Cairo, Wednesday 29/6/2016

In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate

We celebrate today the occasion of Lailatul Qadr that was made by Allah the Almighty better than one thousand months where the holy Quran was revealed as a beacon of guidance to the right path and a set of teachings regulating our life and maintaining our rights. Allah has clarified through His holy Quran our duties towards our nation and society and towards ourselves and others. We pray to Allah on this night to grant our homeland welfare and prosperity and to grant our Islamic and Arab nation security, stability and progress.

I would like while we are celebrating this occasion to greet the Egypt people and all Arab and Islamic peoples. I would like also to urge them all to recall the spirit of the blessed month of Ramadan in order to shrug off differences and steer away from divisions in accordance with the will of Allah the Almighty who warned us in His Holy Book of division and urged us to be merciful and united where He pledged support for those who are united in the quest of wisdom and right.

I would like also to welcome the dear gusts of Egypt in our great celebration. I tell them that the doors of Egypt are wide open for you to enter with peace and security. I tell them also the hearts of its sons welcome you and call on you to cooperate to hold high the word of Allah and implement His tolerant teachings which we derive from the verses of the holy Quran and the tradition of our honored Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. We should follow the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad and be guided by his upright ethics. He was, peace be upon him, an incarnation of the noble teachings of the holy Quran in his dealings and conduct so he spread the spirit of cooperation, cordiality and tolerance in the society. Through this approach we can create a suitable environment for stability and growth.

I would like also to express all appreciation to the honorable scholars of Al Azhar; the podium of science and the oasis of moderate teachings and tolerance. This great institution has graduated leading enlightened scholars who enriched the Islamic jurisprudence through their wise views and reasonable religious opinions. They are aware that renewal is a global phenomenon while rigidity contradicts the mobility of life with what it requires of maintained development.

This is why I urge the scholars of Al Azhar to maintain their commended efforts for spreading the right teachings of religion and rectifying the religious discourse along with explaining the real nature of Islam which is calling for tolerance, mercy and accepting the other along with using one's reason which is completely contradicting calls for killing, destruction and sabotage along with blind obedience that blocks the mind; which is the most precious gift bestowed by Allah to man. I also urge scholars to educate the Muslims that religion means good treatment and the right Muslim is that who spares others his bad words and deeds.

The great Egyptian people

The holy fasting month of Ramadan inspires us every year with the spirit of faith with all meanings of our upright religion atop of which comes solidarity to achieve social justice and contribute to creating a better life guaranteeing high quality education and decent housing along with good health care for the needy people. This is the social justice that was mentioned in our upright Islam.

The holy fasting month of Ramadan also underlines the importance of the value of hard work, of which we are badly in need. Our beloved homeland has passed through major events over the past few years which affected all sectors of life at the political, economic and social levels. Handling the consequences of these events requires pooling all efforts together and working hard for carving out a better future for this homeland.

Ladies and gentlemen

The Islamic world is passing through a critical juncture and is facing unprecedented challenges that are targeting its very existence and its peoples. This state of affairs requires us all to be united and renounce all differences. Any party that would seek attaining narrow interests or try to support any kind of discrimination on an ideological or ethnic basis will emerge losing and will not have at the end of the game any homeland in the first place. It is a sincere call on all Arab and Islamic peoples, that are passing through crises and suffering from the scourge of terrorism, to be united in order to build and reconstruct seeking peace and welfare for everybody. Through this approach alone, homelands will be safe and will obtain the status they deserve among other nations. We should all remember that we are the best nation to the world through good deeds and faith not through disputes and differences.

The great Egyptian people

We have inaugurated over the past period several development projects in the domains of energy, industry, agriculture and housing thanks to hard work of the Egyptians and through the providence of Allah the Almighty. We will inaugurate more projects in several domains in order to achieve comprehensive development through the hard work and relentless efforts of the Egyptians. We will remain united and will not go back on track. Rather we will move ahead with all determination and strong will towards the future. We will build together a stable and safe homeland that has room for everybody and inside which all Egyptians will enjoy their full rights and do their full duties towards their nation. We have already answered the call of nation and nothing will dissuade us from undertaking that mission. We are all the sons of Egypt and for Egypt that will remain high through its people and its soldiers; the best soldiers on earth.

Thank you and happy returns.