Speech at the Closing Ceremony of the Eighth International Quran Memorization and Recitation Competition

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

This was a very good gathering. Today, the distinguished participants of the Quran memorization and recitation competition are present here, each of whom is truly a glad tiding for us. The fact that these children are so passionately engaged with the Quran is something to be grateful for before Almighty God. Of course, I must thank the father of this young child, the fathers of these reciters, the young memorizer, and their teachers and mentors. Our nation should know that all our young children have this potential; however, it requires effort and attention to acquaint these young ones with the Quran.

Dear brothers and sisters! For many years, efforts were made in this country to create a distance between the nation and the Quran. They deliberately tried to create this distance; they attempted to completely remove the Quran from our lives. What does removing the Quran from life mean? It means severing the connection of Muslim nations with Islam, because the Quran is the beacon of Islam and the beacon of guidance. The one who is familiar with the Quran has a heart and actions different from the one who is disconnected from the Quran. A nation connected to the Quran is different from a nation disconnected from it. Today, the enemies of Islam are trampling on the clear signs of the Quran because our nations are disconnected from the Quran.

The Commander of the Faithful said: 'No one sits with this Quran without rising with an increase or decrease: an increase in guidance or a decrease in blindness.' When you rise from the Quran, something is added to you, and that is guidance; and something is taken from you, and that is blindness and ignorance. They wanted to take this guidance away from us. It reached a point where the generation raised during the recent oppressive monarchy—meaning the twenty years before the victory of the revolution—was not familiar with the Quran in schools; now, if they were lucky and found a Quranic course, a Quranic teacher, a kind father, or a Quran-reading mother, then so be it, otherwise, there was no Quran! The revolution came and intertwined the Quran with the people's lives.

My dear ones! Quran reciters! Our pure-hearted revolutionary youth! Strengthen this connection with the Quran day by day; spread the fragrance of the Quran in the family atmosphere; read and read the Quran; reflect on the Quran. The enemy does not want Muslims to hold the verses of the Quran like a banner because the Quran has defined duties; the duties of Muslims, the duty of jihad, the duty of Islamic life and Islamic death.

We must strengthen our relationship with the Quran day by day. Read the Quran at home. Even during leisure time, if you find a little free time, connect yourself to the Quran. Read a portion of the Quran every day and learn it. Learn these methods of Tajweed. Take advantage of these teachers and instructors who have mostly come from Egypt as much as possible. This teacher, 'Abul Ainain Shaisha,' who is an elder of the Quran, I have been familiar with his voice and tapes for thirty years—perhaps even more; they have spent their lives with the Quran; they are those who have worked in this field of Quran recitation and recitation; they have worked well; they have achieved good ranks. Learn what these Quran teachers have. Of course, the Quran is a deep sea and a vast ocean with no end; the more you progress—whether on the surface of the Quran or in its depths—there is always the possibility of journeying and progressing and moving forward.

God willing, may God grant you all success. I am very grateful to those who worked hard and organized these competitions. From the Endowments Organization, from Mr. Imam Jamarani, who truly worked hard and continue to work hard, from their colleagues, from the rest of the brothers who continue their Quranic efforts in the Propagation Organization and other centers, I am grateful. These efforts are what our nation needs. I hope that, God willing, their successes will increase day by day from the Lord of the Worlds. God willing, may we all live with the Quran, die with the Quran, and be resurrected with the Quran on the Day of Judgment.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings