Statements of His Eminence in Meeting with a Large Group of Guardians and Basijis on the Occasion of the Birth of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and the Day of the Revolutionary Guard

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

On the auspicious birth of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), the master of the lovers of truth and the intoxicated ones of the presence of the Lord, thanks be to God, our meeting has been a gathering full of presence and blessings. The memory of the martyrs, the presence of the warriors, the presence of the noble fathers and mothers of the martyrs, and the statements that arise from the hearts have perfumed the atmosphere of this meeting. God willing, may the day of the birth of Imam Abal-Hassan (peace be upon him) and the week of the Revolutionary Guard and the week of the Basij be blessed for you, the guardians, and for all Basijis and for all the people of Iran, especially the families of the martyrs and all the self-sacrificers.

Among the many characteristics that the Islamic nation possesses by the grace of Islam, the Quran, and the Ahlulbayt, one is that our people have great and shining role models before their eyes. For nations, having role models is very important. You see, different nations, if there is a hint of greatness in a personality, they elevate it, glorify it, and immortalize its name; so that they can direct the public movement of their generations towards the desired goal. Sometimes they do not even have a real personality; but they present them in various national stories, poems, and myths. All of this stems from the fact that nations need to see great examples among themselves. This is abundantly and uniquely present in Islam, with the greatest of them being Imam Abal-Hassan (peace be upon him), the leader of the Muslims and the great martyr of human history.

The prominence of the existence of Imam Abal-Hassan (peace be upon him) has dimensions that each of these dimensions has extensive discussions and explanations; but if we name two or three prominent attributes among all these distinctions, one of them is "sincerity"; that is, fulfilling the divine duty and not involving personal and group interests and material motivations in the work. Another prominent attribute is "trust in God". The appearances suggested that this flame would be extinguished in the desert of Karbala. How could the poet Farazdaq see this; but Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) did not see it?! The advisors coming from Kufa saw it; but Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), who was the eye of God, did not see and understand?! The appearances were just that; but trust in God dictated that despite these appearances, he should be certain that his words of truth and correct speech would prevail. The essence of the matter is that the intention and goal of a person should be realized. If the goal is realized, for a sincere person, their own self does not matter.

I saw one of the greats of the path and knowledge who wrote in a letter that if we assume - hypothetically - that all the actions that the noble Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) intended to carry out were carried out, but in the name of someone else, would the Prophet of Islam be dissatisfied? Would he say that because it is in someone else's name, I will not do it? Was it like this? Or no; the goal is for those actions to be carried out; it does not matter in whose name they are done. Therefore, the goal is important. The "self" and "I" do not matter for a sincere person. They have sincerity, they also have trust in God. They know that the Almighty God will certainly make this goal prevail; because He has said: "And indeed, Our soldiers will be victorious". Many of these soldiers who are victorious fall in the battlefield of martyrdom and perish; but He has said: "And indeed, Our soldiers will be victorious"; yet victory is with them.

The third characteristic is recognizing the "moment". Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) did not make a mistake in understanding the "moment". Before the incident of Karbala, he had ten years of leadership and responsibility. That noble one was busy with other matters in Medina and was not engaged in Karbala; but as soon as the opportunity allowed him to carry out that important task, he recognized the opportunity and seized it; he recognized the moment and did not let it slip away. These three characteristics are decisive. It has always been the same; it was the same in the revolution. Our Imam, whom you see has been elevated by the Almighty God to a high rank - "And We raised him to a high position" - and despite all the factors in the material world and global arrogance that wanted to obliterate him, make him forgotten, and belittle him, He preserved and magnified him, making him everlasting and immortal; the reason for this was that he possessed these three characteristics: firstly, he was sincere and wanted nothing for himself; secondly, he had trust in his God and knew that the work and goal would be realized - he also had trust in God's servants - thirdly, he did not miss the time and "moment". At the necessary moment, he took the necessary action, made the necessary speech, gave the necessary indication, and made the necessary movement.

A great revolution occurred that even today the enemies of this revolution have not come out of their daze and cannot properly recognize this revolution! I claim this and can prove it. From their actions, from their words, from the measures they think they are taking to destroy the revolution, it becomes clear that they still do not recognize this revolution. The seven heavens are filled with the sound of this revolution; but those short-sighted ones have taken the matter so lightly that they think that with two words and a smile, everything is resolved! More naive than them are their followers and disciples who sometimes repeat the same words here! They smile at their smiles, these poor ones! This revolution is great. This revolution has roots in hearts, in history, and in the material world today. Today we regularly read in the news - not related to the early days of the revolution; even today and in this period we read - that the Western world, the Christian world, and the materialistic world are leaning towards Islam. Islam attracts them from this center. This center is in a state of complete activity; while some think that this center has become dormant! They say things that are the beginning of foolish and laughable delusions. Now they say things, and soon they will understand that they were mistaken. Therefore, Imam's movement was due to those three great factors - namely sincerity, trust in God, and recognizing the "moment" and utilizing it - that this depth was achieved and it is very profound. You guardians must also move in this way; you have been moving this way until now.

Regarding the guardians, I must say: these are the ones who, despite all the motivations that exist in today's material world for the youth, have donned the attire of chastity and piety, have embraced spirituality, have stepped into the field for God, and wherever their existence was needed - their lives, their health, and their presence among their families; which are blessings from God - they have offered everything. Many of these guardians and our youth are, thanks be to God, healthy. They have not reached martyrdom and have not lost their health; but they are in the position of martyrs; because wherever their presence in the front and their activity in the field were necessary, they offered it to the revolution, to the nation, and to God. This is the work they did; they recognized the time and place, trusted in God, and also practiced sincerity.

These great martyrs of ours, these dear martyrs, these renowned martyrs, the brothers of Zain al-Din - whose honorable mother spoke - and the other martyr commanders, the day they stepped into this field, it was not with the intention that one day their names would be mentioned behind the great loudspeakers of this country and this world; no. They went to the front like ordinary people, to fulfill their duty. Wherever they felt that was their duty, they went there. This is sincerity. This sincerity is what our nation carries with it today; and the complete manifestation of it is in the young and faithful groups, one of the best and most prominent of which is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

From the very first day, those who opposed the independence of this country opposed this revolution, opposed breaking free from the grip of global arrogance, opposed moving towards Islam, opposed the chastity of men and women, opposed the moral integrity of the youth, and had hearts longing for the corruption of foreign cultures, opposed the Guard. It is not just today that some think that there are those who oppose the Guard; no. Those who had these characteristics were opposed from the very first days. Today, as time has passed and changes have occurred in the conditions of the world, those who have more or less the same characteristics still oppose the presence of the Guard, the being of the Guard, the piety of the Guard, and the successes of the Guard in various fields. This is obvious and not unexpected; but what is important is that when a word becomes a divine word and a pure word, opposition and agreement have no effect. If the foundation is correct - which thanks be to God it is - when the path is clear - which is clear - when sincerity and faith are present in individuals - which thanks be to God is present in you - it does not matter what individuals say or think. When a traveler enters the long road, what they need is determination and will. They must decide to move towards the goal. Now, if one says this is so, another says it is not, another says they are mistaken. If they have this determination and will, this movement will take place and will reach its destination. This is thanks be to God.

One sentence about the Basij: some people think that "Basij" is a military organization, like other military organizations - that is, the army and the Guard - this is a mistake. Basij means the efficient force of the country for all fields. The battlefield was mentioned, and the Basij proved its efficiency. Other fields that arise - and many have arisen so far - the Basij also proves its efficiency. The same young lover who in the battlefield had his eyes on the commander's mouth and bewildered his commander with his sincerity, sacrifice, and devotion, when he enters the university, he also astonishes his professor; when he enters the scientific laboratory, it is the same; in the field of political analysis, it is the same.

Know that all countries have something like this; but they do not have this prominence. In countries where nations are alive - I do not care about countries where wrong policies govern them and the nation has no role, no will, no presence, and no value - in countries where people have a role in the affairs, everywhere there is something similar to the Basij; but I do not know of any place in the world that has the brilliance, comprehensiveness, beauty, and sacrifice of our Basij. The Basij was not exclusive to the youth; young and old moved shoulder to shoulder. Fathers and sons came together. Sometimes grandfathers and grandchildren came together, and today they are together. The Basij was not exclusive to men; women and men were together. Name and identity did not play a role; responsibility was what mattered. Whenever the country had a knot, the first finger that should untie that knot is the great force of the popular Basij. This Basij exists in all strata; in the young strata, in the old strata, in the academic strata, in the student strata, in the working strata, in the merchant and craftsman strata, and in the clerical strata. The Basij is not limited to a geographical area or a human, class, or stratum; it is everywhere.

The reason why the Basij has flourished and shone in our country is what? It is passionate faith, deep faith, faith accompanied by emotions that are characteristics of the Iranian nation. Unlike some other nations, emotions in this nation are boiling; they are the key to many problems. This faith combined with those emotions turned this great roaring river into this vast sea and eliminated problems wherever necessary. It is still present today, it must be present, it will continue, and it must continue. In the current conditions of the country, some people with the same erroneous interpretation that they think the Basij is a military organization, or that the Guard and army and military forces are only needed during the war and then should be completely forgotten and set aside, with this erroneous analysis believe that all the values of the Basij, all the good divine values - of which the Basij is a manifestation - must be removed from society! Of course, this is enemy propaganda. Woe to a nation that listens to enemy propaganda. The enemy does not want the good of humanity. If the enemy praises you, you should be suspicious of this praise. If they speak ill of you, you should mock their slander. If they say your situation is bad, you should know your situation is good. If they say the path you are taking is wrong, you should know they are harmed by this path. If they praise you, you should look at yourself and see what wrongdoing you have committed that makes them happy; of course, if their praise is genuine and there is no trick involved.

My dear ones! Today, global arrogance is advancing its work and efforts everywhere it wants to seize, with three factors. In this place where you are sitting, so far these three factors have not worked. One factor is financial; one factor is military; one factor is propaganda. Through the financial factor, they buy people. My point about the financial factor is not that they interfere in the economies of countries. No country can have a long-term and decisive impact on the economy of another country - if the people of that country are awake. Of course, yes; they create disruption, sabotage, affect oil prices, reduce a country's income by half; just as they have done in our country under the current conditions. I should also mention here: some people exaggerate and make a fuss about the current economic situation of the country. There is no news, there is no issue. Are we a nation that has not seen economic problems? Are we a country that has not had low financial and oil revenues in the past twenty years? It was the same in the past; revenues would decrease and increase, and the officials of the country and the well-wishers of the government, with the support of the people and the cooperation of various strata and with the restraint of this vast mass of our faithful people, would overcome the problems; today they are overcoming them too. This is the effect of the enemy's propaganda that because oil revenues have decreased, therefore the Iranian nation should sit down and weep! No; it is not like that.

So, if a nation is awake, alive, standing, strives, wills, has unity - especially unity and solidarity - stands behind its officials, trusts its country's officials - you must trust those who are in charge. If a government official takes action, does something, you must trust them so they can carry out their work - with these characteristics, they cannot have long-term effects on the economy of their country. They inflict blows; but a living nation crushes an economic blow just like a blow from a sword, like a bullet blow, it destroys it, and its effect does not remain. The financial factor I mentioned means bribery. They buy weak elements. With the financial factor, global arrogance enslaves the money-loving people in the world. Today this is common in the world. They reach into their own bag of tricks - the satanic tricks - identify those whose mouths are open for worldly wealth, buy them with money, and make them their slaves! In many countries of the world, they inflicted this great damage on nations. Greedy, gluttonous, and money-loving people were bought with this worthless commodity - that is, money - and made their own.

The other factor is the military factor, which is a means of threat. Whenever two people in a corner of the world have a disagreement, the American fleet sets off in that direction and threatens! The American fleet has been in the Persian Gulf for many years; how many of the Iranian nation were afraid of this fleet? How many of them hid out of fear? How many of the officials of the country retracted their words out of fear of the American fleet? Living nations are not afraid. A faithful nation is not afraid. A heart that is faithful does not pay attention to these things. Cowardly, faithless, timid, and unworthy people are the ones for whom these fleets and threats are frightening, and they are afraid.

The third factor is propaganda. They try to deceive hearts and distort the truths. My dear ones! Know that the first thing they do in countries is to question the true centers of truth and purity; they question the honest media; they question the faithful people; they slander; they create doubt among the people; they steal hearts and distort the truths. Today, global arrogance works with these three factors in the world.

What is the weapon to counter these three factors? Think about what should be done to counter the financial factor that enslaves people, the military factor that frightens and intimidates people, and the propaganda factor that deceives and misleads people. What can stand against these? Clear faith, faith with insight. This is what our nation has and has had since the beginning of the revolution; this is what distinguishes the Basij. The issue in our country is that this nation, by the grace of Islam, has been able to break an invincible spell; the spell of foreign domination, the domination of America. Some countries lament under American domination; but they cannot eliminate it. You should not think that countries under American domination are all happy - of course, some are happy; because their interests lie in this and they receive bribes - many of them are unhappy and cannot remove this heavy burden of American domination from their backs; but this nation has been able to completely break this spell and cut off the enemy's hand.

Iran is a sensitive place; it is rich in abundant resources; it is rich in wealth; it is rich in cultural wealth and has a very important geopolitical position; therefore, they do not easily dare to let go of it. They try to return and regain domination and take the same illegitimate interests from this country. They have activated the financial, military, and propaganda factors. The nation is standing, the Basij is standing, the faithful forces are standing, the government is standing, the officials are standing; everyone is standing. Does anyone today dare to act against the opinion of these people - who want Islam and are enemies of the enemies of Islam? Today all our youth, our elders, our students, our clerics, our leaders, our children, and our various strata - unless I mention a rare exception who have attached their hearts to the false, colorful lives of the West - have understood that their happiness lies in understanding Islam with insight, clarity, and wisdom and applying it to reduce enmities and repel hostilities. This is the Basij; the essence of the Basij means this. The twenty-million army that the Imam spoke of means this.

Know that the problem of Islamic Iran is not solved for global arrogance and America, and it will not be solved. The propaganda that some newspapers and media outlets spread in various forms is not the criterion. As we said, they use those three factors; that is why propaganda is also used. Propaganda that some want to encourage a nation to slavery. Is there anything more foolish than this? To bring a nation under the yoke and make them subservient. To accept a tyrannical arrogant power as a master and lord! Is this something a nation can say, or a healthy person can express? Of course, there are some political groups that pursue their own political goals; they say things, and some parrot their words. This cannot be the voice of healthy, correct, and strong groups. Today, the independence of this country lies in adhering to Islam and acting upon Islam, in unity of word, and in recognizing the enemy, which today is global arrogance and at the head of it is America. This is the path to the happiness of this nation. This nation will follow this path to happiness, and everyone has the duty to familiarize themselves with what this time needs and respond to it. In all cultural and intellectual forces, scientific forces, and artistic forces, this great force of popular Basij can be at the forefront; because it is young, because it is vibrant, because it is from the heart of the people. All faithful forces have the duty to trust and rely on God. The clear and guiding path that the Imam (may his soul be sanctified) has opened for this nation, God willing, they will follow this path; the Almighty God will bless them, assist them, grant them victory, and God willing, will lead them to their lofty goals and will please the sacred heart of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

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