In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and greetings be upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his pure Household, and may God curse all their enemies.
I wish to send my greetings to all the dear people of Iran and the viewers of this program.
Praise God, I have another opportunity to speak about trees, plants, the environment and greenery. God, the Exalted, has made plants and trees an important factor in the course of human life. Plants, trees, greenery and their products are an important, fundamental part of the foundation needed in building human civilization. Plants and trees purify the air, produce food for humankind, calm the human soul and spirit, and are a symbol of prosperity and freshness in the human environment. In addition, we benefit from wood, leaves, roots and other parts of plants, and many medicines required for treating illnesses are produced from plants. So as you can see, plants, trees and greenery are an important, fundamental factor in human life.
Moreover, our outlook toward trees, plants, greenery and the environment is a religious, spiritual outlook, one that is based on religious understanding. This can also be seen in our literature. The majority of people, intellectuals and all those who speak on human concerns have expressed their viewpoints in this regard:
“Each leaf of a green tree, in the eyes of the wise,
is pages of knowledge for understanding God” [From a poem by Sa’di]
So our outlook is a religious outlook. That is why according to the Holy Islamic religious law, planting trees and saplings is considered to be a good deed. We have many narrations encouraging us to plant trees and saplings because this is a good deed. In our Constitution too, there is an Article [Article 50] about the environment. In this Article, the significance of paying attention to the environment has been expressed in the best possible way. Therefore, activities for helping the environment, trees, plants and forests are religious, revolutionary activities. Our dear youth should not assume that the issue of the environment is a mere formality, ornamental and superfluous. On the contrary, it is a fundamental matter that has been highlighted in religious rules and the law.
Fortunately, due to its climatic, environmental and geographic diversity, our country has a broad area for environmental activities and great progress may be made. The masses of the people and the youth who, praise God, participate in various services and activities – scientific, administrative, political and social activities – can participate actively and work for the environment.
There are unfortunately some people in society who sacrifice the environment for the sake of their own personal, materialistic interests. There are some people who destroy nature, ruin forests and mountains, trample pastures and destroy groundwater sources. All of these are truly grave tragedies, which lead to the destruction of the environment. So everyone, the officials and the people, should work against this. Because such actions endanger the future of humanity. Those who use mountains as an instrument for erecting iron structures, buildings and apartments, and those who destroy pastures and cut the wood in forests to use in wrong ways are actually depriving future generations of such blessings and are putting them in danger.
Of course, some disasters occur naturally. Sometimes, forests catch fire because of natural events and natural disasters, but these are preventable. Such natural disasters happen to forests, ponds and lakes, but they are preventable. They should be prevented and this is the duty of the officials. If they do not do it, they are truly to blame in this regard. Today, Tree Planting Day, is an important day. It is good if everyone in the country pays attention to the environment and to green spaces today and always.
I wish to say something about the Coronavirus as well. Last year, the officials issued warnings about Corona in the beginning when it first appeared. I too spoke of this matter with our dear people on Tree Planting Day. Fortunately, these caring statements worked because the people observed the protocols during the New Year (Norouz) holidays and immunized the country against the grave disaster that could have engulfed the country in those days. Today, I feel that the danger is even more serious than last year. This year, we know what the danger is and we have a better understanding of it. We know that unfortunately the disease has spread throughout the country. Last year, the rate of infection was not as high. Therefore, everyone should observe the regulations this year too. Whatever the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus announces should be observed. If they impose a ban on travelling, people should not travel. People should do whatever is said to be necessary. I myself will definitely not travel this year, just like last year, and I will observe whatever the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus announces.
Coronavirus affects people’s livelihoods as well. We should realize this. You can see what problems Coronavirus has created for people in terms of their livelihood. If the disease continues, things will keep worsening and problems will intensify. We should put an end to this natural disaster as soon as possible. Today unfortunately, the people’s economic situation is not good. This has caused me great concern. Prices are extremely high. As you can see, the price of fruits and other such goods is very high these days close to the New Year. Fruits are abundant, but prices are very high. Unfortunately, it is not the farmers and orchard owners who are reaping the profits. Rather, it is dealers and third parties who are reaping the profits at the expense of the people. Therefore, the honorable officials should resolve the people’s problems in livelihood and the issue of high prices. And this is possible. There are solutions. I have spoken of this in numerous meetings, and I have discussed the experts’ viewpoints with the officials. There are solutions, and God willing they can put these into practice,.
I hope that God, the Exalted, has ordained a good future for the country and the people, that the sacred heart of the Imam of the Time is satisfied with us, and that our nation and our country will benefit from the prayers of that great Imam.
Greetings be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings
