Statements of the Commander-in-Chief to the Commanders, Officials, and Personnel of the IRGC and Law Enforcement on Guards Day

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I extend my congratulations on this auspicious and noble day to you dear ones present in this Hussaini gathering and to all the dear guards present throughout the country and in every corner of the world—whether they are guards of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or those who were active in the revolutionary committees and are now in the special guard units.

Our meeting today, as always and wherever you faithful and Hussaini-loving youth devoted to Islam and the revolution are present, is fragrant with the scent of jihad, knowledge, and martyrdom and adorned with Islamic ornaments; especially with the presence of our dear veterans in this gathering, our assembly is more Hussaini, front-line, and Ashura-like.

Although people have changed, the atmosphere remains the same, and the spirit is the same, and this blessed movement has always been like this. There is a flow, a direction, and a movement, but places change, and drops are displaced so that, God willing, this blessed flow and these blessed drops join the ocean of Guardianship, and you find yourselves in that dear, noble, and unparalleled presence under that banner that neither the first nor the last have seen, and all the good people of the world have longed for, and cleanse your heart and soul in that fountain of knowledge.

My dear ones! The name of Hussain ibn Ali, peace be upon him, is a strange name. When you look at it emotionally, you see that the characteristic of that Imam's name among knowledgeable Muslims is that it attracts hearts like a magnet and amber. Of course, among Muslims, there are those who do not have this state and, in truth, are deprived of knowledge of Imam Hussain. On the other hand, there are those who are not considered among the Shia of this family, but among them, many are moved to tears and their hearts are stirred by the name of Hussain, peace be upon him. God Almighty has placed an effect in the name of Imam Hussain that when his name is mentioned, a spiritual state prevails over the hearts and souls of us, the Iranian nation, and other Shia nations. This is the emotional meaning of that sacred essence and existence.

From the beginning, it has been the same among the insightful companions. In the house of the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and in the living environment of these great ones—as one understands from narrations, history, news, and effects—this dear existence had a special quality and was the object of love and affection. Today, it is the same.

From the perspective of knowledge, that great one and this noble name—which refers to that great and esteemed being—are the same. The dearest knowledge and the most elevated intellectual matters are in the words of this great one. Just look at the supplication of Imam Hussain on the Day of Arafah, and you will see that it is truly like the Psalms of the Ahl al-Bayt, full of melodious tunes and passionate and fervent knowledge. Even some of the supplications of Imam Sajjad, when one sees and compares them, it seems that the supplication of this son is an explanation and elucidation of the text of the father's supplication; meaning that is the original, and this is the branch. The strange and noble supplication of Arafah and the words of this great one around Ashura and his sermons outside of Ashura have a strange meaning and spirit and are a vast ocean of high and delicate knowledge and celestial truths that are rarely seen in the works of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.

From a historical perspective, this name and characteristic and personality are a historical segment and a book of history. Of course, not in the simple historical sense and the narrative of events, but in the sense of interpreting and explaining history and teaching historical truths.

I once spoke about the lessons of the event of Imam Hussain and said that besides the lessons we learn from this incident, we also take lessons. 'Lessons' tell us what we should do, but 'lessons' tell us what event happened and what event might happen.

The lesson of the event of Imam Hussain is that one should think about what happened in the history and Islamic society; that too in a society where at its head was a person like the Prophet of God—not an ordinary human—and this Prophet ruled with that unimaginable human power and connection to the inexhaustible ocean of divine revelation and with the endless and unparalleled wisdom he possessed, for ten years in society, and then again, in a short interval, the government of Ali ibn Abi Talib flowed in the same society, and Medina and Kufa alternately became the base of this great government; what event happened and what microbe entered the body of this society that after half a century from the death of the Prophet and twenty years from the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon them, in the same society and among the same people, someone like Hussain ibn Ali is martyred in that manner?!

What happened and how could such an event occur? That too not an unknown son, but a child whom the Noble Prophet took in his arms, went with him to the pulpit, and spoke to the people. He was a son about whom the Prophet said: 'Hussain is from me, and I am from Hussain.' The relationship between this father and son was so strong. That son who, during the government of the Commander of the Faithful, was one of the pillars of government in war and peace and shone like a sun in politics. Then, the situation of that society reached a point where this prominent human and the son of the Prophet, with that action and piety and noble character and dignity and with that circle of lessons in Medina and all those devoted companions and followers and all those Shia in different parts of the Islamic world, are besieged in that horrific manner and kept thirsty and killed, and not only himself but all his men and even a six-month-old child are massacred, and then the women and children of these are taken captive like war prisoners and paraded from city to city. What was the issue and what had happened? This is the lesson.

Compare our society with that society to understand the difference between the two. Here, at the head of society, we had the great Imam, who was undoubtedly greater and more prominent than the people of our time; but where is our Imam, and where is the Prophet? Such a great force was spread by the Prophet in that society that after the death of that great one, for decades, the blow of the Prophet's hand advanced the society. Do not think that these conquests that took place were disconnected from the breath of the Messenger of God; this was the blow of that great one's hand that advanced and advanced the Islamic society. Therefore, the Noble Prophet was present in the conquests of that society and our society until the situation reached this point.

I always tell the youth and students and seminarians and others to take history seriously and look carefully to see what happened: 'That was a nation that has passed away.' Lessons from the past are the teachings and education of the Quran. The essence of the matter lies in a few points that I do not want to analyze and explain here. I have said some, and some are the subject of discussion and scrutiny gatherings where researchers should sit and pay attention to every word of these words.

One of the issues that became the main factor in such an incident was that the spread of worldliness and corruption and immorality took away religious zeal and the sensitivity of faith responsibility. The reason we emphasize the issue of corruption and immorality and fighting and forbidding evil and these things is that it numbs society. The same Medina, which was the first base for establishing the Islamic government, soon became the center of the best musicians and singers and the most famous dancers; to the extent that when they wanted to summon the best singers to the court of Sham, they brought singers and musicians from Medina!

This audacity did not happen a hundred or two hundred years later; rather, it happened around the time of the martyrdom of the beloved daughter of Fatimah Zahra, peace be upon her, and the light of the Prophet's eye, and even before that, during the time of Muawiyah! Therefore, Medina became a center of corruption and immorality, and the sons of the nobility and even some of the youth affiliated with the house of Bani Hashim also fell into corruption and immorality! The leaders of the corrupt government knew what to do and what to promote. This calamity was not exclusive to Medina; other places were also afflicted with such corruption.

The importance of adhering to religion and piety and spirituality and the importance of abstinence and chastity is evident here. The reason we repeatedly emphasize to the best youth of this era, who are you, to be careful of the flood of corruption is for this reason. Today, who is like the young guards? These guards and Basijis are truly the best youth who are at the forefront in the fields of science, religion, and jihad. Where else do we find such youth? We have very few like them, and nowhere in the world are they as numerous. Therefore, one must be careful of the wave of corruption.

Today, thanks be to God, God Almighty has preserved the sanctity and spirituality of this revolution. The youth are pure and chaste; but know that the adornment and pleasure and sweetness of the world is a dangerous thing and shakes hard hearts and strong people. One must stand firm against these temptations. The greater jihad that was mentioned is this. You who have performed your lesser jihad well and have reached this stage today must also be able to perform the greater jihad well.

Thanks be to God, today our dear ones in the IRGC and Basij and also the group of faithful and Hezbollah youth are the best. This blessing must be preserved. The enemy wants to take this away from the Iranian nation and Muslims wherever they are. Our enemies want Muslim nations to be preoccupied with a humiliating and oblivious life and drowning in filth and accepting the domination of foreigners; just as it was before the revolution and today it is the same in many countries of the world.

Another factor that led to that situation, and one observes this meaning in the lives of the Imams, peace be upon them, was that the followers of truth, who were considered the real pillars of the foundation of Guardianship and Shi'ism, turned away from the fate of the Islamic world and became indifferent to it and did not care about the fate of the Islamic world. Some people showed some enthusiasm and fervor for a while, which the rulers suppressed; like the incident of the attack on Medina during the time of Yazid when they raised a clamor against Yazid, and he sent a tyrant who massacred them. This group also completely abandoned everything and forgot the issues. Of course, not all the people of Medina were like that; rather, there were some who had differences among themselves. They acted exactly contrary to Islamic teachings; meaning there was neither unity nor proper organization, nor did the forces have complete connection and communication with each other. Therefore, the result was that the enemy ruthlessly attacked, and they retreated at the first step. This point is an important point.

The work of the two factions of truth and falsehood, which fight each other and strike each other, is obvious. Just as the faction of truth strikes falsehood, falsehood also strikes truth. These blows are exchanged, and when the fate is determined, it is when one of these two factions becomes tired, and whoever tires first accepts defeat.

The whole secret of the continuity of the teachings of the prophets—from the first to the last—was the word of monotheism and the virtues and religious values that were repeated by them, and today these teachings have taken over the world, and wherever you look, you see the teachings of the prophets; while almost all the prophets—except for a few—were exterminated. Moses was tormented so much, and Jesus, son of Mary, was pursued and pressured in that way; but their teachings remain until today.

The main secret is that the prophets did not leave the field, and the defeat of one of them did not cause another to not confront falsehood. All the prophets—except for a few—were struck by their enemies during their lifetime. Nevertheless, the result of the work of this group, who were either killed or burned or imprisoned or sawed alive and suffered so much torture from the powerful, is that today the world is under the banner of the teachings of the prophets, peace be upon them, and wherever you go in the world, you see that the teachings of the prophets are presented, and all the good morals and all these beautiful names, like justice and peace and ... are due to the teachings of the prophets. The secret of all these is not getting tired and not leaving the field. During the time of Imam Hussain, peace be upon him, and that part of Islamic history where so much tragedy occurred, this principle did not exist; because they did not have a connection and communication with each other and quickly felt defeated and quickly got tired and left the field; as a result, the enemy advanced.

Once this experience was used correctly, and that one time, absolute victory was achieved, and that was the story of the Islamic Revolution in our time. God Almighty created the great Imam and that personality in such a way that he did not feel defeat and fatigue, and failure did not enter his spirit. Even in the most difficult situations, he intended to advance. You yourselves saw during the eight-year war that even in the most difficult situations, the one who did not decide to retreat was the Imam himself, who stood firm like a mountain. When such a solid mountain is behind a person, one fights comfortably.

He was the same during the struggle. With all the defeats and hardships and beatings and pressures and exile and old age, he continued to struggle. The great Imam, when he started the struggle, was not young. He was a sixty-three-year-old man at the beginning of the struggle! I remember that in those speeches of the year forty-one, he used to say why and what should I fear? Even if they kill me, I am sixty-three years old, and I will die at the age of the Noble Prophet and the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon them, who passed away. What happiness is better than this? This was his logic.

That day, the Imam was sixty-three years old when he started the struggle from that old age, and because the situation of that day was suitable, he endured all the hardships in his old age. At eighty, he took on the leadership of this great revolution and led it until ninety, with the great events you witnessed. The threat of America and the Soviet Union and the union of the two superpowers and the eight-year war and the attack on Tabas and the economic and propaganda and political siege and ... never shook this solid mountain: 'The storms do not move it.' No storm could shake him, and thus he was victorious.

This experience was applied once, and that was the story of our revolution, where the nation and those who had the heart for struggle stood behind this man and formed united ranks, and even the weakest people came one after another and stood until finally, the enemy was defeated, and today, the enemy is defeated by us.

Today, the enemy is defeated by the Islamic Revolution. All these threats and noises and propaganda uproars and powerful postures they put on are signs of their defeat and fear of this revolution. The fact that the heads of America have fallen into each other and have set up a competition among themselves to speak against the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system and to propose plans and make decisions is a sign of the feeling of defeat of that superpower from the Islamic Revolution and indicates the steadfastness and victory of the Iranian nation in this great seventeen-year scene, from the beginning until now.

The enemy looks carefully to detect and search for a moment of weakness in the face of this revolution and this nation and to attack mercilessly at that moment. Of course, the issues that are being raised these days are not attacks and have no value or importance. They say they will impose an economic siege; haven't they done so until now?!

Today, the world is not the world where Europe and the major Asian countries accept the imposition of the rude and greedy and rude and ill-mannered American politicians. Today, it is a world where every nation has its own place and position. Even small nations, if they have good leaders, are not willing to accept impositions from big nations; let alone that the Americans come to dictate to European governments and companies! Who pays attention to them? Who accepts their impositions?

Suppose the heads of America succeed and advance in their malicious purposes; that is just the beginning of the victory of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation needs no one. Our nation needs to rely on itself and explore within itself. The Iranian nation needs to test its character in difficult fields to discover itself.

This nation is a great nation with brilliant talent. There are high values here. They did not let us pay attention to ourselves and take care of our situation. Blessed is the day when this nation delves into itself and studies itself and its capabilities and resources and abilities; just as during the war, due to necessity, such a thing happened, and we saw its sweet fruits. Therefore, in such events, we will not lose anything.

The issue is that today, at the head of the world's powers, there is a power that is not committed to any true human virtue. Today, the leaders of the American regime are only and only trying to expand their domination in the world. No principle of human principles is valid for them. No value of high human values is considered by them. The cries of the people of Palestine and other Muslim nations, wherever they are trampled, do not matter to them.

Democracy, where it leads to the coming to power of a group that does not obey them, has no value for them. They want democracy only when its outcome benefits them and brings to power a force that goes under their command. Otherwise, they do not accept democracy!

Today, thanks be to God, the centers of resistance against this spirit have multiplied in the world. Until recently, it was only Islamic Iran; but today it is not so, and there are other nations that resist and do not tolerate their impositions. However, since the main point is the Islamic Revolution and the Muslim nation of Iran, they have a strong grudge against our nation and very much wish that the Iranian nation would say I made a mistake! The enemy's wish is for a movement or statement to come from the Iranian nation and the prominent officials of this country that means repudiating their past. Of course, they will not achieve such a thing.

By the grace of the Lord, this nation and the serving government and these faithful and revolutionary officials have learned from their Imam to stand like a mountain against the impositions of America. Our enemies are looking for this, thinking that with threats and bluster and propaganda and insults to the Iranian nation and the country's officials, they can force the nation to retreat. The only remedy that exists is steadfastness.

The Iranian nation and you faithful youth and those who have tasted the flavor of dignity in the face of the powerful enemies' impositions and know what the dignity of a nation means must make it clear to the enemy in all conditions that they will not retreat a hair's breadth from the Islamic positions and the positions that the revolution has taught them. You faithful youth and dear guards and experienced warriors and those who have touched the atmosphere of martyrdom and jihad—or rather created it—can play a very important role in this stage. Your behavior and speech and appearance and declaration and heart and inner self must be filled with the steadfastness and power that our great Imam was the embodiment of, and the independence and freedom of Iran from the shackles of aggressive powers is its sweet fruit, and God willing, the continuous progress and growth of this country will be its subsequent fruits and will lead to the freedom of other nations who will learn from the experiences of this country.

We hope that God Almighty will grant you success, and God willing, the attentions of the Awaited One and the pure supplications of that great one will be upon you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings