Statements in Meeting with Commanders of the 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division / The Commoners and the Elite

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

O God, guide our tongues with truth and wisdom.

One of the prominent aspects of Islamic culture, whose vivid examples are mostly seen in the early history of Islam and less so over time, is the culture of combat and jihad. Jihad is not only about being present on the battlefield; any effort to confront the enemy can be considered jihad. Of course, some may do something and endure hardship and call it jihad, but this interpretation is incorrect because one condition of jihad is that it must be against the enemy. This confrontation sometimes takes place on the armed battlefield, which is called military jihad; sometimes in the political arena, which is called political jihad; sometimes in cultural matters, which is referred to as cultural jihad; and sometimes in the field of construction, which is called construction jihad. Of course, jihad exists under other titles and in other fields as well. Therefore, the first condition of jihad is that there must be effort and struggle, and the second condition is that it must be against the enemy.

This point in Islamic culture is a prominent one, as we said, with examples in various fields. In our time, when the call to confront the detested Pahlavi regime emerged from the throat of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and his colleagues in 1962, jihad began. Before Imam Khomeini, jihad existed in a limited and scattered form, which was not significant. When Imam Khomeini's struggle began, jihad gained importance until it reached its stage of victory, namely the victory of the Islamic Revolution. After that, until today, jihad has existed in this country because we have an enemy. Because our enemies are materially strong. Because enemies have surrounded us from all sides. They are serious in their enmity with Islamic Iran and are not joking; because they want to strike in any way possible. Therefore, in Islamic Iran, anyone who in any way makes an effort against the enemy—who has aimed poisonous arrows at the body of the revolution and the Islamic country—has performed jihad in the way of God. Thanks be to God, the flame of jihad has been and will be.

Of course, one of the jihads is intellectual jihad. Because the enemy may make us heedless, divert our thoughts, and cause us to err and make mistakes; anyone who makes an effort to enlighten people's thoughts, prevents deviation, and stops misunderstanding, since it is against the enemy, their effort is called jihad. That too is a jihad that perhaps today is considered important. Therefore, our country today is the center of jihad, and in this regard, we have no worries. Thanks be to God, the country's officials are good. Today, at the head of the country, there are faithful, striving, aware, and sincere personalities. Today, a personality like our President—Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani—who is a striving and fighting personality and has spent his life in jihad, is engaged in jihad day and night. Other officials, in various sectors—the parliament, the judiciary, the armed forces, the masses of people—all are in jihad, and the country is a country of jihad in the way of God. In this regard, I, whose main burden is to see where the flame of jihad is subsiding and, with God's help, not let it; to see where mistakes are being made and stop them—my main responsibility is these things—I am not worried about the presence of jihad in the current situation of the country. Know this! However, there is a profound point in the Quran that makes us think. The Quran tells us: Look and learn from the past history. Now, some may sit and philosophize that the past cannot be a model for today. I have heard that they say such things, and of course, they are storing snow! In their imagination, they want to raise issues with philosophical methods. We have nothing to do with them. The Quran, which is truthful and confirms the truth, invites us to take lessons from history. Taking lessons from history means the same concern I just mentioned. Because there is something in history that if we want to learn from it, we must have concern. This concern is related to the future. Why and for what, concern? What has happened?

What happened is in the early days of Islam. I once said: It is worth the Islamic nation thinking about why fifty years after the Prophet's death, the situation of the Islamic country reached a point where Muslim people—from their ministers, commanders, scholars, judges, reciters, and even their riffraff and thugs—gathered in Kufa and Karbala and with such a horrific situation, brought the Prophet's beloved to blood and soil?! Well; one must think about why this happened? I raised this issue two or three years ago in one or two speeches under the title "Lessons from Ashura." Of course, the lessons of Ashura, like the lesson of courage and others, are separate. More important than the lessons of Ashura are the lessons of Ashura. I have said this before. It reached a point where, in front of people's eyes, they brought the Prophet's sanctuary to the streets and markets and accused them of being outsiders!

Outsider does not mean that they came from outside the country. At that time, the term outsider was not used in today's sense. Outsider means part of the Khawarij. It means someone who rebels. In Islam, there is a culture that if someone rebels and rises against a just Imam, they are cursed by God, the Prophet, the believers, and the forces of the believers. Therefore, an outsider is someone who rises against a just Imam. Thus, all Muslim people at that time disliked the outsiders, meaning the rebels.

In the hadith, it is stated that "Whoever rises against a just Imam, his blood is wasted"; whoever in Islam rises and rebels against a just Imam, his blood is wasted. Islam, which gives so much importance to people's blood, has such a stance here. At the time of Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) uprising, there were those who introduced the Prophet's son, the son of Fatimah Zahra, and the son of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon them) as a rebel against a just Imam! Who is the just Imam? Yazid ibn Muawiya!

Those people succeeded in introducing Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) as a rebel. Well; the oppressive government apparatus says whatever it wants. Why should people believe it?! Why should people remain silent?! What worries me is this part of the issue. I say: What happened that it reached this point?! What happened that the Islamic nation, which was so attentive to the details of Islamic laws and Quranic verses, became so heedless and negligent in such an obvious matter that suddenly such a great tragedy occurred?! Such events worry a person. Are we stronger and more solid than the society of the Prophet's and the Commander of the Faithful's (peace be upon them) time?! What should we do to prevent it from happening like that? Well; no one has given a comprehensive answer to the question we asked, "What happened that it happened like this?" Issues have been raised, but they are not sufficient and comprehensive. For this reason, I intend to speak briefly and concisely about the essence of the issue today. Then I will leave the thread of the matter to your minds to think about it yourselves. Those who are knowledgeable and thoughtful should research and study this issue, and those who are practical should seek ways to prevent the recurrence of such events.

If today you and I do not prevent the issue, it is possible that fifty years later, ten years later, or five years later, our Islamic society will reach the point it reached during Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) time. Unless sharp eyes see to the depths; a trustworthy guardian shows the way; thoughtful people guide the work, and strong wills support this movement. Then, of course, there will be a strong trench and a fortified fortress that no one will be able to penetrate. Otherwise, if we let it go, the same situation will arise again. Then, all these bloods will be wasted.

In that era, it reached a point where the descendants of those killed in the Battle of Badr, who were sent to hell by the Commander of the Faithful and Hamza and the rest of the Islamic commanders, sat in the Prophet's place, placed the head of the Prophet's beloved in front of them, and struck his lips and teeth with a bamboo stick and said:

"I wish my ancestors at Badr had witnessed The anguish of the Khazraj from the blow of the spear"

Meaning, let our dead in the Battle of Badr rise and see what we did to their killers! This is the issue. This is where the Quran says take lessons! This is where it says: "Say, travel through the land" in the land of history and see what has happened; then beware of yourselves.

I, so that this meaning may be explained and pursued in the current culture of the country, God willing, by knowledgeable and thoughtful individuals, will briefly state some points:

Look, my dear ones! When you look at the human community, in every society, city, and country, from one perspective, people are divided into two categories: one category consists of those who work based on their own thinking, understanding, and decision-making. They know a path and walk in that path—regardless of whether it is good or bad. These are the ones we call the elite. The other category consists of those who do not want to know which path is right and which movement is correct. In reality, they do not want to understand, weigh, analyze, and comprehend. In other words, they follow the atmosphere. They look at how the atmosphere is and move according to that atmosphere. We call this category of people the commoners. Therefore, society can be divided into the elite and the commoners. Now pay attention so I can tell you a point about the elite and the commoners so that these two are not confused:

Who are the elite? Are they a specific class? The answer is no. Because among the elite, alongside educated individuals, there are also uneducated people. Sometimes someone is uneducated but is among the elite. Meaning they understand what they are doing. They act based on decision-making and discernment; even if they have not studied, have not gone to school, do not have a degree, and have not worn clerical attire. In any case, they have an understanding of the issues.

Before the victory of the revolution, I was exiled in Iranshahr. In one of the neighboring cities, we had a few acquaintances, one of whom was a driver, another had a free job, and in any case, they were not people of culture and knowledge in the specific sense of the word. Apparently, they were called commoners. However, they were among the elite. They regularly came to Iranshahr to see us and talked about their negotiations with the cleric of their city. The cleric of their city was also a good person; however, he was among the commoners. You see! The dump truck driver is among the elite, but the respected cleric and prayer leader is among the commoners! For example, that cleric would say: "Why do you send one salutation when the Prophet's name is mentioned, but when 'Agha's' name is mentioned, you send three salutations?!" He did not understand. The driver would reply: The day we no longer have a struggle; Islam prevails everywhere; the revolution is victorious; we will not send even one salutation, let alone three! Today, these three salutations are a struggle! The driver understood, the cleric did not!

I gave this example so you know that when we say the elite, it does not mean someone with a specific attire. It could be a man, it could be a woman. It could be someone educated, it could be someone uneducated. It could be someone wealthy, it could be someone poor. It could be someone serving in government institutions, it could be someone among the opponents of the tyrannical government institutions. When we say the elite—from good and bad (we will also divide the elite)—we mean those who, when they perform an action, take a stance, and choose a path, do so based on thought and analysis. They understand, decide, and act. These are the elite. The opposite of them are the commoners. Commoners are those who, when the atmosphere moves in a direction, they follow it and have no analysis. Sometimes people say "Long live!" and they look and say "Long live!" Sometimes people say "Death to!" and they look and say "Death to!" Sometimes the atmosphere is like this; they come here. Sometimes the atmosphere is like that; they go there!

Once—suppose—Hazrat Muslim entered Kufa. They say: "The cousin of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) has come. The family of Bani Hashim has come. Let's go. They want to rise, they want to rebel" and so on. They are provoked, they go around Hazrat Muslim; they become eighteen thousand pledgers with Muslim! Five or six hours later, the tribal leaders come to Kufa; they tell the people: "What are you doing?! Who are you fighting with?! Who are you defending?! They will destroy you!" These people leave Muslim and return to their homes. Then, when Ibn Ziyad's soldiers surround the house of "Tua'a" to capture Muslim, these same people come out of their homes and fight against Muslim! Whatever they do, it is not based on thought and correct analysis. They move as the atmosphere dictates. These are the commoners. Therefore, in every society, we have the elite and the commoners. For now, let's set aside the "commoners" and go to the elite.

The elite are naturally two fronts: the elite of the right front and the elite of the false front. Some are people of thought, culture, and knowledge and work for the right front. They have understood which front is right. They have recognized the truth and, based on their discernment, work and move for it. These are one group. Another group is the opposite of the truth and anti-truth. If we go back to the early days of Islam, we should say that "some are the companions of the Commander of the Faithful and Imam Hussein (peace be upon them) and supporters of Bani Hashim. Others are the companions of Muawiya and supporters of Bani Umayyah." Among the supporters of Bani Umayyah, there were also thoughtful, intelligent, and clever individuals. They too are among the elite.

So the elite of a society are divided into two groups: the elite supporting the truth and the elite supporting falsehood. What do you expect from the elite supporting falsehood? It is obvious that the expectation is that they sit and plan against the truth and against you. Therefore, you must fight them. You must fight the elite supporting falsehood. There is no doubt about this.

As I speak to you, calculate for yourself and see where you are. When we say the thread of the matter is handed over to the mind; it means we should not confuse history with a story. History means our situation, in another scene:

It is better that the description of the beloveds Be said in the story of others

History means you and me; it means those of us who are here today. So, if we are telling the history, each of us should look and see in which part of the story we are. Then see how someone like us acted in that part of the story that they were struck? Be careful not to act like that.

Suppose you are attending a tactics training class. There, for example, you specify the enemy's hypothetical front, and you also specify the hypothetical friendly front. Then you realize the wrong tactics of the friendly front and see that the designer of the friendly plan made a certain mistake. You should not make that mistake when you want to design tactics. Or, for example, the tactics were correct; but the commander or the radio operator or the artilleryman or the messenger or the simple soldier in the friendly front made a certain mistake. You understand that you should not repeat that mistake. History is like this.

Find yourself in the scene I am explaining from the early days of Islam. Some are among the commoners and lack decision-making power. The commoners, depending on their good fortune, if they happen to be in a period when leaders like Imam Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and our late Imam (may God's mercy be upon him) were in charge and were leading the society towards paradise, they will be driven towards paradise by the hands of the good ones. But if they are not fortunate and are in a period when "We made them leaders who invite to the Fire" or "Have you not seen those who exchanged the blessing of God for disbelief and led their people to the abode of destruction. Hell, they will burn in it, and what an evil abode!" they will be driven towards hell. So, be careful not to be among the commoners.

Not being among the commoners does not mean that you must necessarily pursue higher education; no! I said that being among the commoners does not mean this. There are many who have pursued higher education but are among the commoners. There are many who have pursued religious education but are among the commoners. There are many who are poor or rich but are among the commoners. Being among the commoners is up to me and you. We must be careful not to join this group. It means whatever we do should be based on insight. Anyone who does not act based on insight is among the commoners. Therefore, you see the Quran says about the Prophet: "Call to God with insight, I and those who follow me." It means I and my followers act with insight, invite, and move forward. So, first, see if you are among the group of commoners or not. If you are among the group of commoners, quickly remove yourself from that group. Strive to gain analytical power; discern and attain knowledge.

And as for the group of the elite. In the group of the elite, we must see if we are among the elite supporting the truth, or are we considered among the elite supporting falsehood. Here the issue is clear for us. The elite of our society are among the elite supporting the truth, and there is no doubt about this. Because they invite to the Quran, to the tradition, to the family of the Prophet, to the path of God, and to Islamic values. Today, the Islamic Republic is endowed with the elite supporting the truth. So, the elite supporting falsehood are separate, and for now, we have nothing to do with them. We go to the elite supporting the truth.

All the difficulty of the issue is from here onwards. My dear ones! The elite supporting the truth are of two types. One type consists of those who are in confrontation with the world, life, position, lust, money, pleasure, comfort, name, and all the good things. These things we mentioned are all among the beauties of life. "The goods of the worldly life." Goods mean benefit. These are the benefits of worldly life. When the Quran says "the goods of the worldly life," it does not mean that these goods are bad; no. They are goods, and God has created them for you. However, if you become so attracted to these goods and benefits of life that when a difficult duty arises, you cannot let go, it is a disaster! If while enjoying the worldly goods, when a difficult test arises, you can easily let go of those goods, then it is an account.

You see that even the elite supporting the truth are divided into two types. These issues require precision and study. By chance, society, the system, and the revolution cannot be insured. One must engage in study, precision, and thought. If in a society, the good type of the elite supporting the truth; meaning those who can let go of worldly goods when necessary, are in the majority, the Islamic society will never be afflicted with the fate of the society during Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) time and will certainly be insured forever. But if the situation is reversed and the other type of the elite supporting the truth—those who are attached to worldly goods. Those who know the truth but still tremble in front of worldly goods—are in the majority, it is a disaster!

What does the world mean at all? It means money, it means a house, it means lust, it means position, it means name and fame, it means post and responsibility, and it means life. If people, to preserve their lives, abandon the path of God and do not say the truth where they should because their lives are at risk, or for their position or for their job or for their money or love for their children, family, and relatives and friends, abandon the path of God, if the number of these people is large, then it is a disaster. Then the likes of Hussein ibn Ali will go to the slaughterhouse of Karbala and will be dragged to the killing field. Then Yazids will come to power, and the Umayyads will rule for a thousand months over a country that the Prophet had established, and the Imamate will be turned into a monarchy, the Imamate will be turned into a monarchy!

The Islamic society is a society of Imamate. It means at the head of the society is an Imam. A person who has power, but people follow him out of faith and heart, and he is their leader. But a Sultan and a king is someone who rules over people with force and domination. People do not like him. People do not accept him. People do not believe in him. (Of course, people whose heads are worth their bodies.) Nevertheless, with force and domination, he rules over people. The Umayyads turned the Imamate in Islam into a monarchy and kingship and ruled for a thousand months—meaning ninety years!—over the great Islamic state. The crooked structure that the Umayyads established was such that after the revolution against them and their fall, with the same wrong structure, it was handed over to the Abbasids. When the Abbasids came, for six centuries, as the caliphs and successors of the Prophet, they ruled over the Islamic world. The caliphs or, to put it better, the kings of this dynasty were people of drinking, corruption, debauchery, wickedness, wealth accumulation, aristocracy, and a thousand other sins and vices like the rest of the kings of the world. They went to the mosque; they led prayers for the people, and people also followed them in prayer, and that following was less out of compulsion and more because of wrong and mistaken beliefs; because they had corrupted people's beliefs.

Yes! When the elite supporting the truth, or their overwhelming majority, in a society, change their nature so much that only their own world becomes important to them; when out of fear for their lives, out of fear of losing wealth, out of fear of losing position and post, out of fear of becoming unpopular and out of fear of being left alone, they are willing to accept the rule of falsehood and do not stand against falsehood and do not support the truth and do not risk their lives; then in the Islamic world, the tragedy begins with the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him)—in that manner. The rule goes to the Umayyads and the Marwan branch and then to the Abbasids and finally to the series of kings in the Islamic world, up to today!

Today, look at the Islamic world and the various Islamic countries and the land where the House of God and the City of the Prophet are located, and see what corrupt and wicked people are at the head of power and government! Compare the rest of the lands with that land. Therefore, in the Ziyarat Ashura, you say: "O God, curse the first oppressor who oppressed the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad" in the first degree, we curse those who laid the first brick, which is right.

Now that we have come a little closer to analyzing the instructive event of Ashura, we go to history:

The era of the deviation of the elite supporting the truth began about seven or eight years after the Prophet's death. I am not dealing with the issue of the caliphate at all. The issue of the caliphate is separate from the very dangerous process I want to address. The events began less than a decade after the Prophet's death. Initially, the veterans of Islam—including the companions and those who participated in the Prophet's wars—were given privileges, one of which was greater financial benefit from the public treasury. It was stated that their equality with others was not correct and they could not be equated with others! This was the first brick. The movements leading to deviation start from such a small point and then each step accelerates the next step. Deviations started from this point until it reached the middle of Uthman's era. During the third caliph's era, the situation became such that the prominent companions of the Prophet were among the biggest capitalists of their time! Do you understand! That is, these high-ranking companions whose names are famous—Talha, Zubair, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and others—these great ones, each of whom had a thick book of honors in Badr and Hunayn and Uhud, were in the first rank of the capitalists of Islam. One of them, when he died and they wanted to divide the gold left from him among the heirs, they first turned it into ingots and then began to break and crush them with an axe. Like firewood, which is divided into small pieces with an axe! Gold is usually weighed with a stone of mithqal. See how much gold there was, that they were breaking it with an axe! These are recorded in history and are not issues that we say the Shia have written in their books. These are truths that everyone has tried to record and document. The amount of dirhams and dinars left from them was legendary.

This situation created the issues of the Commander of the Faithful's (peace be upon him) era. That is, during his time, because some people valued position, they opposed Ali. Twenty-five years had passed since the Prophet's death, and many mistakes and errors had begun. The breath of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was the breath of the Prophet. If twenty-five years had not passed, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) would not have had a problem building that society. But he faced a society that: "They take the wealth of God as a rotation and the servants of God as slaves and the religion of God as a game among them" a society in which values were overshadowed by worldliness. A society in which the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), when he wanted to take people to jihad, had so many problems and troubles! The elite of his time—the elite supporting the truth, meaning those who knew the truth—most of them were those who preferred the world over the hereafter! The result was that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was forced to wage three wars; he spent the four years and nine months of his rule constantly in these wars and eventually was martyred by one of those wicked people.

The blood of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is as valuable as the blood of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). In the Ziyarat Warith, you read: "Peace be upon you, O avenger of God and the son of His avenger." It means that God Almighty is the owner of the blood of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and the owner of the blood of his father, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). This expression has not been used for anyone else. Every blood that is shed has an owner. Whoever is killed, his father is the owner of the blood; his son is the owner of the blood; his brother is the owner of the blood. The Arabs call the right of blood vengeance and ownership "Thar." The "Thar" of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) belongs to God. It means the right of the blood of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and his noble father belongs to God Himself. The owner of the blood of these two people is the sacred essence of God.

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was martyred because of the situation of the Islamic society at that time. Then the Imamate passed to Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and in the same situation, he could not last more than six months. They left him completely alone. Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him) knew that if he fought with that small number of companions and supporters against Muawiya and was martyred, the great moral decline that dominated the elite of the Islamic society would not allow them to pursue his blood! The propaganda, money, and cunning of Muawiya would take over everything, and after one or two years, people would say Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) unnecessarily stood against Muawiya. Therefore, he endured all the hardships and did not throw himself into the field of martyrdom; because he knew his blood would be wasted.

Sometimes being martyred is easier than staying alive! Truly, it is so! Those who are people of meaning and wisdom and precision understand this well. Sometimes staying alive and living and striving in an environment is much more difficult than being killed and martyred and joining God. Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) chose this difficulty.

The situation at that time was like this. The elite were submissive and were not willing to make a move. When Yazid came to power, fighting him became possible. In other words: someone who was killed in the war with Yazid, his blood, due to the bad situation Yazid had, would not be wasted. Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) rose for this reason. The situation during Yazid's time was such that uprising seemed the only possible choice. This was contrary to the time of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) when there were two choices of martyrdom and staying alive, and staying alive had more reward and effect and effort than being killed. Therefore, Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) chose the harder choice. But during Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) time, the situation was not like that. There was only one choice. Staying alive had no meaning; not rising had no meaning, and therefore he had to rise. Now if he reached government through that uprising, he had reached it. If he was killed, he had been killed. He had to show the way and plant the flag on the path so that it would be clear that when the situation is like this, the movement should be like this.

When Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) rose—with the greatness he had in the Islamic society—many of the elite did not come to him and did not help him. See how much the situation in a society is ruined by the elite who are willing to easily prefer their own world over the fate of the Islamic world in future centuries!

I was looking at the events of Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) uprising and his movement from Medina. I came across this point that one night before the night when he was to leave Medina, Abdullah ibn Zubair had left. Both, in fact, had the same situation; but where is Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), and where is Abdullah ibn Zubair! The speech of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and his confrontation and address were of such firmness that Walid, the governor of Medina at the time, did not dare to speak harshly to him! Marwan said a word in criticism of that Imam. Because his criticism was inappropriate, the Imam rebuked him so severely that he had to sit in his place. Then the likes of this Marwan surrounded Abdullah ibn Zubair's house. Abdullah sent his brother with this message to them that if you allow, I will not come to the governor's house for now. They insulted him and said: We will destroy you! If you do not come out of your house, we will kill you and do this and that! They threatened him so much that Abdullah ibn Zubair began to plead and said: Then allow me to send my brother for now; I will come to the governor's house tomorrow. He pleaded and begged so much that someone intervened and said: Give him a respite for tonight.

Abdullah ibn Zubair, despite being a well-known and influential figure, had such a different situation from Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). No one dared to speak harshly to that Imam. When he left Medina, whether on the way or in Mecca, whoever met him and conversed with him, addressed him with "May I be your ransom" (May I be your ransom) and "May my father and mother be your ransom" and "May my uncle and maternal uncle be your ransom." The general attitude towards Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) was like this. His position in the Islamic society was so distinguished and prominent. Abdullah ibn Muti' came to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) in Mecca and said: "O son of the Messenger of God! If you are killed, after you, those who have power will enslave us. Today, it is out of respect for you, out of fear of you, and out of your awe that they follow their usual path.

The greatness of Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him) position among the elite is such that even Ibn Abbas humbles himself before him; Abdullah ibn Ja'far humbles himself, Abdullah ibn Zubair, despite not liking the Imam, humbles himself. The great ones and all the elite of the people of truth, in front of the greatness of his position, are humble. Those who are humble to him are the elite of the right front; who are not on the side of the government; are not on the side of the Umayyads and are not on the side of falsehood. Among them, there are even many Shia who accept the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and consider him the first caliph. But all of these, when faced with the harshness of the ruling apparatus and see that their lives, health, comfort, position, and money are at risk, they back off! When these people back off, the common people also turn to that side.

When you look at the names of those who wrote letters to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) from Kufa and invited him, you see that all of them are among the elite and are the cream and prominent figures of society. The number of letters is large. Hundreds of pages of letters and perhaps several sacks or large bundles of letters were sent from Kufa to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). All the letters were written by the great ones and the notables and the prominent figures and the same elite. However, when you look at the content and tone of the letters, it becomes clear which of these elite supporting the truth are among those who are willing to sacrifice their religion for their world and which are those who are willing to sacrifice their world for their religion. From the separation of the letters, it can also be understood that the number of those who are willing to sacrifice their religion for their world is greater. The result in Kufa is that Muslim ibn Aqil is martyred, and from the same Kufa where eighteen thousand citizens pledged allegiance to Muslim, twenty, thirty thousand or more go to Karbala to fight against Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)! That is, the movement of the elite brings with it the movement of the commoners.

