Imam Khomeini through his theological works and historical messages maintained that Ghadir is the completion of the religion, the perfection of God’s greatest bounty, the most magnificent feast of Allah; it is the feast for the righteous people, followers and supporters of the holy Prophet of Islam.
Ghadir is the feast of Islamic justice and leadership, the feast of humanity, projecting light on the ideologies and inducing hopes in the hearts. It is the renewed covenant of the prophet’s mission in the guardianship of Imam Ali ('a).
The late founder of the Islamic Republic used to frequently insist on the revival and promotion of the values introduced by the holy prophet of Islam and his true infallible successor, Imam Ali (peace be upon them).
Eid al-Ghadir is observed by millions of Muslims and free-minded people across the globe on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar to commemorate the appointment of Ali ibn Talib (PBUH) by the honorable prophet of Islam as his immediate successor.
The Muslims across the world commemorate the Eid al-Ghadeer each year, celebrating the occasion of Prophet Mohammad (‘a) appointing Imam Ali (‘a) as his successor.
Imam Khomeini through his historic messages and speeches put emphasis on following the footsteps of the Imam Ali (PBUH), the truthful successor of the holy prophet of Islam in all perspectives.
Imam Khomeini once said on this auspicious occasion as following:
What can I say about the personality of Imam `Ali? Who else may justly say anything about him? The multifarious dimensions of this great personality 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 describe even a single attribute of Imam Ali… The issue of Ghadir is not an event befallen the Imam. In fact, Ghadir has been created for the sake of the Imam. This noble personality and fountainhead of sound human qualities prompted the Ghadir to take place. The Ghadir itself has no value for Imam Ali. What is valuable is his Excellency for whom Ghadir is valued. (Sahifeh-ye Imam, vol. 20, p. 106)
Meanwhile, millions of Muslims across Iran and across several other parts of the world are commemorating the Eid al-Ghadeer.
The auspicious occasion marks the appointment by Islam’s Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) of Imam Ali (PBUH) as his successor.
Imam Khomeini in another message said as following:
"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."