The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 7, 2004 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with panegyrists. The meeting was held on the occasion of Hazrat Fatima Zahra's (s.a.) birthday anniversary.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First, I would like to express my congratulations on the occasion of this auspicious birthday anniversary and I welcome you dear brothers - you dhakirs, panegyrists, presenters and vocalists who eulogize the virtues of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household (a.s.) and who portray their pains. I hope that your efforts, your warm breath and your pure sentiments will be noted and accepted by the Lady of This World and the Hereafter - Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her).
These dkhirs are very valuable. The pearl of showing our kindness to the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household - particularly to Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her) who is very dear among all the members of this great household - is very valuable. The birthday anniversary of this great personality - who is the pearl of Prophethood and Wilayat - is a great Eid for Shias, for those who love her and for the real and spiritual children of that great personality.
One of the gentlemen in the meeting pointed out that the enemies of Islam and Muslims have made this sweet day bitter by creating the events of Iraq and Najaf. He is right. May God damn these arrogant, oppressive, hypocritical, untruthful, fraudulent and greedy powers who neither care about people's honor, beliefs, rights and dignity nor the independence of countries. If someone thinks that they can further their goals by flattering, getting close to and giving in to these powers, they have made a mistake. There is no cure against these powers except for showing resistance and brandishing the sharp sword of truth and firm determination. The only cure against them is willpower, strong logic and strong fists. Today, these powers have become desperate in the face of current issues. The reason why they cannot swallow this delicious and easy mouthful and why they are being choked by it is the faith and firm determination of a group of weak and poor people. The Iraqis have neither money, nor weapons nor international support, but with their determination, faith and resistance, they did not allow them to swallow this delicious and easy mouthful the way they had dreamed about it.
I have said many times and I would like to repeat now that the Americans have reached a dead end. If they advance, they will receive a blow and if they retreat, they will receive a blow as well. The more they advance, the more losses they will suffer. And if they retreat, they suffer a loss as well. They have gotten stuck. A wolf which has gotten stuck in a trap may frighten some people with its howls or may wound someone with its claws, but it has gotten stuck in any case. We hope that God will help the world of Islam get rid of their harm and that He will bestow upon the Muslim people of Iraq, upon all Shias - wherever they are in the world - and upon all Muslim and religious peoples in the world the capability to use the noble willpower that the Holy Quran has pointed out.
Words fail us when we want to describe the characteristics of Siddiqat at-Tahirah (God's greetings be upon her). We cannot describe her. Her description is beyond our ordinary lingual molds, but with the language of art, we can help minds close to knowing her characteristics. This is why I place great emphasis on eulogy, poetry and Islamic songs. With the wings of art, we can somehow help minds get close to knowing her although we cannot truly know these personalities with such descriptions. Of course those who purify their hearts and actions, who cleanse their bodies and souls, who take the path of piety and righteousness, who engage in self-edification and who liberate themselves from the impurities that the likes of us are suffering from can see the truth. Of course, even some individuals cannot truly describe them, but their pure hearts and their vigilant eyes can somehow see the holy light of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household - including Siddiqat al-Kubra (God's greetings be upon her) - and understand their greatness.
We have certain signs. That the Holy Prophet has been quoted as saying, "May her father sacrifice himself for her" is a sign. There is a narration which says whenever Fatima Zahra (s.a.) entered the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) house or showed her presence wherever he was, he would rise before her. This is a sign. Such things mean greatness. The fact that the entire world of Islam - all Shias and Sunnis, without any distinction, from those days until today - has looked upon that great personality with greatness is a sign. It is not possible for all scholars, ulama and thinkers - with different beliefs and orientations - in the history of a people and a community to unanimously agree on the virtues of one single individual. This is not possible except with the indescribable greatness of that individual. This is a sign in itself. All this greatness originates from an eighteen-year-old lady - that is to say, a young girl. According to different accounts, the maximum age that Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her) reached was 18 to 22 years old.
We can understand from the things that the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and all the Imams (a.s.) have said in showing their respect towards Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her) that a great admiration waves in the Imams' (a.s.) words about that personality. Each of the Imams (a.s.) is a bubbling spring that has cultivated human talents and all these springs originate from the bubbling spring of Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her). The saddiqin's [the truthful] narrations, the greatness of Imam Ridha, Musa ibn Ja'far and the succeeding Imams, and the lofty position of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) are all branches of that infinite and bubbling spring. These are the blessings of Fatima Zahra (s.a.).
We have always wanted to introduce this great personality as a role model for ourselves. She was a young woman, a young girl whose life was a simple life, whose clothes were the clothes of the poor and whose job at home was to take care of the children and to manage that small house. She was the mountain of understanding and the great sea of knowledge.
The Holy Quran has mentioned four women as role models. Two of them were a model of righteousness and the other two were a model of evil: "Allah sets forth, for an example to the unbelievers, the wife of Nooh and the wife of Lut." It mentions the wife of Nooh and the wife of Lut: "They were under two of our righteous servants, but they were false to their husbands" [The Holy Quran, 66: 10]. These are two female models for all unbelievers throughout history. When Allah the Exalted wants to give examples of kufar - those who deny God's blessings - in the Holy Quran, He mentions two women instead of Pharaoh, Nimrod and other such individuals: the wives of Noah and Lut. These were women to whom the gates of divine mercy were open and who had access to all resources for transcendence. Two prophets - namely Nooh and Lut - were their husbands. These women lived in the houses of these prophets and they had no excuse, but they did not appreciate the value of these blessings and "They were false to their husbands." They betrayed their husbands.
This betrayal is not necessary a sexual one, rather it is an ideological one. They took a deviant path. Although their husbands were prophets and enjoyed lofty positions, they could not help them: "And they profited nothing before Allah on their account" [The Holy Quran, 66: 10]. Allah the Exalted does not stand on ceremony with anyone. He has no friendly and familial relationship with anyone. If He bestows His kindness and mercy on someone, He does so in a calculated way, not out of considerations for anyone. God is no one's relative. Despite the fact that their husbands were prophets, they could not save them from God's rage. As a result, they became a model for all kufar throughout history.
At the opposite end of the scale, Allah the Exalted mentions two women as models for believers: "And Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe, the wife of Pharaoh. Behold she said: ‘O my Lord, Build for me, in nearness to You, a mansion in the Garden, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings'" [The Holy Quran, 66: 11]. One was the wife of Pharaoh and the other was Hazrat Maryam: "And Maryam the daughter of Imran" [The Holy Quran, 66: 12]. As for the first woman, she was not beguiled by the Pharaoh's palace. She was a woman who was raised in a Pharaoh-like manner and most probably, her parents and household members were the descendants of the same taghuts. She was living with utmost comfort and welfare, but faith in Musa conquered her heart and as a result, she believed in him. When she began to believe and know the path, she abandoned all that comfort and welfare and she was no more attracted to that great palace. She said, "O my Lord, Build for me, in nearness to You, a mansion in the Garden." She preferred a house in paradise and she attached no significance to the material life. As for Hazrat Maryam, "And Maryam the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity and We breathed into her body of Our spirit" [The Holy Quran, 66: 12]. She preserved her chastity. These are human values.
These four women are not only models for women, rather they are models for all women and men. Despite the fact that the gates of mercy were open to the first two, they did not enter and benefit from it. They turned their backs on spirituality for the sake of some petty and despicable things. The Holy Quran has not mentioned what these things are. They are probably things like misconduct and negative traits. One petty thing attracts these weak hearts and makes them deviate from the path of truth with the result that they become models for unbelievers and ungrateful individuals. But the other two women were symbols of values. The former is so infatuated with spirituality and the truth that she abandons the entire Pharaohnic apparatus and the latter is chaste, pious and pure.
Fatima Zahra (God's greetings be upon her) enjoys all these virtues together. The Holy Quran says about Maryam, "Allah has chosen you above the women of all nations" [The Holy Quran, 3: 42]. In narrations, she is said to be the mistress of all women in her own time, but Fatima Zahra was the mistress of all women in all ages throughout history. This is a model. Dear brothers, today we need this model.
Today, propaganda networks in the world constantly introduce models to human generations throughout the world with the purpose of making them deviate from the straight path. Of course, their models are of little interest to people and they are unsuccessful, but they do not stop presenting models. They introduce actors, writers and flamboyant but shallow individuals. They introduce absurd figures and put them on display so that they can lead individuals towards a certain path. They spend huge money for this task. Most Hollywood movies and other such media have a clear direction. Although they say that art should be free of politics and political orientation, they behave in the opposite way. Arrogant powers in the world have employed art, cinema, film, poetry, writing, reason, logic and philosophy at the service of their arrogant interests and looting. Today, this is manifested by global capitalism.
The military power of such capitalism is America and its economic power is the cartels that stand behind America. They use all their power to present models. Nations are empty-handed and they do not have a model to oppose the models that arrogant powers present. But we are resourceful. We have great women if we want to cite the issue of women as an example. There are great women in the history of Islam and the peak of this greatness is Fatima Zahra - Siddiqat al-Kubra (God's greetings be upon her). The stories of Hazrat Zaynab and Hazrat Sakinah are also astonishing stories for intelligent and wise individuals who are interested in thinking. Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein are said to be "the Masters of the Youth of Paradise." Although they were not always young and they lived to an advanced age, they were called "the Masters of Youth." This means that young individuals throughout the world should always remember their youth as a model for themselves. The same is true of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) and the Commander of the Faithful's (a.s.) youth.
The main point that I want to discuss with you dear brothers in the area of panegyric and dhikr is that you have many responsibilities in this regard. I sometimes offer certain pieces of advice. It is not the case that we are so desperate to describe Fatima Zahra's (s.a.) greatness that we have turned to poetry and prose. This is not the case. We need this greatness. This bright and shining sun is beneficial to all creatures in the world and now a ray of its light has entered our house. Therefore, we should see how we can benefit from it. Of course, this sun is much more valuable than this. Now, if we engage, for hours, in speaking, composing and reading out poems about the characteristics of this sun - that we do not and cannot truly know what it is - but do not go and sit in it in order to warm and nurture our bodies, and strengthen our life, this is not a wise course of action as the position of this personality and other such personalities is beyond this.
God's mercy be upon on those who brought the Shia way to our country and who familiarized us with these truths. If this had not happened, it would have been very difficult. God's mercy be upon the swords of the tongue and the pen and the swords in different arenas who managed to clarify such truths for us and helped us take the path of seeing and understanding. These clear truths are available to many people, but they do not understand them because of their prejudice. We have found this opportunity and therefore we should thank God, day and night, because of the opportunity to become familiar with the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. This is an astonishing blessing.
Today, you should see what ideological shortcomings your young generation - whether girls or boys - and your society are suffering from. You should see what constructive moral elements are missing in them. Then, you should find those moral elements in Fatima Zahra's (God's greetings be upon her) life and virtues and in the holy lives of other Imams (a.s.). After that, you should express them with the language of poetry which is the language of art. You should see which lessons - from the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household (a.s.) - we need in our social and political life and then, you should derive them from the lives of these great Imams and Hazrat Fatima in particular. After that, you should convey these lessons with the language of poetry. These are necessary and important tasks because pure panegyric is not enough, as its words are sometimes ambiguous, leading to misunderstanding both on the part of the audience and the speaker. Of course, we should show our respect to the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household and this is our perfection: "Those who eulogize the sun are eulogizing themselves." However, we should not be satisfied with this. Promoters, artists, film-makers, those who manage the cinema and television of the country, those who have minbar and panegyrists among the people are responsible in this regard. I want to say that you should re-identify your responsibilities in line with the heavy responsibilities that fall on all of us. This is the advice that I have always offered to my dear brothers.
Today, we are a country and a people that have managed to rise - thanks to the blood and uprising of Imam Hussein (a.s.) and Husseini spirit - to bring an oppressive, corrupt, malevolent and despicable regime to its knees, and to establish a popular government with a religious spirit and fairly Islamic actions. Our spirits are Islamic, but I cannot say that our actions are entirely Islamic. They are fairly Islamic and by Allah's favor, they should become more Islamic on a daily basis. The very act of establishing this system is like a term of abuse to all global powers. The very existence of the Islamic Republic is a term of abuse to America even if you do not chant the slogan of "Death to America" at all. The existence of the Islamic Republic is an act of defiance against all of the powers that are opposed to the spirituality, morality, independence and dignity of nations. Today, everyone is responsible for liberating this system from its shortcomings and weaknesses and for strengthening the elements of worldly and otherworldly power in it on a daily basis. If we need unity, if we need knowledge, if we need cooperation, if we need economic and political efforts, if we need the spirit of martyrdom and courage and if we need many other things, everyone should try to provide these in society within the scope of their capabilities.
The front line of promotion is a vast front line that includes art, education, knowledge, religion, universities, Islamic seminaries, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the IRIB. And one part of this vast front line has been entrusted to the society of panegyrists. The brothers who participated in the front lines during the war and the Sacred Defense Era have a clear picture of what I am saying in their minds. You should think of it like this: a great responsibility has been entrusted to a military division and a small part of it has been entrusted to our battalion. Therefore, we should carry it out in a perfect way so that the sum of our and other individuals' actions leads to victory. Our brothers in the area of panegyric should pay attention to this matter. If we show determination and good taste, we can include all these lofty concepts in performing nohas and marsiahs. Of course, we can also act in the opposite way with the result that such ceremonies turn into absurd and shallow ceremonies. This can happen in rowza, noha, sinezani and eulogy in a way that people only let out a sigh of grief and shed a tear without really benefiting from the ceremony. This can happen in festive occasions as well. The great duty and responsibility of the society of panegyrists is to use significant and valuable concepts and to manage the task in the correct way. This should happen in both mourning and festive occasions. Concepts should take on different forms and molds.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will help all of us to correctly identify our responsibilities and to act on the basis of them. I hope that this blessed Eid will be auspicious for all of you.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings