The Supreme Religious Authority: The victory was achieved only by the Iraqis, thus the victory is from you, for you and to you and congratulations to you.

The Supreme Religious Authority has shown that the victory was achieved only by the Iraqis, thus the victory is from you, for you and to you and congratulations to you and blessed are those who fought and blessed are their mothers who educated them. You are our pride and dignity.

These were the important points stated in Friday sermon of 26th of Rabi' Awwal 1439 AH corresponding to the December 15, 2017, which was held in the holy shrine of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) and led by His eminence Sheikh Abd al-Mahdi al-Karbala'i, in which he stated:

"A few days ago, the liberation of the last part of the territory of Iraq from the control of the terrorist ISIL organization was officially announced, and on this occasion we state the following:

Honorable Iraqis, after more than three years of fierce fighting, great efforts, and confronting the various difficulties and challenges, you have won the most powerful terrorist force that has targeted Iraq. You have won against it with your firm will and steadfast determination to preserve your homeland, your dignity and your holy places. You won by your great sacrifices as you offered your souls, your children and all that you own as a redemption for the dear homeland, and you have drawn the finest images of heroism and altruism and you have written the history of modern Iraq with letters of honor and dignity, and the world is amazed before your steadfastness, patience, courage and faith in the justice of your case until we achieved this great victory, which many though was out of reach, but you made it a tangible reality in a relatively short period. And so you preserved the dignity and honor of the country and maintained its unity of land and people. What a great people you are!

Dear fighters, O heroes of the armed forces with its various ranks and types, the Supreme Religious Authority, which issued the Fatwa [advisory opinion] of the sufficient duty for Jihad, and which has harnessed all its capabilities and energies in order to support the fighters and provide the aid to them, and sent the best of its teachers and students of the Scientific Hawza to the fronts in support of the fighting forces and presented dozens of them martyrs in this path. Nobody has achieved your glory in achieving this important historical achievement. As if it were not for your wide response to the fatwa and appeal of the religious authority and your heroic rush to the battle fronts and your legendary steadfastness in it for more than three years, this great victory would not have been achieved. Thus, the victory is from you, for you and to you. So congratulations to you and congratulations to your people to have you. Blessed are those who fought and blessed are those mothers who educated you. You are our pride and honor face to all other nations.

How happy is Iraq, and how happy we are to have you, you sacrificed your souls and all that you love for the sake of your country, your people and your sanctities. We are unable to give you some of your right, but God will give you the fullest reward, and we pray Him to increase his blessings upon you and reward you with the best reward.

Dear brothers and sisters, Today we recall with more reverence and glory our righteous martyrs, who quenched the land of the homeland with their pure blood, and they were great examples of sacrifice and redemption, and we remember also their noble families, their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers and sisters, those dear ones who endures the loss of their beloved ones, and faced it with more patience and endurance. and we recall with pride and dignity our dear wounded fighters, especially those who have been permanently disabled and who are the alive martyrs, who will remain among us witnesses to the heroism of a people that faced the evil of the world and won by the sacrifices of his sons.

And we recall with greatness and gratitude the honorable citizens who contributed to the support of the fighters on the fronts with all that enhance their steadfastness, and they were the best supporter and backer for them, in one of the finest images of the cohesion of a people with all its segments and components in defense of its dignity and honor. And we recall with thanks and appreciation all those who had the active and supportive role in this great epic from the intellectuals, thinkers, doctors, poets, writers, media and others. And we also present our thanks and appreciation to all the brothers and friends who stood with Iraq and its people in their ordeal with ISIL terrorism and supported it and gave it help and assistance, asking the Almighty God to push away from all the evil and to bless them with security and peace.

And to read the other points of the sermon, please click here.