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 and his select companions.
This meeting has some unique features. The honorable ulama, Friday prayer leaders, lecturers, and seminarians - among whom both Shia and Sunni Muslims are present - have attended this meeting. Female seminarians - both Shia and Sunni - are also present here. I also heard that the honorable families of the martyred clergymen of Kurdistan province are present in this meeting. Spirituality, knowledge, unity, and the spirit of martyrdom have manifested themselves in this spiritual meeting. And this is a unique and prominent feature of this meeting. We should appreciate the chance to be present in this meeting. We should appreciate the sense of unanimity and sincerity which is prevalent in this meeting because we all shoulder a heavy responsibility. The whole Iranian nation shoulders a heavy responsibility at the present moment, and those who are more knowledgeable and informed than others and are more familiar with the principles of religion and sharia shoulder even a heavier responsibility.
The most important point which I think I have to mention here concerns the significance of this duty. In Islam, ulama are the pioneers of progress and rectification. This is a duty that religious scholars have been entrusted with. There is a sermon in Nahjul Balaghah which says: "And Allah made scholars promise that they should not remain silent about the greed of oppressors and hunger of the oppressed." This means that religious scholars should not stay silent about oppression, injustice, and encroachment upon the rights of others. Impartiality is meaningless in these cases. As ulama, your duty is not only to explain religious issues and the principles of sharia to the people. The duty of ulama is similar to that of prophets. "Surely, lama are heirs to the prophets." [Kafi, chapter 1, p. 32] The duty of prophets was not only to explain religious issues to the people.
If the only duty of prophets was to help people differentiate between halal and haraam, no one would have opposed them. There is a verse in the Holy Quran, which was among the verses recited by the honorable qari at the beginning of this meeting: "Those who deliver the messages of Allah and fear Him, and fear none but Allah." [The Holy Quran, 33:39] In what kind of propagation one would be told not to be afraid of the people? If this propagation was limited to explaining a number of religious principles to the people, fear of the people would be out of the question, and Allah would not honor them for not being afraid of anyone. The prophets of God went through many difficult experiences during their lives. For whose sake did they tolerate these hardships? What did they do? "And how many a prophet has fought, with whom were many worshippers of the Lord. So they did not lose heart on account of that which befell them in Allah's way, nor did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves." [The Holy Quran, 3: 146].
What was the duty which they had to fight to fulfill? They had to mobilize soldiers of God to carry out this duty. Was their duty limited to explaining a number of religious issues or the difference between halal and haraam? The prophets rose up to administer justice, to fight oppression and corruption, and to put an end to all non-divine governments that misguided people. The manifestations of evil were not limited to the idols which were hung on the walls or the Kaaba. Those idols could not cause a revolt. The manifestations of evil were those people who tried to impose their evil desires on the people through those idols. The government of Pharaoh was an example of those governments. "Surely Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into parties, weakening one party from among them." [The Holy Quran, 28: 4] Those governments misguided the people. The prophets stood up against those governments and laid down their lives in the battle against those governments. They did not remain silent about oppression and bullying. This is what the prophets were like. "Surely, ulama are heirs to prophets." [Kafi, chapter 1, p. 32] Being in the position of a religious scholar - whether you are a man, a woman, a Shia, or a Sunni - means that we are shouldering a heavy responsibility. We say that we are heirs to the prophets. What does this mean? This means that we should stand up to all the manifestations of polytheism, blasphemy, apostasy, debauchery, and revolt. This is our duty. We cannot sit back and think that we have done enough by explaining a number of religious issues. This does not mean that we have fully fulfilled our duties.
Every era has its own requirements. There was a time when we wrote books, employed reasoning, and delivered speeches in order to defend the Quranic nature of Islam. And there were a group of people as our audience who were interested in listening to what we said. We performed our duty that way in those days. Back then, there were evil and non-divine governments who did not let us extend our activities. Those of us who were cleverer made greater efforts, but there were some who thought those efforts would suffice. But what about the current era? Our duty is even heavier in the current era due to two reasons. The first reason is the modern methods of spreading ideologies. You can see for what purposes the television, the radio, the internet, electronic devices, and other means of communication are used today in the modern world. Today, the arrogant powers do not just turn to threats in order to achieve their goals. Besides, they resort to tens of other methods in order to impose their wrong ideology and their oppressive and domineering methods on other nations.
Based on accurate information, it has been proven that Hollywood and other great movie-making companies follow the domineering policies of the US. This great move-making company - in which tens of great movie-making companies, actors, actresses, directors, authors, and investors are involved - is pursuing a certain goal. And that goal is the domineering policies which the US has adopted. These are not trivial issues. Today, you are faced with great problems in your attempt to introduce Islam and religion, and to guide people onto the right path. We need to keep ourselves up-to-date. The doubts which they create in the minds of people are not similar to those of a hundred or two hundred years ago. They are seeking to create new doubts in the minds of our youth and students. Who is responsible for countering such attempts? Who should oppose these dangerous attacks except religious scholars who are responsible for protecting our moral boundaries?
Another feature of the current era is the existence of a government which is rooted in the principles of the Holy Quran. Today, there is such a government in our country, while this was not the case in the past. Ever since early Islam, when caliphate was transformed into monarchy in the Muslim world, there has never existed a government which ruled on the basis of Islamic sharia. Even the Ottoman Caliphate which carried the title of caliphate was a monarchy. There were many Muslims who supported the Ottoman Caliphate because it carried the title "caliphate". This means that their rule was not rooted in sharia. None of those governments ruled on the basis of sharia, but today there is such a government in our country.
I do not intend to claim that our government is in complete accordance with Quranic principles. I have never made such a claim. I am one of the first people to express a criticism in this regard. We have achieved minimum standards in enforcing the rules of Islamic sharia. But we are treading the right path. On the basis of the law and the Constitution, any movement which is against the rules of Islamic sharia is rejected. Our government is based on religious principles. This is a very important point. This means that the country's political system not only allows but also calls upon religious figures to make efforts to enforce the rules of Islamic sharia in the country. If the officials of the country do not act in accordance with religious principles, they are no longer considered as qualified. This is an obvious fact. This is a new criterion which did not exist in the previous governments. We should make use of this opportunity. This is the second feature of the current era. We have to make the most of this opportunity to promote Islamic principles and teachings as well as the principles of sharia in the modern world which is plagued by materialism.
The late Sayyid Qutb mentioned a point in one of his writings which has remained in my mind since 40 years ago when I came across the point. He believed that the most effective thing that could be done by those who support and claim to support Islam is to establish an Islamic rule in some corner of the world - on a remote island he wrote if I remember correctly. He believed that this would have a stronger effect than publishing books, delivering so many lectures, and building mosques in order to promote Islam. Of course, what I said was the essence of his words. I do not remember the details since I read his books a long time ago. The very act of establishing an Islamic rule in some part of this great world has a stronger effect than publishing thousands of books, and delivering thousands of lectures. We tried this when the Islamic Republic was established and when the call to Islam was made by that great, unique, and brave man - Imam Khomeini (r.a.). We cannot compare any of the pious Islamic figures of our history with him.
I am familiar with how some of our great pious figures such as Sayyid Jamal-al-Din Asadabadi lived. None of them could be compared with that great man - Imam Khomeini (r.a.). Allah gave us the chance to live during his era. He talked about Islam with great courage and a sense of pride. It was then that the whole Muslim world started to pay attention to Islam. Today you can see a growing tendency towards Islam in all the universities of Islamic countries. You can see that the students, and the educated youth of those countries have been attracted to Islam. These are the same people whom communists easily attracted towards themselves in the past. Different atheist movements used to easily attract the attention of those youth to themselves.
Today, such tendencies have been minimized. People have started to pay attention to Islam. The reason behind the opposition of the reactionary and dependant governments of the region to the Islamic Revolution is that they are afraid of such attention to the Islamic Republic. They see that their youth and nations are fascinated by the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic. They see that the flag of Islam has been raised in our country. That's why they are scared and have started to oppose us. Of course, their opposition is demonstrated in different ways. A long list can be provided of the unfair actions of the tyrannical rulers of Islamic countries against the Islamic Revolution. Maybe, you are aware of most of these actions. Their actions are rooted in the fact that establishing an Islamic rule has brought about a profound effect. If the Islamic Revolution had not brought about this profound and strong effect, they would not oppose the Islamic Republic to such a great extent. These actions are done by those who claim to be Muslims.
The issue of the dispute between Shia and Sunni Muslims which became more intense during a particular era after the Islamic Revolution was rooted in such policies. During rule of the Islamic Republic, we suddenly realized that the dispute between Shia and Sunni Muslims has intensified in Iran, Iraq, and some other countries.
They are now capturing some people in certain countries because of promoting Shia Islam! This is a false claim. The people of those countries love the Prophet's household. They are Sunni Muslims, but they love the Prophet's household. This is what we have been informed about and have seen in those countries.
There was a time when a lot of Arabs used to listen to Iranian radio programs and learnt Farsi because they were interested in the Islamic Revolution. There were many people who met with me during the early years of the Revolution. They said that they had learnt Farsi because of their love for the Islamic Revolution. They said that they used to listen to radio programs in Farsi without understanding anything. And this had gradually helped them learn the Farsi language. They could speak Farsi and knew the language. This was the effect which the Islamic Revolution had brought about. Sayyid Qutb was right in what he said. The effect of the Islamic Revolution - which is an Islamic rule - was stronger than that of publishing thousands of books.
If they had uprooted the Islamic Republic, it would have harmed Islam. They would have claimed that Islam does not have the necessary capacities. They would have claimed that Islam only managed to give rise to a revolution and established a government that could not survive longer than two or five years. It would have been harmful to Islam if the Islamic Republic had managed to survive but had not made any progress. They would have claimed that an Islamic government had emerged and taken the people back to the prehistoric era without promoting science and technology or making any progress. But the Islamic Republic both managed to survive and made incredible scientific progress. The Islamic Republic both managed to set its foundations and gave rise to an intellectual young generation.
The fact that Iran is said to be the eighth country in the world in terms of its progress in the stem cell field is something very significant. That is an extraordinary achievement for a country that has been deprived of all the prerequisites of making progress. When the Islamic Republic came to power in the country, the infrastructure was not at all appropriate for making progress. The fact that they admit the Islamic Republic is the tenth or ninth country in the world to have launched a satellite into space - an achievement that astonished the opponents of the Islamic Republic - is an extraordinary achievement for the Islamic Republic. They exclaim, "Iran? When did it achieve this? When did it push back the boundaries of knowledge? When did it establish the scientific movement? When did Iranians' intelligence come to serve innovation?" That was due to the Islamic Republic. Therefore, the Islamic Republic proved its capability to survive and lead a nation towards progress.
That was a source of honor for Muslims living in different parts of the world. As a result, hostilities were aroused - that is, this source of honor caused hostilities to increase. If you walk into someone on the sidewalk, he or she will at most give you an angry look and walk away. If you throw a punch at him or her, he or she will probably shout a couple of abusive words at you. But if you give him or her a severe blow, he or she will grab you by the collar and will not let you go. The blow that the Islamic Republic delivered to the global arrogance was very severe, and that is why the arrogant powers do not let go of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic.
Our enemy is not an isolated grouplet consisting of a few important and unimportant individuals. Our enemy is not a particular weak government in the region that does not even have a base in its own country. Our enemy is the great arrogant powers whose decision-makers are the Zionist capitalists and highly influential CEOs of companies, trusts, and cartels across the world. These are the people who are opposed to the Islamic Republic, and they are of course using all the necessary means. They have received a severe blow, and that is why they are suing all the means to oppose us. They are currently creating a divergence from Islamic ideology, making the youth vulnerable, creating religious conflict, fomenting discord between Shia and Sunni, inciting certain grouplets, and enticing the youth towards drugs, corruption, and taking advantage of the unawareness of certain organizations. If they find the opportunity to make their way into the minds of the high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, they will definitely do so. They are trying their best. The believers have stood up to them in spite of all these efforts: "Like a firm mountain that cannot be moved by hurricanes." [Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, dua 5] Such hurricanes cannot shake the Islamic Republic.
When we take a look at our hearts and the hearts of our people, we can observe divine grace. When we see that our determination is steely, when we see that the enemies' provocative efforts prove ineffective, when we see that the enemies' scowl does not frighten us, and when we see that their promises do not make us optimistic, we can clearly detect the signs of God's grace. Allah the Exalted is the cause of all these material manifestations. The Almighty is the driving force behind all these. I advise all of you to become more familiar with al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. In this prayer book, there is a dua by Imam Sajjad (a.s.) that means all those who have some power in the world benefit from Allah's power and are controlled by it: "O God, surely those who are not dependant on anyone have received Your grace. Therefore, bestow Your greetings on Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household and make us not dependant on anyone. And generous people are generous because You have bestowed many blessings on them. Therefore, bestow Your greetings on Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household and bestow Your blessings on us. And those who have been guided have found their way by the light of Your guidance. Therefore, bestow Your greetings on Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household and guide us." [Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, dua 5] Relying on Allah and His grace and guidance will not let man become disappointed. When we take a look at our people, we can see the same thing. At the depth of the hearts of the people, you can clearly see the signs of Allah's grace, no matter if they are Sunni Muslims, Baluchis, Shia Muslims, or the people of Isfahan or Shiraz. Allah the Exalted has made them steadfast.
Therefore, Allah has provided us with the ultimate proof. He has prepared the ground and provided us the opportunity. A clergyman living in our times must make the most of this opportunity. He must become familiar with new ideas, try to recognize the enemy and its methods, and keep abreast of the requirements of his time. "The one who is aware of the developments of his time is not exposed to ambiguities." [Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 26] Just like the battlefields. Perhaps, many of the people who have attended this meeting have fought on the battlefields of the imposed war - of course those who are young have not had this experience. On a battlefield, you are under the artillery and mortar fire of the enemy from all angles. Different types of bullets are fired from different angles, and they whistle past your head. Sometimes you even lose your orientation and cannot tell whether the fire is coming from the enemy or it is friendly fire that is aimed that the enemy's strongholds. That is a mortal danger. It is very dangerous for a soldier to lose his orientation and confuse his comrades with the enemy soldiers. If a soldier cannot identify the position of the enemy and his comrades, he may open fire on his own comrades, believing that he is trying to kill the enemy soldiers. That is very dangerous. Some of us open fire on our friends and imagine that we are fighting the enemy. Some of us are unaware enough to forget that creating religious conflict is the enemies' plot to keep different denominations of Islam busy with one another. As a result of lack of vigilance, Shia and Sunni Muslims focus all their efforts on fighting one another. That is a very regrettable situation, and that is what the enemy wants.
Take the case of Palestine and our support for the Palestinian people - that is just an example that I am going to discuss. Regarding the Palestinian issue, no country and government was as active as the Islamic Republic. The entire world acknowledged that. We supported them so much that some Arab countries voiced their dissatisfaction and said that Iran was pursuing its own objectives in Palestine. Of course the Palestinians did not pay any attention to these claims. Particularly, during the 22-day war that was waged on the people of Gaza a few months ago, the Islamic Republic served the cause of the oppressed and faithful Palestinian brothers. The people, the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, and all government officials of Islamic Republic, including the Leader and the President, supported the Palestinian cause. Public rallies and financial support were used to further their cause.
At the height of our support for Palestinians, we realized that some dangerous ideas were being propagated. Some individuals were trying to convince a number of luminaries and revered ulama to withdraw their support for the Palestinian people. These individuals had told them that the people of Gaza were Nasebi, which meant that the people of Gaza were opposed to the members of the Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. They managed to convince these ulama. Then the ulama sent me several letters saying that the people of Gaza were Nasebi. I replied, "May God protect us. May God curse the evil and abolished Satan. There are some Mosques in Gaza named after the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Imam Hussein (a.s.). How could these people be Nasebi? They are Sunni, but not Nasebi." That was how they talked and acted.
There is another side to the coin. Some people go all the way to Qom to search Shia books for an insult to what Sunni Muslims hold sacred. They photocopy the insulting parts and distribute them at Sunni gatherings. Or they try to record the voice of an ignorant, unaware, and spiteful speaker who talks nonsense about Sunni beliefs, desecrating what they hold sacred. They record his voice on a tape or CD and hand it out to different people to present a negative picture of Shia. Thus, they try to encourage a negative attitude towards Shia. "And lest your power depart." [The Holy Quran, 8: 46] What is the meaning of this? This verse exactly reflects our current situation. When there is discord, when we are suspicious of one another, and when we consider one another as traitors, we will naturally avoid cooperation. Even if we do cooperate with one another, we will not be sincere. That is exactly what the enemy is after. Both Shia and Sunni scholars must understand this. It is quite natural for two denominations of a religion to have differences in some of their primary and secondary principles. Of course they are normally similar in the majority of their principles. But difference is not the same as hostility. In some cases, the fatwas that are issued by Shia muftis are radically different. Similarly, the fatwas issued by Sunni muftis are sometimes very different from one another. But when there is difference, one should not necessarily engage in insulting and slandering. We should accept the differences.
That is to say, no particular denomination should think that the members of the Prophet's household belong to them. That is not the case: They belong to the world of Islam. Is there anyone who cannot accept Fatima Zahra (a.s.)? Is there anyone who cannot accept Imam Hussein (a.s.), the master of those who live in Paradise? Is there anyone who cannot accept the honorable Shia Imams? Shia Imams may be considered a religious leader by some, and some others believe that it is not obligatory to obey them, but all Muslims accept them. These are the facts, and we must understand and institutionalize them. Of course there are some people who do not understand these things. They give in to the enemy's provocations, while they think they are doing the right thing. "Say: Shall We inform you who are the greatest losers in respect of deeds? Those whose effort goes astray in this world's life, and they think that they are making good manufactures." [The Holy Quran, 103-104] They think they are doing good deeds, while they are unaware of the fact that they are playing into the enemy's hands. That is a characteristic of our times.
My speech is becoming too long. Of course there are many things I would like to tell you. There are many things that have to be told to ulama, especially young seminarians, but there is no time. I would have talked more if you and I had more time. In brief, you should know that compared to the past there is more serious hostility towards Islam today, and that is because an Islamic government has been established here. They are alarmed by the Islamic rule and the flag of Islam that has been raised here. You must firmly hold up this flag. You must appreciate this Islamic rule. Those who love Islam and believe in the Quran must appreciate this Islamic rule. These are the general guidelines.
From a scientific point of view, you must pay attention to the first point I raised. Times have changed. There have been a lot of changes. There are many methods now to affect the minds of the youth. You must become familiar with these methods. In particular, you must pay special attention to confronting the enemy's methods of affecting the emotions and thoughts of our youth. You must know that the enemy will primarily focus on the active portions of our population, and the young generation is an active part of our society. That is because we have pinned our hopes on our youth. The youth can build the future. Therefore, the enemy will aim their efforts at the youth. Of course religious scholars are another important group, and the enemy will continue to focus their efforts on the scholars in different ways. The pressure that was exerted on the people of Kurdistan is a testimony to the same point. Mr. Musavi [Leader's representative in Kurdistan province] said that the religious scholars of Kurdistan suffered from the pressure that was exerted on them during the early stages of the Revolution and many of them were martyred - 70 people. Yesterday I found the opportunity to visit the tombs of some of those honorable martyrs, and I recited the first surah of the Quran there. I hope Allah will raise the position of our martyrs on a daily basis.
Dear God, make what we discussed in this meeting serve Your cause. O God, bestow Your blessings and mercy on the Iranian nation and each and every one of the people who have attended this meeting.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings