All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-il-Ghassem al-Mostafa Mohammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household, especially what remains with Allah on earth.
Almighty Allah said in His book, "O' you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and do not make your deeds of no effect." (47: 33)
This is a very important meeting, since it is being attended by almost all senior officials of the Islamic Republic. It is characterized by sincerity, congruity and harmony among government officials.
What is important is that we should make the most of the atmosphere and spirit of the holy month of Ramazan. For this purpose, I am going to talk about a Hadith narrated from Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him and his household) which states: "Fasting is a shield against fire."
What is the main quality of fasting that makes it a shield against fire? This main quality is self-control and self-restraint. Fasting is the manifestation of self-restraint; it is the manifestation of forgoing desires.
Although the time of fasting is limited - a few hours during the day, and a few days during the year, it is a symbolic act that is a token of a basic endeavor in human life.
The fact is that sensual desires and temptations, if unbridled, will pave the way for and lead to committing sins. Fasting is an endeavor to restrain sensual and carnal desires and protect oneself from being overcome and overwhelmed by them.
We should not forget the Day of Judgment. It is a great event. We should feel apprehensive about it. The following verse in the holy Qur'an states:
"Those who do not believe in it would hasten it on, and those who believe are in fear from it, and they know that it is the Truth. Now most surely those who dispute obstinately concerning the Hour are in a great error." (42: 18)
The holy Qur'an states that those who are believers are apprehensive about the Day of Judgment. In fact, this fear would keep them from deviating from the right path. The Judgment Day is the day of accountability, accountability in its real sense. It is not possible on that day to make false excuses. "This is the Day on which they shall not speak, and permission shall not be given to them so that they may offer excuses." (77: 35-36)
The Day of Judgment is an extraordinary event. It is the day of reckoning without any connivance. "On that Day, We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness to what they earned." (36: 65)
The verses related to the Doomsday are poignant and deeply moving. I suggest that we should all read these verses carefully, as we all need to be reminded of the facts conveyed by these verses.
There are hundreds of verses in the Holy Qur'an about the Day of Judgment. They convey both glad tidings and warnings. The glad tidings are encouraging and motivating. The warnings are heart-moving and deeply affecting.
"When their true nature is shown to them, the guilty one would fain redeem himself from the chastisement of that Day by (sacrificing) his children, and his wife and his brother, and the nearest of his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, and all those that are on the earth, (wishing) then (that) this might deliver him. By no means! Surely it is a flaming fire. Dragging by the head, it shall claim him who turned and fled (from the Truth), and who amasses (wealth) then shuts it up." (70: 11-18)
My dear brothers and sisters! We are responsible. We are different from the ordinary people. Whether we are a Majlis deputy, or a member of the Cabinet, or in charge of a military office or a Judiciary department, we shoulder a heavy responsibility. The reason is that if we make mistakes, the whole country will suffer from our mistakes.
What we, the officials, need to do is to increase our own capabilities as well as the efficiency of the system. We should make every effort to accomplish the objectives of the system and promote Islamic values in society. We should know that if we perform our duties and responsibilities well, considering the abundant resources that have been bestowed on our country and our nation by Almighty Allah and considering our own experience, the Islamic Republic will surely make great strides.
We have made considerable progress in different areas over the past two decades. Our country once had to import such a simple thing as barbed wire, but today it is capable of exporting missiles. Following the outset of the scientific movement in our country, there have been great achievements in different fields, some of which were mentioned by the president at our meeting today.
With deep trust in Almighty Allah, we should draw up plans to establish divine and Islamic values in society and make every effort to carry them out. All the three branches of government - the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislative - shoulder heavy responsibilities in this regard.
I pray to Almighty Allah to confer more honor and dignity on our nation and to grant further success on our officials in performing their duties.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings