Statements in Meeting with Various Segments of the People from Mazandaran, Gilan, Golestan, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad

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

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters; to the faithful people, the enthusiastic youth, the esteemed scholars, and especially to the honorable families of the martyrs who have come from afar and today have illuminated our gathering, our Hosseiniyeh, with their presence. We beseech the Almighty God to bestow His grace, mercy, kindness, and special attention upon all of you dear brothers and sisters, and upon all the people of those provinces from which you have made the effort to come, and upon all the people of Iran.

First of all, I find it necessary to draw the attention of dear brothers and sisters, especially the youth, to the significance of the month of Rajab. One cannot easily overlook the occasions and characteristics related to the days and months. The great scholars and those of spiritual insight have regarded the month of Rajab as a precursor to the month of Ramadan. The month of Rajab and the month of Sha'ban serve as a preparation for one to enter the blessed month of Ramadan - which is the month of divine hospitality - with readiness. What is this readiness? Primarily, it is the readiness of attention and presence of heart; to know oneself in the presence of divine knowledge, to be aware of being in the presence of God - "Glory be to Him who has encompassed all things in His knowledge" - to recognize all of one's states, movements, intentions, and heart's thoughts in the presence of divine knowledge; this is of utmost importance. If this is achieved, then our attention to our actions, our words, our movements, our silence, and our speech will increase; we will pay attention to what we say, where we go, what actions we take, against whom we speak, and in favor of whom we speak. When a person knows themselves to be in the presence of God, they become more mindful of their actions and behaviors. The main issues we face stem from the negligence we exhibit towards our own behaviors and actions. When a person emerges from a state of negligence and realizes they are being observed and accounted for - "Indeed, we were recording what you were doing" - all their movements and actions are in the presence of the Lord, and naturally, they will take care.

With this state, with a purity, with a cleanliness, one should enter the month of Ramadan - "Clean yourself and then enter the tavern"; having cleansed oneself, one should enter the month of Ramadan - then they will derive maximum benefit in the presence of divine hospitality. Look at the month of Rajab with this perspective.

In the supplications of the month of Rajab that are narrated from the Imams, when one looks, they see that most of these supplications are focused on the aspects of monotheism; addressing the greatness of God, the divine attributes, seeing oneself in the face of this greatness, recognizing the clear path towards the Lord, knowing it, and developing a desire and inclination towards it. One of the characteristics of the supplications of the month of Rajab is: directing attention to monotheism, directing attention to God, to the names and attributes of God. This month should be valued. The beginning of this month is blessed by the birth of Imam Baqir; the end of this month is blessed by the greatest event in history; that is, the prophethood of the Prophet. In the middle of this month, our youth have established this good tradition in the country; the tradition of I'tikaf, going to mosques, fasting. Truly, how beautiful and fragrant it is that a large number of our youth, contrary to the common behavior of youth around the world who are immersed in desires and carnal inclinations, fast for days and nights; they go to a mosque, sit there, engage in I'tikaf; they dedicate their nights and days to remembrance, contemplation, listening to divine knowledge, and discussing true knowledge - which is the knowledge of monotheism - this is very significant. These are the blessings of the revolution. Before the revolution, we had not seen or very rarely saw anyone engaging in I'tikaf during these days of the middle of the month of Rajab. Most of us, all the people were oblivious to this window of divine mercy. I had not seen it in Mashhad; in Qom, only a few students would go to Imam Mosque and engage in I'tikaf during the days of the middle of the month of Rajab. Today, look; not only in the grand mosques, not only in the large mosques, not only in one or two cities, but in all the country, in all cities, in all mosques, our youth, our men, our women, our girls, our boys line up, write their names, to be given the opportunity to fast for three days and engage in I'tikaf in this mosque or that mosque; this is very valuable for a nation, this is very important. This is the month of Rajab; take advantage of these opportunities. Youth! You should take more advantage. Your pure hearts, your radiant and sincere souls are ready for the illuminations and radiations of divine mercy and divine attentions; value this.

What a nation gains through this means and through spiritual paths becomes a support, a reserve for them to be able to advance in all fields of life with firm will and resilient determination against challenges; to open dead ends, to accomplish great tasks. The foundation of all of this is this spirituality. Someone like our esteemed Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who entered alone and was able, by the grace of resolute determination, faith, and reliance, to mobilize the entire nation and initiate this great movement, relied more than anything on that heartfelt, spiritual, and divine enthusiasm, knowledge, worship. Until the end of his life, despite his old age and weakness, he would rise at midnight, shedding tears. We were informed by those close to him who were aware of all the details of his life; we had heard, we were informed; he would rise at midnight, seeking help from the Almighty God - "The monks of the night" - at that time, during the day, like a roaring lion, he would come into the arenas, defeating powers, alleviating the weaknesses of the nation, strengthening the will of all of us people, and paving the way; by the grace of that spiritual support.

Each one of you dear people - especially the youth, especially the youth - can connect to that immense source and mine of power, with reliance, with devotion, and benefit from it and become illuminated and play a role. In Islam, that monasticism which they referred to as "the monks of the night" differs from the monasticism that the Christians established; "And monasticism they invented, We did not prescribe it for them". The monasticism of Christians and other religions meant isolation, seclusion, detachment from the world; the monasticism of Islam means presence in all arenas of life - "The pilgrimage of my nation is jihad in the way of God" - all movements and stillness, in the direction of God: their peace, their reconciliation, their movement, their silence, their stillness, their actions, all in the way of God. Then "Whoever is for God, God will be for him", "If you support God, He will support you", "Indeed, God will support those who support Him"; when you move in the way of God, divine grace, divine assistance, and divine support will be with you. My dear ones! This is the secret of the progress of the Iranian nation. The fact that you observe a nation with all this enmity, with all this malice and wickedness that the enemies have exerted against this nation at various levels and in various arenas, from all sides, yet they could not stop this nation, and the Iranian nation, with its determination, with its progress, with its continuous and jihad-like movement, has forced all of them to retreat, is due to these characteristics, due to this divine support; and this will continue. God willing, the Iranian nation will continue on this path.

Those who hoped to separate our youth from religion; they wished to distract our youth with the pleasures of life, materialism, and the like; they were mistaken. Today, the arena of our youth, our youth class, in terms of quantity and quality, is not less than that of the older generations. The faithful youth of today and those who have their hearts devoted to the revolution, who have neither seen the Imam nor experienced the revolution nor witnessed the Sacred Defense era, their motivation and determination are not less than that of the youth during the Sacred Defense; I say this based on knowledge and information; it is not an analysis, it is not a guess. The great works that our youth are doing today in the national arena and in various sectors sometimes involve more effort, pressure, and even danger than what they did during the Sacred Defense, or what they were supposed to do. This spirit must be preserved.

What is currently at the forefront of the political tasks of the country is the issue of elections. Elections are a one-day event, taking place in a single day; however, it is one of those events whose impact is long-term. You conduct the presidential election in a single day, but firstly, you are placing someone or some people in charge of the fate of the country and the major currents of the country for a period of four years; secondly, the scope of its impact is not limited to those four years. Sometimes governments take actions whose effects remain for years; whether good actions or, God forbid, bad actions; the impact is not confined to those four years; it continues like a current. So, in one day, you make a movement, a choice, an action whose impact in the short term, in four years, and in the long term, sometimes for forty years, remains; this is how important elections are.

This year's elections have added significance. I want to tell you dear brothers! Dear sisters! All the people of Iran! Today, your elections - which will take place in about a month - have turned into an important international issue; know this. The think tanks of the enemies - as they say, their think tanks - are sitting and monitoring the preparations for this election, this great event; they are watching; they have plans, they have goals. The goal of your enemies is the opposite of your goal. You who participate in the elections are looking for a qualified individual who can advance your country with the same speed, if not more, both in the material and spiritual arenas. You seek elections so that someone or some people, a government, a president can elevate your dignity, deepen your independence, improve your living conditions, open the knots, and create hope and enthusiasm in the country; but your enemy, on the contrary, wishes for an election to take place - now that it is going to happen; of course, if they could have done something to prevent the elections, they would have done it; but now that they have no choice and the elections will take place - that does not have these benefits for the future of the country; rather, it leads the country towards dependency, towards weakness, towards backwardness in various arenas; they want to pull the country back, to push it backward; that is their goal. So, two goals are set against each other: the goal of the Iranian nation, and the goal of the enemies.

How will the goal of the Iranian nation be achieved? This goal is achieved through two factors: one factor is that the elections should be lively and enthusiastic; many people should participate, and the people should participate with enthusiasm and eagerness, coming to the ballot boxes. The second is that this election should result in the selection of a worthy, principled, determined, revolutionary, and jihadist individual. With these two things, the goal of the Iranian nation will be achieved.

How is the enemy's goal achieved? The enemy's goal is achieved if the elections are held coldly; if the people are indifferent, if a small number participate, if some say: why should we participate? What is the benefit? We do not want to come. This makes the enemy happy. Secondly, the result that comes out of the ballot boxes should be one that leads the government, and consequently the nation, towards greater dependency, towards greater submission, towards being placed in the policies of the enemies; this is what the enemy wants.

So see, the scene is clear; it is evident what you want, it is evident what the enemy wants. Now, regarding the second point of how to identify the most qualified and the characteristics of a person who is more qualified than others, there are points in this regard that, God willing, if I have life, I will present before the election day.

What I want to convey today is that the first point - that is, the enthusiasm and excitement of the elections, the public movement towards the elections - is the first major task that the nation can undertake; the enemy wants this not to happen. To discourage the people from enthusiasm, excitement, and movement towards the elections, what do they do? They try to instill hopelessness in the people regarding participation in the elections: what is the benefit? Now, let’s go vote, what will happen? They want to convey this state to the people. That is why if you today refer to foreign radios and Zionist news agencies - which today, in fact, a large network of Zionists directs all the news of the world, as they say, channels it; they publish news that suits their interests - you will see that their effort is to portray the situation of the country as critical. Well, there are problems in the country; in which country are there no problems? There is inflation, there is unemployment; where in the world is there none today? Today, those European countries that are the orchestrators of propaganda against the Islamic Republic are deeply mired in problems. Every few days, in one of these countries or in several countries, people come out to the streets, out of necessity and compulsion, they shout and are attacked by their security forces. Of course, they try to hide these as much as they can.

We also have problems. We must compare the problems with the positive points that we currently have. Which country has a united and cohesive nation like ours? The ethnicities of the country, the religions of the country, the cities of the country, the various regions of the country, all move in one direction, towards one goal, with one sentiment, with one hope. Which country has this many vibrant and energetic youth? Our youth today are conquering vast scientific arenas; they are achieving high ranks in various international competitions; is this a small matter? Which nation, despite all this enmity, has been able to achieve this greatness, this significance, this influence in global and regional affairs? There are some enemies, there are some mercenaries of the enemies; whatever they can do, they create obstacles; but the Iranian nation, proud and dignified, in the midst of the scene, with a cheerful and hopeful face, without harboring animosity towards anyone, is moving on its path. Know this; nations - of course, their aware ones, their wise ones, those who are familiar with various issues - point to you with their fingers; they say look at the Iranian nation and the arenas in which they have progressed while we have lagged behind. This is how the movement of the Iranian nation is.

The enemies, in their propaganda, try to cast a shadow of despair and hopelessness and crisis over the events of the country, to exaggerate small problems; to falsely accuse the nation and the country of problems that do not exist; to depict the future as dark, to instill hopelessness in the nation; this is the enemy's goal. This hopelessness, in their view, is a precursor to undermining the elections. You must act in the opposite manner. Dear ones! Youth! Officials! Preachers! Those who have the opportunity to speak to the people! You must act in the opposite manner; give hope to the people. This hope is not a false hope; it is a real hope.

