Eid al-Fitr Sermon 2025
Following is the full text translation of the Eid Al-Fitr Sermon (I & II) of
the Leader of the Muslim Ummah, Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei,
delivered in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran on 31 March 2025.
SERMON I
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Praise be to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light, yet those who disbelieve equate others with their Lord. I praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His guidance. I seek His forgiveness and repent to Him. I send blessings and peace upon His beloved and chosen one, the Master of Creation, our Master and Prophet, Abi al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and purified family, the chosen guides, the rightly guided and infallible ones, especially the Remnant of Allah on earth (Imam Mahdi).
I humbly congratulate all of you who are present in this [Eid] prayers, the Iranian nation, [and] the Islamic Ummah on the auspicious Eid Al-Fitr. I also congratulate on the Nowruz, the new [Iranian calendar] year and [I] also [congratulate you] on 12 Farvardeen – the Day of the Islamic Republic – which is a major Eid for the Iranian nation.
This year too, the month of Ramadan has passed, and our dear nation has spent this precious divine experience in a good manner, Alhamdolillah. The month of Ramadan is a Tawhidi (Islamic monotheistic) phenomenon; that is, it brings hearts and people closer to Allah Almighty.
The month of Ramadan is an arena of attaining proximity of Allah; [it is] an arena of the promise of renewed spiritual life; that is, by legislating the fasting of the month of Ramadan, Allah Almighty has given you and me an opportunity to have an entire month of the year to cleanse our hearts, purify ourselves, and if we can, remove ourselves from impurities and become Tawhidi (monotheistic).
Fasting in the month of Ramadan, affinity with the Quran in the month of Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr in the month of Ramadan, intercession [through the Ahl al-Bayt (A)], reverence [of Allah], Duaas (supplications) in the month of Ramadan, all of these are for building humans [in the true sense of the word]. The month of Ramadan is truly and justly one of the greatest blessings of Allah.
Whoever, to whatever extent, observes and practices the ethics of the month of Ramadan, their heart, their soul, and their inner beings are built, [and] they become monotheistic to that very extent.
Allah said: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ “So that you may become God-wary” (Quran 2:183).
This month of Ramadan is for [attaining] Taqwa; [it is] for the heart and soul of a person to become God-wary.
Alhamdolillah, this year, Ramadan was rich in spirituality. The popularity of Quran was clearly felt in this month of Ramadan. The recitation of the Quran, recitation of segments of Quran, reflection on the verses of Quran [was evident]. Charity, public iftar tables in mosques, shrines, streets, and public spaces, along with passionate and fervent participation in prayer gatherings – especially by the youth – in the gatherings of Duaas (supplications), prayers, reverence [of Allah], intercession [through the Ahl al-Bayt (A)] were evident in this year’s month of Ramadan, Alhamdolillah. All segments of society with all sorts of appearances engaged in these [Ramadan] activities. They reaped [spiritual] benefits, they supplicated, they communicated with Allah Almighty, they yearned from Allah, they relied on Allah; they immensely benefited [from this opportunity]. “May this blessing be pleasing to the recipients of the blessing.”
May those who benefited from this month of Ramadan, continue to benefit from it throughout the year and keep their hearts pure, and may they preserve this spirituality till next year’s month of Ramadan – insha’Allah. And in next year’s month of Ramadan, they advance to a higher and advanced level [of spirituality].
The end of the month of Ramadan was marked by a passionate and meaningful rally. The people – the Iranian nation – carried out a huge movement on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, and many messages were reflected to the world from this huge gathering of people. Those who need to understand, those who need to recognize the Iranian nation, received many messages from this great gathering of you dignified people, in Tehran, [and] in various big and small cities [of Iran]. And the people were able to convey this message, and a very important task was accomplished.
The fusion of heartfelt devotion along with political activism and faith-driven efforts was the achievement of this past month of Ramadan; let us preserve it.
Today is the day of Eid. On this blessed day, ask Allah Almighty to help you so that – insha’Allah – you can safeguard these valuable achievements for yourself, for your country, and for your future.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
“Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” (Quran 112)
SERMON II
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Blessings and peace be upon our Master and Prophet, Abi al-Qasim Muhammad, and his pure family, especially Ali, the Commander of the Faithful; Fatima, the Pure; Hasan and Husayn, the Masters of the Youth of Paradise; Ali ibn Husayn (Zayn al-Abidin); Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Baqir); Ja’far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq); Musa ibn Ja’far (al-Kazim); Ali ibn Musa (al-Rida); Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Jawad); Ali ibn Muhammad (al-Hadi); Hasan ibn Ali (al-Askari); and al-Hujjah al-Mahdi (may Allah’s peace be upon them all).
In this second sermon, I humbly address another aspect of this past month of Ramadan. While the sweetness of the month of Ramadan was savored by the Iranian nation and other nations, but the bitterness of this month of Ramadan also soured the palates of all fasting people in the Islamic world, and that was
the bloody events in Gaza, Lebanon, and Palestine.
Again genocide, again child-killing, again America’s support for the evils of the corrupt usurping Zionist regime, again aiding the evils of this group of murderers and terrorists who have usurped Palestine today and rule Palestine and the Palestinian people; they (Americans) helped them, they (Americans) supported them.
In the political statements made by the Westerners, you have repeatedly heard them mentioning “proxy forces”. They are accusing the brave regional nations [and] the zealous youth of the region of being proxies [of Iran].
I want to say that there is only one proxy force in this region, and that is the corrupt, usurping Zionist regime. The Zionist regime, on behalf of the colonialists, sets fires, commits genocide, and commits serious crimes.
If it gets the chance, it invades other countries, just as it is currently invading Syria. It entered the Syrian territory and has even reached a few kilometers from Damascus. It (israel) does this on behalf of the colonialists – the same [colonialist powers] who laid their hands on this region after the World War and turned it this way. Now the Zionist regime is following up on their work and completing it on their behalf.
In the statements of the colonialists, the very ones who rule the world and countries with their money and media, terrorism is considered a serious crime and terrorism is labelled as a serious crime, but the terrorist [acts] are allowed and permissible for this evil, criminal [Zionist] regime!
If others defend their own rights and their own land, they (colonialists) call them terrorists. However, the evil Zionist regime openly commits genocide, kills babies, kills large numbers of people, and especially assassinates personalities, and [openly] says, “I assassinated them,” but the eyes of the Western colonialists are closed to this. They smile at it, help it, and support it.
For years, apart from the mass killings in Palestinian cities and villages – that the Zionist regime began from the very beginning and continues to this day – one of their common practices is the assassination of personalities, the assassination of persons. They assassinated “Abu Jihad” in Tunisia, they assassinated “Fathi Shaqaqi” in Cyprus, they assassinated “Ahmad Yassin” in Gaza, they assassinated “Imad Mughniyeh” in Syria, [and] they assassinated a large number of Iraqi scientists in Baghdad. After America entered Iraq twenty years ago, they assassinated the [Iranian] nuclear scientists in Tehran.
Their (Zionist regime’s) work, their movement, is clearly a terrorist movement. And America supports it! A number of Western governments support it, and the rest just watch and observe.
In the recent period, in less than two years, the Zionist regime has martyred about twenty thousand children [in Palestine] and left their parents in mourning, [but] those who chant slogans of human rights are [simply] watching and not taking any action against them. The nations of the world are angry, they are upset, to the extent that they are informed; the nations of the world are unaware of many issues and serious crimes [of the Zionist regime and its masters].
The fact that you see them chanting slogans against the Zionist regime in the streets of Europe and even America, it is because of their limited information; [if] they had more information, they would do even more.
The conclusion of what I am saying is that this destructive (criminal) group (the Zionist regime) must be eradicated from Palestine, and by Allah’s grace and power, it will be eradicated.
Here, striving for this work and in the path of this work is a duty. It is a religious duty, a moral duty, and a human duty. Everyone has a duty to work in this way, to strive, to eliminate this evil entity, this criminal entity from this region.
Let everyone know! Our positions are the same as they were. [Our] enmity against America and the Zionist regime is the same as it was. They are threatening to commit a mischief [against Iran]. That said, we neither believe nor do we see a high probability that any mischief will be committed [against Iran] from the outside. But if any mischief is committed, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack. And if they are thinking of starting a sedition inside the country, like they did in previous years, the Iranian nation itself will answer them, just as they did in the past. May Allah grant you success and support.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
“By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed, done righteous deeds, advised one another to truth, and advised one another to steadfastness.” (Quran 103)
Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.
Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Leader of the Muslim Ummah
Mar. 31, 2025
