The following is the full text of the speech delivered on March 6, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the chairman and members of the Assembly of Experts. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 15th Congress of the Assembly of Experts.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I thank Allah the Exalted for letting us live long enough to be present once more among this great gathering and to listen to and discuss certain issues. I express my gratitude to the honorable Chairman of the Assembly of Experts for his commitment to holding this meeting on time and for pursuing matters in a diligent way despite the difficulties. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the honorable members of this Assembly.
Many things have been said about the importance of this Assembly. Both I and you gentlemen have repeatedly spoken about this. This Assembly has a special position in the foundations of the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic. However, this Assembly and the gathering of all these ulama, great personalities, influential clergy in different areas, mujtahids and other such personalities is more significant today because of a number of issues, whether domestic or global.
In my opinion, the present time is one of the eras when this Assembly has greater significance than ever. Many important issues are taking place around us, whether issues which are related to us directly or issues which are not related to us directly, but which we cannot ignore. Today, there are many such issues in the world and in the region. The general conditions - whether in Asia, in Africa or in Europe - are complex and important. Naturally, the Islamic Republic has certain things to say about these conditions. Having self-knowledge and being aware of our responsibilities is one of the tasks that all of us should carry out in the present time.
As I said, there are many problems throughout the world and the Islamic Republic is more influential than ever in regional- and sometimes- in global equations. Therefore, all the bases of the Islamic Republic - including this Assembly - should adopt an innovative and fundamental outlook towards these issues. This Assembly should do this both because of the individual and innate responsibility of ulama and because of the position of this Assembly which is a governmental organization.
I would like to discuss two issues. One of these issues is about global events in today's world. I will discuss those events which are related to us. Naturally, there are many events which are not related to us. So, I will raise certain points about those global events which are related to us.
One point is that the world is undergoing fundamental changes today. This cannot be denied. Take a look at North Africa and other regions in Africa. Take a look at Asia and the powers which have emerged in this continent and which are challenging the traditional powers in the world. And take a look at the conditions in Europe. The world is undergoing a change.
Of course, global and historical changes do not naturally take place in a short time. It is not the case that we think a change takes place in six months or in one, two years. This is not the case. We should see the signs of this change. Although this change may take place gradually and over the course of 20 years, we should understand what is happening in the world. Therefore, the first point is that the world is undergoing certain fundamental changes. We should know this.
The second point is that the outward tranquility of the dominant camp in the world - that is to say, those powers which have traditionally been dominant in the world, whether America or European countries - has been disrupted. In the past, these powers had a kind of tranquility in areas related to economy, the media and social establishment inside their countries. In the past, a certain kind of tranquility was dominant in their lives. But today, this tranquility has been disrupted and one can see the signs of this.
They were and still are equipped with money, weapons, propaganda tools and knowledge. Naturally, a power which is equipped with such things has a feeling of tranquility. This tranquility had dominated their lives for many years, but it has been disrupted today.
This tranquility has been disrupted in several arenas. First, it has been disrupted in the arena of economy. In the past, their most important privilege was economic progress and growth, but you can see in what conditions they are in the present time. Both Europe and America are faced with an economic crisis.
Today, their well-established economies are witnessing bankruptcy. Imagine that the government of a country is indebted more than its national gross income. In the present time, this is the situation which exists in America. The government of the United States of America is a heavily indebted government which has not found any solution to save itself from this indebtedness. This is why their major programs are not implemented successfully. This situation exists in America and in great and strong European countries although they do not clearly reflect it in their media.
The current President of America has been promising the people to provide public health insurance since the first term he was elected. But he has not managed to do this until today - that is to say, six years after his presidency. The president of a country with all those financial and other resources has given a certain promise to his people, but he has failed to fulfill it. Well, this is the way it is. As a result of this, the Americans have great problems in the arena of economy which is an important arena in arrogant countries and for traditional powers in the world. As everyone has heard in the news, European and many other different countries too have great economic problems.
They have been defeated in the arena of morality as well. Well, the current western civilization was created on the basis of respecting human principles. The entire western civilization was based on humanism and humanist principles. This means that human principles are the main element, goal and qiblah for this civilization. This is while, these principles have been trampled upon in today's western civilization and they have really been defeated in this area.
Until a short time ago, they used to reflect these human principles by wearing the clothes of knowledge and academic language, through which they used to cover up their weaknesses. But these weaknesses became clear gradually and the true nature of this materialistic civilization - which is against humanity and the divine nature - is showing itself.
One example of this is murder, plunder and violence. These violent acts of murder and plunder have increased to such an extent that everyone knows about them today. There was a time when the English used to commit certain crimes in India and in Burma, but they used to appear in a neat and polite way in other places. Those days are over now. Today, everyone knows about their violent acts.
Those individuals who reflect people's opinions are showing the camp of arrogance what violent acts it has committed. These arrogant powers engage in murder, plunder, violence and lustful acts which transform one's nature. One of these lustful acts is marriage to the same sex. This is different from homosexuality and it is much worse than it. This means allowing those things which are against the divine nature to dominate ones' life: "Do you practice wickedness even in your councils?" [The Holy Quran, 29: 29]. This has been mentioned in the Holy Quran as well.
Today, they acknowledge these wicked acts in an open and outspoken way. Two individuals of the same sex get married and churches record this marriage. And the President of America says, "I am in favor of, not against this act". This means that such inward decadence and such lustful acts are not considered to be indecent anymore in these countries.
Another act they commit is supporting terrorism in a clear way. As you can see in regional events, there are some individuals who tear people's liver out of their body and who begin to bite it in front of cameras. This is while European powers sit and watch. Of course, they try to be careful and they do not say that they will help such individuals. Rather, they say, "We will help this opposition force". This is the way they behave. They openly support terrorism, one that is very violent, wild and savage.
They insult everything that is sacred. They easily insult holy and enlightened personalities and stain their honor in the name of freedom. They insult prophets and great personalities, not only our Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), but also all prophets. In another meeting, I said to officials in charge of cultural affairs that many of our officials in this area are not aware of cultural issues. For example, they do not read different books and most of them are not in the middle of the arena. I said to them that these arrogant powers insult Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus and other great prophets (peace be upon them all). This exists today. So, this arrogant camp, which used to control global affairs, has been defeated and severely criticized in moral fronts as well.
In the arena of identity-based reason too, this civilization and its guardians have been defeated because the scholarly foundations of this materialistic civilization are collapsing one by one. Certain scholars - whether in areas related to humanities or in other areas - came and rejected their ideas. Therefore, the scholarly foundations of this civilization are collapsing one by one.
They have been defeated in the arena of international reputation and dignity as well. Their reputation has really been ruined. All the crimes which have been committed by western governments and their dictatorial agents have become clear to people throughout the world. Today, they are hated everywhere in the world. Of course, some of the leaders of these western governments and some of the leaders of dependent, weak, conservative and cowardly governments say some things out of certain considerations, but the truth is that they are hated by peoples today.
In the present time, America is more hated than all other governments, both in the Middle East region and in other regions. Of course, this hatred is very deep in Islamic regions, but it exists in other regions as well. So, these powers have been defeated in the arena of dignity and reputation. This is another issue which has left nothing for this bullying camp - the government of America being the leader of these bullies and supposedly stronger and more prepared than all these bullies - to rely on. They have no dignity in the world. This was the second point that I wanted to discuss in this meeting.
The next point regarding global realities and events is the awakening of nations. When we spoke about Islamic Awakening in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, some people opposed this term and said that it is not Islamic Awakening and that it has nothing to do with Islam. But later on, it became clear that these events are completely related to Islam.
Well, it seems that they have silenced this Islamic Awakening, but it cannot be silenced. When a sense of Islamic responsibility and Islamic identity emerges among a people, it cannot be destroyed easily. Even if a government is sidelined and overthrown either with a coup d'état or with any other means, people's spirit of self-confidence and self-knowledge about their Islamic identity cannot be destroyed easily, as it has not been destroyed in the present time. This awakening is boiling like a hot pot in those regions and countries which have awakened. It is not the case that this Awakening has been destroyed. This is another reality in the world. Islamic resistance has reached its peak.
Another reality - which is, perhaps one of the most important ones - is the issue of the people of Iran. After the passage of 35 years from the rise of the Revolution, the people of Iran have not become exhausted with the Revolution and they have not abandoned it. They have not drifted away from their revolutionary spirit.
You saw this year's 22nd of Bahaman. The 22nd of Bahaman is a phenomenon. I have said many times that we have gotten used to this very significant event. Later on, I will raise certain points about our youth who are among the realities which should receive attention. In any case, this is a fundamental issue. We are in such a world.
These events - which signify fundamental changes - are taking place in regional and African countries, in our own country and in all areas in the world. In our country too, the growth of Islamic thoughts, Islamic resistance and the tree of the Islamic government can be witnessed as well. Considering these things, it should be said that our outlook towards domestic and global issues should be a serious one.
The second issue I want to discuss is the responsibilities that we have. I have written down a number of points in this regard. Of course, these are not all the points which should be raised in this regard. Besides, these points are not new. Rather, these are points which all you gentlemen are aware of. However, it is good to repeat them. The responsibilities that we have are many, including the following:
One of these responsibilities is adopting a realistic outlook. We should see the realities which exist in our society. Naturally, when one takes a look at realities, one focuses on weak points. All the things which we observe in our society - including the problem of high prices or failure in reaching certain Islamic goals - are among the realities which we often see clearly.
Of course, some people magnify these realities. This is while there are other realities in the country as well and these realities should be seen. One of these realities is what I just referred to: the reality of the resistance of the Islamic Republic on the basis of Islam. This is a reality.
The enemies of Islam and Iran expected that the people would be tired of, forget about and abandon the Revolution after one, two, five years. This is what has happened to many revolutions in the world. In fact, I should say that this has happened to all, not many, revolutions. As far as I know, this has happened to all the revolutions which have been conducted in the world during the past 200, 250 years. After a short while, their excitement wore off, their revolutionary wave began to fall and they were back to prior conditions.
During my presidency, I went to a country which had carried out a revolution seven, eight years before. The leader of the country was among the revolutionary elements at the time we went there. When I entered the place where we were supposed to have a feast, I saw that the same situation which existed during the time of the previous colonialist ruler - who was Portuguese and who had colonized this country - existed at that time too. I saw that the same situation existed both in terms of appearance and in terms of behavior. There was no difference.
Of course, in the beginning - when they had just come to power - they were not like this. They were gradually influenced by the behavior of those arrogant and dictatorial rulers who had ruled before them and as a result, they began to behave in the same way. But the Islamic Revolution was not influenced. The Islamic Republic was not influenced. Those people who wanted to impose previous conducts, traditions and methods on this country and on this Revolution failed in their attempts. The Revolution continues to promote Islamic and revolutionary ideas. It continues to promote ideas which are related to independence, national resistance, domestic progress and justice and it continues to make efforts in order to achieve these great goals. All of these are the issues of the Revolution. These are important things. This is a reality.
Another reality which should not be ignored is the issue of religious motives in today's young and revolutionary generation. Sometimes, old people see that they are the only people who are committed to their revolution and that youth have abandoned it. But we can witness that this is not the case in our Revolution. Today, we have many revolutionary youth throughout the country and they are from different social backgrounds. We have many youth in universities who are both religious and revolutionary.
In my opinion, these youth have a higher position than the youth during the revolutionary era. Why is that? First, in those days, that great and enthusiastic Revolution had been carried out and second, the Internet, satellite TV and all these different propaganda networks did not exist at that time. In those days, youth were not exposed to such harm. Today's youth are exposed to all these harmful propaganda tools. They are exposed to the Internet through which the enemies are trying hard to make our youth deviate from the right path.
Despite all these propaganda tools, our youth have remained pious. They say prayers and attach great significance to it. They say midnight prayers, they perform nafelehs, they participate in important religious ceremonies, they stand up for the Revolution and they chant heartfelt slogans. These are important things. In my opinion, our today's youth are one of our greatest sources of pride. This is a reality which should be seen.
Another reality which should receive attention is our infinite national capacities. Fortunately, after the formation of the new administration, I have seen that all the executive officials of the country - I had the opportunity to meet with them particularly on these days - acknowledge, believe in and are aware of these infinite domestic capacities of the country.
Thankfully, the existence of these capacities helped this humble person and my colleagues to formulate the policies on the economy of resistance. If a country is deprived of domestic capabilities, it cannot create a resistant economy. A resistant economy can be created when we have enough capacities inside the country. Whenever we have a meeting with any official in charge of economic affairs, they refer to many domestic capacities. This is another reality which is very important.
Another reality which should not be ignored is the enmity of our enemies. The enmity of the enemy should not be ignored. As Saadi says, "Whenever the enemy fails in all his tricks, he disguises himself as a friend" [Golestan, Chapter 8]. When he appears as a friend, he does what no enemy has done to us. We should not forget this. This is a reality.
They are our enemies and they are the enemies of Islam, our national independence and our people because of the characteristics that our people have. If our people had abandoned the Revolution and Islam and if they had given in to transgressors and aggressors, the enemies would have been very pleased with them and they would have praised them. But they are unfriendly towards our people because of these characteristics. "Vehement hatred has already appeared from their mouths" [The Holy Quran, 3: 118].
The statements that they make show how deep this grudge and enmity is. "What their hearts conceal is far worse" [The Holy Quran, 3: 118]. The things that they say are only part of this enmity. What is hidden in their hearts is far worse. This is another reality which should not be forgotten.
Another reality is that they are frustrated with confronting the people of Iran and the Islamic government. If you want to know why they are frustrated, the reason is they cannot confront us. They have imposed sanctions on us. If they had been able to confront us, why would they have imposed sanctions?
The fact that they constantly issue military threats is a proof that sanctions were not, are not and will not be efficient. Well, if they had been able to destroy this Revolution and bring our people to their knees with ordinary and common methods in the world, they would not have needed to issue so many threats and exert so many pressures and other such things. Sanctions are not new and they have imposed them in the past as well.
Fortunately today, the agreement that the honorable executive officials, including the President and ministers in charge of such affairs, and the heads of the other two branches reached shows that sanctions - which the enemies have imposed on the people of Iran in an oppressive way and out of grudge, enmity and hatred - will not have any effect at all. Our officials should be thanked because they really welcomed this idea. Of course, they themselves took a leading part in making decisions about this in the Expediency Council and they held certain discussions about this issue. By Allah's favor, the economy of resistance will overcome their plots. This is another reality.
I would like to refer to another reality - these good realities are many - which is the fact that whenever we relied on God and the power of the people and whenever we were willing to launch jihadi movements, we emerged victorious. From the beginning of the Revolution until today, whenever we brought the people to the middle of the arena, whenever we began our work in the name of God and whenever our movement was jihadi, we emerged victorious.
This happened during the Revolution as well. During the revolutionary era, the people took to the streets in large numbers. People from different social backgrounds went to the middle of the arena and the movement was a jihadi one. The people went to the middle of the arena during the eight-year Sacred Defense Era as well. Eight years of war is not a minor issue. They imposed eight years of war on this country.
Imam- may God bestow paradise on him and may the immaculate soul of this great man achieve happiness and be associated with prophets and God's saints- realized what the secret of the issue was and he understood what he should do. It was God who inspired and guided him. Imam brought the people to the middle of the arena. Allah the Exalted had dominated the hearts and tongues of the people and the task was a jihadi one. As a result of this, we emerged victorious. This is another reality.
The last point that I would like to raise about these realities is that we should notice where we were and where we are now. "And remember when you were few, deemed weak in the land" [The Holy Quran, 8: 26]. We should not forget the day when we were weak and small in numbers and when we were considered to be inferior. Both the people of Iran and our pious community were in such conditions. Both the clergy and our enthusiastic youth were in such conditions. They were small in numbers and weak and they were considered to be inferior. Today, Allah the Exalted has thankfully strengthened them. In my opinion, one of our responsibilities is to see these realities. We should not forget these realities. Rather, we should keep them in mind. This is one responsibility.
Another responsibility which I have written down to discuss and which we should always remember - particularly in the present time - is drawing clear borders between ourselves and the enemy. We should draw borders. There is a holy ayah which says, "There is for you an excellent example to follow in Ibrahim and those with him when they said to their people, ‘We are clear of you and of whatever you worship besides Allah. We have rejected you and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever unless you believe in Allah and Him alone'" [The Holy Quran, 60: 4].
The Holy Quran does not only recount history. It mentions that this is an excellent example for you: "There is for you an excellent example to follow in Ibrahim". You should behave in this way. You should draw borders between yourselves and the enemy.
Drawing borders does not mean that we should break off our relationship with the entire world. You should take care not to let certain people falsely say, "You are saying that we are the enemies of the entire world". This is not what I mean. Rather, what I mean is that we should draw borders and these borders should not be confused with one another.
These borders are like geographical borders. When you want to establish geographical borders, you draw certain lines between your country and the surrounding countries. This does not mean that we will never go to these countries or that they will never come to ours. This border means that any coming and going will be done in an orderly way. It should be clear when and how we go there or who goes there. It should be clear who comes here and when, how and why he comes. This is the way geographical borders are drawn.
The same is true of ideological borders. In the same holy ayah, after Allah the Exalted refers to this excellent example and to Ibrahim's actions, He says, "But not when Ibrahim said to his father, ‘I will pray for forgiveness for you'" [The Holy Quran, 60: 4]. This means that drawing borders does not prevent Ibrahim from saying to his father, "I will show mercy on you and I will ask for forgiveness for you". All of these things exist in drawing borders. Therefore, the meaning of drawing borders is that it should be clear who we are and who the other side is.
I think that the auspicious sura "Oh, You Unbelievers" refers to drawing this border: "I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship" [The Holy Quran, 109: 2-3]. That is to say, the borders should be drawn and they should not be confused with one another. Those people who try to undermine, fade and destroy these borders - whether religious and ideological borders or political borders - are not rendering services to the people and the country. Independence is a border for the country. Those people who try to undermine and destroy the people's independence in the name of becoming an international country and dissolving into and becoming compatible with the global community and those people who write articles and deliver speeches about this are not rendering services to our country.
You say that we should interact with the world. Well, you can engage in this interaction, but it should be clear who you interact with, why you interact with them and what kind of interaction you have with them. These things should become clear. This is the meaning of drawing borders. The same is true of drawing domestic borders. In my opinion, this is one of the issues which we should pay attention to. It is one of our responsibilities to draw these borders.
As soon as the country faces a problem, some individuals begin to blame those people who showed resistance. They say, "Do you see? When one shows such steadfastness, these problems occur". In the early Islamic era, there were such individuals as well: "Those who said of their brethren while they themselves held back, ‘Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed'. Say, ‘Then avert death from yourselves if you speak the truth'" [The Holy Quran, 3: 168].
If Allah the Exalted decides to prevent us from moving forward on the basis of the divine tradition, we will certainly face problems. During the Battle of Badr, some people "Said to themselves, ‘Had we any hand in the affair, we would not have been slain here'" [The Holy Quran, 3: 154]. It is not the case that if we give in to the enemy, our problems will be solved. This is not the case.
I should really thank the officials of the country for their outspoken statements in the face of the enemy. They make outspoken statements about the effort of the people of Iran and the Revolution to avoid adopting a passive role. This is very necessary. We should create a discourse about this issue. Later on, I will expand on this issue. This is one of our main issues.
Another issue, which is one of our responsibilities, is that we should not be intimidated by the enmity of malevolent individuals. After all, enmity always exists. No people who have innovative ideas and who can launch certain movements are immune from the enmity of enemies. In my opinion, the people of Iran are lucky today because their enemy and enemies are among the most infamous people in the world.
Notice that today, the government of America is a violent and criminal actor on the international scene. This is the truth of the issue. Today, this is the government of America on an international level: a violent, criminal and unscrupulous actor who is not afraid to make nasty moves and to violate the rights of peoples.
In America, this government has been introduced as a dishonest and mercenary regime which goes back on its promises. This is why the people's belief and trust in these governments - both the government of the current President of America and the previous president of America - was at a very low level according the opinion polls which were carried out in America. This shows that the people of America do not believe in them. Well, such governments are our enemies. Our enemies are not dignified and prestigious governments. Rather, these are the governments which are our enemies. Therefore, one should not harbor fear of such people in his heart.
Reliance on the divine support is a very important issue as well. Mr. Mahdavi recited part of the holy ayah which is about Prophet Moses' community. I would like to recite the other part of this holy ayah. When Bani Israel were moving out of Egypt with the guidance of Prophet Moses, Pharaoh's army caught up with them: "And when the two bodies saw each other, the people of Moses said: "We are sure to be overtaken" [The Holy Quran, 26: 61].
When the two groups got so close to each other that they could see each other - that is to say, when either of them could see the other one at a distance - "The people of Moses said, ‘We are sure to be overtaken'". They said that they would be completely annihilated. "Moses said, ‘By no means. My Lord is with me. Soon will He guide me" [The Holy Quran, 26: 62]. Notice that this is a lesson. If you stay with God, will God abandon a servant who stays with Him? "He said, ‘Fear not for I am with you. I hear and see everything'" [The Holy Quran, 20: 46]. This has been mentioned in another part of the story of Prophet Moses. If we stay with God, Allah the Exalted will help us. So, this is another responsibility. We should not fear.
As for the issue of unity, preserving national unity and unanimity is one of our responsibilities. The great danger of the presence of takfiri forces, which are unfortunately active in parts of the region, is not that they kill innocent people. Of course, this is a crime and it is great, but their great danger is that they make the two groups of Shia and Sunni Islam be pessimistic towards each other. This is a very great danger.
We should prevent this pessimism so that on the one hand, Shia Muslims do not think it is the camp of Sunni Islam which confronts and behaves towards Shia Muslims like this and on the other hand, Sunni Islam will not be influenced by the statements of these takfiri forces - that is to say, what these forces say including the false rumors that they spread about Shia Islam and the fires which they fuel.
They should be careful. Both Shia and Sunni Muslims should be careful. Everyone throughout the country should know this. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims throughout the country should know this. They should not let the unity which exists in the country today be shattered. One part of this unity is solidarity between Shia and Sunni denominations and between different ethnicities. Magnifying ethnic characteristics and fueling the fire of nepotism are dangerous measures. This is playing with fire. Everyone should pay attention to this issue as well.
Another issue is the issue of culture. It became clear in this meeting that you gentlemen are concerned about this issue. I am concerned as well. The issue of culture is a very important issue. The basis of this resistance, movement - and by Allah's favor - victory is preserving the Islamic and revolutionary culture and strengthening cultural and religious groups and the saplings which have grown in the arena of culture.
Thankfully, we have good and religious youth in the arena of culture and art. They have been diligently active in this arena. Some of them are young and some of them have passed their youth. But we do not have a shortage of cultural personalities. We should certainly pay attention to the issue of culture. The honorable members of the administration and other people should pay attention to this issue as well. I share your concern and I hope that the officials in charge of cultural affairs pay attention to what they are doing.
Cultural issues cannot be joked with and ignored. If there is a cultural rift, this is not like an economic rift which can be patched up by collecting money, distributing goods and monetary subsidies among the people. This is not the case with cultural rifts because they cannot be easily patched up and they create many problems.
And everyone should really appreciate the value of religious and revolutionary youth. Everyone should appreciate their value. It is these religious and revolutionary youth who lay down their lives in the face of different dangers, who fight in eight-year imposed wars and who are in the middle of the arena. It is these youth who do such things.
Those individuals who adopt a pessimistic outlook towards these youth and who make the people adopt this outlook are not rendering services to the country, to the independence and progress of the country and to the Islamic Revolution. These youth should be preserved and appreciated. Thankfully, they are not few in number. Rather, they are many. We should not reject and isolate these religious youth with different excuses. Of course, they are not isolated with such things. These revolutionary and motivated youth are not isolated with such statements. However, we should appreciate their value.
The last issue is the issue of creating discourses. The issues which I raised are not only some pieces of advice and some sympathetic words between us. It is not the case that we discussed these issues for the sake of conversation. These issues should turn into a discourse. Discourse means public belief. It means what can be accepted as a common belief among the people and what the people pay attention to. This can be achieved with explication. It can be achieved with essential, reasonable and scholarly illustration, one that is free of different kinds of extremism. These issues should be conveyed to the people with proper words and with the language of expertise, reason and good conduct.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings on all the honorable gentlemen in this meeting. I hope that He will help, guide and assist us so that first, we can know our responsibilities and second, we can be completely determined to carry out these responsibilities. "Dear God, strengthen my body so that it can serve You, strengthen my heart, bestow upon me the seriousness to fear You and give me the steadfastness to serve You" [from Dua Kumayl].
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings