Statements in Meeting with a Group of Guardians of the Islamic Jurist's Protection and Their Families

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

First, may God accept your pilgrimages; and the acceptance of pilgrimage means that the grace that comes from meeting this guardian of God reaches you. This is the meaning of acceptance of pilgrimage. If you want this grace to reach you, the first condition is to 'meet' with the presence of the Imam; that is, going to the shrine and coming back should not merely be about going to a place and coming out; there is a being and a lofty spirit present there; pay attention to this presence; even if you do not see the person you are visiting - that is, the one you want to meet - with your eyes, yet 'seeing with the eyes' is not a prerequisite for meeting; he is there and hears your words, sees your presence, sees you as a person, speak to him; this is pilgrimage. Pilgrimage means this meeting. When we come to you and your home, we have actually come to visit you; this is the meaning of pilgrimage. Well, when a person goes to meet someone, he greets him, says hello; this is also necessary in the meeting with the pure spirit of the Imams (peace be upon them) and the divine friends; one must go, greet, and show respect.

Pilgrimage can be done in any language; if we speak in our ordinary language - whether we are Persian, Turk, Gilaki, or whatever we are - the etiquette of meeting and pilgrimage is fulfilled. Of course, if we want to speak with eloquence and good content, those are the pilgrimages that the Imams have taught us; like the pilgrimage of Aminullah - which is mainly a prayer; the first few words are pilgrimage, the rest is prayer - or the pilgrimage of the community which is a very meaningful and content-rich pilgrimage. If you read these and pay attention to their meanings and speak to the Imam with this expression, there is no harm. It is like when you want to visit a great person, and you are a group, then one of you writes a beautiful text, you go there, and one of you reads this text on behalf of the others; these pilgrimages are like that text that has been written for you; it is said that if you read this text, you have said what you need to say to the Imam; this is pilgrimage. Now, if you do not understand its meaning and find it difficult - these subtitles of the Mafatih (Keys) are often incomplete; I have looked at them, and those that are currently available, honestly, good work has not been done in this area to provide a proper subtitle that conveys that meaning; it is very incomplete - and this did not happen and you did not want to speak to the Imam in your own language. This speaking, even if it is only with your lips, is not a problem. It was said: Listen, I speak with silent lips; respond to me with a glance that is our language.

Speak with your heart. Of course, the heart must be focused and occupied with this audience; if it becomes preoccupied with other things - distracted by the surroundings, the decorations, the comings and goings, and such matters - then the heart does not connect. Try, even if for two minutes, even if for five minutes, to free your heart from the other distractions and connect it to the spirituality that is present there and express your words.

Then, when you have spoken this with your own language or with the text you have in hand - that is, this community pilgrimage for example or the special pilgrimage of Imam Reza or the pilgrimage of Aminullah; these have good content, even if you do not fully understand their meanings, but read a little from them; the community pilgrimage, for example, is six or seven pages long, if you have time, read all of it, if you do not have time, read a page or half a page; it does not matter; but be aware that this is a text that is very well organized, beautifully arranged - and while you are reading the text, even if you do not know its meaning, be aware of whom you are addressing. If this happens, then it becomes pilgrimage; the complete pilgrimage that you have heard about is just this. Of course, perfection has degrees; some are much higher than us; for us, this pilgrimage that I mentioned is a good pilgrimage. If you greet and perform pilgrimage in this way, then God willing, the hope that it will be accepted is very high, meaning the grace of this pilgrimage will reach you.

Of course, in the holy shrine, whether inside the shrine itself or outside in the courtyards and halls, if you can connect your heart, wherever you are, there is closeness; wherever you are. Some think they must go and cling to the shrine! These people, because their hearts do not connect, want to connect their bodies; what benefit is that? Some are right at the shrine and are clinging to it, but their hearts are not connected to Imam Reza at all; one might be farther away, but his heart might be connected; this is good. If you perform pilgrimage in this way, this is good.

Then, in this shrine or inside the courtyard or the holy area, worshiping God - that is, when you speak to God - has more reward than in other places. When I say reward, I mean the grace that comes from the connection with the sacred essence of the Lord reaches a person; this is the same reward; a grace that a person receives. We humans are like an empty vessel; an empty vessel must be filled. With what will we fill it? With divine grace, meaning that drop by drop spirituality, spirituality, and light that is gradually poured into this vessel. Of course, on the condition that we do not empty it all at once; because when we sin, all these divine graces are emptied. We must fill this vessel of existence with divine favors. Therefore, pray inside the shrine, pray for missed prayers, pray obligatory prayers, pray recommended prayers, pray for your parents, say dhikr - say 'There is no god but God', say the four praises - meaning sit there and say dhikr; provided that - what is the main condition? The same as I said at the beginning - the heart must be connected; if the heart is not connected, it is of no use. If the heart is connected, even the least action will benefit you. God willing, may God grant success to me and all of you.

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