The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 10, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution at a Quranic meeting in Tehran. The meeting was held on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
We are truly grateful to the dear brothers, the dear qura and panegyrists who imbued today's meeting with the light of sacred words from the Holy Quran, divine remembrance and the memory of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and his household. This has been a very good meeting. Thankfully, the meeting has been interesting and valuable with significant substance and artistic qualities - particularly some parts of it, which were genuinely outstanding.
We are thankful to Allah the Exalted who helped us develop close familiarity with the Holy Quran. Before the victory of the Revolution, our Muslim society was interested in the Holy Quran and we loved it, but we were not closely familiar with it. One of the blessings of the Revolution is that our youth, those who have the voice and talent for reciting the Holy Quran and those who are talented and prepared to learn, entered this arena and made progress. But these things are just the basic requirements for understanding the Holy Quran and developing Quranic characteristics. One issue is showing respect for the surface form of the Holy Quran, for its words. The surface form of the Holy Quran is important and respectable. A more important issue is developing Quranic characteristics and developing one's lifestyle on the basis of the Holy Quran.
One of the flaws that our society has suffered from for a long time is that we have sometimes allowed our culture to be influenced by foreign cultures. There were people in our society and our country who made efforts to promote foreign cultures. They encouraged us to develop a tendency towards the lifestyle of people whose hearts and souls were devoid of the light of spirituality. This was true of our lifestyle, clothing, walking and social interactions. And whenever somebody protested, they would say, "Currently, this is what the world is like." This is while the Holy Quran teaches us: "And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah's way. They follow but conjecture and they only lie." [The Holy Quran, 6: 116] What human beings should learn or imitate if necessary is following "the path of those whom You blessed." [The Holy Quran, 1: 7] We ask Allah the Exalted to guide us onto the path of those who have achieved divine blessings. This is the path that we should follow. When we see that the majority of the people in the world speak, act and behave in the particular way, we should reject or embrace their ways on the basis of our wisdom, religion and divine guidance. A pious Islamic Ummah is one whose standards are derived from the Holy Quran and from divine guidance. These are the standards.
One of the things that the Holy Quran and divine guidance have taught us is the need to follow human wisdom. This is a Quranic teaching. That is to say, following what is based on sound wisdom and reasoning is a Quranic and religious teaching. These are the standards. The standards are what chosen and infallible servants of God have taught us. It is a mistake to think that just because people in Western countries, materialistic people and people in a certain part of the world act, behave, live their lives, conduct their social interactions and start families in a certain way, we should follow them.
Quranic guidance should prevail in our lives. Thankfully, we have both the Holy Quran and narrations from the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) said, "I am leaving among you two weighty things." Thankfully, we have access to both of these things and we need to make use of them and shape our society in their image. Quranic meetings, Quranic teachings and reciting the Holy Quran in a good voice are all a prelude to achieving this goal. We must not consider these things as the final goal: they are just a prelude, a channel through which we should develop familiarity with the Holy Quran.
Thankfully, our society has developed close familiarity with the Holy Quran. Of course, we are not satisfied with what we have already achieved. We believe that all members of our society should develop a close relationship with the Holy Quran. They should be able to recite the Holy Quran. They should be able to understand the Holy Quran. They should be able to reflect on the Holy Quran. Memorizing the Holy Quran - which is thankfully common among our youth throughout the country - is a good starting point to reflect on its meaning. That is to say, memorizing, repeating and developing close familiarity with ayahs of the Holy Quran and paying constant attention to them prepare the way for reflecting on the Holy Quran.
We hope that Allah the Exalted helps our country achieve more progress and success on a daily basis. We hope that Allah the Exalted makes honorable teachers of the Holy Quran more successful in training more youth. We hope that Allah the Exalted makes our country and our nation live by the Holy Quran. Dear God, make our lives Quranic. Make our death serve a Quranic cause. Associate us with the Holy Quran in the hereafter. Dear God, bestow your mercy and grace on our country and nation and on all Muslim countries and communities.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings