In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad, and upon his pure household, especially the one remaining with God on earth
You are very welcome honorable gentlemen and dear brothers. It gladdens me to see that this very important meeting has been organized at the appointed time with the participation of all the friends. According to Mr. Raisi’s report, the discussions are followed up seriously. I hope that God will help you and accept your endeavors.
I wish to congratulate you on the Sha’baniyyah Eids, in particular the 15th of Sha’ban Eid, which is the day when the dreams of the entire humanity, throughout history, blossom. I hope that God the Exalted will show us that day, the day of the reappearance, and I hope that it will happen very soon.
Even excluding these Eids, the month of Sha’ban would remain a very important month: “The month when the Holy Prophet (greetings be upon him and his household) fasted and kept a vigil with great enthusiasm and he showed great humility in respecting and commemorating this month day and night and he did so until his demise” [speaking in Arabic].
The Holy Prophet would treat this month like this until the end of his life. In the Sha’baniyyah prayer, we read, “Oh God, aid us in following his tradition.” This exciting prayer that has been narrated in this month is a sign of the greatness of this month. The sections that exist in this holy and dear prayer have very few peers. Of course, all the prayers that have been narrated by the Imams (greetings be upon them) are meaningful and instructive. All of them are extraordinary – those who are clearly narrated by the Imams – but this prayer really has few peers.
Once, I asked Imam [Khomeini] (may God bestow paradise on him), which prayer he was more interested in or more attached to – I do not exactly remember my wording, but it was something like this – and he thought about it a little bit and said, “Dua Kumail and Dua Sha’baniyyah.” As it happens, these two prayers – Dua Kumail too is really astonishing – are very similar to one another in terms of content. Even in terms of form, they are very close to one another.
Dua Sha’baniyyah is truly an opportunity: “Oh God, give me a heart whose love of you makes me closer to you and bestow upon me a tongue whose sincerity rises towards you and a sight whose sharpness causes me to get close to Your realm.” There is another section which says, “I swear to Your Pure Being asking beseechingly, to take me to the house where I obey you and to the eternal mansion where You are satisfied with me.” I could equally mention this section which was frequently recited by Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) in his speeches: “Dear God, bestow on me separation from everything but You and shower on me complete connection to Your realm. Kindle my eyes with the light of Your vision until the light in our hearts breaks the veils of light that keep us away from You.”
Well, these are extraordinary teachings and fortunate are those who have access to these prayers and whose minds, hearts and souls are familiar with these concepts and who have a correct understanding of them. They are really fortunate! I hope that God will make us as fortunate. In any case, this is a blessed month and I hope that we can make the most of it and benefit from it as much as we can.
The Assembly of Experts is a legal institution that plays a great part in the strength of the Islamic government. Of course, all legal institutions – the administration, the Parliament, the Armed Forces, the Expediency Council, the Guardian Council and the like – have a part, each, in the strength of the Islamic government, but some play a greater and some a lesser role. In my opinion, the Assembly of Experts is one of those institutions that plays the biggest role in the Islamic Republic. Of course, the prerequisite for all these legal institutions to exert their influence is to act according to the regulations and the limits defined for them by the Constitution.
The same is true of your institution. In other words, you should completely comply with everything that is required of the Assembly of Experts whether regarding the person who currently holds the position of Leadership or the person who will be elected by you and who will enter this arena later on. You should carefully comply with these regulations.
The same is true of the Parliament and the administration. The administration has specific legal limits and it must comply with all the laws passed by the Parliament. The Parliament too has specific legal limits and it should not get involved in executive affairs in any way. It must only engage in legislation. The same holds true for other institutions as well.
Well, the necessity for the strength of the Islamic government – which as I said, the Parliament and other institutions play a part in – lies in that if this strength exists, national power and strength will be realized. National power is vital for every nation. If a nation wishes to be independent and honorable, if it wants to utilize its vital resources at its own volition and to its own benefits, if it wants to have full power over its own affairs, if it does not wish to have to follow this and that whims, if it wants to have no worries about foreigners’ transgressions and if it does not want to live in constant fear, what should it do? It should be strong.
National power and strength is vital for every nation. If there is an absence of national power and if a nation is not strong, the things that I just mentioned – which are the most important matters for every nation – will not be achieved. Such a nation will always be worried, it will always be weak and humiliated and foreigners will always be dominant over it. Therefore, the strength of the system is essential. National power and strength is necessary.
When I speak of national power, we must know that national power is a combination of interrelated elements. National power should not be sought in a specific point or in a specific orientation and movement, rather it is comprised of a combination of elements that will lead to national power if they are compiled together. I will give examples of these elements.
One element of national power is science and technology. Another element is thinking and intellectuality. Being broad-minded is different from being knowledgeable. The ability to think should exist. When we chant the slogan of freedom of thought – and if anyone else chants it, we accept it as well – the result of it is intellectual progress. Without intellectual progress, even if a nation achieves science, it will not be of much use to it. One’s mind, at a national level, should work, advance, and improve and this is not possible except with the freedom of thought. Without freedom of thought, intellectual progress is not feasible.
Another element is defensive security and power. A nation should rest assured that it can defend itself in cases of emergency. Another element is the economy and public welfare. This element is very effective as well. The people should be at ease in terms of livelihood. Another element is politics and the power of political and diplomatic bargaining. Part of national power for every country and nation is to have experts and selected individuals with the power to bargain in political and diplomatic arenas, thus safeguarding the interests of the nation. Another element is culture and lifestyle. This is another element of power. If a nation is a mere follower of others in terms of lifestyle without the power to voice its own opinions and if it is lacking in a well-established culture of its own, this is naturally a big weakness in national power.
Another element is having an attractive logic capable of influencing other nations and of achieving a strategic depth for the country. When you have an attractive logic in the Islamic Republic which is attractive to other nations and which has great potential to attract others when you discuss it with them directly, this will be your strategic depth. All these things constitute the interrelated chain of national power. Of course, there are other elements that I will return to later on – the ones which are related to our discussion.
You must note that none of these arms of power should be cut off in favor of the others. We do not have the right to cut off any of these arms of power with the belief that they might be in conflict with the other elements. No, all of them must move forward alongside one another, which is possible.
It is really naïve if someone suggests that we decrease our defensive power so as not to make the enemies sensitive. In my opinion, there is no statement which is more simple-minded than saying that we must decrease our defensive power and our foreign security muscle so that the enemies do not become sensitive. For instance, such opinions claim that we must not have any regional presence so that such and such a superpower will not be on bad terms with us and will not have an excuse. No, regional presence is our strategic depth! This, in itself, is a tool for the power and strength of the Islamic government. Why should we lose it when we can and must have such a thing?
I could equally mention the suggestion to forego our scientific progress. Some people say, “You must forget about the nuclear issue because it has led to so much sensitivity and has created many problems.” Well, the nuclear issue is of a scientific nature. It concerns our scientific and technological progress in the future. We will shortly – not far in the future – be needing the products of our nuclear energy. We will completely need it. Then, whom should we refer to? When must we begin the process to achieve it? Therefore, going without these things and showing negligence towards them is not correct.
Another suggestion is to get along with the US or any other power in order to be immune from sanctions. This means cutting off our political bargaining arm. This suggestion says that we must compromise with them because if we show a little bit toughness, they will impose sanctions on us. In my opinion, these would be grave mistakes. Of course, some people have put forward such suggestions over time with groundless, shaky and erroneous reasoning and they published their opinions in newspapers and the like in the form of theories, despite the fact that all their reasons were rejectable and they were indeed rejected, and their insistence was of no avail.
If in the course of all these years, the people who wanted to cut off some of these arms of power were given the permission to go ahead with their ideas, the country would face grave dangers today. However, God the Exalted ordained that those individuals would not have the chance to do these things. This is one point.
I mentioned that I would return to the discussion about the elements of national power. One important element of national power is the things that are directly related to the masses of the people, things such as national unity, national self-confidence and national hope. You, who are an official in a certain organization of the country, might be a self-confident person, but it might occur that you decide to do something that requires the people’s help. If the people do not have self-confidence, you will not able to pull it off.
Once, I spoke in detail about national self-confidence [Leader’s speech in meeting with students of Yazd, delivered on January 3, 2008]. Another element is the solidity of national faith. There are certain principles which our people believe in. This faith caused our people to stand up against the bullets of the taghuti regime’s military and overthrow the regime during a time when they did not have any weapons – in most cases, they did not even have stones to throw. That was due to faith. National faith is a really valuable asset. The preservation of national faith is one of the assets that is related to the people. Other elements include public welfare and the smoothness of social matters.
Mr. President explained your opinions [as voiced in the annual meeting of the assembly]. One important issue in the management of the country and the public life of the people is for the facilitation of their issues. They must not face hurdles and obstacles. For instance, the honorable officials of the country decided to create a consolidated window for investment and business affairs. Such measures are good. Affairs must be carried out smoothly and easily. These are matters that concern the people. If these things are done, the people’s presence on the scene will be ensured. That is, if we can resolve these matters that are directly related to the people, then their presence on the scene will be a hundred percent.
Of course, despite the fact that we have certain problems right now, the people are present on the scene. Even in 1980s, during the Sacred Defense Era, when there were many problems, the people were present on the scene. There is no doubt about this, but if these things are resolved, the people will unanimously be present on the scene and when people show their presence, no country and nation will have any concern and fear of anybody.
Because the people’s presence is very important and because their presence is dependent on such matters, you can see how big and small devils are trying to deceive the people. As the leader of the devils said, “Then, by Your power, I will pull them all into the wrong.” [Holy Qur’an, 38:82] They are constantly trying to entice people using the media that today facilitates spreading any speech, decorates any lie, and justifies any wrong statement.
They are constantly sending information into the depths of society’s mind. They are deceiving people, “Then, by Your power, I will pull them all into the wrong.” They are constantly doing such things in order to discourage people from having faith, self-confidence, hope and the things that I mentioned before. They want to take away people’s self-confidence, people’s trust in the officials and weaken national unity. These are things the enemy is doing.
Their ultimate goal is to deceive the masses of the people, but they want to do this by deceiving outstanding personalities first. Today, one of their important plots is deceiving outstanding personalities in society, people who have high positions, resources, expertise or other such things. When outstanding personalities are deceived, they will easily deceive the masses of the people if they are given the opportunity to do so. One of the most intense soft wars in the history of our country is being conducted in this way.
They are constantly training mercenaries and enticing them in subtle ways to take forbidden money. When people get used to taking forbidden money like a ferocious animal, it becomes very difficult to stop them. They are training mercenaries, some with threats and others with temptations and all sorts of tricks. Therefore, there is a serious soft war going on at the present time.
Let us pose this question: Why is this soft war against us so harsh? The reason is that we have become strong. We have indeed become strong. Today, the camp of the truth has become strong in terms of infrastructures and resources. Today, the enemy’s challenge with the camp of the truth is not easy, rather it is a difficult task. That is why they have resorted to a soft war and they are doing their best to pollute minds. This is due to our power and strength.
I said that outstanding personalities have been targeted, but among them, there are thankfully a large number of groups – seminarian and academic – who are insightful and motivated and who can be a solid pillar and source of support in the true sense of the word. Of course, the enemy is busy working very hard. He is busy influencing and infiltrating in a very serious manner.
Well, what should we do now in the face of this move of the enemy? We should engage in the jihad of clarification. This is what you frequently discussed in your speeches in the past couple of days. I too have discussed the jihad of clarification several times.
Why do we call it, “jihad of clarification”? This is derived from the Commander of the Faithful’s (pbuh) words. In his well-known testament to Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (pbut), - which is addressed to them, but we too are also addressed as the Imam says, “I advise you (both) and all my children and members of my family and everyone whom my writing reaches” – one of the things that he says is, “Fear Allah and keep Allah in view in the matter of jihad with the help of your property, lives and tongues in the way of Allah” [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 47].
This is a jihad with tongues. Fortunately, the people who had the power to do so among our nation did jihad with the help of their property and lives. In the present time too, they are engaged in jihad, but one must do jihad with the help of tongues as well. Those who can, should be active and do jihad in this regard as well.
I have spoken at length about the jihad of clarification. Today too, I will raise a few points that might not have been raised until now. One point that must be made sooner than the others is that I have heard that the Parliament has allocated a heavy budget to the jihad of clarification. I am not really alright with such ways of treating the matter. It is many years now that I have been in touch with organizations, their budget and other such matters. My experience tells me that such indefinite budgets are usually wasted without any results. If the Parliament allocates a heavy budget to it, it is not correct.
Of course, I trust the officials who receive these budgets. I will tell you that I do not distrust them in any way, whether the officials in the Ministry of Islamic Guidance or the ones in the Islamic Development Organization and the like. I trust them and they are pious and morally healthy, but the allocation of a heavy budget in the name of the jihad of clarification is wrong by nature. I hope that the gentlemen in the Parliament pay attention to this.
In sum, I do not agree with it. As a person who attaches great significance to the jihad of clarification, I do not agree with such budget allocations and such spendings. This is one point.
The second point is that in a hard war, one cannot fight with the use of old weapons. Nowadays, one cannot go to battle against cannons and missiles with swords, arrows and the like. The same is true of the jihad of clarification. One cannot work with old methods. Of course, some old methods are irreplaceable such as speaking directly to the people and practicing panegyric. These are old methods, but there are no replacements for them. They continue to be influential and nothing can replace them, but in terms of various tools and instruments, we must update ourselves.
Of course, our hardware weapons are good in this area. Our cyberspace and other such networks are active and they are working. Although cyberspace has certain problems – by God’s favor, Mr. Raisi and his friends must show determination and resolve these problems as soon as possible – it is accessible in any case. The hardware parts of the issue are accessible, but the important part is the software one. The weapon of clarification contains an important software part. There is room for innovation, new ideas and new methods in this area.
In my opinion, what can function as an efficient weapon today is the clarification of lofty Islamic values in different areas. There are many things to be said in the area of ideological and religious matters. We have many attractive and delightful ideas for the world. There are many things that have been left unsaid in matters related to Islamic lifestyle. Examples include Islamic viewpoints on the environment, treatment of animals, and family. These things constitute lifestyle. Islam has many attractive ideas in all these areas. There are Islamic teachings that can be derived from Islamic texts and offered to everyone.
There are many things to be said in the area of Islamic government too. An important issue that can be brought up is Islamic government. Government in Islamic logic is radically different from the common governments in the world. It is not similar to monarchy, nor is it similar to today’s presidential systems, to military governments and to coup-based rulers. It is not similar to any of these. It is a unique form of government based on spiritual principles.
The Islamic way of ruling is based on popularity, religiousness, ideology and refusal to be aristocratic, extravagant and oppressive. It promotes neither perpetration nor acceptance of oppression: “No one oppresses me because You are capable of counteracting it and I will not oppress anyone because You are capable of preventing me from oppression” [Sahifa al-Sajjadiyyah, Dua 20]. This exists in one prayer in Sahifa al-Sajjadiyyah. Each and every word of these teachings contains important ideological issues. These are things that constitute our new weapons and we must benefit from them.
The third point that I wish to make in the area of the jihad for clarification is that in this jihad and struggle, the path for the nation’s material progress and growth must be distinguished from misleading, wrong paths. This is an important issue. In one Friday prayer address many years ago, I spoke of “insiders and outsiders.” [July 30, 1999] As a result of this speech, some people created a commotion saying, “Why do you divide people into insiders and outsiders?” That is while the gentlemen who brought this matter up are the ones who have repeated this idea of “insiders and outsiders” over and over again in different matters!
The issue of “insiders and outsiders” is a fundamental issue. “Insiders” does not mean the people who are one’s relatives, have the same manner, are in the same political party, have the same opinions and the like. Rather, being an “insider” is defined by one’s belief in the path of Islam, Quranic teachings, the Islamic faith and the great movement of the Islamic Republic for which great sacrifices have been made. This is important. This correct path must be distinguished from misleading, wrong paths. In the jihad of clarification, this issue is important.
And the last point concerning the jihad of clarification – this is a warning for ourselves – is that we must know that if the jihad of clarification is not carried out correctly, materialistic individuals will even use religion as a plaything for their illegitimate desires and aspirations. In other words, if we do not do our job correctly, then he for whom only worldly concerns are important – his own world, in other words, his own desires and ambitions – will even put religion at his service.
There is a well-known sentence in the Commander of the Faithful’s (peace and greetings be upon him) letter to Malik al-Ashtar. Hazrat tells him to employ people with such and such characteristics. He mentions certain qualities and says that Malik must choose, as his colleagues, people with those qualities. After mentioning those qualities, he says, “You should have a piercing eye in this matter. because this religion has formerly been a prisoner in the hands of vicious persons” [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 53].
This is astonishing! The Commander of the Faithful says this to Malik al-Ashtar twenty-plus years after the Holy Prophet’s demise, this is a reference to the domination of the Bani Umayyad and the like. They were people who would pronounce morning prayers with four, six rak’ats instead of two and after that, they would say, “We are well. We feel great! If you wish, we can even say longer prayers for you”. They are the manifestation of this: “Because this religion has formerly been a prisoner in the hands of vicious persons when action was taken according to passion, and worldly wealth was sought.” Such individuals use religion as a tool for achieving wealth and realizing their selfish desires. We, whether ourselves or our people, seek shelter in God the Exalted and ask Him to protect us from these hard snares set by the Satan. I hope that we ourselves will listen to this advice first and that it will influence others as well.
Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad and his household, make this month of Sha’ban a blessed month for the entire Islamic Ummah and for the dear Iranian nation. Dear God, make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age satisfied and pleased with us. Help us benefit from the prayers and the satisfaction of that great personality and send our greetings and regards to him as well.
Greetings be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings
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