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 and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
In different reports, I had read about the city of Zarand and the virtues of its people. I have always associated Zarand and its people with religious faith, firm determination, solidarity, friendliness, spirituality, sincerity and honesty. Now that I am standing here in front of you sincere and friendly men and women of Zarand, I can see the embodiment of all those virtues and good characteristics with my own eyes.
The memory of the earthquake that took place in Zarand more than two months ago is tragic for us. Those who love and respect the people of this region cannot emotionally distance themselves from the pain and sufferings that the people went through as a result of the natural disaster. I have prayed to Allah the Exalted and I solemnly pray to Him one more time to turn the great tragedy into a great blessing for you people and to give patience and forbearance to those who have lost a dear one and those whose houses have been destroyed. What I am trying to say is that hardships and natural disasters - which always affect a nation at some point in its history - are too insignificant to affect the firm determination of a nation or a community that aspires towards great goals. I associate Zarand with its twelve thousand soldiers who were fighting at the front lines. I associate Zarand with its enthusiastic and dynamic youth, with its honorable martyrs and with the families that eagerly and sincerely agreed to provide support for those who were fighting the enemy during the Sacred Defense Era. I associate Zarand with educational blossoming - both in Islamic seminaries and in universities. I associate Zarand with the strenuous efforts of its people in mining sectors, with their firm support for Islam and with their enthusiasm to come together in large numbers on Fridays and perform Friday prayers.
According to the reports that I receive, the number of people who participate in Friday prayers in Zarand is larger than any other part of Kerman province. Their presence in the battlefields - the presence of their soldiers, their students, their hardworking laborers and their religious scholars and clerics - was top in the province in terms of both quality and quantity. And today I personally witnessed the enthusiasm, friendliness and sincerity of the faithful people of Zarand in the streets of Zarand and a couple of surrounding villages that have been affected by the earthquake.
I would like to take this opportunity to offer a piece of advice to you people and another piece advice to government officials. My advice to government officials is the same recommendation that I have made on several occasions and you people know what it is. The reason I am repeating this recommendation in front of you dear people is to let you know what the beliefs and plans of our government officials are, to let you know that the most important priority of the Islamic Republic is to pay attention to the problems of the people and follow up their issues. Otherwise, the appropriate place for such recommendations is in the meetings that I arrange with our government officials. The reason I sometimes highlight my opinions and recommendations or the opinions of our government officials in public meetings - such as this meeting - is to introduce you into the culture of hard work and work ethics in the Islamic Republic. Therefore, my recommendation to our government officials is that they should make decisions and take action without delay. I was informed that having benefited from the experience of the tragic earthquake that happened in Bam, the ground has been prepared for reconstructing Zarand County. And today I received more detailed reports in this regard.
The expectations that the people have of our government officials are legitimate and reasonable. Of course, the resources of the country are limited and when our government officials make a decision or promise something, they definitely take our resources into consideration. Government officials must do what the resources allow them to do. Certain plans have been prepared and the appropriate decisions have been made in this regard. I was informed that the work has already started in certain villages around Zarand. It is necessary to repair as soon as possible the houses that have been damaged or tear down the ones that cannot be repaired. It is necessary to make up for the damage that has been caused by the earthquake to the houses, living conditions and local businesses both in the city of Zarand and in surrounding villages. It is the responsibility of our government officials to follow up the issue in a serious way. I pointed out in a meeting with government officials that making decisions is not enough and we must not feel satisfied once we have made the appropriate decisions. Rather, we must focus our efforts on following up on the decisions that have been made and making sure that the goals are achieved.
I discussed a point in Kerman and I would like to highlight it in this city as well. The current government is in its final months and the election of a new government will result in replacing some of the officials throughout the country, but the current government and the officials who are currently responsible for executive work, must follow up on the decisions that are made and make sure they are fully implemented - both the decisions that concern the earthquake-stricken parts of Zarand, Bam and other areas, and the decisions that concern general issues throughout the province. That is to say, they must prepare the necessary guidelines for implementing the decisions that they make so that if they are replaced in the future, the new government officials know that they must follow up the work. Officials of the next government - including, ministers, the head of the government and all other officials who will shoulder part of the responsibility - must immediately follow up the work in a serious way. This is what I demand from the officials of the current government. It is not enough to simply make the right decisions. It is necessary to follow up on the decisions so that the work is completed and the people can see the outcomes of the efforts and hard work of their government officials.
Of course, by Allah's favor, I will make sure the work continues the way it should. I will not forget the promises that were made on this trip. This is true of all my trips. I will repeatedly ask our government officials to keep their promises and implement their decisions.
I have a few recommendations for the people. One of the main recommendations is that the people should benefit from such bitter events as experiences that cannot be separated from human life and use them as tools to achieve spiritual growth and perfection. They should try their best to strengthen their patience and steadfastness on the path of divine guidance despite these tragic events. Of course, this does not mean that people must not claim their material rights. When we tell the people to be patient in the face of hardships, this does not mean that they should become passive and surrender when faced with hardships. No, they should do the exact opposite. When I was young, materialistic people of those days used to promote the idea that divine religions encourage underprivileged, oppressed and poor people and working classesto be patient and to stop claiming their rights. This is not what divine religions say. Divine religions promote the opposite idea. We believe that any human being can achieve spiritual transcendence in the shade of an appropriate perspective on realities of life, both pleasant and unpleasant realities. We believe that any human being can find solace in the face of natural disasters. This solace is very important. Looking for solace does not mean that one must refrain from claiming one's rights. On the contrary, it is necessary to claim one's rights.
However, everybody should know that if something unpleasant happens to a person and he shows patience for the sake of God, he will be rewarded for his patience in the hereafter. Divine calculations will not be biased against anybody. Those who are wealthy will be rewarded for their good deeds less than those who are not wealthy and do the same good deeds. Allah the Exalted will reward human beings for every hardship that they go through in life and for every effort they make. A person who is hurt by an earthquake will be rewarded by God. A person who loses his loved ones will be rewarded by God. A person who tolerates hardships and problems in life will be rewarded by God. Islam has emphatically announced that human beings must work hard and try as much as possible to turn hardships and bitter events into joy and success. That is to say, it is necessary to work hard, make efforts and claim one's rights, but at the same time, it should be noted that hardships and failures in the case of certain things in life will be rewarded by Allah the Exalted. We must pay attention to these things. Those who have been injured in the earthquake, those who have lost a loved one and those who have lost some of the things they had, should know that Allah the Exalted will reward them. Those who have suffered as a result of the earthquake will be treated differently by God and they will be rewarded for their sufferings.
The second point is that all hardships in the world can serve as a means for the progress of a person or a nation. During the Sacred Defense Era, they shut all the doors on our country. They blocked the way to achieving the science, technology and products we needed. They refused to sell us regular bullets and conventional weapons. However, our nation used those great hardships to make progress. Today the world fears that the Iranian nation will build an atomic bomb. We are not after atomic bombs, but the capacity and potential of the Iranian nation has reached a point that the contemporary world - in which there are destructive, deadly and atomic weapons - is afraid of our nation, our youth and our scientists. This shows that we have made a lot of progress. How did we make progress? The Iranian nation managed to use those hardships and tragic events as a ladder and climb higher in the world.
The arrogant powers think that they hold the key to the happiness or misery of peoples. Of course, if a people decide to surrender, this is exactly what will happen to them. If a people fail to remain determined and steadfast, this is what they should expect. We know certain Muslim peoples who failed to remain determined and for this reason, foreign powers spread their hegemony over them. However, if a people remain steadfast and pious and appreciate their identity, no foreign power will manage to dominate them. I have tried to remind the people of Iran at every stage that it was because of their self-confidence that they managed to overthrow the taghuti, corrupt and dependent Pahlavi regime. The Iranian nation emerged in the world despite the will of the arrogant powers. The Iranian nation is able to achieve wealth and material welfare thanks to its self-confidence, resistance, willpower, firm determination, unity and solidarity - and for this purpose, this year was named "The Year of National Unity and Public Participation". The Iranian nation can achieve scientific progress. It can provide the world with new technologies. It can achieve piety and spirituality, the same things that the materialistic western world lacks. It can build its religious faith and deepen its religious knowledge and understanding.
The arrogant people who rule the United States of America falsely believe that everything is in their hands. They are wrong. Of course, those of them who are wiser and more experienced are aware that their loud blare is futile, but those of them who are ignorant are yelling and beating their chests like drunk thugs and they challenge the world to fight them.
The Iranian nation has chosen its path and it will continue that path until the end. The path that the Iranian nation has chosen is the path of dignity, knowledge, religious faith and determination. It is necessary to go after knowledge. Thankfully, Zarand is a developed city in terms of its universities and Islamic seminaries. It is necessary to go after religious faith.
Fortunately, you people of this city and province are faithful and pious. You believe in God from the bottom of your hearts and you have embraced religious faith. Of course, our people in different parts of the country enjoy religious faith and an understanding of pure Islamic teachings. As far as hard work and determination are concerned, the Iranian nation has thankfully proven itself, just as you people of Zarand and Kerman province have.
One of the things that is extremely important is building houses that can withstand earthquakes. The earthquake that happened in Bam made our people and government officials conscious about the importance of earthquake-resistant structures. The tragedy that happened in Bam was a lesson for all of us throughout the country. And then there was the tragedy in Zarand. Everybody must pay serious attention to the importance of earthquake-resistant buildings, both our government officials and our people. The advice is not particular to our government officials. The plan for reconstructing villages - which is followed by the brothers in the Housing Foundation and the executive branch - concerns building earthquake-resistant houses on a large scale. The same plan should be implemented in our cities as well. The people, developers and government officials must consider earthquake-resistant structures as one of the main priorities.
Our country is vulnerable to earthquakes. Zarand County is located on two active fault lines. There is always a possibility that an earthquake will happen, but we can counter this threat. Some natural disasters are inevitably devastating, but earthquakes can be managed and their effects can be minimized. The solution is to build houses that can withstand earthquakes. The solution is to pay attention to earthquake-resistant structures. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) has been quoted as saying, "God bless those whose work is flawless." When you produce a piece of cloth, it must be firm and solid. When you produce shoes, they must be durable. Even when you are reasoning, your reasoning must be solid and flawless. Similarly, when you build a house, the house must be solid. In none of these areas is negligence acceptable. It is necessary to pay serious attention to building earthquake-resistant structures. This must be one of the priorities for our government officials.
I am thankful to Allah the Exalted who has equipped you people with this dynamism and religious enthusiasm in the face of these tragedies. Today was an opportunity for me to come to Zarand and see for myself everything that I had heard about it. I express my heartfelt appreciation for all the kindness you showed, for coming together to listen to my statements and for the kind words that I heard from ordinary citizens and certain luminaries. I also deem it necessary to refer to the sufferings of the people of Ravar because I was informed that the earthquake in Zarand has damaged certain parts of Ravar. I hope Allah the Exalted blesses all of you.
Dear God, bestow Your mercy and blessings on these people. Dear God, help all of our government officials appreciate the value of these people. Dear God, bless the efforts of these people to follow the path of salvation, spiritual perfection and divine values. Dear God, make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age (a.s.) happy and satisfied with all of us.
Dear God, bestow Your mercy on the deceased relatives of these people - particularly, those who lost their lives in the tragic earthquake. Bestow Your mercy on their martyrs and those of them who passed away on the path of rendering services. Dear God, bestow patience on the bereaved hearts of these people.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings