The following is the full text of Imam Khamenei’s, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s, statements in a meeting with members of Martyr General Qasem Soleimani’s family on December 31, 2023.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
We are grateful to God for gifting this worldly reward to this outstanding figure, Martyr Soleimani, every day before our eyes. What you are witnessing — the spreading and propagation of his name and memory — is this honorable man’s worldly reward. We cannot even imagine or fathom what kind of reward he will receive in the hereafter. This is just his worldly reward.
I imagine that from the day he was martyred and continuing up until today, Martyr Soleimani's name, his memory, and his characteristics have spread among the people many times more than during his lifetime. This is the same thing that someone once said, “‘Martyr Soleimani’ is more dangerous for us than ‘Qasem Soleimani!’” The other side had said this. They were right. That truly is the case. So, not only has the dust of forgetfulness not settled on this martyr, his splendor, brightness, and lucidity have increased every day, and God willing, this will continue to increase even more. This is God’s grace.
Why did this happen? I believe it is because of Martyr Soleimani’s sincerity. This is the same thing that is often difficult for people. We do things, but the spirit of the work that we do lies in sincerity. The work that was undertaken by this martyr truly had this kind of spirit in it. He truly worked with sincerity. We would sense this when we communicated with him about his work. There was no showing off, pretentiousness, or egoism in his work. He worked for the cause of God. His actions were for the cause of God. I believe it was his sincerity that made his worldly reward so apparent.
We observed such a thing in Imam Khomeini (ra) as well. He was the same. Three or four days after Imam Khomeini had been buried, a large meeting was held in his shrine. The shrine was barely anything at that time. They had just enclosed it with a fence. We went there. I went with a helicopter. As I stared down at the desert there — that section has been built now, but it was mostly a desert back then — I saw the crowd walking there on foot! Who was taking them there? What was it that appealed to them so much that it drew them there? I said it was Imam Khomeini’s sincerity that drew those people there. And it was the same with our dear martyr. He was a sincere man.
Now, she [Zeinab Soleimani] asked me to give her a word of advice. Very well, this is my advice. Be sincere in the things you do. In other words, don't let your egoism interfere with your intentions and your actions. Sincerity means [working] only for God. Wherever you have uncertainties about your egoism, distance yourself from that. In other words, it is better for a person to step away from a task rather than to do it in order to be seen. This is one point, the point about his sincerity.
One point about the value of Martyr Soleimani’s work, which has been and continues to be spoken about, is his role in reviving the Resistance Front in the region. This is a point that needs to be paid attention to. Of course, if someone is to speak about this, it should be spoken about correctly. Martyr Soleimani has played an important role in reviving the Resistance Front in the region, a very important role.
Sometimes we see there is a resistant group in a region. Well yes, these existed before Martyr Soleimani as well. But there is a time when a front is created. This is what we always wanted. If the opposing side creates a front, this side must also create a front. If it weren’t for this front, Gaza would not have been able to resist all this time. This Resistance Front gives strength to all aspects of the issue. If, for instance, four or five different groups unite, their power and strength will be more than five times as much as each individual group alone. A new identity will emerge. This new identity is very important.
Martyr Qasem Soleimani played a significant role in this matter, and he worked very hard for it. People had seen his presence in the mountains of Syria, his fearlessness, and him moving toward danger. This is very important, but the main significance is that these trips, his presence, and these efforts were able to revive and strengthen the Resistance Front.
May God exalt his rank. He pursued this work with forethought, with resourcefulness, with wisdom, with a moral behavior, with energy, and with endless effort. And this was and is very important. I hope that this movement continues by the will of God. Of course, Mr. Qaani [Commander of the IRGC Quds Force] is truly and honestly moving very well. Praise God, his endeavors are very good. This path of strengthening the Resistance Front, which Martyr Soleimani was very active in and very outstanding at, should be continued by the will of God.
May God protect all of you and his wife as well. She also played a role in Martyr Soleimani’s orientation and his motivation. About 20, or maybe 23 or 24 years ago, we prayed in this yard along with approximately 20 of the IRGC commanders. I then sat on the stairs and delivered a very warm, appealing speech. I hadn’t planned it beforehand. It was Almighty God speaking! It was my voice but God’s words. It was a very extraordinary meeting, and it had a great impact.
After the meeting, a few of those people came to me, and one of them was Haj Qasem. He came and quoted a sentence from her [his wife] and said, “My wife says this.” It was similar to the things I had said in that meeting. I noticed how influential a wife is. In other words, this woman had influenced Haj Qasem. [So,] she also shares in Haj Qasem’s efforts. Enduring the deprivations they faced, besides the family’s deprivations — such as the absence of a husband and a father — is very important. It is very important to tolerate such things, and she tolerated them.
May God reward you, bless you, and protect all of you. May you be successful and assisted [by God], God willing.
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