans of Islam, and strives towards the establishment of the rule of Islam, it becomes inevitable targets of U.S.'s abuse, slander, ruthlessness and malicious hostility. Clear examples are the Sudanese government, the Islamic front in Algeria, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad of Palestine, the Muslims of Egypt and so on. In all these cases, the agents of global arrogance and above all U.S. have been displaying fanatical behavior, similar to those of tribal communities. The case of U.S.'s malicious hostilities, accompanied by wrath and injustice against Islamic Iran - although in most cases ineffective thanks to the divine will and blessing - is in itself a separate issue, of which many in the world are aware.
Now, does the great Islamic Ummah, its leaders and politicians, intellectuals and religious scholars have no responsibilities with regard to this tragic plight of Muslims throughout the world? Do those - who believe in the truth of this declaration of the Great Prophet of Islam (pbuh) who said: "One who begins the day unconcerned with the affairs of Muslims is not a Muslim" - know of an occasion more suitable than the pilgrimage to the "Baitallah" (House of God) and of a time more suitable than the "Ayyam malumat" (the appointed days, 22:28) for displaying this important obligation? It was indeed not without reason that the Exalted Prophet (pbuh) chose the Hajj period for declaration of the Bar'a (disavowal) of mushrekin, which was a totally political activity within the framework of the very first Islamic government's general policy, and proclaimed this divine and Quranic command:
"A proclamation, from God and His messenger, unto mankind on the day of the Great Pilgrimage, - God and His messenger disavow the mushrekin. So if you repent, that will be better for you but if you turn your backs, know that you cannot frustrate the will of God. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject faith." (9:3)
Indeed, the Hajj is a duty during which and by way of which the most important political difficulties of the Islamic Ummah can be resolved. For that reason, the Hajj is a duty with political significance, and the nature and characteristics of it have made this very clear. Those who deny this and propagate against it are in effect against the resolution of those difficulties. In brief, the Hajj is a duty which concerns the Ummah, its unity, the power of Muslims, the improvement of the individual and the community and simply a duty concern with both this world and the hereafter.
Those who do not want to accept the political aspect of the Hajj in effect want to keep Islam away from politics and separate religion from politics. The issue of separating religion from politics is that very point which the enemies of sovereignty of Islam over Islamic societies have been raising for decades. Today, now that a government based on the sacred religion of Islam has emerged in Iran, and the ever-increasing enthusiasm for the formation of Islamic government has overwhelmed the entire Islamic world, they are raising that issue [of separating religion from politics] with more vigor and haste than ever. Wherever they see the preparations for the realization of this aim [of forming an Islamic governments], if they can, they enter the scene with force and aggression to fight against it.
The rule of Islam implies resistance against the intervention of the arrogance in Islamic countries. It also warrants the need to keep away those who are dependent on these powers, and the slaves of the satan of selfish desires and the satan of arrogance, from ruling these countries. Ht is therefore natural that the arrogance and those who rely on it and the satans and their followers should be angry about it [the rule of Islam]. By the same token, those who believe in God and the day of judgment and those who truly believe in Islam should welcome it [the rule of Islam] and struggle towards it .
Now that many people from all over the world have had the blessing of perceiving the appointed days and the Hajj to the House of God, I, in all sincerity and modesty, beseech the Almighty to accept their pilgrimage and to endow them and the entire Muslim Ummah with its benefits and make the following recommendations to brothers and sisters:
(1) Seize this opportunity for self-development, repentance and pleading [to God] and store spiritual assets to last you for the rest of your life.
(2) Ask Almighty God to eliminate big obstacles along the path of the Muslims, and keep repeating this request again and again in every prayer and supplication.
(3) Seize every opportunity to become acquainted with Muslims from other countries. Learn lessons from the positive and negative points of their daily life. Non-Iranian Muslims should particularly hear the truth and circumstances of Islamic Iran from their Iranian brothers, so that they discover for themselves whether the global propaganda [against Iran] is right or wrong. Today and always, try to strive to learn the instructions of the Great Imam, His Eminence Imam Khomeini, may God sanctify his noble soul, on Muslims' issues and problems and become better acquainted and more closely familiar with that great reformer and pious personality of Islamic history.
(4) Every accurate point of information and knowledge you have acquired on the situation of the Islamic Ummah or about your own country, pass it on to the Muslims from other countries.
(5) During conversations with your Muslim brothers from every corner of the Islamic world, bear in mind the plight of the Islamic Ummah and have an overall view of the Islamic world. Take your thoughts and others' thoughts beyond the confinement of geographical borders, racial, doctrinal, fictional and other such divides. Only think of Islam and Muslims.
(6) Keep reminding your conversational partners to think of the God-given might of more than one billion Muslims and dozens of Islamic countries with so much material and spiritual wealth and with a huge heritage of culture, civilization, religion and ethics.
(7) Break the myth of the West's invincible might and particularly that of U.S., which global arrogance has always tried to magnify several times above reality and has tried to instill into the Muslims' minds. Remind yourselves and others that the communist might, which on the surface seemed invulnerable, collapsed not too long ago and in front of this same generation's eyes and nothing is left of that might now. The existing over inflated powers, including the might of U.S., may be destroyed and annihilated just as easily.
(8) The responsibility of ulema and intellectuals of the Muslim countries is immense. Always remind them and others of this.
(9) Remind the heads of Islamic countries of their obligations towards the Islamic Ummah, which is to create unity among Muslims, to keep away from global powers, to rely on their own nations and to create healthy relations between the people and the rulers. Such a reminder by you is in accordance with "the reminder for Muslim leaders," and ask Almighty God to rectify this matter.
(10) Remember always that when we say the heads are responsible, it does not mean the individual members of a nation have no responsibility. On the contrary, they can play a decisive role in the achievement of all these great goals.
It is hoped that with divine grace and caring attention of God's Greatest Wali, may our souls be sacrificed for him and may God hasten his lofty advent, the esteemed pilgrims' Hajj rituals will be accepted by God and His blessings and vast mercy is upon the entire Islamic Ummah and all the Muslims.
Peace be upon all the righteous servants of God.
4th Dhu al-Hijjah 1414, corresponding to 15th May 1994;
Ali Al-Hoseyni Al-Khamene'i.
"And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path." (The Holy Quran, 22:27)
The sacred month of Dhu Al-Hijjah is upon us with its eternal resources for the Islamic Ummah. Thanks be to God for this unending gift and this ever-vital spring, by the grace of which the Muslims of the world can benefit and reap rewards according to their own efforts and wisdom.The extent and variety of the interests and benefits which the divine hand, with its knowledge and wisdom, has fitted into the duty of Hajj is of such magnitude that cannot be found in any other Islamic duty; ranging from spiritual presence and remembrance, the discovery of one's self when one finds himself alone with God and the cleansing of the heart from the stain of sin and negligence, to the sentiment felt by the individual who finds himself among a crowd and the sense of unity felt by each Muslim with the entire Islamic Ummah and the sense of strength arising from the greatness of the congregation of Muslims and to the effort made by every individual to attain a cure from spiritual wounds and diseases, that is, from sins, to curiosity and the will to understand and heal the profound scars and pains affecting the body of the Ummah, to sympathy with all Muslim nations, that is, the members of that body, are all contained in the Hajj and its various rites and rituals.
The Holy Quran describes the rituals carried out during the Hajj as "Sha'aer" (symbols, 2:158). This means that they are not merely individual actions aimed at fulfilling an individual duty; they are, rather, symbols intended at raising the level of awareness and wisdom of the human beings toward that which those symbols point to and indicate. Underlying all these symbols lies the message of tawhid (monotheism); that is, to reject all powers that, in some way, are seizing control of the bodies and souls of human beings and to confirm the sovereignty of divine rule over one's entire existence; in other words, the rule of an Islamic system and Islamic regulations over the personal and social lives of Muslims.
In the Quranic verses referring to the Hajj, the Holy Quran calls on everyone to disavow the idols worshipped by the mushrekin (polytheists):
"...But shun the abomination of idols..." (22:30)
These idols may in some point in time refer to the idols which were placed on the Ka'bah, but, undoubtedly, today and always, they refer to those powers that have unjustly taken charge of the rule over the lives of humanity and, today, refer, most clearly, to the power of arrogance and the satanic power of the United States and the power of Western culture and the corruption and decadence which they are inflicting on Islamic countries and nations. Of course, the pseudo-ulema affiliated to and mercenaries of some flimsy governments insist that, no, those idols refer only to Manat, Lat and Hubal [pre-Islamic idols]; those very same idols that were crushed and annihilated under the foot of the victorious soldiers of the Great Prophet (pbuh) on the day when Mecca was conquered. The intention of these court-clerics is to empty the Hajj of all political content to suit their own taste, ignorant of the fact that this very gathering of millions of Muslims that has come together from every corner of the world in one place at one time itself contains the richest political significance.
This is a display put on by the Islamic Ummah in which all differences of race, language, geography and history are set aside and in which everyone joins together to form a whole. In order to prevent Muslims from understanding the significance of this great unity and in order to prevent individuals from gaining a sense of collectivity, these pseudo-ulema and their masters have used every kind of lie, deceit and falsehood and will continue to do so in order to make life as difficult as possible for the people who call for unity and invite the pilgrims to disavow the ringleaders of shirk (polytheism).
Islamic Iran wished to do at least the minimum required by the Hajj, and that is to issue a call to unity to all Muslims, to invite all nations to learn the truth about one another and to ask people to express their hatred and disgust towards the ringleaders of shirk and corruption. Anyone who stands against these valuable and lofty aims is speaking unjustly, regardless of what he says. And the Holy Quran says:
"...Shun the word that is false" (22:30)
The word that is false is the unjust statements made by those who speak ill of the Islamic Republic, because the Islamic Republic rejects the rule of the Zionist government over Islamic Palestine and considers the compromises made with the usurpers by a few corrupt and isolated individuals as worthless. It condemns the master-like interventions of the United States in Arab countries. It exposes the ugliness of the treachery of some leaders of Muslim countries against their own Muslim nations for the pleasure of the United States and the Zionists. It calls on Muslims to recognize their own tremendous strength which no superpower can withstand today. It believes Islamic teachings and the rules of shari'ah are capable of ruling Islamic countries. It considers the imposed culture of the West, the manifestation of which lies in nakedness, drunkenness and faithlessness, to be harmful for Islamic countries, and simply insists on following the Holy Quran and the teachings of Islam.
Today, any Islamic country that states these things openly and adopts these same positions, that is, rejects the usurper Israel, rejects the bullying interventions of the United States, rejects drunkenness, decadence, sexual corruption and the immoral mingling of men and women, rejects the treachery of those who compromise with Israel, calls on Muslims to unite against and resist the superpowers, implements the rulings of Islam in government, the economy, politics and so on, will be on the receiving end of exactly the same kind of propaganda, insults and falsehoods which are spread throughout the world against Islamic Iran and its leaders. And the news agencies of the arrogant powers and Zionism and the radios of the United States and Britain and their allies will speak in exactly the same insulting way, with exactly the same kind of nonsense, about them. This is what was meant by the Holy Quran when it mentions "the word that is false," which was put alongside and on the same level as shirk by God. How amazing that court-clerics in some corners of the world imitate these anti-Islamic and unlawful actions of the propagandists of the United States and the Zionists. Of course, the total submission to tyrannical rulers that, unfortunately, is the fate of clergymen in some Islamic countries does not leave any room for surprise.
Today, the Hajj, God's great blessing, is before you. Every single Muslim and the Islamic Ummah must benefit from it and as has been commanded in Quranic verse:
"God made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, an asylum for mankind..." (5:100)
They must benefit from it to the advantage of their world and their religion.
Today, the religion of Muslims is threatened by the enemy's cultural onslaught and the spread of corruption, injustice, faithlessness and decadence among Islamic societies; something that is happening on the initiative of anti-Islamic powers and with the help of their propaganda and media and other tools, and the world is threatened by the ever-increasing hegemony of arrogance over the affairs of Islamic countries and by the ever-increasing pressure on and hostility against any government or group that wishes to direct the minds of people towards the true rule of Islam and towards the independence and strength of Muslim nations. And of course at the head of this all-embracing attack against Islam is the Great Satan, that is, the government of the United States of America. Any clear-sighted eye can see the hand and will of that anti-Islamic government behind all the hardships which are inflicted on Islam and Muslims.
In occupied Palestine, the main reason behind the impudent and the boldness of the Zionists and the most important factor behind the compromise made by most Arab governments before the endless demands of Israel is the United States. Without the backing of the United States, the reactionary governments of the region, which are well known for their submissiveness to the United States, would not have turned into the defenders of the usurping government and into the advisories of those Palestinians who are against compromise. And those who, according to their Islamic duties, must stand against Israel would not emerge as those who stand against the opponents of Israel. And without the unconditional support of the United States, the usurping government would not have been able to bring about a great tragedy such as the massacre at the noble shrine of Abraham, peace be upon him, and to avoid suffering all the consequences of such an action.
A similar situation applies to the Muslims of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The historical massacre of the people of Gorazde and Sarajevo by the Serbs, which can truly be seen as ranking among the most shameful deeds committed by humanity in our times, is a huge crime, the responsibility for which must be borne by the powers who dominate the world and, more than any other power, by the United States.
If it were not for their interference and their policies, the Muslims of Bosnia would not have been deprived of receiving assistance in the form of weapons in the face of well-equipped and well-armed Serbs, and a defenseless and besieged nation would not have been sacrificed to bloodthirsty, shameless and encouraged aggressors. What is painful is that the United States and NATO - after laying the groundwork in this merciless way for the massacre of Bosnian Muslims, after using the United Nations and its secretary-general totally for their own ends, after displaying signs of their own pleasure at the killing of Muslims at the hands of the Serbs and after several weeks had passed since the savage attack of the aggressors against Muslim women, children, the old and young and the death of thousands of innocent people and the inflicting of suffering on such a scale on the people of the city of Gorazde, after all that - should call a halt to the torture by threatening the Serbs with air attacks and then describe that as their humanitarianism, love of peace and neutrality.
Is it the case that, when a torturer stops torturing a person after hours and days, he can claim to be humane and use as evidence of his humanity the fact that he has stopped torturing his victim?
This apparently neutral, but in practice aggressive, stance against Muslims, is seen in America and its European collaborators, such as Britain, in every incident in which innocent Muslims constitute one side, and are subjected to their enemies' oppressive behavior and pressures. Amongst the examples are the sorrowful events of Kashmir and the intense suffering of the Muslims in Karabakh and Tajikistan.
Wherever a government or a group raises the slogans of Islam, and strives towards the establishment of the rule of Islam, it becomes inevitable targets of U.S.'s abuse, slander, ruthlessness and malicious hostility. Clear examples are the Sudanese government, the Islamic front in Algeria, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad of Palestine, the Muslims of Egypt and so on. In all these cases, the agents of global arrogance and above all U.S. have been displaying fanatical behavior, similar to those of tribal communities. The case of U.S.'s malicious hostilities, accompanied by wrath and injustice against Islamic Iran - although in most cases ineffective thanks to the divine will and blessing - is in itself a separate issue, of which many in the world are aware.
Now, does the great Islamic Ummah, its leaders and politicians, intellectuals and religious scholars have no responsibilities with regard to this tragic plight of Muslims throughout the world? Do those - who believe in the truth of this declaration of the Great Prophet of Islam (pbuh) who said: "One who begins the day unconcerned with the affairs of Muslims is not a Muslim" - know of an occasion more suitable than the pilgrimage to the "Baitallah" (House of God) and of a time more suitable than the "Ayyam malumat" (the appointed days, 22:28) for displaying this important obligation? It was indeed not without reason that the Exalted Prophet (pbuh) chose the Hajj period for declaration of the Bar'a (disavowal) of mushrekin, which was a totally political activity within the framework of the very first Islamic government's general policy, and proclaimed this divine and Quranic command:
"A proclamation, from God and His messenger, unto mankind on the day of the Great Pilgrimage, - God and His messenger disavow the mushrekin. So if you repent, that will be better for you but if you turn your backs, know that you cannot frustrate the will of God. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject faith." (9:3)
Indeed, the Hajj is a duty during which and by way of which the most important political difficulties of the Islamic Ummah can be resolved. For that reason, the Hajj is a duty with political significance, and the nature and characteristics of it have made this very clear. Those who deny this and propagate against it are in effect against the resolution of those difficulties. In brief, the Hajj is a duty which concerns the Ummah, its unity, the power of Muslims, the improvement of the individual and the community and simply a duty concern with both this world and the hereafter.
Those who do not want to accept the political aspect of the Hajj in effect want to keep Islam away from politics and separate religion from politics. The issue of separating religion from politics is that very point which the enemies of sovereignty of Islam over Islamic societies have been raising for decades. Today, now that a government based on the sacred religion of Islam has emerged in Iran, and the ever-increasing enthusiasm for the formation of Islamic government has overwhelmed the entire Islamic world, they are raising that issue [of separating religion from politics] with more vigor and haste than ever. Wherever they see the preparations for the realization of this aim [of forming an Islamic governments], if they can, they enter the scene with force and aggression to fight against it.
The rule of Islam implies resistance against the intervention of the arrogance in Islamic countries. It also warrants the need to keep away those who are dependent on these powers, and the slaves of the satan of selfish desires and the satan of arrogance, from ruling these countries. Ht is therefore natural that the arrogance and those who rely on it and the satans and their followers should be angry about it [the rule of Islam]. By the same token, those who believe in God and the day of judgment and those who truly believe in Islam should welcome it [the rule of Islam] and struggle towards it .
Now that many people from all over the world have had the blessing of perceiving the appointed days and the Hajj to the House of God, I, in all sincerity and modesty, beseech the Almighty to accept their pilgrimage and to endow them and the entire Muslim Ummah with its benefits and make the following recommendations to brothers and sisters:
(1) Seize this opportunity for self-development, repentance and pleading [to God] and store spiritual assets to last you for the rest of your life.
(2) Ask Almighty God to eliminate big obstacles along the path of the Muslims, and keep repeating this request again and again in every prayer and supplication.
(3) Seize every opportunity to become acquainted with Muslims from other countries. Learn lessons from the positive and negative points of their daily life. Non-Iranian Muslims should particularly hear the truth and circumstances of Islamic Iran from their Iranian brothers, so that they discover for themselves whether the global propaganda [against Iran] is right or wrong. Today and always, try to strive to learn the instructions of the Great Imam, His Eminence Imam Khomeini, may God sanctify his noble soul, on Muslims' issues and problems and become better acquainted and more closely familiar with that great reformer and pious personality of Islamic history.
(4) Every accurate point of information and knowledge you have acquired on the situation of the Islamic Ummah or about your own country, pass it on to the Muslims from other countries.
(5) During conversations with your Muslim brothers from every corner of the Islamic world, bear in mind the plight of the Islamic Ummah and have an overall view of the Islamic world. Take your thoughts and others' thoughts beyond the confinement of geographical borders, racial, doctrinal, fictional and other such divides. Only think of Islam and Muslims.
(6) Keep reminding your conversational partners to think of the God-given might of more than one billion Muslims and dozens of Islamic countries with so much material and spiritual wealth and with a huge heritage of culture, civilization, religion and ethics.
(7) Break the myth of the West's invincible might and particularly that of U.S., which global arrogance has always tried to magnify several times above reality and has tried to instill into the Muslims' minds. Remind yourselves and others that the communist might, which on the surface seemed invulnerable, collapsed not too long ago and in front of this same generation's eyes and nothing is left of that might now. The existing over inflated powers, including the might of U.S., may be destroyed and annihilated just as easily.
(8) The responsibility of ulema and intellectuals of the Muslim countries is immense. Always remind them and others of this.
(9) Remind the heads of Islamic countries of their obligations towards the Islamic Ummah, which is to create unity among Muslims, to keep away from global powers, to rely on their own nations and to create healthy relations between the people and the rulers. Such a reminder by you is in accordance with "the reminder for Muslim leaders," and ask Almighty God to rectify this matter.
(10) Remember always that when we say the heads are responsible, it does not mean the individual members of a nation have no responsibility. On the contrary, they can play a decisive role in the achievement of all these great goals.
It is hoped that with divine grace and caring attention of God's Greatest Wali, may our souls be sacrificed for him and may God hasten his lofty advent, the esteemed pilgrims' Hajj rituals will be accepted by God and His blessings and vast mercy is upon the entire Islamic Ummah and all the Muslims.
Peace be upon all the righteous servants of God.
4th Dhu al-Hijjah 1414, corresponding to 15th May 1994;
Ali Al-Hoseyni Al-Khamene'i.