The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 14, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with President Ahmadinejad and cabinet members.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌
Today's meeting was a very good meeting. The friends and the honorable officials pointed to the efforts that they have made by presenting figures and statistics. Well, we usually do not receive reports in the meeting that we hold each Ramadan with executive officials, cabinet members, the honorable President and his deputies. In such meetings, we usually offer a piece of advice and mention a sentence from Nahjul Balaghah and we benefit from the sayings of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).
This year and today I insisted - I myself suggested that the President do this - that the friends in this meeting deliver a report because in these last days of the current administration, it is a good occasion to deliver a report about all the things which have been done during the time of this administration. Of course, this report is only a summary and a sample of what has been done. We would like our people - both the experts and outstanding personalities who are familiar with such issues and all the people in general - to hear the statements which were made today because these experts and friends do not know about many of the issues which were discussed today. I see that sometimes, they do not have enough information in this regard although a number of the things which have been done are easily visible.
Of course, opponents of the Revolution and those who do not have enough information - some foreign networks which have ulterior motives and a number of people inside the country - deny the things which are in front of their eyes. That is to say, they like to deny something which has been done, which is visible and which everyone can see. Some people may not have an optimistic, friendly or fair outlook in this regard, but we do not want to speak about this now. After all, the efforts of the government should be recorded and mentioned in the general atmosphere of the country. These issues are very important.
Today, what I should say to the friends in the administration is primarily a word of thanks. I hope that you are not tired. You worked hard for eight years. Many good things were done. You showed that you have the capability to endure hard work. This was seen and felt. Everybody found out that, compared to other administrations, the honorable President and his colleagues worked - and are still working - more and faster. This is an outstanding point which should not be ignored. Ignoring the privileges which officials in other countries have, working hard, making ceaseless efforts and refusing to rest and relax are the great advantages of this administration and everybody who wants to make a judgment in public or for themselves should pay attention to these valuable points.
Another point which I have always kept in mind during the past eight years and which I have discussed many times is that, thankfully, this administration has managed to say, promote and be proud of the slogans of the Revolution. One of the important things that the anti-revolutionary camp - whether our Revolution or other revolutions - has done throughout history is that it has tried to undermine the values of the Revolution. Of course, their efforts are not confined to these things. First, they tried to undermine values. Then they wanted to gradually eliminate them and if they find the opportunity, they like to turn them into anti-values. This is a common method in the world. We can see this in the history of the revolutions throughout the world and we have seen and witnessed this in the revolutions which have been carried out in our own times and in the course of our long lifetime.
The anti-revolutionary camp will not forget the slogans of the Revolution. It knows that in this confrontation, these slogans were the first thing which helped the Revolutionary camp achieve victory and which made the anti-revolutionary camp suffer a defeat. The more meaningful, interesting, genuine, understandable and tangible these slogans were, the more they helped the Revolution make progress. Therefore, they are trying to gradually undermine and eliminate them.
The enemy started to do this to our country and our Revolution as well. Of course, they failed and we thank God for that. The enemy could not undermine and then eliminate the slogans of the Revolution. In my opinion, part of this is related to the vigilance of our magnanimous Imam. The statements and writings which our magnanimous Imam left for us are a firm basis, not some falsehoods which no one can understand. Imam's testament was his last words. I have always advised officials and those who had an important position in different administrations to refer to Imam's testament. Imam's testament is the summary of the values which he was trying to establish. Imam has left these things among us and he has kept them alive. That is why these values cannot be distorted or changed. Ignoring these values is something which is done by those who like to ignore such issues.
This administration expressed these slogans, gave prominence to them, held them up and felt proud of them. In international arenas, it did not feel ashamed of its revolutionary motives, goals and methods. This was a very great feat.
Allah the Exalted has recorded what you have done for Him in your performance sheet and the angels who record our actions have kept them. Without a doubt, these actions will prove valuable for you. God knows what you have done no matter if I and people like me see, know about and express our gratitude for these actions or not. "Surely Allah is Grateful, Knowing" [The Holy Quran, 2: 158]. He is both knowing and grateful. I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows success on you.
What you should try to do is that you should not stop rendering services. Not all efforts are confined to such and such a ministry or such and such a responsibility in the government. This is not the case. The scene of the country is the scene of effort, work and activity. This work can be done in two ways: one is the kind of work which is done by paying attention to revolutionary goals and the other is the kind of work which does not take these goals into consideration. Whether you are present in future administrations or not, you should try to carry out the responsibility that you will be entrusted with - naturally, people like you who are competent and efficient managers will not remain without a responsibility - by paying attention to the goals of the Revolution and adopting a revolutionary outlook. Allah the Exalted will reward you. We too will express our gratitude as much as we can.
As usual, I would like to read to you a sentence from Nahjul Balaghah. Of course, there is not enough time. "You should know there is a path ahead of you which is very long and on which there are many sufferings" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31]. This is the testament of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) which has been addressed to Imam Hassan Mojtaba (a.s.). In fact, we should say that a testament is the most sincere thing that anyone says because when one is preparing a testament, the material world is of no more interest to him and material interests either do not exist or they are too weak. Therefore, in a testament, the most sincere things are said - particularly when one is addressing it to his most beloved people such as his children. It is even more sincere when one is addressing it to a son like Imam Hassan (a.s.) who was the eldest son of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.). Without a doubt, he was the most beloved person in the eyes of that great Imam. Of course, the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said that this testament is not only for Imam Hassan (a.s.). Rather, it is for everyone. However, Imam Hassan (a.s.) was the main addressee. So, this testament is the summary of all the statements, teachings and viewpoints of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).
Each word and sentence which the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) uttered was full of wisdom and it is not particular to this testament. We really do not understand the depth of the statements of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.). People like us cannot understand the depth of such statements. We only benefit from parts of it. The loftier and deeper one's thoughts are and the wiser one is, the more he can benefit from such statements. We have seen such people. Nahjul Balaghah is such a thing and this testament is part of Nahjul Balaghah.
The Commander of the Faithful says, "You should know there is a path ahead of you which is very long and on which there are many sufferings". The path which is ahead of you - the path towards seeing the results of one's actions on the Day of Judgment - is a long path. On this path, you will be "In need of renovating and enlivening aids and helps" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31]. On such a path, you should move forward with provisions and help. "Ertiad" means request and determined effort. On this path, you have no option except that you should follow your path in a serious way. This is not a path which can be taken lightly. Of course, we are negligent and we take things lightly, but this is because of our ignorance.
We should know what the truth of the matter is, where we are going and where our destiny will be fulfilled. If we pay attention to this, we will take this path seriously. Therefore, in the holy Dua Kumayl - which is narrated by the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) - we can see this sentence: "And bestow upon me seriousness in fearing you". The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) asks Allah the Exalted to help him be serious when he exercises piety. He does not want this piety to be a passing and outward feeling which stems from the sufferings that one may endure in life. He wants us to exercise piety before God in the real sense of the word.
"Measure the amount of provisions that you need and lighten your load" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31]. Now you have to take this difficult and long path which leads to the Day of Judgment. In order to reach the destination, you have to pass through the material world with all the material provisions and characteristics that one enjoys in this world. Therefore, we should do something to make it easy to reach the destination. That is why it is said, "Measure the amount of provisions that you need". This means that we should see how hard we should work in order to take the path. This is the first part of this sentence.
The second part is, "lighten your load". These are two guidelines which the Commander of the Faithful offers to us. First, we should see what we need to take this path. He himself provided an answer to what we need in order to take this path: avoiding sins and fulfilling divine obligations. That is to say, divine obligations are the amount and - as physicians say - the "dose" of provisions that we need in order to take this path. If you fulfill these obligations, you have the amount of provisions that you need. The more you fulfill these obligations, the more resources and provisions you will have and the more you will benefit from them. These divine obligations are the minimum requirement for taking this path.
The same is true of muharamat. That is to say, avoiding sins and muharammat are the minimum requirement for preventing the harm which we may suffer on this path. Therefore, if we avoid sins and fulfill divine obligations, this will prepare the ground for the transcendence that we need. Nothing more is necessary. A number of people look for more divine obligations. They go and find someone in order to learn a prayer or an Islamic obligation from him. This is not necessary. Islamic obligations are clear. If we say prayers, if we do it on time and in a proper way, if we pay attention when we say prayers and if we fast and fulfill the divine obligations in the right way, this will make us achieve transcendence.
I will tell you that if we fulfill the minimum requirement, it will prepare the ground for achieving divine enlightenment on a large scale. That is to say, not only does the minimum requirement that we need enable us to take this path, but it also prepares the ground for us to achieve divine enlightenment and divine blessings. When one says daily prayers in the right way, he will naturally become interested in performing nafelehs. When we avoid telling lies, backbiting, slandering other people, engaging in corruption, committing fraud and abusing other people's trust, this will prepare our hearts for divine guidance and divine teachings and it will help us move forward. This is the first piece of advice.
The second piece of advice is "lighten your load". I hope that Allah the Exalted will help us carry the heavy loads that fall on our shoulders. If, by Allah's favor, you can carry these loads and deliver them safely, this will bring you many rewards. Although these heavy responsibilities cause great anxiety for us, they will bring us many blessings if they are carried out in the proper way.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows success on all of you and I hope that you will always remain at the service of Islam and the Revolution.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings