Speech in Meeting with Families of Martyrs, Veterans, and Various People

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

I extend a warm welcome to all of you dear brothers and sisters who have come from various regions, especially to the esteemed families of the martyrs, the dear veterans, and their respected families, as well as others who have endured hardships in the divine test of the Islamic community, whether physically or family-wise. May God grant you all success and bestow upon us the honor of treading the path of servitude to Him.

The fundamental issue that was considered the highest and most noble goal in the Islamic Revolution is the purification of the human being. Everything is a prelude to the purification and purity of man. Justice in society and the Islamic government among human communities, although considered a great goal, is itself a prelude to the elevation and growth of man, which is inherent in human purification. Both life in this world, if it is to achieve happiness, and the degrees of the hereafter and spirituality depend on purification. Human success, meaning achieving the highest goal, is dependent on purification; "He has succeeded who purifies himself, and mentions the name of his Lord and prays." (Al-A'la: 14-15) The one who purifies himself has attained success and prosperity.

Observe the method of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) throughout his Islamic mission; from the early days when he was in complete isolation and fought against the entire world of ignorance and disbelief alone, to the peak of Islamic power, when the Prophet had conquered Mecca and Ta'if and brought all of Hijaz under his control, on every occasion, the Noble Prophet invited people to purify and cleanse their souls.

Brothers and sisters! Within us lies the source of all evils, which is our own soul—the most dangerous idol, the idol of our ego and selfishness—and also the source of all goodness, beauty, and perfection. If we can and strive to save ourselves from the clutches of the commanding soul to evil and carnal desires, the source of goodness will be opened to us.

If the world is full of oppression and tyranny, if the arrogant powers oppress the people of the world and betray them, if many nations prepare humiliation for themselves with their silence, if many powers and governments oppress their own people, if there is poverty, illiteracy, and lack of culture, if there are devastating wars, if there are chemical bombs, if there is oppression, aggression, lies, and deceit, all of these stem from the lack of human purification; humans have not purified and built themselves. The revolution is for our youth and people in every class and category to find the opportunity to build themselves; to save themselves from evils and insure themselves against the fires of the hereafter and worldly hells.

A society that is purified, whose people have reformed their souls, have attended to themselves, have distanced themselves from moral vices, have separated and cleansed themselves from hypocrisy, lies, deceit, greed, avarice, and other human vices, such a society will achieve both worldly happiness and, even before that, spiritual happiness.

If you trace the roots of humanity's miseries, it returns to the spiritual pollution of humans. Where there is weakness and misery, it is either due to conflicts, greed, and worldliness, or due to human malice towards each other, or due to fear and expression of weakness and fear of death, or due to inclination and desire for carnal pleasures and indulgence. These are the main causes of the miseries of human societies. How can these be eliminated? Through moral purification and refinement.

Of course, moral purification under tyrannical rule is very difficult. It is rare to find a person who can achieve spiritual and moral growth during the reign of tyrants, to reach a spiritual and moral position, and for someone like the great Imam of the nation to emerge; but it is easier under Islamic rule.

As long as the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and the Islamic mission did not exist, Abu Dharrs, Miqdads, and Ammars were ignorant and misguided people; they lived like animals, like savages, and like the rest of the people; but the rise of the sun of Islam made such a great personality out of Ammar that throughout his long life—about ninety years—he was constantly in the service of Islam and always worked and struggled for God. Islam made such personalities out of Miqdad, Abu Dharr, and other great humans. Who were these people? They were primitive, ignorant, and uncivilized humans.

Our youth can grow. Our women and men can become great humans. Our society can grow to such an extent that its growth encourages other nations to follow this path; meaning both material and spiritual growth; because material growth without spiritual growth is useless.

Currently, the great countries of the world have material growth; abundant production, advanced science, complex technology, numerous products; every day they show humanity something from scientific advancements in the world; but are they happy? Is their life a human life? It is not so; neither do they feel human happiness themselves, nor do they allow nations to perceive human happiness. Among themselves, there are anxieties, worries, murders, crimes, depressions, disillusionment with material and spiritual life, alienation from spirituality and virtue, the disintegration of the family foundation, and the loss of the bond between children and parents. These are their problems; and you see what they have brought to the world! For other nations, they have brought war, poverty, illiteracy, discord, misery, and darkness. They have material growth, but they lack spiritual growth. When material growth occurs without spiritual growth, the result is what you observe. Spiritual growth must be placed alongside material growth.

You students present in this gathering and all students across the country, be aware that one of your greatest duties is moral self-building. Complete your morals; you young people have this opportunity. This is your era; you live in a good era; you live under the shadow of Quranic governance and Islamic culture. Therefore, you have the opportunity to become noble and worthy from a spiritual and moral perspective; seize this opportunity. Science must be alongside morality, and industrial, scientific, and material progress must be alongside moral growth. Attention to God is also considered the main source of moral growth.

I would like to say a word to art students as well. Art is the best means to reflect these concepts and issues. Unfortunately, the enemies of Islam, Iran, and our honor and dignity have also misused art; they still do. They misuse poetry, painting, storytelling, film, theater, and other branches of art as tools to crush virtue, destroy spiritual and Islamic truths and virtues, and lead to materialism and material indulgence. Who should compensate for this? You young people. If the revolution and the Islamic society do not possess noble and outstanding art, they will not be able to convey their heartfelt contents to their audience and establish a connection with them.

Imagine if in a society, the ability to speak—to give speeches and converse with people—were taken away from those with virtues and correct thoughts, and they were not allowed to speak, see what a great loss would occur. The same loss—perhaps in some ways greater than this loss—is the loss of a group that is deprived of the tools of art; because art reflects things that simple and ordinary expression cannot reflect; especially to future generations and also to the current generation.

Value art and use it in an Islamic direction. Learn and teach art with Islamic criteria and use it to show divine and Islamic concepts and values to the people. Today, the world is in need of Islamic truths. This shining sun of Quranic concepts and Quranic knowledge is needed by nations today.

We ask Almighty God to grant us all the success to understand Islamic truths and knowledge well and to be able to reflect them correctly; and most importantly, to align our actions with these teachings.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings