In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon Muhammad and his pure Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth (may we be sacrificed for him).
I thank Almighty God for the continuation of this blessed, auspicious tradition of honoring salat [prayer]. I would like to sincerely extend my gratitude to Hujjat al-Islam Qara’ati, a diligent, insightful scholar who is the founder of this blessed movement.
Salat cannot be considered to be just one of the current needs of an individual and the Muslim community. This great obligation goes far beyond such needs. It should be considered to be the soul for the organs of the human body or like air compared to a person’s other material needs.
The fact that the acceptance of all worship acts and actions done in serving God are dependent on the acceptance of salat, the fact that the command to pray and to be firm in doing prayers was demanded [by God] from the Prophet, the fact that prayer is considered to be the first requirement in the rule of the righteous, and the fact that its performance and the emphasis on it has been repeated more than any other obligation in the Quran are all proof of the unique status of this divine duty.
Encouraging prayer among the younger generation is the key to spreading this divine blessing and ensuring it is in its rightful place. Those who work in areas related to the youth and teenagers – those in the family environment, in schools, in universities, in sports environments, the religious scholars in schools and universities, the Basiji groups in mosques, the Basiji units, the Jihad of Construction organizations, the Jihad groups, and similar groups – should know that they are among those who are addressed by the verse, “Establish salat” (Quran 6:72). They need to pave the way for the new generation to learn salat, to perform the salat, and to improve the quality of their salat. They need to make salat, going to the mosque, being focused when praying, attentiveness to the meaning of salat, and learning about the rules of salat more appealing. And they need to establish salat in its true, genuine form.
I pray that Almighty God will bless everyone with success.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
January 5, 2024
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