The first sermon of the Friday prayer on 13th May, 1988 CE. / 26th Ramadhan, 1408 A.H.
The following is the first sermon of the Friday prayer delivered by Ayatollah Khamenei – presently the Supreme Leader of Iran, on the occasion of Quds Day of 1988 during his presidency. His excellency discusses seeking forgiveness as an appropriate topic for the holy month of Ramadhan based on the verses of the Qur’an and narrations even though the material he discusses is neither dedicated nor limited to this month. As this speech is delivered as a Friday sermon, the addressees are from all walks of life, having different ages and levels of knowledge.
A feature that distinguishes this speech from others delivered on this topic is the Supreme Leader’s social outlook on seemingly individual and ethical issues, such as seeking forgiveness, which can be clearly seen in the subtopics such as “The Social Impact of Seeking Forgiveness” and “The Social Impact of Committing Sins”.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, Whom we praise, from Whom we seek help, in Whom we believe, to Whom we repent, and on Whom we rely[1], and peace and blessings be upon His beloved and noble one, the master of His servants, the protector of His secret, the promoter of His message, the harbinger of His mercy, the warner of His chastisement, our Master and Prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided, especially the one remaining with God on earth. And greetings be upon the Imams of the Muslims, those who guide the oppressed and those who guide the faithful. Indeed, God the Almighty says in His book, “Say (that God declares,) ‘O’ My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of God. Indeed, God will forgive all sins.”[2].[3]
I advise all the praying brothers and sisters towards the remembrance of God, observing piety, paying attention to God, pleading for forgiveness, repenting, praying, regretting evil, and dedicating themselves to goodness and righteousness deeds.
The holy month of Ramadhan, an opportunity to seek forgiveness
On this last Friday of Ramadhan, which is one of the most promising opportunities for the faithful and observant worshipers, I would like to present a brief discussion suitable for the occasion of the holy month of Ramadhan and that is for the reflection of my own self and you dear ones, and that is the topic of seeking forgiveness.
One of the opportunities for seeking forgiveness is Ramadhan, and the month of Ramadhan is about to finish. If these last few days pass and we have not been able to obtain divine forgiveness and mercy for our sins and our mistakes, we will certainly be at a loss and have harmed ourselves. And undoubtedly, the one who is deprived of God’s mercy in this month is wretched. One of the ways of attracting divine mercy is to seek forgiveness.
Seeking forgiveness means asking God the Almighty for forgiveness and His pardon. This is emphasized in many verses of the Holy Qur’an. We are asked to repent for our sins. Certainly, there is no one who has not committed sins. Of course, our sins as ordinary people are quite different from the sins of those close to God. The Commander of the Faithful (as) also asks for forgiveness, but his pleading for forgiveness is not for the kind of things we do; he asks for forgiveness for something else. We, who have wrongdoings in our personal and social life, commit sins and exhort ourselves to trespass God’s commandments, must plead for forgiveness. For a few minutes, I will address this issue in this sermon as a brief reminder.
Seeking forgiveness in the verses and narrations
Firstly, an important part of the supplications that we received from the infallible Imams (as) is seeking forgiveness, which demonstrates its importance. When you look at the lofty supplication of Kumayl that you recite on Thursday nights – it is one of the best supplications we’ve received from the Imams (as), you see it is from the beginning to the end seeking for forgiveness and pardon in different words. At the opening of the supplication, you swear to God in that very meaningful tone that is specific to the Imams (as) by ten things: His mercy, His power, His grandeur, His dignity, His light, etc. Once you urge God earnestly by these ten attributes, you beseech Him to forgive you for five types of sins. “O’ God, forgive me those sins which tear apart safeguards.”[4] Those sins that alter blessings. There are some sins that change the blessings that God has granted. Those sins that call down tribulation, and those sins that hold back one’s supplication.
Look at how many mistakes and transgressions we may have committed that have such dangerous and harmful consequences for us. We should beseech God the Almighty to pardon us for committing them. The same can be seen in the supplication of Abu Hamza Thumali and many other supplications. When you look at them, you see a large part of these supplications is about seeking forgiveness from the Lord. In an overview of the Holy Qur’an, I found that there was a statement that was in the words of many prophets addressed to their people: “Plead with your Lord for forgiveness”[5] so that this seeking for forgiveness and pardon opens the path to your happiness. The first step is to seek forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness makes it possible for human beings to repent, because repentance is not just seeking pardon, rather it is to return from the path of misguidance. The first step in this return is that one beseeches God for pardon.
The social impact of seeking forgiveness
According to the verses of the Holy Qur’an as well as some of the narration that I have read, seeking forgiveness makes it possible to resolve issues in individual life and societies. If a community pays attention to their sins, isn’t heedless of them, and seeks to compensate for its sins and beseeches the Almighty God to forgive them, divine blessings will flow to this community. This is mentioned in many verses of the Holy Qur’an such as: Surah Hud in two or three verses, Surah Nuh, and in many other verses. “Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently. He will provide you with a good provision.”[6],[7] Or, in another verse: “‘O’ my people! Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently: He will send copious rains for you from the sky, and add power to your (present) power.”[8],[9] In another verse, “telling (them): ‘Plead to your Lord for forgiveness.”[10],[11] “Indeed, He is all-forgiver. He will send for you abundant rains from the sky,”[12],[13] “and aid you with wealth and sons, and provide you with gardens and provide you with streams.”[14],[15] These are from the speeches of Nuh to his people.
The social impacts of committing sins
On the other hand, sins cause the social life of communities to be ruined. Many communities enjoyed prosperity, power, and dignity; sins brought them to a lowly state and diminished and deprived them of the conveniences God had provided them with. Once more, in many verses of the Qur’an[16], it is stated that, “so God seized them for their sins”[17],[18]. God seized, tormented, and punished a community for its sins. This is something definitely known from Islamic teachings. We are in a poor situation if we do not pay attention to this point. We must acknowledge that once human beings fall into sins, mistakes and faults due to ignorance, lust and misunderstandings, they inescapably shall be punished for their sins and mistakes. The only solution is to pay attention, find their mistakes, turn towards God after turning away from Him through sin, repent, and seek His pardon; and certainly, this seeking pardon leads to awareness.
What does it mean when we are advised that we should always be reciting a dhikr[19] of beseeching God for forgiveness? This means that we are constantly in danger of falling and sinning. If there is no sin, why should one seek forgiveness? When we are told to daily ask for God’s pardon a certain number of times, it means that we are exposed to that number of sins or more every day. That is the truth, we are in danger of committing sins.
What is painful for a nation is for its sins to cause it to lose God’s grace and mercy. Here, the issue is not the matter of an individual. Of course, an individual may disgrace themselves with sins and will be at a loss; this is a matter of an individual. This is obviously not insignificant. It is still very important. All of human endeavor is to end well; meaning, to enjoy prosperity. If that goal is lost, nothing could be more devastating.
But sometimes, the matter is even more important than that. Every so often, the members of a community through their negligence, sin, arrogance, and ignorance cause it to fall from God’s mercy and grace. This has happened in the past. In the Holy Qur’an, there are examples of those who had disgraced and overwhelmed a community by their sins. There are also examples from among the narrations, which if we were to include and give examples of, this would become a long discussion, not be suitable for a Friday prayer sermon. Especially today as you have marched and are exhausted. Nevertheless, this truly needs to be elaborated on for the people. Religious speakers, scholars and clerics during the holy month of Ramadhan and other opportunities should enlighten people on what a severe loss is made by overlooking the sins we are committing and how it may alter the destiny of a nation.
The double impact of committing sins in an Islamic community
Here, I would like to remind you – dear brothers and sisters, and the whole nation of Iran, and especially those among this great nation who hold social responsibilities, small or big – that we should be aware that God’s grace, blessings and mercy over this nation, which was truly a great, historical miracle, will continue to shower on us only if we beseech God the Almighty’s pardon for our faults and sins and stop committing them. “O’ God, forgive me those sins which alter blessings!”[20],[21] If it was the blessing of the grandeur, dignity and triumph of the Muslims being altered by my sins and those like mine, it would have been unquestionably a severe loss.
Some sins, in particular situations, have greater harmful impacts than usual. Backbiting is always bad; but, when a community needs compassion, beneficence, empathy, unity and harmony, backbiting is a fatal sin, because it distances the hearts. Slandering is a great sin. But on the day a community encourages and needs values to be preserved and embodied in the faces of the members of the community, and strives to ensure that committing sin is eradicated in the community, slandering – which mirrors negative values and attributes and is rejected in Islam – is an even greater sin, a double sin. Lying is always a great sin, but on the day a community needs to appreciate the essence of truth and the people’s awareness is decisive and constructive for their destiny, lying, which changes the truth and perhaps is one of the greatest sins, is a double and greater sin. Laziness and unruliness in a community is always bad; nonetheless, when the people need community services, business services, labor services, clerical services, military services, academic services of professors or students, villagers’ services – everyone needs the services of each other, and the community must all together work and strive to get out of this difficult situation, on that day, idleness, laziness and shirking one’s responsibility are bigger sins, double sins. Doing an injustice to individuals, ignoring their financial rights, their honor, their social rights and taking them away are always considered sins. However, once an Islamic community raises the banner of Qur’anic justice and seeks to become an exemplar of that which is well-defined in the Holy Qur’an and Islam for the whole world, if oppression takes place in that community, whether in the area of justice and judiciary or administration, or even in the common relations of the people of the community with each other such as two neighbors, two colleagues, or two comrades oppress each other, say bad words about each other or ignore the rights of each other – even though that is always bad, but once we want to show our community is a sample of ‘Ali’s (as) justice, they are bigger sins, double injustices. It is not permissible for a community to be filled with such sins.
Here and now, who can say that we are free from these sins? Who can say that we are not infected with lies, backbiting, slanders, laziness, bullies, oppression, and violation of others’ rights? Of course, as I am an official in the country and shoulder an important responsibility in accordance with the constitution, if I myself commit these things that I mentioned; my burden, harm, and sin would be more than a normal persons’. If I commit such violations, I am more disgraceful than you. But this is the same for all the people, their deeds and sins today have more perilous impacts compared to the situation where there is no Islamic community, there is no need for unity, and we do not feel the necessity to be a model of Islam.
Seeking forgiveness: means of deliverance from divine punishment
Be sensitive with regards to sins. Brothers, sisters, we should not ignore sins. We should not cover up our own sins and we should be heedful of others’ sins as well. This is our greatest task and lesson today. We need this heedfulness and sensitivity on the battlefield as well. If it’s not there, we will be defeated in the battlefield as well. If it’s not there, we will not have the courage to deal with the seemingly powerful enemies of Islam. If this spirit doesn’t exist, the maintenance of Islamic life will be impossible. This spirit means being sensitive to those sins which we are committing and being aware of the fact that what we did or what we said is a wrongdoing, an oppression, an offense to a Muslim, or transgressing divine limits.
The core of this attention and sensitivity is known as piety in Islamic terminology. Being heedful and sensitive as well as avoiding and evading sins due to this sensitivity is the same thing as piety. Every week, an Islamic community, through the Friday leaders, must be commanded to piety. This spirit is so important due to the impacts. Having or not having piety has a decisive influence on the community. If there is no piety in a community and people gradually stifle and diminish their piety, the continuation of Islamic life is not possible; that is how important this is. And if we enliven the spirit of seeking forgiveness within ourselves, it will compensate for a great deal.
I will read a narration to finish my sermon with. It is narrated in Nahj al-Balagha, that the Commander of the Faithful (as) said, “There are two sources of deliverance from God’s punishment, one of which has been raised up, while the other is before you. You should therefore adhere to it. The source of deliverance which has been raised up is the Messenger of God (May God bless him and his descendants), while the source of deliverance that remains is the seeking of forgiveness.”[22],[23] Then the Commander of the Faithful (as) recites this verse, “God, the Glorified, has said: ‘But God will not punish them while you are in their midst, nor will God punish them while they plead for forgiveness.’”[24],[25]
Islamic communities during eras did not seek forgiveness and suffered great torments. We were not for heedful of our sins. We – the people of Islam in Iran or in many other Islamic lands – have suffered loss, weakness, foreign occupation, the plundering of our properties and falling behind from human progress; it is all due to the sins we did not pay attention to and did not beg forgiveness for.
Today, we should preserve this means of safety for ourselves. It is not enough to just say “I ask God for His forgiveness”[26] by the tongue. Here, “astaghfirullah”[27] means I seek forgiveness from God and “wa atubu ilayh”[28] means I return to Him; we all must return to Him. The most crucial condition is what I mentioned earlier: to be heedful of the sins we are committing. Our main issues is this, we overlook the sins we have committed. Every so often, someone commits a sin imagining he is doing good. His revolutionary spirit motivates him to start a movement which is in actuality anti-Islamic and counter-revolutionary. Under the pretext of adhering to Islam and the Qur’an, he does or says something which is against Islam and the Holy Qur’an. We should be heedful. We should be aware of our deeds. And do not say we can’t differentiate or understand. No, the conscience of a person understands very well which words, which movement is contrary and wrong and which is in accordance with “what God has sent down”[29],[30]. I beseech God the Almighty to cause us to succeed in seeking for forgiveness.
Dear God! By the right of Muhammad and his household (as), grant us success in repenting and pleading for forgiveness in the last few days of Ramadhan.
Dear God! Make us heedful of our own sins.
Dear God! By Muhammad and his household (as),
do not punish us for our sins.
Dear
God! Make what was said and advised impactful on the speaker and
[1] Hadith: 4th
[2] The Holy Qur’an, 39:53
[3] اَلحَمدُ للهِ رَبِّ العالَمينِ، وَ الصّلوة وَ السَّلامُ عَلي سَيِّدِنا وَ نَبيِّنا اَبِيالقاسِمِ مُحَمَّد وَ آلِهِ الطَّيِّبينَ الطّاهِرينَ المَعصومينَ وَ لَعنَةُ اللهِ عَلَی اَعدائِهِم اَجمَعِینَ.
[4] اَللّهُمَّ اغفِر لِيَ الذُّنوبَ الَّتي تَهتِکُ العِصَمَ
[5] وَ اَنِ استَغفِروا رَبَّکُم
[6] وَ اَنِ استَغفِروا رَبَّکُم ثُمَّ توبوا اِلَيهِ يُمَتِّعکُم مَتاعًا حَسَنًا
[7] The Holy Qur’an, 11:3
[8] وَيا قَومِ استَغفِروا رَبَّكُم ثُمَّ توبوا إِلَيهِ يُرسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَيكُم مِدرارًا وَيَزِدكُم قُوَّةً إِلىٰ قُوَّتِكُم
[9] The Holy Qur’an, 11:52
[10] فَقُلتُ استَغفِروا رَبَّکُم اِنَّهُ کانَ غَفّارًا
[11] The Holy Qur’an, 71:10
[12] يُرسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَيکُم مِدرارًا
[13] The Holy Qur’an, 71:11
[14] وَ يُمدِدکُم بِاَموالٍ وَ بَنينَ وَ يَجعَل لَکُم جَنّاتٍ وَ يَجعَل لَکُم أَنهارًا
[15] The Holy Qur’an, 71:12
[16] Ref. the Holy Qur’an, 2:11 & 8:52 & 40:21
[17] فَاَخَذَهُمُ اللهُ بِذُنوبِهِم
[18] The Holy Qur’an, 8:52
[19] i.e. the name of devotional acts in Islam in which short phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited silently within the mind or aloud.
[20] اَللّهُمَّ اغفِر لِيَ الذُّنوبَ الَّتي تُغَيِّرُ النِّعَمَ
[21] Hadith: 5th
[22] كانَ فِي الاَرضِ اَمانانِ مِن عَذابِ اللهِ وَ قَد رُفِعَ اَحَدُهُما فَدونَكُمُ الآخَرَ فَتَمَسَّكوا بِهِ اَمّا الاَمانُ الَّذي رُفِعَ فَهُوَ رَسولُ اللهِ صلياللهعليهوآلهوسلم وَ اَمّا الاَمانُ الباقي فَالاِستِغفارُ
[23] Hadith: 6th
[24] قالَ اللهُ تَعالي: وَ ما كانَ اللهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُم وَ اَنتَ فيهِم وَ ما كانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُم وَ هُم يَستَغفِرونَ
[25] The Holy Qur’an, 8:33
[26] استغفر الله
[27] ibid
[28] و اتوب اليه
[29] ما أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ
[30] The Holy Qur’an, 2:174