Before the commencement of Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech, Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen Rouhani the President of the Iran, delivered a report on the chief measures and activities by the administration.
Once the meeting began, Ayatollah Khamenei reflected upon a saying by Imam Ali (peace be upon him); it was about how to react during times of sedition. The leader said, “Imam Ali (pbuh) advises, in times of sedition, that it becomes very difficult for people to distinguish truth from false and one should act in a manner that would not benefit the sedition in any way.” Ayatollah Khamenei gave the following example: “During a time of sedition, like what happened in 2009, one’s words, silence, action or even viewpoint should not reinforce the sedition. Of course, some individuals, due to their personal inclinations, may not be interested in taking clear stances against the sedition (fitna) but they should not be exploited for the benefit of the sedition either.”
Additional words of wisdom by Imam Ali (pbuh) in Nahjul Balagha, mentioned by Ayatollah Khamenei, were about greed-based outlooks towards positions, aimed at gaining wealth and privileges. “Such an outlook on a position, which is in fact an action of trust, given to someone as a responsibility, will belittle and humiliate man.” He was referring to extremely large incomes collected by certain government employees. He further added, “The problem of astronomical salaries is, in fact, an attack on values; however, everyone should know that this matter is one of the exceptions and the majority of managers, among our governmental bodies, have clean hands; furthermore, this rare event is ghastly and it should be stringently dealt with.” His Eminence pointed to President Rouhani’s first deputy ordered by the President to probe into the issue expeditiously, he requested that it be dealt with quickly and firmly; following the investigation, results should be made available to the people.
Finally, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted one last word of advice by Imam Ali (pbuh) from the Nahjul Balagha, “One should always watch their tongue, as many problems of humans stem from the tongue. The problems that result from not watching one’s tongue sometimes have personal outcomes but in some cases these problems have social effects and thus one should be very careful.” During the closing moments of the meeting, Maghrib and ‘Isha prayers were performed and led by Ayatollah Khamenei; thus, the congregation and the attendees broke their fast sharing iftar with him.
The full text of the speech will soon be published on the website.
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