Speech [Wilayah and government, message of Ghadir]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I hope that this blessed feast would be auspicious for all oppressed nations especially for our noble nation. May God give His special favor to this great nation which can be said to be the flag-bearer of Islam at this time. It is also hoped that the nation will be deserving to receive this great assistance and favor.

What can I say about the personality of Imam `Ali? Who can do justice to do so? The multifarious dimensions of this great personage are beyond human assessment. Just like the names of God, the Exalted, the dimensions of a perfect man who is the manifestation of all divine names and attributes are beyond calculation. we cannot manage to do justice to even a single attribute. This personage exhibits different attributes. No one can adequately talk about his station. Therefore, I deem it advisable to keep silent on his qualities. Yet, it will not be out of place to touch on the deviations creeping into Muslim community, especially into his Shi`ites throughout history. I will also deal with the hands that brought about these deviations for the first time and shed light on the conspiracies hatched throughout past centuries and in recent years and decades.

The issue of Ghadir is not an event befallen the Imam. In fact, Ghadir is something the Imam created. This noble personality and fountainhead of sound human qualities prompted the Ghadir to take place. Ghadir has no value for the Imam. That which is valuable is the Imam himself. It has been known to Almighty God that after the Messenger of Allah there is no one among men who could implement justice in a pleasing and efficient manner. He commissioned the Messenger of Allah to appoint this person who had the power to implement justice in its true sense in the society and have a divine government. The appointment of Imam `Ali to the caliphate was not merely due to his spiritual stations. His spiritual stations and his total positions mean that Ghadir has to take place. In our narrations and from that time till now they have honored this Ghadi, not because government is an issue. Government is as what Imam `Ali explains to `Abbas:" For me it is not even as valuable as this worthless shoe." «1» That which is worthy is the implementation of justice. What could be done by Imam `Ali (`a) and his progeny is the implementation of justice to please the Almighty God if he had been given the chance. They sought this goal, but they were not given the chance. To keep alive such a feast is not feasible by decoration, reciting elegies and singing praises; these are good but not the crux of the matter. The matter is that these should teach us how to follow; these should remind us that Ghadir is not limited to that time. Ghadir must be there at all times while the method adopted by Imam `Ali in the government must also be the method of nations and authorities. The event of Ghadir is the story of how some usurped the Islamic rule. Spiritual stations cannot be installed. It is not something that by its installation, a station can be acquired. But it has been the spiritual stations and universality for that great personage that has made him worthy to be appointed for the government. Thus, we see that they are mentioned along with fasting and prayers as guardians are responsible to carry them out. In the event of Ghadir, guardianship definitely meant ruling and governance, not a spiritual station. And just as I have said about the Qur'an, as it is stated in the traditions, it has been revealed in different stages, seven all in all and seven more and even more, till it has now reached us in the form of a book, Imam `Ali is like that; the same is true about the Messenger of God; he has undergone different stages; he has emerged from the Absolute Being; he has emerged from the Total Being; he has come down to this world of nature; this sacred being, that sacred being and the great saints of God have come in this world of nature. That we have to consider the hadith of Ghadir aimed at setting forth spirituality for Imam `Ali or a station for him is not correct. It is Imam `Ali who has brought into being the Ghadir; it is his lofty station that has made the Almighty God appoint him as a ruler.

The issue is the issue of government and politics. Government means politics, politics in its totality. God, the Almighty, commanded the Prophet to hand over this government and this politics to Imam `Ali just as the Messenger of God himself had politics. Government without politics is impossible. This politics and this government blended with politics were established on the day of `Id al-Ghadir for Imam `Ali. Narrations stating that" Islam is founded on five things" do not mean the general guardianship of leadership (imamah). That leadership in which no action is acceptable and admissible except belief in imamah is not referring to the government. Well, most of our Imams had no government. Though we believe Imam `Ali ruled for a certain period; His Holiness Imam Hasan also ruled for a very short period; the rest of the Imams did not rule. That which God, the Almighty, ordained and thereafter ordained for the Imams of guidance is government, although they did not allow this government to bear fruit. Therefore, God has ordained government for Imam `Ali (`a); this government means politics; that is, blended with politics. Among the crookedness that has unfortunately appeared, that is, so many crookedness have appeared but the most severe of which is that there appeared agents in the past, from the time of the Umayyad and `Abbasid caliphs (may Allah's curse be upon them) who would say that religion is confined to religious questions while politics is confined to government. Every party has come out and taken this power until such time that the global players realized that religion must be turn into a mere form of worship. These players came and did so while we also believed that religion had nothing to do with politics, that politics is the business of the emperors. It implies that we denigrate God, His Messenger and the Commander of the Faithful because government was politics; government is not reciting supplication; government is not praying; government is not fasting. The government, the government of justice, leads to their observances though the government itself is only a political instrument. One who says that religion is separated from politics has denied God, denied the Messenger of God, and denied the Imams of guidance.

That the voice of Ghadir has been raised so high and that Ghadir has been held in high esteem, as it is, is due to the fact that with the implementation of guardianship, i. e. with the turning over of government to the hands of its rightful owner, all these problems will be solved; all deviations will be removed. If the government of justice were established, had they allowed Hadrat Amir (`a) to establish the government he wanted, all the deviations would have been removed and the environment would have become a proper and wholesome environment, which would be an opportunity for all individuals who had thoughts, mystics who had thoughts, philosophers who had thoughts, jurists who had thoughts, and all others. In view of this," Islam has been founded on five things" does not mean that guardianship (wilayah) pertains to this; the essence of guardianship is the issue of government; the government is such; the government is not even from the branches of religion.

What has been there for our Imams before Ghadir and before anything else is a station which is the station of general guardianship, and that is the Imamate; it is narrated in the tradition that" Hasan and Husayn are Imams whether they are sitting or standing." «2»" Imam" does not mean government; that is another" Imam"; that is another issue. That issue is the issue that if someone does not accept him, if he does not accept the general guardianship, even if he performed the prayers according to the Shi`ite jurisprudence, they are invalid. These do not pertain to the government; these do not relate to it; these are among the roots of religion; belief in them is obligatory and they belong to the roots of religion. And the deviation that has taken place- apart from the other deviations- is that we have come to believe that politics is none of our business. Ghadir has come to let everybody understand that politics is related to all; in every period there must be a government; there must be politics but just politics so that through it prayers could be performed; fasting could be performed; Hajj could be performed; all the precepts could be performed; the way could be opened so that the thinkers could comfortably and confidently present their ideas. Therefore, it is not what we imagine that the guardianship they are referring to here is Imamate and that Imamate is in the realm of the branches of religion; it is not so. This guardianship means government; the government is the implementer of these things; it is the implementer of other affairs. These deviations are so many; one cannot rectify all of them.

A large group imagines that mysticism means that man should go to a certain place, recite invocation, perform a series of acts, dance, and the like; is this mysticism?! Imam `Ali (`a) has had the high level of mysticism, but those things were not done. They were imagining that one who is a mystic should withdraw totally from everything and seclude himself, recite some invocations, sing some songs, do something, and do shop-keeping. Although the Commander of the Faithful is the most learned of the servants of Allah after the Messenger of Allah in this ummah and the most learned servant of Allah with respect to God, the Exalted, he refused to stand by and not to get involved in the social affairs; he had no circle of dervishes either; he was busy with his works. It is also imagined that the one engaged in spiritual wayfaring is supposed to be unmindful of the people; to disregard things that may happen in the city. He cannot say," I am a spiritual wayfarer so I have to sit in a corner and recite and incantation" and wayfaring accordingly will be done. The spiritual wayfaring of the prophets was greater than that of the others; the spiritual wayfaring of the saints was greater than that of the others. Yet, they did not confine themselves inside their homes and say:" We are spiritual wayfarers; it is not our concern what would happen to the nation; everybody can do whatever he likes." If the spiritual wayfarers were supposed to go in seclusion, then the prophets were also supposed to do the same but they did not. Moses was a spiritual wayfarer but in spite of that he went to Pharaoh and did those things; Abraham was also like that; and so was the Messenger of God as we all know. When the Messenger of God, who had been engrossed in spiritual wayfaring for many years, saw an opportunity he established a political government to implement justice. Following the establishment of justice there would be an opportunity to bring forth whatever he has. Once there is chaos, the mystics cannot properly observe their mysticism and neither can the philosophers and jurists with respect to their fields. But if the government became the government of divine justice, implemented justice and did not allow the opportunists to achieve their objectives, there would be a peaceful environment in which everything could be found. Therefore," No thing is ever promoted like the promotion of wilayah (guardianship) "is meant for the government. No thing has ever been promoted like this political affair and this political affair has been there at the time of the Prophet and the time of the Commander of the Faithful, and others after them would have been the same had they been given the opportunity. There have been many deviations. Some of our learned men also hold this view:" military fatigue is unlawful; celebrity dress is harmful to justice." Was Imam `Ali unjust?! Was the Doyen of the Martyrs also unjust?! Was His Holiness Imam Hasan unjust, too?! Was the Noble Prophet also not just?! They were such for having military fatigue! They inculcated these ideas in us; the conspiracy agents inculcated such in us and we also believed them." What is your business with what is happening?! Mind your own studies! Mind your own jurisprudence! Mind your own philosophy! Mind your own mysticism! What is your business with what is happening?!" During the initial period when these issues surfaced, when I mentioned a case to one of our comrades, who was so good, righteous and responsible, saying to him that we have to investigate it, he said to us," What does a result of political affair have to do with us?!" It had been so inculcated such that a knowledgeable and enlightened man well aware of the issues would say to us:" What relation does it have with us?!" Did the Prophet also say," What business do we have with politics"? Did the Commander of the Faithful who also ruled established the government for reciting invocation, for reading the Qur'an, for praying, and the like?! There was government; there was guardianship; there was military preparation- and I should say- there was government for the implementation of these; all of them are politics.

Those who say that the clerics have nothing to do with politics, those who are not on good terms with the cleric are inimical to Islam. They want to marginalize the clerics- who can do something with the people- so that they can do whatever they want, and they actually did so. Of course, throughout history our `ulama' were not like that, and they did not dissociate themselves from politics. The issue of Constitutionalism was a political issue and our great `ulama' got involved in it and established it. The issue of Tobacco Boycott was a political issue and Mirza (may Allah have mercy on him) did so. During the recent time Mudarris and Kashani were also politicians and were holding offices, but they had only some power. This conspiring power would not allow the idea of even an honorable learned man to be voiced out. The issue was not like that; there was the issue of government and politics during the time of the Prophet; there was the issue of government and politics during the time of the Commander of the Faithful. And that they have narrated everything and have so much celebrated the Ghadir was aimed at letting us understand and teach us that it should be like that.

Now, we are engaged in war. On this issue there is also a group that makes trouble. They are not those who are influential, but they exist. There are those who say," Let us make peace; let us make conciliation." We have to learn a lesson from history. Those sanctimonious individuals imposed it on Imam `Ali those whose front was" hot" and most harmful for the people imposed arbitration on Imam `Ali and imposed that there had to be an arbiter. Then, when Imam decided to resist against their pressure, they wanted to kill him had he refused; for, they had suggested what was supposed to be done;" Set the Qur'an as the arbiter; it is this Qur'an." Hadrat Amir had this affliction. Now, like him, we have also that. That they say here and there," Let there be arbitration; let the arbiters come; let there be an arbiter to do the job; he has to identify who is who; the world does not know who is the aggressor!?" We have to learn a lesson from the event and we should not submit to arbitration. During these eight years we knew who these arbiters are and who those who want to establish peace are. The account of Imam Hasan and the issue of peace, an imposed peace as it was, was due to the fact that his friends, viz. those traitors around him did something to him such that he could not resist against them and make peace; it was an imposed peace. It is exactly the same peace that they want to make us accept. According to the narrations and traditions, after they concluded the peace treaty Mu`awiyah mounted the pulpit and said:" I put under my feet all the things that I have said, like the tearing of the treaties. That imposed peace happened at the time of Imam al-Hasan and that imposed arbitration that happened during the time of the Commander of the Faithful- both of which were accomplished at the hands of frauds- guide us not to submit to the imposed peace and the imposed arbitration. Based on our own view and the view of our nation, just as the entire nation now says, we have to continue the war until such time that by the will of God victory is attained, and it is near, God willing. But if our nation wanted this victory to be nearer, to be very near- which is good for our nation, good for the Iraqi nation and good for the region- it should be prepared; during this period of time it should be prepared in all aspects for the warfronts.

The gentlemen said that in many places in the country there are many things surplus to needs which can be used by the Constitution Jihad in the warfronts. I would like to say that if there are additional things in a certain place, and the governors, governors-general and Friday prayer leaders realize that they are surplus to the needs and are no longer needed, it is necessary for these to be sent to the warfronts. If you want your country to flourish, your country to become Islamic, to become Islamic soon and not be delayed, then you must be prepared and you must be equipped with all powers so as to get rid of this man. Before it was said that Saddam would receive a blow, and Saddam has received a blow and now he is confused; he does not know what to do. Indeed, he does not know what to do; on one hand, he is making violence; on the other hand, he is requesting and begging. He is now in a state of confusion. And I fear that if he becomes more mad than what he is now, if due to defeat he becomes mad, he would inflict a certain damage to the country of Iraq saying," Now that he is drowning, let everybody drown also." He is such a creature. I fear that he would also attack the holy sites, and by His will, God would not give him that opportunity. Something must be done so that he would receive another blow and mind his own business, commit suicide or escape from here to another place and do other things.

Well, after Ghadir Khumm may deviations took place while we were not mindful- actually most of us were neglectful- and so were sidelined. They get involved in the affairs of Muslims. This has caused the afflictions of all the Muslim countries that we can presently witness; these problems are present everywhere. The Sunni `ulama' believed that one had to submit to any hooligan and at the hand of hooligans these things have been brought about. Is it possible for the Prophet of Islam to issue such laws and say that we have to obey Ataturk who abolishes our laws?! Which reasoning would accept this? The Prophet of Islam would ordain laws; God, the Blessed and Exalted, would ordain laws and say that we have to pray, and then, He would also say that we have to obey Ataturk who says that we should not pray! Whom we should obey, God or Ataturk? Which mind will believe it? The" holder of authority" which has been mentioned in the Qur'an is clear to be a person who follows God and His Messenger; the holder of authority is supposed to have such attributes. It is absurd for God, the Blessed and Exalted, to urge the people to obey Rida Khan who set aside all religious and Islamic considerations; He would ordain a religion and then say that you have to obey an irreligious person; that is, you have to be irreligious, too; is this possible?! These deviations have taken place and unfortunately, powerful hands have created them while we and other are neglectful. Among many deviations that the powerful hands of the enemies of Islam are utilizing are these differences among the various sects; the Sunni-Shi`ah discord; of course, in many of their beliefs the Sunnis and Shi`ite must be so; I do not say that it should be so but it is good for other to be free. However, this should not prompt Muslims to create trouble for a country that wants to get rid of the U. S. They should not try to prevent us from eliminating a person who is currently inflicting a blow on Islam and annihilating a country. Some court clerics recently wrote a book- in fact a book of dissension- and published it in Mecca. I do not know what they are thinking except that they are servants of America or other countries that urge them to discuss such issues and sow discord. Well, there are many differences among us; this is Shaykhi while that is Soufi and this is traditions while that is those versed in Usoul or principles of jurisprudence. And why should the different beliefs cause external differences? Why should we not be united on this affair that we have in common? The Muslims have been made to believe from an early age by the conspirators that they are really different from each other and that there is not a common thing among them. The conspirators reap the benefits of sowing discord. Is not it the time we came to our senses? They will benefit from this discord; what the intellect demands!

I humbly beseech God Almighty to grand power to this Islamic Republic, to fortify Islam everywhere, to enhance Islamic issues everywhere, and to transform the various thoughts involved in these affairs into correct thoughts, Islamic thoughts and thoughts that are supposed to administer an Islamic country.

May God's peace and mercy be upon you.