The following is an excerpt of the Speech delivered on April 30, 2008 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a group of clerics in Shiraz, Fars province.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all sentient beings, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
The two factors which Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi mentioned in regard to security are indeed true: "Power should be accompanied by faithfulness and spirituality." Although the primary purpose of faithfulness and spirituality is self-edification, the importance of faithfulness in the protection of society is no less than power, which is considered as the other element of security. People can be ensured of security according to Mr. Haeri's words - which are indeed true - when these two factors go hand in hand, that is when spirituality is accompanied by material power which is influential, which could set the limits, and which could lead the people in society in an influential way. People can endure hunger, and the inability to satisfy sensual desires .But lack of security is not something they can endure.
Living in a society which is affluent and prosperous but not secure is very bitter. Therefore, security is of paramount importance, and it needs to be complemented by spirituality and spiritual guidance along with material power. Today we can say that material power boils down to political power. This is a reality which should deeply concern us - both me as well as you dear brothers and sisters. Why should we be concerned? This is because the Islamic Republic is a model which could have both factors at the same time. The Islamic Republic means the political power of the household of Islam and religion. This is the essence of the Islamic Republic. There existed a time when spirituality and spiritual guidance dominated our country. There were a lot of prominent intellectuals, scholars and philosophers in our country. But they were only concerned with delivering speeches to different groups of people or to a specific audience in order to have an influence on them. This was what they mainly did.
Today the Islamic Republic is flourishing. Allah the Exalted has put us to the test as the standard-bearers of spiritual guidance. This is indeed a great scene on which we have been put to the test by God. We should be concerned with what I previously mentioned, and this is because it is upon us to feel what a great duty we are shouldering. There was a time when being a cleric or student at an Islamic seminary - studying lessons on religion - would bring about limited responsibility for us as clerics. But today studying at an Islamic Seminary and becoming a cleric who is to raise the flag of guidance and be the standard-bearer of propagating religion lays upon us a responsibility which is as great as the Islamic Republic itself. Of course the responsibility has been shared. It is not limited to a specific person or official. We are all responsible in this regard. My responsibility may be greater than that of yours, yet we are all responsible towards this issue.
Such a perspective should draw our attention towards what the Islamic seminaries and clerics in general should be most vigilant about. And I should tell you that self-edification tops the list of the responsibilities which have been placed on us as clerics. And today we even see some honorable women who have entered this scene.
In the first place, we must focus our attention on ourselves. We must strengthen ourselves spiritually. Those who are spiritually strong can shoulder heavy duties, but those who have problems within themselves cannot do so. Piety and self-edification is our primary duty.
The youth and the young students of Islamic seminaries must appreciate their youth. Your pure and immaculate hearts can build a personality for you today that will help keep alive the light of spirituality in your hearts forever so that no one can ever extinguish this light. This is the first thing that we must take into account.
We must pay attention to Allah and remember that we will one day have to go to Him. This is an easy task for the youth. Therefore, you must not take your youth for granted. Avoiding sins and avoiding deeds that are of a suspicious nature as well as admonition are some of the manifestations of this appreciation. Allah has provided us with the means of admonition, the example of which is praying. The obligatory prayers that we say five times a day are one of Allah's greatest blessings for us. We would be engulfed in negligence if it were not for the sake of prayers. These prayers drag us out of negligence. Saying prayers properly and attentively is one of the means of self-edification. Reciting the Holy Quran and reading it regularly are the means of self-edification.
Fortunately, I can see today that recitation of the Holy Quran is an increasingly common phenomenon everywhere among the students of Islamic seminaries. The fact that we encourage people to recite the Quran well and consider it as an honorable act is because good recitation increases the attraction of the Quran, makes hearts get closer to it, and makes people remember it. The same thing could be observed among the advice and recommendations of the late Ayatollah Qazi. He used to advise his students to recite the Quran whenever they got up in the morning. This was the advice by such spiritual a man as Hajj Mirza Ali Agha Qazi. He used to advise people to regularly pray and read Sahife Sajjadiye, which is a world of understanding.
Certainly theology is one of the things that should top our list. We must understand religion. Today, your audiences need you. They need to become aware of religion and theology. These days the great Martyr Motahhari is increasingly remembered due to his martyrdom anniversary. Motahhari was an example of those who are familiar with theology and religious understanding. Keeping in mind that his life did not last long, if you just take a look at his works, you will see the extent of the grace that God had bestowed upon him.
I advise the youth to read his books. He has new things to say. Religious realities, religious knowledge and analyzing religious understanding and beliefs are needed today as much as they were the day he talked about them. Students of theology must be familiar with Islamic jurisprudence as well as intellectual sciences. Intellectual sciences provide us with the means to access the minds of our addressees. Today, there are some people who shape the mentality of others through the use of some shallow philosophies are only similar to philosophy in form. Some of these philosophies even serve political purposes.
Both now and in the past, there were some so-called philosophers in the West who served capitalist causes. Of course, they did not make a mention of economy or capitalism, but what they produced as philosophy is now being used to promote capitalism. This means that those who consider the world as the bait for their policies will not stop at anything. And this is one of the ways in which they try to train the minds of their audience so that they will have the same mentality as other nations. They use such things to manipulate the way people think.
It is not possible to fight them through causing uproar, excommunicating, insulting, and losing temper. It is like a knot that has to be untied. Stomping on the knot will not help undo it. We must think. Today, our Islamic seminaries are in need of intellectual sciences. They have to know logic and philosophy. Of course, Islamic jurisprudence is undoubtedly the backbone of Islamic seminaries, but logic and philosophy as well as theology are also necessary.
When our magnanimous Imam Khomeini (r.a.) issued his earnest command regarding hijab in the years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, some of his supporters asked why he had said so. When the subject of velayat faghih was brought up in the Assembly of Experts, some people objected, saying that there was no need for bringing up such an issue. They were wrong. Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was right, and he made the right move.
The essential criterion is that we must insightfully and wisely be inspired by Islam, express our inspiration courageously, and move towards that goal in a foresightful manner. Foresight is necessary, but it has to be accompanied by identification of our goals. We must not confuse foresight with losing sight of our goals and frameworks. Some people imagine that foresight means that one should move away from the main principles, frameworks, and standards. This is exactly what lack of foresight means. This is complete conformity with the demands of our greedy enemies. The goal must be set, and then we must pursue the goal in a determined and foresightful manner. We must be cautious, and caution is a manifestation of piety. Piety requires that we be cautious and not fall into the trap of the enemies or be caught off guard. This is wisdom, which is the third factor that the clergy and students of Islamic seminaries must observe today.
We must strengthen piety within ourselves. Through the use of knowledge, we must help our minds grow. Regarding the obtaining of knowledge, we must not be satisfied with mere education. We must use our initiative and generate knowledge. From the very beginning, the students of Islamic seminaries must learn to listen critically and only keep the result of their active reasoning in their minds. This is a firmly established concept in Islamic seminaries.
Today, our Islamic seminaries must train clerics, thereby seeking to shoulder part of the responsibility. The Islamic Republic is capable of being expanded. Of course, this does not mean territorial expansion, rather it means qualitative expansion. We can proceed towards justice, spirituality, morality, and practicing Islamic laws only if we have knowledgeable, pious, courageous and wise clerics. Students of Islamic seminaries must be trained with this goal in mind. And you dear brothers and sisters must pay attention to the fact that this goal makes the training job a spiritually valuable task. This is something that goes beyond individual matters. You must take care not to be diverted from the path to this great goal by trivial issues. You must take care not to be separated from one another due to assumptions and fancies. The clergy are a unified front. We must not let trivial disagreements destroy the unity of the clergy or let our energy be spent on arguing...