eader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has issued a message on the occasion of Hajj pilgrimage season. Here is a translation of the message:

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad – the Final Prophet – upon his immaculate household and upon his chosen companions

I thank God Almighty for bestowing, this year as well as previous years, the blessing of performing hajj on an abundant number of believers from throughout the world so that they can benefit from this refreshing and blessed spring and so that they can be in the vicinity of God Almighty's House engaging in worship, supplication, dhikr (remembering God) and taqarub (seeking closeness to God) on days and nights whose precious and auspicious hours can touch hearts and purify and ornament souls like a miraculous medicine.

Hajj is a mystifying act of worship, a holy dwelling, a position full of divine blessings and an embodiment of Allah the Exalted's signs and symbols. Hajj can help pious, humble and wise servants of God achieve spiritual positions. It can make them become lofty and enlightened individuals. It can make them become insightful and courageous elements who are prepared to take action and engage in jihad (endeavor for the sake of God). Both spiritual, and political, individual and social aspects are completely outstanding and visible in this unique obligation and today the Muslim community is in dire need of both of these aspects.

On the one hand, the magic of materialism is busy beguiling and annihilating by using advanced instruments and on the other hand, the policies of the system of domination are instigating sedition and fueling the fire of discord among Muslims and turning Islamic countries into a hell of insecurity and disagreement.

Hajj can be a cure for both of these grave maladies that the Islamic Ummah is suffering from. It can purge hearts of impurities and enlighten them with the light of piety and understanding, it can open eyes to the bitter realities of the world of Islam, it can strengthen one's determination in order to confront those realities, it can make one's steps firm and it can prepare hands and minds.

Today, the world of Islam is suffering from insecurity: moral, spiritual and political insecurity. The main factor behind this is our negligence and the brutal invasion of the enemies. We Muslims have not carried out our religious and our rational duties in the face of the invasion of the vicious enemy. We forgot to be both "Strong against unbelievers" and "Compassionate among one another" [The Holy Qur'an, 48: 29].

The result of this is that the Zionist enemy is provoking sedition in the heart of the world of Islam's geography while by ignoring the definite duty of saving Palestine, we Muslims are busy with domestic wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain and with confronting terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the like.

The heads of Islamic countries and political, religious and cultural personalities in the world of Islam have heavy responsibilities on their shoulders: the responsibility of creating unity and preventing everyone from tribal and denominational conflicts, the responsibility of informing nations of the enemy's methods and the treachery of arrogance and Zionism, the responsibility of equipping everyone for the purpose of confronting the enemy in the various arenas of hard and soft wars, the responsibility of urgently preventing catastrophic incidents in Islamic countries - the bitter example of this today being the affairs in Yemen which are a source of sorrow and protest- the responsibility of offering determined support for the oppressed Muslim minorities such as in Myanmar and other such minorities, and most importantly the responsibility of defending Palestine and offering unconditional cooperation and assistance to a people who have been fighting for their usurped country for nearly 70 years.  

These are important responsibilities which fall on our shoulders. Nations should demand these from their governments and outstanding personalities should try to achieve them with firm determination and pure intentions. These tasks are the complete embodiment of helping God's religion which will definitely be followed by divine assistance on the basis of God's promise.

These are the lessons of Hajj and I hope that we can understand and act on them.

I ask God to accept your hajj. I would like to commemorate the martyrs of Mina and Masjid al-Haram and I ask God the Beneficent and the Generous to raise their positions.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy

Seyyed Ali Khamenei

Shahrivar 7, 1396 (August 29, 2017)