I do not know if the greatness of this truth, which always grips intelligent people, becomes clear to us or not? You must have heard the story of Kufa. They wrote letters to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), and the Imam, in the first step, sent Muslim ibn Aqil to Kufa. He thought to himself, I will send Muslim there. If he reports that the situation is favorable, I will also head to Kufa. As soon as Muslim ibn Aqil entered Kufa, he went to the house of the great Shia and read the Imam's letter. Groups of people came and all expressed their devotion. The governor of Kufa, Nu'man ibn Bashir, was a weak and gentle person. He said: As long as no one fights with me, I will not fight. Therefore, he did not confront Muslim. People, seeing the atmosphere calm and the field open, pledged allegiance to the Imam more than before. Two or three of the elite of the false front—the supporters of the Umayyads—wrote to Yazid that if you want to have Kufa, send a suitable person to govern. Because Nu'man ibn Bashir cannot resist Muslim ibn Aqil. Yazid also appointed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Basra, to govern Kufa as well, in addition to Basra—with today's term, with maintaining the position. Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad rode from Basra to Kufa in one go. In the matter of his coming to Kufa, the role of the elite is also evident, which if I see an opportunity, I will narrate part of it for you. He arrived at the gates of Kufa at night. The ordinary people of Kufa—from those commoners who were incapable of analysis—when they saw someone entering the city with a horse and equipment and a veil on his face, they thought it was Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). They ran forward and shouted, "Peace be upon you, O son of the Messenger of God!" in the air!

The characteristic of a common person is like this. A person who is not analytical does not wait for investigation. They saw someone entering with a horse and equipment. Without having spoken a word with him, they made a wrong assumption. As soon as someone said he is Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), everyone shouted Imam Hussein, Imam Hussein! They greeted him and honored his arrival; without waiting for the truth to be revealed. Ubaydullah did not pay attention to them and went to the governor's house and from there implemented the plan to fight Muslim ibn Aqil. His main strategy was to threaten and torture the supporters of Muslim ibn Aqil with the utmost pressure. For this reason, he deceitfully brought Hani ibn Urwa to the governor's house and beat him. When a group of people surrounded the governor's house in protest of his behavior, he dispersed them with lies and deceit.

At this point, the role of the so-called elite supporting the truth, who knew the truth and discerned it, but preferred their world over it, becomes evident. On the other hand, Muslim ibn Aqil moved with a large crowd. In the history of "Ibn Athir," it is mentioned that it seemed as if thirty thousand people had gathered around Muslim. Of this number, only four thousand were standing around his residence with swords in hand, chanting in favor of Muslim ibn Aqil.

These events are related to the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah. What Ibn Ziyad did was to send some of the elite among the people to scare them. The elite also went among the people and said, who are you fighting with?! Why are you fighting?! If you want to be safe, go back to your homes. These are the Umayyads. They have money, swords, and whips. They scared the people and dispersed them from around Muslim so much that by the time of the evening prayer, he had no one with him; no one!

Then Ibn Ziyad went to the mosque of Kufa and publicly announced that everyone must come to the mosque and perform their evening prayer under my leadership!

History writes: The mosque of Kufa was filled with a crowd that stood behind Ibn Ziyad for the evening prayer. Why did this happen? When I look, I see that the elite supporting the truth are to blame, and some of them acted extremely badly. Like who? Like Shurayh the judge. Shurayh the judge was not among the Umayyads! He was someone who understood who was right. He understood what the situation was. When Hani ibn Urwa was thrown into prison with a wounded head and face, the soldiers and members of his tribe surrounded the palace of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad.

Ibn Ziyad was afraid. They said: You have killed Hani. Ibn Ziyad told Shurayh the judge: Go and see if Hani is alive, inform his people. Shurayh saw that Hani ibn Urwa was alive but wounded. As soon as Hani saw Shurayh, he cried out: O Muslims! What is this situation?! Where are my people?! Why didn't they come to me?! Why don't they come to save me from here?! Are they dead?! Shurayh the judge said: I wanted to convey Hani's words to those who had surrounded the governor's house. But alas, Ibn Ziyad's spy was present there, and I did not dare! What does it mean not to dare? It means the same thing we say, preferring the world over religion! Perhaps if Shurayh had done this one thing, history would have changed. If Shurayh had told the people that Hani is alive but wounded and imprisoned and that Ubaydullah intends to kill him, given that Ubaydullah had not yet gained power, they would have rushed in and saved Hani. By saving Hani, they would have gained power, found morale, surrounded the governor's house, captured Ubaydullah; either killed him or sent him away. Then Kufa would have belonged to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), and the incident of Karbala would not have happened! If the incident of Karbala had not happened; it means Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) would have reached government. The government of Hussein, even if it lasted six months, would have had many blessings for history. Although, it might have lasted longer.

Sometimes a timely action saves history, and sometimes an untimely action, resulting from fear and weakness and worldliness and greed for survival, plunges history into the abyss of misguidance. O Shurayh the judge! Why did you not testify to the truth when you saw Hani in that situation?! The flaw and defect of the elite who prefer the world over religion is this.

Let's return to the city of Kufa: When Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad told the tribal leaders of Kufa to go and disperse the people from around Muslim, or else I will destroy you, why did they obey his command?! The tribal leaders were not all Umayyads and had not come from Sham! Some of them were among those who wrote letters to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). Shabath ibn Rib'i was one of them who wrote a letter to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and invited him to Kufa. He was one of those who, when Ubaydullah said go and disperse the people from around Muslim, stepped forward and began to threaten and intimidate the people of Kufa!

Why did they do this?! If people like Shabath ibn Rib'i, at a critical moment, instead of fearing Ibn Ziyad, feared God, history would have changed. Suppose the commoners dispersed; why did the faithful elite who were around Muslim abandon him? Among them were good and reputable individuals, some of whom were later martyred in Karbala; but here, they made a mistake.

Of course, those who were martyred in Karbala, their mistake was atoned for. There is no discussion about them, and we do not mention their names. But some of the elite did not even go to Karbala. They could not go; they did not have the opportunity, and of course, they later had to become part of the Tawwabin. What is the use?! When Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) was killed; when the Prophet's son was lost; when the tragedy occurred; when the movement of history towards the slope began, what is the use then?! Therefore, in history, the number of the Tawwabin is several times the number of the martyrs of Karbala. All the martyrs of Karbala were killed in one day; the Tawwabin were also all killed in one day. But the effect that the Tawwabin left in history is not one-thousandth of the effect left by the martyrs of Karbala! Because they did not come at the right time. They did not do the work at the moment. They made the decision late and understood late.

Why did you leave Muslim ibn Aqil alone, knowing he was the representative of the Imam?! He had come, and you had pledged allegiance to him. You had accepted him. I am not talking about the commoners. I am talking about the elite. Why did you leave Muslim alone in the evening and at night so that he had to take refuge in the house of Tua'a?! If the elite had not left Muslim alone and, for example, the number had reached a hundred people, those hundred people would have surrounded Muslim. They would have made one of their houses the command center. They would have stood and defended. Muslim, even when he was alone, when they wanted to capture him, it took hours. Ibn Ziyad's soldiers attacked several times; Muslim alone repelled them all. If a hundred people were with him, could they have captured him?! Again, people would have gathered around them. So, the elite at this stage failed to surround Muslim.

See! From every direction we move, we reach the elite. The decision-making of the elite at the right time, the discernment of the elite at the right time, the sacrifice of the elite from the world at the necessary moment, the action of the elite for God at the necessary moment. These are what save and preserve history and values! At the necessary moment, the necessary action must be taken. If you hesitate and the time passes, it is no longer useful. In Algeria, the Islamic Front of that country had won the elections; but with the instigation of America and others, a military government came to power. On the first day that the military government was formed there, it did not have power. If that day—I had also sent a message to them—and in those early hours of the military government, the leaders of the Islamic Front had brought the people to the streets, the military power could not have done anything, and it would have been destroyed. As a result, today in Algeria, an Islamic government would have been in power. But they did not take action. They should have made the decision at the right time, but they did not. Some were afraid, some became weak, some were confused, and some quarreled over gaining leadership.

On the afternoon of the eighteenth of Bahman in the year 57, a military government was declared in Tehran. The Imam told the people to pour into the streets. If the Imam had not made such a decision at that moment, today Mohammad Reza would have been in power in this country. That is, if they had appeared with a military government, and the people had stayed in their homes, first the Imam and the residents of the Refah School and then the inhabitants of other areas would have been massacred and annihilated. They would have killed five hundred thousand people in Tehran, and the issue would have been over. Just as in Indonesia, they killed a million people, and it was over. Today, that gentleman is in power and is a very respectable and honorable personality! Not a drop of water moved! But the Imam made the necessary decision at the necessary moment. If the elite, what they discerned, act promptly and without delay, history is saved, and Hussein ibn Ali's will not be dragged to Karbala. If the elite understood wrongly, understood late, understood but disagreed; Karbalas will be repeated in history.

Look at the Afghans! At the head of the work were reputable people; but the elite class spread in society did not respond. One said we have work today. One said the war is over. Leave us alone, let us go to our work; let us go to our business. For several years, they all gathered thousands and thousands; but we roamed the fronts and went from this front to that front. Sometimes west, sometimes south, sometimes north. Enough is enough! Well; if they acted like this, the same Karbalas will be repeated in history!

God Almighty has promised that if someone helps Him, He will also help him. There is no going back! If someone strives and moves for God, victory will be granted to him. Not that they give victory to every single person! When a group moves, of course, there are martyrdoms, there are hardships, there are sufferings; but there is also victory: "And God will surely help those who help Him" He does not say that we give victory; no blood will be shed. No! "They fight and are killed"; they kill and are killed; but they achieve victory. This is the divine tradition. When we are afraid of our blood being shed; afraid of our money and reputation being wasted; afraid for our family; afraid for our friends; afraid of our comfort and pleasure being disturbed; afraid of preserving our business and position, we did not move; afraid of expanding our property and estate, we did not move; it is clear! Even if ten Imam Hussein's are on the way, they will all be martyred and perish! Just as the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was martyred; just as Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) was martyred.

The elite! The elite! The class of the elite! My dear ones! See which category you belong to? If you are among the elite—which you certainly are—then be alert. Our only point is this. Of course, what we talked about was a summary of the whole. In two sections, this issue must be worked on: one is the historical aspect of the issue; if I had time, I would do it myself. Unfortunately, I do not have time to deal with these topics. In any case, knowledgeable and skilled enthusiasts should search and find examples that are abundant in history and mention where the elite should have acted and did not? What are the names of these elite? Who are they? Of course, if there was an opportunity and neither I nor you were tired, I might have talked to you for an hour about these topics and their people; because it is in my mind.

Another section that must be worked on is the application to the situation of each time. Not just our time, but every time. It must be clear how the elite class should act in each time to fulfill their duty. What we said about not being captivated by the world is one word. How not to be captivated by the world? What are its examples and instances?

My dear ones! Moving in the path of God always has opponents. From the same elite we mentioned, if one of them wants to do a good deed—a deed that must be done—four other elite may be found who say, sir, are you unemployed?! Are you crazy?! Don't you have a wife and children?! Why do you pursue such things?! Just as they said during the struggle.

But that one person must stand firm. One of the requirements of the struggle of the elite is that they must stand against words and reproaches. They criticize, they speak ill, they slander; it is not an issue.

We thank God that we had a very good election. All the people participated, and thanks be to God, good representatives were elected. The government, the Ministry of Interior, the President, the Guardian Council, all and all, thanks be to God, worked, and the election was conducted so well. Now four Basijis in different parts of the country—in Tehran or some city—said two words, and there is an uproar that sir, the IRGC entered the elections! Sir, such and such happened! What are these words?! Where?! When?!

Well; it is like this! As soon as you want to take action, make a move, there is an enemy. There are various enemies. Some are friends, they are not enemies, they are from our own front; but they do not understand and do not discern. Therefore, they question. Of course, as the Imam said, the IRGC, the army, and the armed forces should not interfere in politics. But the meaning of the Imam's statement is not that the great force of the Basij does not have the right to take appropriate and suitable action in a great matter like elections. Why do they mix issues together?! All members of the IRGC, like the rest of the people, must act wisely in all matters. Of course, not entering politics—in the same sense that the Imam said—remains in force. It is not that now someone thinks, the policy has changed. That is, the Imam said in his time not to enter politics, now we say enter politics! No! It is the same statement of the Imam. But its instance is not these. Its example is not these. Valuable people, faithful youth, and the best youth of the country, in the matter of elections, take action, do something, be present at the polls, monitor and prevent transgression—God forbid—by some others. These are not wrong actions.

The point is that whatever action you take and whatever the elite do in any section—the recent action, of course, compared to the great and significant actions that may arise in the future, is a small matter—there are those who say why? and object. We thank God that today our country is a country of jihad in the way of God, a country of jihad, a country of sacrifice, and a country of values. The country's officials, the country's great ones, the eminent scholars, the speakers, the preachers, and even in many parts of the universities and other places, are moving in the service of Islam, in the service of the revolution, and in the service of Islamic values. The armed forces are also clear, they are the manifestation of values. The IRGC and these clear records and such divisions whose situation is clear. How much they have worked and how much value they have created! Even now, they must pursue values.

What we said was a summary of the issue that was supposed to be presented on the occasion of the days of Muharram. Of course, what we said was very brief. Although, the time was a bit long. They keep advising us to shorten your speeches; so that you do not get tired. The truth is that I find it advisable not to tire myself so that I can do other work later. But when a person sits in a gathering like yours, the tongue expands, and one does not feel tired.

We hope God grants success to all of you. May God unite the soul of the Imam with the prophets and saints. May God make this clear path that has been placed before the Iranian nation, by His grace, the eternal path of this nation. May God keep us alive in the service of the revolution, in the service of Islam, and in the service of Islamic values and let us die in this path.

O Lord! Make our death a martyrdom in Your path. Elevate the ranks of our martyrs day by day. Grant abundant reward to our disabled veterans from Your side; grant them complete health.

O Lord! Those who have made efforts in this path, who were in captivity for a long time, who were freed or have not yet been freed, or are missing in action, or are missing, and no one knows about them; write the reward of all of them in the highest registers of Your own. Grant reward and patience to their families. Release and free the missing and captives sooner. Reform the affairs of Muslims. Fulfill the needs of Muslims. Save Islamic countries from the clutches of foreigners and from the clutches of America. Awaken the heads of Islamic countries from the sleep of heedlessness and pull them out of the mire of lusts.

O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, crush and subdue America and the rest of the agents and poles of global arrogance as befits Your power and glory. Let the taste of victory and dominance over them be felt by the Iranian nation. Just as You disintegrated the Soviet Union, disintegrate the rest of the poles of global arrogance as well.

O Lord! Those who lived in this path and joined You in this path, include them in Your mercy and blessings. Accept the works and efforts that are made, by Your grace and generosity.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings