The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, has issued a message commemorating the birth anniversary of Lady Zeinab (pbuh) and National Nurse’s Day. In his message, he spoke of the presence of the women and daughters, who were like Lady Zeinab in Islamic Iran during the nation’s unprecedented Bi’tha (rising up), as being extraordinary. Pointing to the role of nurses who revive people, bring hope, and their important influence on the physical and spiritual health and security of society, he directed officials in the health sector to pay special attention to those in the nursing profession.
The full text of the Leader’s message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The fifth of Jumada al-Awwal each year serves as a reminder of the blessed birth of a woman who was raised in the light of the love, nurturing, and close company of the Five Pure Souls (pbut) who are considered to be the most exalted of divine creation. For over 50 years, the upbringing and growth of Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) in this luminous school of thought gave rise to such a multifaceted display of honor and excellence in this shining star of the ages that she has continuously been praised, admired, and spoken proudly of by those closest to God. The peak of this brilliance emerged in the epic of Ashura: on one hand, manifesting an endless abundance of patient compassion, benevolence, and care for the oppressed on the plain of Karbala, while being one of the most revered symbols of steadfastness and courage.
From the beginning, the history of the Islamic Movement and Revolution has been replete with scenes showing the presence of Iranian women and girls inspired by Zeinab. This presence took on remarkable dimensions, both qualitatively and quantitatively, during the nation’s unparalleled Bi’tha (rising up) that took place in the Third Sacred Defense. Today, Islamic Iran’s women inspired by Zeinab are at the forefront in clarification in action and resistance with their presence in various arenas, particularly in city and village squares, behind the front lines of the military war. This is to such an extent that the tyrants of our time – who are perpetually seeking the suffering, pain, and suppression of this nation – are incapable of confronting this vast army.
The people of this land, devoted as they are to the Pure Progeny of the Prophet (pbut), have rightly designated the birth anniversary of Lady Zeinab al-Kubra as a day to honor nurses in view of her kindness, her empathizing with those in pain, and her selfless devotion to them. Indeed, many of these moral virtues and human values may be clearly seen in the hardworking, admirable members of the nursing profession.
The work of nurses, like that of certain other groups – including doctors, teachers and educators, religious scholars, and relief workers – revives and inspires hope. It’s for this reason that a nurse is sometimes thought of as an “angel of mercy,” because in the face of the irritability and distress of those who are suffering and in pain, nurses help bring patients comfort and hope, speed their recovery and healing, and thereby prepare the conditions for divine mercy to descend.
However, the role of nurses in treating patients, unlike that of physicians, requires a continuous, attentive, patient presence. The impact of their presence extends far beyond physical healing. It acts as a balm for psychological and spiritual wounds, frequently preventing feelings of despair from taking over. In this way, that which is beyond the reach of medicine alone is achieved due to their compassionate devotion.
In this era, the evil network of Global Arrogance spares no effort to inflict various forms of oppression and crimes on free, resilient nations – especially the Iranian nation – and seeks, among other things, to bring suffering on the great Iranian nation by creating various restrictions in healthcare and medicine. Attending to the needs of nurses, strengthening the nursing community, and maintaining and enhancing nurses’ knowledge, skills, capabilities, morale, motivation, and dignity – particularly those who have devoted themselves to working in non-private institutions – have an important impact on the physical and psychological health and security of society. Thus, it’s expected that our officials in the health sector treat these vital matters as a top priority in continuing their conscientious efforts.
I extend my congratulations on these two occasions (Lady Zeinab's birth anniversary and National Nurse's Day) to our dear nation, to the conscientious and determined women of our Islamic homeland, and especially to our sisters and brothers in the nursing profession.
In closing, I pray for God’s mercy for the guiltless, self-sacrificing martyrs from the nursing community, particularly the nurses who were martyred during the Second and Third Imposed Wars, and also in the sedition of Dey 1404 (Jan. 2026). I am hopeful that with the prayers of our Master [Imam Mahdi], may God hasten his noble reappearance, Almighty God will grant the Iranian nation increasing honor and power, and He’ll bestow upon them all that’s befitting for those who follow Zeinab’s (pbuh) school of thought.
Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei
Mehr 24, 1405 [Oct. 16, 2026]
