Statements in Meeting with the Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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

I congratulate you, dear guardians, and all members of this great revolutionary family on the occasion of the Guards' Day. Additionally, the festivals that remind us of great honors during this blessed month, and the blessed month of Sha'ban, which is a month of forgiveness, mercy, attention, reminder, and supplication, are worthy of congratulations and greetings for all believers.

This interesting initiative to connect the Guards' Day with the auspicious birth of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him) is a profound and directional innovation. We must thank those who first conceived this idea and made us aware of this meaning, for the claim of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a great one: the guardianship of the Islamic Revolution, which we will briefly discuss.

This meaning — the meaning of guardianship — with all its dimensions, with all possible tools and means, is embodied in the sacred existence of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him); not that others did not do it or did not want to do it, but rather that the essence of this movement was realized in the behavior of the ten-year period of the Imamate of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him). All the ways that the Prophet's son could use to preserve the great legacy of Islam — which is the legacy of his grandfather, his father, and their true followers — are evident in the life of the Master of Martyrs; from explanation and warning, from promotional activity, from awakening and sensitizing the consciences of specific elements — those special ones we refer to — in that sermon of Mina, all of these are throughout the life of the Master of Martyrs. Then, standing against a great deviation with the intention of striving with one's life; not that Imam Hussein was unaware of the fate of this movement; no, they were Imams. The issue of the knowledge of the Imam and the broad awareness of the Imam is beyond what we can comprehend; rather, it means drawing up a guideline, standing firm, not submitting, seeking help from the people, and then when a group appears — those from Kufa — and express their willingness to walk alongside that great one, the Imam responds to their request and goes towards them; then, in the middle of the way, he does not regret. When one looks at the statements of the Imam, one sees that he was determined and resolute to bring this task to completion. The fact that Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) stands against that extraordinarily dangerous deviation of the day becomes a lesson, which that great one also repeated; that is, he based his actions on the command of Islam: "Indeed, the Messenger of God said: Whoever sees a tyrant ruler who considers the sanctities of God permissible, breaks the covenant of God, opposes the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, and acts against God's servants with sin and aggression, and does not change him by action or word, it is right for God to admit him to his place."; the Imam stated this. That is, my duty is this; the work I am doing must express opposition, I must step into the path of opposition and standing firm, whatever the fate may be; if the fate is victory, so much the better; if it is martyrdom, again, so much the better. This is how Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) acted.

This was complete self-sacrifice and it also preserved Islam. This movement preserved Islam. This movement caused values to become stable in society, to remain. If he had not accepted this danger, had not acted, had not taken action, his blood would not have been shed, and those great atrocities against the Prophet's sanctuary, the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful, and the children of the Prophet's family would not have occurred; this event would not remain in history. This incident, which could have prevented that great deviation, had to create a shock in the minds of society and history equal to the magnitude of that deviation, and it did. This is the self-sacrifice of Imam Hussein.

Of course, speaking these things is easy. What Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) did is an extraordinary act. The dimensions of it are far greater than what we calculate today. We often overlook its aspects and details. Once, in a discussion, I explained the patience of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). His patience was not just to endure thirst, to endure the killing of his companions; these are easy patience. The harder patience is when others, influential individuals, knowledgeable individuals, respected individuals constantly say, "Sir, do not do this; this is wrong, this is dangerous." They constantly create doubt. Who are they? Individuals like Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Abdullah ibn Zubair, Abdullah ibn Abbas; these prominent figures of that day, the important sons of Islam, constantly say, "Do not do this." Whoever lacks that determination, that will, and that steadfastness will think to himself that he has no further duty; these people are saying this, and the world is moving in that direction, let us say and move on. The one who stands against these statements, these temptations, these doubts, and the attempts to create a lawful path, and does not tremble and steps into this path, is the one who can bring about this great transformation. And our great Imam followed and emulated the Master and Leader of Martyrs, which I once mentioned, and now we do not want to delve into this topic; its explanation is extensive. This is the guardianship of Imam Hussein.

The Guard Corps, in fact, with this naming, delicately wants to say that I step into this path; very well, it is blessed and very great and important, and it has its place. People can come and point out mistakes and flaws and criticize. All movements, units, and real and legal personalities can be criticized; however, if we look at the movement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fairly, from the very beginning until today, we see that the Guard Corps has truly acted according to its own words; indeed and fairly, the Guard Corps has stood firm in this path. People come and go; however, that collective identity remains preserved; it is the same.

In my last meeting with the dear members of the Guard Corps, I mentioned an important point; I will only refer to it, and that is that I said the modern generations of the Guard Corps, the transformed Guard Corps, the future generations of the Guard Corps must strive to take a step forward and higher than the past generations. That is, the world is growing, it is evolving; the movement is an evolutionary movement, so it is appropriate if we expect, if we demand that the young person who has entered the Guard Corps today, in terms of knowledge, insight, awareness, self-sacrifice, readiness for action, performing tasks correctly, performing tasks appropriately, and performing tasks timely — these are characteristics that the Guard Corps has shown over the years — to elevate the Guard Corps one step above the previous generation. When one looks at the Guard Corps today, one sees that the quality is high. This is also possible; do not say how such a thing is possible. No, it is entirely possible. That is, look at the conditions that existed then: there was a war and the enemy was present in our land; both before the eight-year imposed war, the presence of armed anti-revolutionaries, and after the war began, this was a strong factor and motivation that even indifferent people were moved and brought into that strange and passionate scene. Today, that war is not present; there is a subtler and, of course, more dangerous war. Awareness of the depths of this war requires greater capability and greater intelligence. If we see today that some individuals are entering this field and striving and fighting and standing with insight in the middle of the field, then it is appropriate to say that this, in terms of motivation and action, is no less than that. If it performs better, it is even better. In the future, it can be the same; this is the goal that must be set.

Today, I say that the identity of the Guard Corps, which is the identity of guardianship, should not be perceived as a conservative concept. Guardianship means maintaining, preserving. This preservation can be interpreted with a conservative interpretation. That is, we say let us preserve the existing state of the revolution; I do not say this. Preserving the revolution does not mean preserving the existing state. Why? Because the revolution, by its nature, is a progressive movement, and that too a rapidly advancing one. Towards what? Towards the defined goals. The goals do not change. These principles and values that must be stood firm for and for which one must give their life are principles and values that have been defined in the goals. The ultimate goal is spiritual elevation and proximity to God; a lower goal is human development; a lower goal than that is the establishment of an Islamic society with all its characteristics and effects, where justice is established, monotheism exists, and spirituality prevails. These are the goals. These goals are not changeable; that is, we cannot come and compromise the goals. We cannot say, "Very well, one day we wanted to establish justice; now we say justice cannot be established, let us establish a half-justice!" No, justice. This is the goal. Monotheism, the complete establishment of Islamic law, these are the goals; these are not subject to change. However, in the direction of moving towards these goals, the speeds can be increased or decreased, the methods can be changed, and the strategies can vary. In this regard, the revolution is progressive and forward-moving. Preserving the revolution means preserving this state of progressiveness and forward-moving. Guardianship of the revolution means this. If we look at it this way and understand the concept of guardianship in this way, then the freshness, enthusiasm, and excitement in the movement of guardianship will be multiplied.

The youth of today do not settle for the appearances that, in any case, exist to a large extent in our society, but rather pay attention to the depths, the minds, and the behaviors; they follow them. Deep faith, greater awareness; these are the things we must pursue. Thus, this is guardianship in the correct, complete, and true sense; guardianship of the revolutionary movement and revolutionary progress.

Well, if we want this to happen, two movements must take place in the Guard Corps: one movement is the internal movement of the Guard Corps; within itself, that is, it must evolve. One movement is the movement as a driving part of the entire system and revolution, that is, influencing externally. These two movements must progress in parallel. If we are negligent of that first movement, within the Guard Corps and the family of the Guard Corps, and do not carry out that progressive, elevating, and developing movement, the second movement, that is, the influence of the Guard Corps in advancing the revolution, will fail. Even if it makes an effort, it will be a misguided effort; because:

The essence that has not been created by the creator

How can it become a creator?

So two movements are necessary: that internal movement, which the esteemed commander of the Guard Corps referred to in some aspects, which is correct; I confirm, these works must be done. This internal movement has a material aspect and a spiritual aspect. The spiritual aspect is precisely addressing the values in the true sense of the word, that is, defining the value indicators of guardianship and presenting oneself and others against these indicators with the aim of progress, with the aim of correct and complete transformation towards those goals. This is its spiritual aspect; its material aspect is the good works that are being carried out in the Guard Corps; the organizational aspect, the scientific and research aspect, the construction and production aspect, the military training and militarization aspect, and so on. All of these must be carried out together. A lively, vibrant, always-young collective will emerge from the Guard Corps, which will not experience decay or aging, and fortunately, today the grounds for this are prepared, its infrastructure is ready, its experiences are available, and its motivations, thanks be to God, exist. This will be the internal movement. This collective will exist as a model collective, a clear guiding line. It is possible that some of our youth, some of our people may not enter the Guard Corps, but they will choose this model for their lives; a model of true spirituality, and a model of correct thought, planning, and proper movement in the fields of construction.

Then it is time for the impact of this movement on the movement of the revolution as a whole. This will also happen by itself. When there exists a lively, vibrant, fresh, progressive collective, firmly committed to the foundations, principles, and values in the system, and it is moving and alive and sees everywhere and has awareness and insight and makes an impact, this will inevitably have a decisive effect on advancing the collective — of course, this is not exclusive to the Guard Corps; I say this exactly for the seminaries as well, for the governmental institutions as well, but the sizes and weights of these are not the same; each has its own place and weight. Now, for the time being, we are talking about the Guard Corps — and we urgently need this constructive, progressive, and evolving movement. That is, Islam today needs this movement.

The movement of the Islamic Republic has made its impact in the world, has left profound effects, has weakened the arrogant and satanic powers, and has opened new paths for nations. A new chapter has begun in the world; that is, whatever one looks at, there is no parallel for it. Of course, I have seen various transformations in my lifetime during my youth, and I have either witnessed or read about them in history. These revolutions that occurred in African countries, Latin America, leftist revolutions in the 1960s — that is, fifty years ago, for example — we have seen these; not that we do not know the historical background of these transformations and how they occurred; no, we have seen these. However, what is happening today is unprecedented; this has no parallel. In the events that occurred in the 1960s — whether in Africa, in Latin America, or in some Asian countries — what happened was the dominance of a party and an organization over the fate of a nation; with a materialistic and Marxist inclination, in which spirituality and God did not exist. They claimed to be popular; however, their popularity was such that a party often came to power through a coup. All those so-called revolutionary parties and regimes that came to power in North Africa came to power through coups; like Gamal Abdel Nasser, like Gaddafi, and others. A popular movement and revolution in the true sense did not exist. What is happening today is the presence of the people with their bodies, with their souls; these are the people. Parties may also have a presence or influence in a sense; however, those who are in the field are not a military collective, nor a coup-making collective; they are popular movements, popular masses, and that too with a monotheistic, divine, and God-centered inclination; with "Allahu Akbar," with congregational prayers. Now, let the American and Zionist propaganda deny it; well, let them do so, the reality does not change with their denial. This is the reality. This has no precedent at all. As far as we have seen, heard, and read in the eras of revolutions, such a thing with this comprehensiveness has never been seen before. This is something new. That is, history of the region and consequently the history of the world has turned a page; a new chapter has begun. What are we doing here? I do not want to claim and say that the Islamic Revolution was the main actor — now some are sensitive about saying that the source of these revolutions is the Islamic Revolution — no, I do not make such a claim at all, nor is it necessary to make such a claim; however, the issue is that today the same movement that we, the Iranian nation, started thirty years ago, we are observing the same movement with regional, local, geographical, and historical differences in several countries in the Islamic world. And I have said that the next wave of this work exists in much farther regions and such a thing will happen, which is encouraging for us, which is promising for us; it shows that we should have more hope for the future.

Of course, the enemy is working with all its might on this point. It does not want this model to be presented before the eyes of the Muslim nations, to say, "Look where Iran has reached." But whether they want it or not; whether they like it or not, this has happened. The scientific, technical, and research activities that you and other organizations of the armed forces are doing, and what is being carried out outside the armed forces, in universities, in various research centers, today in the country, these are the things that accurately depict and outline the futures; that is, it is placing the pieces of the future one by one. These determine whose future it is. This, of course, is due to the blessings of Islam and the revolutionary spirit; this spirit must be strengthened. Therefore, let us take guardianship of the revolution in this sense. In this transformative, evolving, and progressive sense.

One of the things that we need to pay attention to in the field and in the arena is that: we must be careful that the revolutionary institutions do not become engrossed in non-useful and sometimes harmful activities in this progressive movement, one of which is the issue of differences, which I emphasize on these because of this. There is a time when a current rises against the revolution with the intention of crushing it; well, it is everyone's duty to defend. The revolution defends itself, like any other living entity. A revolution that cannot defend itself during times of turmoil, during times of various coups — political, military, and the like — is not alive. This revolution is alive; therefore, it defends itself, it becomes victorious, it triumphs, and there is no going back; as you saw this happen in 2009. There is a time when the issue is not about standing against a subversive movement; rather, it is about differences of opinion, differences of taste, and differences of belief. These must be minimized as much as possible. Such things must be reduced as much as possible. Igniting these differences is harmful.

One issue is that if someone says something wrong, should someone respond to him or not? Well, yes, it is clear. Responding to a wrong statement has its own method, its own path, its own specific work. There is a time when someone says something wrong, and we come to highlight this wrong statement in a hundred places, to shout that, "Sir, so-and-so said this wrong statement, so that everyone knows." This is wrong, it is a mistake. I have no opposition to enlightening movements from anyone, from any institution; rather, I am interested and believe in the issue of clarification. That is, clarification has been one of the fundamental strategies of our work from the beginning. Clarification is necessary; however, this does not mean that we should constantly fuel internal differences. Be careful. Everyone must be vigilant about this; especially the Guard Corps. The Guard Corps must be careful. In political currents, in various ideological and taste currents, igniting the atmosphere is absolutely inappropriate. Now, you all, thank God, are insightful, aware, and you must be aware of the currents and see the unfortunate situation in the country, where unfortunately this one is against that one, and that one is against this one; and foreign institutions are so pleased; they analyze it: "Yes, they have fallen into disagreement, they have been destroyed, they have been eliminated!" They constantly repeat their wishes. Well, it is clear that this issue is our weak point. We must not allow this weak point to continue or increase. These must be taken into account. The movement must be a steady, reasoned, and documented one. If there are those who have differing opinions, they should express them with reasoning. I have said that I believe in clarification. During the struggles, our disagreement with the leftists and Marxists who were fighting at that time was precisely because we said that clarification must be done; they did not believe in clarification; they said something else, they had a different interpretation. The work of the revolution was fundamentally based on clarification, enlightenment, logical expression, reasoned and free from chaos and uproar. If chaos and uproar enter, even a logical statement will be ruined. It may attract four people, but four smarter people will be repelled. This is our statement; this is our message.

The movement must be a progressive one. Many things are needed. I have noted here; among them is unity, which is the same issue of unity that we have mentioned. "Indeed, God loves those who fight in His cause in rows as if they were a solid wall."; like a solid column, like an impregnable wall, we must stand firm against the enemy's attack.

Now, you dear youth who are in the Guard Corps; dear clerics, scholars, young and active believers who are working in the representative office, know two things: one is that you all have a lot of work ahead of you; both the youth of the Guard Corps and the esteemed clerics; you have a lot of work to do. The second is that if you make an effort, you can certainly accomplish these tasks, and after a period of time, you will suddenly find yourselves in a higher position; that is, progress is certain. If there is effort, if there is determination, if there is hope, there will certainly be progress; there is no going back. This must be kept in mind by the entire Guard Corps. Of course, various planning at the top of the Guard Corps structure is a necessary and ongoing task that must be carried out; it is being carried out and is good. And we hope, God willing, that God Almighty assists you. Today, this much is enough. We hope that God will keep you safe, preserve you, and make you recipients of the prayers of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and that the pure spirit of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the pure spirit of the martyrs be pleased with all of you and us.

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