Statements in Meeting with Friday Prayer Leaders Across the Country

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Remaining One of God on earth.

I extend my welcome to all the esteemed gentlemen, dear brothers from across the country, engaged in a very sensitive and important center; and I am pleased that, thanks be to God, after a few years — two or three years — we have been able to visit this gathering once again. I take this meeting's coincidence with the days related to the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) as a good omen; from the Eid al-Ghadir to the Day of Mubahala and the revelation of Surah Hal Ata and the revelation of the verse of Wilayah, and the blessings that have existed and continue to exist during these days of this week. We hope that, God willing, God will keep us steadfast on their path, and we will be able to move forward in that [path].

The Day of Mubahala is a very important day; the Day of Mubahala is both a day of Prophethood and a day of Wilayah; the incident of Mubahala is both a proof of Prophethood and a proof of Wilayah and Imamate; for this reason, this day is very important. We hope that, God willing, the Almighty God will keep us steadfast on these blessed paths.

I also thank Mr. Haj Ali Akbari, both for his efforts and for the points he raised here; the points mentioned here are correct and good.

I have prepared a few points that I would like to share with you, dear brothers. One point is about the status of Friday prayers, which we, as Friday prayer leaders, must understand the importance of this task. When a person becomes aware of the importance of a job, a responsibility, they prioritize it over other tasks and pay more attention to its aspects and surroundings; we must know this ourselves, and others must know it; the media and officials should convey this so that people understand that Friday prayers are not merely a congregational prayer in a mosque [but rather] a significant and important phenomenon in a city, of which I will mention a few characteristics. First, we will state this, and then we will discuss how far our current Friday prayers are from the Friday prayers that should be held; whether there is a gap or not, which there certainly is; [and how] we can fill this gap, this is important. Well, thanks be to God, there are nearly a thousand or nine hundred Friday prayers across the country, which is a very significant number; in large and small cities; and these should be able to accomplish great things! If our Friday prayers — what we have today — are the same as what is defined for Friday prayers and what is expected from Friday prayers, then the situation should be somewhat better than this; meaning there should be differences. Therefore, this is also an issue that I will express during my remarks, and we should strive to fill this gap. Now, who should make this effort? Part of this effort is the responsibility of the Friday prayer leader themselves; the Friday prayer leader must make this effort; part of it is also the responsibility of the esteemed officials who are present in the central policymaking and management of Friday prayers in Tehran or other centers.

As for the status of Friday prayers, in one word, I would say: Friday prayers, due to its characteristics, is a completely exceptional obligation; we have nothing similar to Friday prayers. Hajj is a great assembly, but when we delve into the depths of Friday prayers, we see that with all these characteristics, it is even more exceptional than Hajj. Now I will mention a few examples of these characteristics; you think about it, and you will find more characteristics, especially since you are now faced with this obligation.

One characteristic is that Friday prayers connect and tie together two essential factors of a good life; what are these two factors? One is the remembrance of God, and the other is the presence of the people; "So We will surely give him a good life" (Surah An-Nahl, part of verse 97); this good life has pillars, but among the most important pillars are these two: one is turning to God, facing God, that aspect which, as the scholars say, is the "Yali al-Rab" (the one who is close to God), and the other is the presence of the people and the gathering of the people; these two aspects are combined in Friday prayers. Of course, some other obligations and duties also have this, but when we gather the remaining characteristics, we see that Friday prayers are exceptional. Well, in Friday prayers, we have stated that these two characteristics coexist; both "O you who have believed" and "So hasten to the remembrance of Allah" (Surah Al-Jumu'ah, part of verse 9) exist. This is both prayer and congregation; prayer is pure remembrance, pure remembrance, and congregation is the gathering of the people. This is one of the characteristics and perhaps the first outstanding characteristic of Friday prayers.

Secondly, this collective remembrance causes the blessings and effects of remembrance to descend upon the collective. The remembrance of God has effects that are mentioned in the Quran: "Indeed, by the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest" (Surah Ar-Ra'd, part of verse 28); this expands in the totality of Friday prayers when everyone remembers God together. I once mentioned in relation to the noble verse "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided" (Surah Al-Imran, part of verse 103) that even holding firmly to the rope of Allah must be together; "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together"; we must all hold firmly to the rope of Allah together; this gathering in Islam is something extraordinary; the very essence of gathering and the presence of the people is something significant; this is where you must be sensitive. If your Friday prayer this week has a smaller attendance than your Friday prayer from a month ago, you should feel worried; the essence of the work is the presence of the people. When we remember together, the effects and blessings of remembrance descend upon the collective. The Quran states: "Indeed, the remembrance benefits the believers" (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, part of verse 55); this benefit belongs to everyone. Yes, even if you pray alone in your room at night, God Almighty benefits you from that, but here this benefit is public; the entire group benefits. Or "So remember Me; I will remember you" (Surah Al-Baqarah, part of verse 152); "I will remember you," this divine grace is contingent upon remembrance; here, remembrance is collective, so that grace also pertains to the group. Or "And remember Allah much that you may be successful" (Surah Al-Anfal, part of verse 45 and Surah Al-Jumu'ah, part of verse 10); and many other verses in the Quran that I could only refer to a few verses for now; if you refer, there are many verses regarding the blessings of remembrance. This is also a characteristic: collective remembrance and its blessings.

Another characteristic is the continuity of this event; a weekly session. Well, Hajj occurs once in a lifetime — that is how it is — but this happens every week; this is very important. As far as I know and have investigated a bit, there is no other ritual or gathering anywhere where a spiritually significant assembly occurs weekly, where a large number of people from a city gather in a specific place; now, what the content of that gathering is, is another matter; this is a very important characteristic. This shows that its superiority, in this regard, is even over Hajj; that is, one after another, week after week, week after week until the end. Well, this is the same as what we read in the Dua of Kumayl: "So that all my deeds and supplications may be one single invocation and my state may be in Your service forever"; connected; I should not be there one day and not the next; I should not be in one place one day and not the next; I should be connected in Your service: "and my state may be in Your service forever." This weekly gathering is like that; this "and my state may be in Your service forever" is realized.

Well, when such a gathering exists where a large number of people from a city gather in a specific place every week, it can serve as a base, a headquarters for all the important and pressing issues of a society. When everyone is supposed to gather, well, individuals have something on their minds, they have something to say, the community has a need, an incident; from intellectual issues to social services to public cooperation and military preparedness, everything can be realized and exist in this continuous weekly gathering; that is, it can exist. There is a capacity of such importance and greatness in this work. Therefore, this is a tremendous treasure, an extraordinary opportunity that has been provided for you and me.

Another characteristic present in Friday prayers is the intertwining of spirituality and politics; something that is very unlikely for worldly people and those who do not contemplate matters. Where is politics, and where is spirituality and belief in God? Politics has foundations that, apparently, all these foundations are either contradictory or incompatible with God and such matters. Then mixing politics with spirituality in an obligation, this is the art of Islam; this is the art of Islam. In the narration of Imam Reza (peace be upon him), it is mentioned that the Friday prayer preacher "informs them of what has come to him from the horizons and the events that have harm and benefit for them"; this is a significant and great matter; issues that occur in the world that have a connection with our society, either as a harm or as a benefit, the Friday prayer preacher explains these to the people. For example, consider the nuclear issue, or suppose the Ukraine war — it is an issue; it has entered the world — or various issues of East and West policies, these are things that are related to our country, our society, our lives, and our politics; well, the Friday prayer preacher clarifies, explains, and presents these to the people correctly, with sufficient and accurate information; that is, he connects politics with spirituality; he says "Fear God" — there must certainly be a call to piety in the Friday prayer sermon — while at the same time explaining this kind of politics, the international politics, the essence of political issues to the people. This is also an issue that is part of these characteristics. I mentioned that there are certainly other characteristics, but I have summarized them.

With this collection of characteristics, when we look at it, we conclude that in the soft power chain of the Islamic system, Friday prayers are a very important link, because today what is effective and influential is soft power; hard power, guns and such things, are now in the background. Soft power, influencing hearts, minds, and spirits, this is important. Of course, our soft power chain is long and detailed; Friday prayers are considered one of the most important links in this soft power chain; when we look at these characteristics, we reach this conclusion.

Well, have we been able to place Friday prayers in this lofty position in the Islamic Republic or not? It seems to me that we have had shortcomings. Now, you know that I am also your colleague in this regard; we have had shortcomings in this area. We must strive, all of us must strive, to eliminate these shortcomings. We mentioned that some of it is the responsibility of the Friday prayer leaders themselves, and some of it is the responsibility of the senior management officials of Friday prayers; we must pay attention to this.

Now, regarding the Friday prayer leaders, we said "some of it is the responsibility of the Friday prayer leaders themselves"; some things relate to the character of the Friday prayer leader; some of these characteristics that must be observed for Friday prayers to sit in their rightful place relate to the character and lifestyle of the Friday prayer leader, which I will mention a few of them. Some things [also] relate to the sermons; there is no discussion about the method and character and such matters; the content of the sermons can be such that it brings Friday prayers back to their true path.

As for what relates to the method of the Friday prayer leader. You see, dear brothers, esteemed gentlemen! The Friday prayer leader, on Friday, calls the people to piety with his words; I say you should call the people to piety on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with your actions; otherwise, if we call for piety on Friday but on Saturday an action of ours occurs that is incompatible with piety, this completely invalidates it; that is, not only does it invalidate it, it has a completely opposite effect; it makes the listener angry that what are they saying; the least that can happen is that they may not come to the prayer anymore; this is the least they can do, and they may do more. Therefore, this is one issue. The one who calls for piety must also strive to embody piety in themselves. You see, I referred to the index of the Quran — unfortunately, I do not have the opportunity for these things now; I used to do this work with precision, but now there is no time — I reviewed it and saw that the word "Fear God" appears about sixty times in the Quran; about sixty times God Almighty tells you and me "Fear God," but two of these sixty instances are striking. One is where in Surah Al-Imran it says "Fear God as He should be feared" (Surah Al-Imran, part of verse 102); be pious as is worthy of piety. This is a very significant task. One is where in Surah At-Taghabun it says "So fear Allah as much as you are able" (Surah At-Taghabun, part of verse 16); do not interpret this "as much as you are able" as whatever you can; no, it means you should use all your ability, all your capacity for piety. Well, we know these, we say them; may God, God willing, prepare our hearts, soften them, and enable us to act upon these things. "So fear Allah as much as you are able." Therefore, this is the first point: when we call for piety in the Friday prayer sermon, we must make the utmost effort to observe piety, as much as we can; avoid doubtful matters, and "and prohibit the soul from [following] desires" (Surah An-Nazi'at, part of verse 40) and such things that are numerous. This is one characteristic that I believe exists in our duties as Friday prayer leaders.

Secondly, paternal behavior with everyone. In your Friday prayers, all kinds of people participate; behave paternalistically with everyone; all are your children. Yes, you may have more affection for that revolutionary young man, the young Mujahid and fighter — that is right, there is nothing wrong with that — but that person who is not like that is also your son; he is also your child; with everyone. A person in their own home may sometimes have more affection for one of their children for some reason, but they should not deprive their fatherly love from others. Paternal behavior with everyone; all of them are your children. This Ghadir celebration in Tehran was something extraordinary! I do not know if you saw it or not; I myself watched it on television and some who went told us about it. Did you see how in this million-strong celebration, all kinds of people participated? These are supporters of religion; they love religion. I once mentioned in one of my provincial trips to the esteemed scholars of that province with whom we had a meeting; I said; I said today or yesterday when I was coming, around this car, among those who expressed affection and some of them were crying — well, a crowd comes to express affection — there were people who if you interacted with them, you might not expect them to even have faith in religion, but this is how it is; they believe in religion. I have a lot to say in this regard and have said it; now there is no time for it here. Behave paternalistically with everyone; seat them all at the table of religion, spirituality, and Sharia; this is another matter.

Another point is that the behavior of the Friday prayer leader must be popular; popular conduct. What is "popular conduct"? It is that you, as an individual from the people, go among the people, talk to them, do not distance yourself from the people, do not only associate with a specific and distinguished group, and sometimes, if necessary, go to people's homes, sit on their carpets, and greet them. Just going among the people, this itself is an important task. Some people make inappropriate remarks about the very valuable public visits of officials; this is wrong, this is truly a deviation. Going among the people, talking to the people, listening to the people [is important]. The words they say may not be acceptable to you; however, listen. It is not a problem to later say, well, I do not accept this; it is not a problem, but let them speak. This is also a topic regarding going among the people. Of course, people have expectations from the Friday prayer leader that are not the responsibility of the Friday prayer leader; the responsibility lies with a specific governmental body, a specific judicial body; instead of referring to those places, they refer to the Friday prayer leader who is accessible to them; of course, this exists, I know, I have been there myself, I have seen it, it creates problems for the Friday prayer leader; however, it must be said to the people that these are not our tasks, for example, there are specific officials for these; but at the same time, if they refer, listen. Now, of course, we must also say that the Friday prayer leadership network has been one of the most popular institutions of the revolution until today; this must be clear; that is, when one looks at the collection of revolutionary institutions — which, thanks be to God, have many blessings — one of the most popular revolutionary networks is the Friday prayer leaders.

Another very important recommendation is to connect with the youth. For this, you must sit down and create mechanisms; that is, connecting with the youth does not happen by saying, come youth, and they will all get up and come! You must sit down, think, find solutions, mechanisms must be found. Today, across the country, there are spontaneous, unknown, low-cost, and unpretentious groups that are doing cultural work, social work, providing services, and they exist everywhere in the country. I have an interest in these groups — sometimes they contact me, say something, want something — I know that now throughout the country and in almost all cities, large and small, such groups exist; search for them in your city, find them, help them, extend a hand of kindness to them; these are a group of youth. With university youth, with seminary youth — today in most of our cities, there are both universities and seminaries; well, all of these are young people — sit down and talk with these youth, go into their groups, go into their schools, their universities, talk to them, invite them; that is, connecting with the youth is beneficial for the Friday prayer leader and has spiritual benefits; because generations naturally produce new languages, new thoughts, and new literature — this is the nature of the matter — do not stay away from this new movement of the youth. When you go into these groups and become familiar with them, with their language, their literature, and their terminology, it greatly helps you to connect with them. Especially with the Basij groups, with these good youths who are present in all provinces and cities, engage with them.

Another direction that we recommend is participation in social services provided by the people, which some esteemed Friday prayer leaders have indeed shone in this regard. In earthquakes, in floods, in the issue of COVID, in gathering social services, in charitable contributions, in various other matters, Friday prayer leaders have entered the field and worked. This is also one of those tasks that we believe is very good. Helping the underprivileged and assisting the deprived and needy should be among your necessary tasks; that is, we advocate for justice, we raise the banner of justice, but justice without helping and caring for the underprivileged and deprived does not mean anything; if you can provide assistance for the underprivileged in your community, this is among the best tasks.

Another point is to supervise these committees. Of course, I must sincerely thank the committees; these Friday prayer committees across the country work very hard, they do a lot of work, they strive a lot. Accompany them and observe their work, ensure their integrity. Of course, they are good people, believers, but there may be some issues that could intervene; be cautious about this as well.

Another point and reminder that I have mentioned many times before is to avoid entering economic activities; that is, the Friday prayer leader, on the pretext that "our Friday prayer needs money, needs income, we have no income," should not think that they must engage in some economic activity; this is not a correct thought. Some esteemed Friday prayer leaders have entered economic activities and did not know how, they failed, others took advantage, and the burden of this fell on the system; some still continue! Absolutely do not enter economic matters. The administration of the clergy's organization is with the people. Gentlemen! Some are ashamed to say that seminaries rely on the people for their sustenance; this is not shameful, this is an honor; this means they do not depend on governments and powers. This is a great advantage, so they can easily stand beside the people. You see in various matters, seminaries have stood beside the people, remained with the people, and had no qualms with governments and powers. If among the clergy there were those who had connections in some endowment or some place, they could not stand beside the people and fell behind. No, we are the dependents of the people, and there is no problem with that. Friday prayers are the same; the people must help, and they do help. When you engage in economic activities and set up a shop and do things like this, people say, "Well, they have these," not only will they not help you, but they will also develop expectations from you. Well, these are a few points regarding the character of the Friday prayer leader.

A few points regarding the sermons: First, it should be noted that the Friday prayer sermon and the Friday prayer preacher is the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolution; that is it! No one should expect anything else from the Friday prayer preacher; he is the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolution, the explainer of the principles of the revolution, the one who demands the demands of the revolution; it belongs to the revolution; it has always been this way, and it has been this way throughout history. The great art of the Friday prayer preacher is to be able to reproduce the knowledge and revolutionary concepts in accordance with the needs of the day. Many of the concepts of the revolution that we once shouted about, we have pursued and continue to pursue, but today those same concepts must be explained and reproduced with new literature, with literature suitable for today. The art of the Friday prayer leader is to be able to reproduce the issue of justice, the issue of independence, the issue of support for the underprivileged, the issue of following the Sharia, these things that are among the principles and foundations of the revolution, these lofty concepts with the language of today and the language of the youth; the spokesperson for the revolution.

The sermons must be profound, educational, and responsive to the questions of the people. There are questions that exist in the sermon without you needing to refer to the question; you can express the answer to the question that is in the minds of the people.

The language of the sermon should be warm, sincere, unifying, and hopeful; the language of the sermon should be hopeful. Every word you utter in the sermon can be an example of this noble verse: "He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith to their faith" (Surah Al-Fath, part of verse 4); it can also be an example of anxiety and concern; now, concern is not bad, but it can be an example of anxiety and emotional turmoil and pessimism about the situation and pessimism about the future and such things; both can be spoken. It must be hopeful, it must create insight. It can also create controversy; we may say something that becomes a pretext for your enemy and adversary to take it and speak against you.

One of the points in the sermons is that it should be able to counter the constant sowing of doubts by the enemy. You see, I mentioned that today the battlefield is the battlefield of soft power, and the soft power of the enemy is sowing doubts. What does "sowing doubts" mean? It means we have a nation that has stood with complete belief and faith for the revolution, sacrificed their lives, worked hard, put themselves in difficulty, brought the revolution to victory, stood firm for eight years in a war of aggression, and has stood against the seditions that have existed until today; the people are like this; well, now if the enemy wants to destroy this solid fortress or create a breach in it, what must they do? They must undermine this faith, they must dispute this faith; this is created by sowing doubts. Doubts should not be underestimated. There were individuals who stood against spears and swords, but fell in front of doubts and uncertainties; we have seen such individuals. In the battlefields, they stood with power and courage, but when a doubt arose for them, they could not solve it, they fell; doubts are like this.

The goal of this sowing of doubts is to shake the faith of the people, who are the main forces of the country, and the faith of the people, which is the main factor in preserving the country and the Islamic system. Well, these are out of enmity; that is, the Islamic Republic has done a great job against the West. Now, these things are sometimes said, repeated, and fall from the mouth; that is, the essence and content of the matter are not paid attention to; sometimes they are not even expressed well, but there is a strange reality: [that] the Islamic Republic has nullified the two or three hundred-year-old claims of the West with its presence and existence.

The central point of the identity of Western civilization is the separation between religion and progress; this is the central point: if you want to progress, you must set religion aside; now, [personally] you may have a belief, that is fine, but you must not let religion interfere in life matters if you want to progress; this is the essential and central point of the identity of Western civilization. The Islamic Republic has precisely targeted this center and has shot at it.

The Islamic Republic has entered the field with the slogan of religion, and in addition to being able to preserve itself, it has been able to grow, it has been able to spread this logic, it has been able to root it; "Have you not seen how Allah has struck a parable: a good word is like a good tree" (Surah Ibrahim, part of verse 24); this very verse that was recited. The Islamic Republic, with its existence, with its presence, has challenged and nullified the central identity of Western civilization. Well, they are angry; they are angry. The reality of Western powers is a mafia, at the head of which are the Zionists and prominent Jewish merchants and politicians who follow them, and America is their showcase, and they are spread everywhere; this is Western power; well, they cannot tolerate this. Every day they think of doing something, striking a blow to the Islamic Republic.

Let me give an example that is currently being discussed: the issue of women in Islamic society. Of course, from the very beginning of the revolution, they raised the issue of women; they made outrageous claims that they want to support Iranian women and such things. Recently, they have again raised the issue of women under the pretext of hijab and such things, repeating their essentially failed efforts. Well, once a few years ago, someone asked me in a gathering what defense do you have regarding women in the face of the West? I said I do not have a defense; I have an attack! They must defend themselves; they must answer. They have turned women into commodities. Defense? I do not defend. We claim regarding women. Well, what is the issue? The fact that you see suddenly the propaganda tools and official media of America and England and some other places and their mercenaries and followers suddenly attack the issue of women and find some excuse [like] the issue of hijab and such things, what is the reason for this? Why do they do this? Do they really want to defend the rights of women and Iranian women? Are they not the same people who, if they could, would cut off the water supply to this nation? Do they care about Iranian women? These are the same people who have banned the medicine for children with butterfly disease — they are children — they have imposed comprehensive sanctions on the Iranian nation; do they care about Iranian women? Can anyone believe this?

So what is the issue? The truth of the matter is that the honorable and talented Iranian woman has dealt one of the biggest blows to Western civilization. They are filled with resentment; [this work is done] by women. Besides the overall movement of the Islamic Republic, especially Iranian women have dealt one of the most significant blows to Western claims and lies. How? For years — two hundred years — they have been saying that if a woman is not freed from moral and religious constraints and such things, she cannot progress, she cannot reach high scientific, political, social positions, and so on; this is how they say it. The condition for a woman to reach high social and political ranks is that she must abandon these moral constraints.

The Iranian woman has practically refuted this; the Iranian woman has appeared in all fields with success and dignity and with Islamic hijab. This is not a boast; these are tangible realities of our society. The entrants to our universities are either fifty percent or more than fifty percent our girls. Our women are playing a role in sensitive and important scientific centers, which I have personally visited some of these centers. In the field of literature, poetry, novels, and biography writing, women are among the most distinguished. In the field of sports competitions — sometimes one cannot help but admire these personalities as much as they deserve — Iranian girls stand on the podium of competitions, raising the flag and national anthem of Iran in front of the eyes of hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world, while wearing hijab, and do not shake hands with the man who comes to give them a medal, meaning they observe the legal limits; is this a small matter? In the political arena, I mention one case. During the former Soviet Union, in one of the most important political missions between two countries, Imam sent a three-member delegation, one of whom was a woman; a powerful woman, may God have mercy on her! In national management responsibilities, our women, with hijab, with chador, have performed the best management in their respective fields. In scientific matters, in literary matters, in media presenters, the best presenters. In various fields, Iranian women have participated and reached the highest levels, with Islamic hijab, while observing hijab; this is very important. This nullifies a two or three hundred-year effort of the West; they cannot tolerate it, they become angry, they hit themselves against the walls to try to do something; then they cling to the issue of hijab, they cling to one case and start propagating. You see, the cause of these sowing of doubts is this, and the enemy's pretense is what you observe and see. In any case, these are important matters.

As we have been informed, this week in many Friday prayer sermons, the issue of hijab was raised; the same current issues that are present in social media and such things, are also present in some newspapers, were raised in many sermons. Well, in these matters, one must act very calmly, logically, and away from unnecessary emotions. Now, emotions are good, they are not bad, but the application of emotions has its place. After all, in such cases, you must expose the colonial logic of the West, which is the firestarter of the battlefield, and its hand is busy; expose that, explain it with clear evidence to the people. Now, the Westerners, both in their large state media and their petty lackeys, do things; it does not matter, do not confront these, do not face these; you should focus on explaining the main issue to the people [instead]. Of course, this is a general recommendation; that is, we mentioned that it should be approached calmly and not to overdo it, and this is true in many other cases; there is a disorder that the Friday prayer leader deems necessary to raise for any reason; well, understanding the situation of the city and the people and their minds and such things leads him to this conclusion, it is not a problem; however, the quality of the presentation must be appropriate for the status of the Friday prayer leader; that is, both firmness and calmness.

Take the jihad of explanation seriously, take the removal of doubts from the minds of the audience seriously. Doubts are among the things that we mentioned are like termites; the enemy is attached to these termites. Doubts are a virus, like this coronavirus; when it enters, it is difficult to get rid of it, it is among contagious diseases, it spreads. Of course, when I said "some stood against spears and swords, but could not stand against doubts," a bit of worldliness also plays a role; this should not be overlooked. What is the world? The world of each person is different; one’s world is wealth, another’s world is position, another’s world is sexual desires; these are the different worlds of individuals, these are all the world. They may also justify themselves in this worldliness, but it is worldliness.

Therefore, regarding the sermon, we mentioned that the Friday prayer sermon must be a center for explaining strong content and a solid and rich logic for important issues of the revolution, such as the issue of justice. The issue of justice is a very important issue; think about the issue of justice, work on it, speak about it. [Also] on the issue of independence; independence is a very important issue. The issue of support for the underprivileged, the issue of unity in the Islamic world, these are very important issues. And give insight to the people.

Of course, these words and these remarks we have made apply to the speeches of Muharram that are now approaching; they should be such that their results can be seen in the Friday prayer congregation; that is, if the work you are doing is successful, it should manifest itself in your Friday prayer congregation. If you see that the efforts you have made have not had an impact on attracting the audience, know that there is a flaw in the work; find the flaw and rectify it. It cannot be attributed to the lack of attention of the people that they are, for example, less committed to religious matters; no, not at all! Some say these things! It truly seems that they speak without thinking that the people’s faith has weakened; no, it has not weakened at all. Just look at the Ghadir celebration, look at the grand speeches of Muharram and Safar in various cities; who are the participants? These are the same people. Look at the mourning sessions and recitations; look at the Arbaeen marches; who are these? These are the same people. The faith of the people, the religion of the people, the piety of the people has not weakened; it has become stronger, but perhaps the session of this humble servant or the prayer of this humble servant is such that I cannot attract these faithful people; this should not be attributed to the lack of faith of the people. Some say that the people have become like this or that their beliefs have weakened; no, it has not weakened; the people are still in the field — we must not withdraw from the field.

O Lord! For Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, place what we have said and heard for You and in Your way, grant us sincerity, and accept it from us. O Lord! Make us act upon what we say, and join the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who opened this path for us and the pure souls of our dear martyrs who struggled in this path and exchanged their lifetime with God, with the pure souls of the martyrs of early Islam and the Imams of guidance (peace be upon them).

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.