Speech [The sacredness and auspiciousness of the month of Ramadan and Sha`ban and the recorded supplications]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Felicitations to all the Muslims and downtrodden people of the world on this occasion of the auspicious feast! We are in the month of Sha`ban and a few days from now we will be in the month of Ramadan. The month of Ramadan is the month of prophethood while the month of Sha`ban is the month of Imamate. The month of Ramadan has the Night of Qadr while the month of Sha`ban has the Sha`ban 15, which is second to the Night of Qadr. The month of Ramadan is blessed as it has the Night of Qadr while the month of Sha`ban is blessed as it has Sha`ban 15. The month of Ramadan is blessed as the revelation has been revealed therein; in other words, the spirituality of the Messenger of God has made the revelation to be revealed. And the month of Sha`ban is majestic as it is the extension of the spirituality of the month of Ramadan. This blessed month of Ramadan is the manifestation of the Night of Qadr in which all truths and meanings are gathered. And the month of Sha`ban is the month of the Imams that are the extension of the same. In the blessed month of Ramadan, the Noble Messenger (s) extended all the blessings in this world by the divine general guardianship. And the month of Sha`ban, which is the month of the Imams, by the blessing of the absolute guardianship following the Messenger of Allah, continues the same meanings. Thus, the month of Ramadan is a month in which all the veils have been torn and the trusted Gabriel has approached the Messenger of God; in other words, the Noble Prophet has admitted the trusted Gabriel in the world. And the month of Sha`ban is the month of guardianship and it continues the same meanings. The month of Ramadan is blessed as therein the Qur'an was revealed. And the month of Sha`ban is blessed as therein the supplications of the Imams (`a) were recorded. It is this month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was rvealed. The Qur'an includes all knowledge and all the needs of mankind while the month of Sha`ban is the month of the Imams, the extension of the same truth and the same meanings in all periods.

That which is mysterious in the Qur'an is also the same in the supplications of the Imams. In the Sha`baniyyah supplications we read," My Lord! Make me of those who answer You when You call them, who are thunderstruck by Your Majesty when You look at them, and who work for You openly when You whisper to them secretly." «1» The issue of being" thunderstruck" is mentioned; the same thing the Qur'an mentions concerning prophet Moses:" And when his Lord revealed( His )glory to the mountain," «2» Moses was" thunderstruck". This is the month of thunderbolt and it is the same month that asks for the same thunderbolt. This month is the Divine Manifestation to the Noble Prophet and by the same token, this is the month of Divine Manifestation to the Imams. Imam Mahdi (`a) has various dimensions; those that have been understood by mankind are some of his dimensions; similarly, some dimensions of whatever has been made known to mankind from the Qur'an and the Noble Prophet are spiritual. There are spiritualities in the Qur'an which have not been known except to the Noble Prophet and those who are his students and make benefit of him. And there are the same things in our supplications. As it really is, the Noble Prophet is ruler over the entire creation; similarly, Imam Mahdi is ruler over the entire creation. The former is the Seal of the Prophets while the latter is the Seal of the Imams. The former is the general guardian by nature while the latter is the general guardian by delegation. Thus, these two months are months to which we have to give respect, and we have read and reflect on the supplications in this blessed month, the majestic month of Sha`ban, and then in the blessed month of Ramadan.

The commentators who are familiar with these meanings have to explain these supplications of the Imams! The Sha`baniyyah supplications is among the intimate devotions that are unique; it is the like the Abou Hamzah supplications which is also unique. The Kumayl Invocation has been recorded in Sha`ban and it is among the supplications to be read on the 15 th of Sha`ban. It encompasses secrets that are beyond our comprehension. The supplications coming from the Imams of guidance must be reflected upon, and those who are people of understanding and knowledge should explain them; they should be presented to the people, although no one can duly explain them.

We have to leave this issue and we suffice ourselves in following. And we believe that the light of prophethood and the light of Imamate have been from the beginning of creation and they will perpetuate till the end.

During the blessed month (of Ramadan) the Battle of Badr took place. Those who under whatever pretext want to give opportunity to Saddam have recently again resorted to this: that there should be ceasefire in the blessed month." Give opportunity to this criminal in the blessed month so as to equip himself and after the blessed month he would make an attack worse than before." He is a criminal who does not let no stone unturned and does not give mercy to anyone, who stops at nothing to achieve his ends, who does not show mercy to anyone even to his own countryman and who is always waiting for an opportunity to impose himself on the region. Those who are followers of America invite us to have ceasefire in the blessed month! Last year or earlier, the Iraqi officials were saying that it was a" forbidden" month in which war is forbidden. Again, they failed to understand that it is the month of Rajab that is the" forbidden" month and not the month of Ramadan. The month of Ramadan is a month of war.

Our nation must be vigilant of the stratagems of the superpowers that hatch a plot every moment. We must be vigilant and not be deceived by them, and in the month of Ramadan we must not give opportunity to this criminal to equip and continue his mischief. This person is in the brink of a pit; in the brink of the pit of hell. And you, youth, and you, people, should prove that now he is in the very atmosphere of hell. Now, he is living a hellish life and his character is like that of the dwellers of hell. It is upon us not to listen to these propaganda horns and those who follow them, those who speak on behalf of America, and those who have a mistake belief that war must be brought to an end. God willing, the war will not come to an end except with the removal of this corrupt party.

And death to all the oppressors in the world! Death to those who plunder the people and the nations and through propaganda regard themselves as peace-loving nations or governments! They are on the verge of death. The one that will remain is God, the Blessed and Exalted. It is He who exists and will always exist. And those who are blissful are those who are pious. One must follow Islam. If we really follow Islam, we have to repress the enemies of Islam as much as we can and we have to be merciful toward our friends.

Mr. Muhtashami, may God protect him, said that the provincial governors or a group of officials are here. The gentlemen, the honorable governors must be vigilant in preserving the unity among themselves and their unity with the people, for whatever we have by the grace and favor of God belongs to this nation. The one that has installed you if this position, if you have any, is the nation. The one that has severed the hands of oppression from you and want to implement justice is this nation; and these youth who are now sacrificing themselves in the path of Islam. You should have unity so as to remain intact. There are plots to sow discord. You should be aware that a divisive utterance is among the major sins which God Almighty rarely forgive. It does not matter whether it is uttered by our friends or foes, by those who assume sanctimony or not. A divisive statement at this critical juncture when Islam is threatened by disbelief is among the sins that could hardly be forgiven. Tomorrow, you will meet God, the Blessed and Exalted, and you will be called to account. Those who are inviting us to" peace" and compromise are in the presence of God and they have to give answer. You have to pay attention to all affairs and preserve unity so that God Almighty would continue His succor and make you felicitous.noble combatants of whatever group and stratum they are will be successful, by the graces of God. And the Iranian nation must be aware that today is the day when it has to be prepared to uproot this nucleus of corruption. May God grant you success, guide your enemies, and punish them if they cannot be guided.