The people must all pay attention, they must know that a lively and vibrant presence in the elections will make the country secure; it will reduce the enemy's temptation for encroachment, aggression, and malice towards this country; the presence of the people has these effects. They are striving to prevent this from happening. Of course, I want to tell you; as we have experienced our own nation, as we have repeatedly tested the grace and favor of God, this nation, in this round as in previous rounds, will deliver a strong blow to the enemy. The people, with divine assistance, will bring another proud test to the scene and will add to their honors. This is divine grace; God willing, it will come to fruition.

What is important in this interval and in this opportunity is that the people, in addition to striving for presence, should also strive for a good choice. As we mentioned, a good choice, a correct choice, not only has effects for four years, but sometimes its impacts remain for decades. To make a good choice, one must think, one must recognize the criteria. God willing, I will present some points in the future; but in summary, the main criterion is that those who come to power should have the determination to preserve dignity and move the country towards the goals of the revolution. What we have gained over these long years of blessings and benefits has been due to the goals of the revolution; wherever we fell short, lagged behind, or faced defeat, it was due to negligence towards the goals of the Islamic revolution and Islamic objectives. Those who come to power should embody: "Indeed, those who say, 'Our Lord is God,' and then remain steadfast"; they should be people of steadfastness, people of resilience; they should wear a steel armor of remembrance of God and reliance on God and enter the arena. Look at the slogans, see what kind of slogans they are setting; sometimes some - of course, they make mistakes - to attract votes, give slogans that are beyond their power and authority; our wise people can recognize these, be vigilant, and pay attention. What is necessary for the people, what has more urgency, what is compatible with the realities and capabilities of the country, what leads to the increase of the internal power of the nation, they should include in their slogans; this is one of the criteria.

Many individuals have come forward. God willing, the esteemed Guardian Council, according to its legal duties, will introduce those who are qualified to the people. Everyone must abide by the law. Problems arise when there is a violation of the law. The issues that arose in 2009, the damage that was inflicted on the country and prevented the nation from tasting the forty million votes correctly, were due to violations of the law. Some, either for personal interests, or political objectives, or whatever - we do not want to judge in that regard now - violated the law, made mistakes, entered through illegal means; they harmed themselves, they harmed the nation, they harmed the country. The correct path is the path of law. Everyone should abide by the law, everyone should submit to the law. Sometimes a law may not be one hundred percent correct, but it is better than lawlessness. Sometimes there may be a mistake by the executor of the law that we may understand that they made this mistake in executing the law; but if we cannot correct it through legal means, it is better to tolerate it than to resort to lawlessness; to try to correct what we perceive as a mistake through illegal means. The law is a very good criterion; it is a means for the comfort of the country, the tranquility of the country, the preservation of national unity, and the continuation of the general path.

The esteemed Guardian Council, well, consists of pious, God-conscious, and knowledgeable individuals; they will identify and introduce a number of individuals as those who are qualified; you and I must look and see which of these qualified individuals are more qualified, which ones are more beneficial to the people, which ones can carry this heavy burden on their shoulders and continue this path with complete trust; we must look at this, see it, recognize it. We should seek guidance from those individuals who may guide us, advise us, and help us; ultimately, we should reach a religious justification. If a person acts according to a religious justification, even if a mistake later arises, they will still be proud, saying I fulfilled my duty; but if we do not act according to a religious justification, and later a mistake arises, we will blame ourselves; we will have no excuse, no justification.

Of course, I am hopeful. Our hope in the Almighty God is very high. We thank God that He has never closed the windows of hope in our hearts. When one looks at the situation of the country, day by day, they become more hopeful about the future of this path, about the future of this nation, about the future of this country. These faithful people, these determined people, these vibrant and enthusiastic youth, in various arenas, all of these increase one's hope for the future.

We hope that, God willing, divine favors will encompass us; the prayers of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will include all of you dear nation; and especially in this important test that lies ahead, God willing, the prayer of that great one will provide divine guidance for the hearts of all of us, and that which is good and beneficial for this country will, God willing, be determined by you, the people.