Statements of the Supreme Leader on the First Day of Arrival in Sari

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

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate, chosen progeny, the guided, infallible, honored, and purified ones, especially the remainder of God on earth.

Before I begin my remarks, as a token of gratitude for your passionate, sincere, and affectionate sentiments, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to offer a few prayers so that, by the blessing of your pure hearts and warm breaths, we may direct divine favors upon ourselves.

O Lord! We beseech You by the pure ones at Your threshold to bestow Your grace, mercy, and blessings upon these people. O Lord! Illuminate the hearts of each and every man and woman in this gathering with the light of guidance. O Lord! Regard these sentiments, these sincerities, and these loving hearts as worthy of the attention of Your guardian and proof, His Eminence, the remainder of God, may our souls be sacrificed for him. O Lord! Make all that we say, hear, and do for Your sake and in Your path.

It is necessary to say a word about today and yesterday in the province of Mazandaran. When the flood of faithful masses turned towards the great revolution of the Iranian nation, one of the provinces that was considered at the forefront and stepped into this path with all its being was Mazandaran. When it came time to defend the sacred revolution and the borders of this country, one of the provinces that formed the front lines in the battlefields and created the 25th Karbala division was Mazandaran. When it came time to confront the plots of the enemies, the hypocrites, the corrupt, the deviants, and the atheists, the province that stood firm against enemies of all kinds was Mazandaran.

Perhaps throughout this province, there is not a city, village, community, or even a family that has not participated in some way in the war, in the revolution, in martyrdom, in sacrifice, and in selflessness. Everywhere you look in this province, from east to west, from cities to villages and foothills—everywhere, the men and women of this province have played a role in this revolution, in the establishment of the Islamic system, in guiding the war, and in the construction of the country.

Today, Mazandaran is like this; a faithful, passionate population, with young people whom no danger can deter from defending the values of this revolution. Fathers and mothers who have sent and continue to send their children selflessly on this path; families and various classes, all and all have been and are in the forefront of this revolution. Today, Mazandaran is like this.

If we look at the history of Mazandaran, especially the youth, intellectuals, students, respected clergy, and the selected and cultured classes, we see that Mazandaran resisted during the early centuries of Islam's emergence in Iran until it faced the attacks of armies sent by the Umayyad and Abbasid courts. That is, the tyrant kings who ruled the Islamic world at that time could not open the gates of Mazandaran to themselves by the force of the sword. But when the descendants of the Prophet, the family of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, and the descendants of Zayd ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them, came to Mazandaran, the people of this province embraced the descendants of the Prophet. They gathered around the 'Great Caller,' who was from the descendants of the Prophet and from the lineage of Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, and learned Islam in its Alawite form, in the manner of the Ahl al-Bayt, and again stood and resisted against those tyrannical courts. This is the proud historical past of Mazandaran.

Dear brothers and sisters! I have said this many times; I must say it again so that you, the people, know the value of this pure and sincere faith; this spirituality and sincerity that exists in this region towards the values of the revolution. During the previous regime, two currents were active and striving in the province of Mazandaran, each of which was enough to corrupt and faithlessly destroy a nation.

One was the corrupt, decadent culture of the oppressive regime, which was active and striving in this province with all its power and might. They wanted to empty this lush, fertile, and blessed region of spirituality and religion so that they could exploit it more easily. Another current was the leftist wave, the leftist and Marxist tendencies; the anti-God, anti-religion, and anti-Islamic values tendencies that were active in this province and this region. They wanted to take away the Islamic faith and religion from these people.

The people of Mazandaran, who have preserved their faith in such a passionate and fruitful way, have in fact maintained and preserved this faith between two jaws of a pincer, one side of which was the corrupt oppressive regime and the other side was the leftist wave. This faith is a very valuable faith. This faith is a very deep faith.

It is with attention to these characteristics that I sincerely love you, the people of Mazandaran, your province, your people, your youth, your warriors, your self-sacrificers, your disabled veterans, and your freed captives, and the families who have strived in the path of God and for this revolution, and I hold you in high regard with all my heart and with all my being. I consider Mazandaran one of the treasures of the Lord for the revolution and for the spread of the global Islamic thought, this radiant sun that came into existence and shone brightly by the blessing of the revolution.

Here, too, I thank you for your warm welcome, for your gathering and affection, for your welcome to this brother who loves you on this trip to Mazandaran, and I hope that this trip will be beneficial and fruitful for you, the people of Mazandaran, for this region, and for us before Almighty God and in the field of revolutionary activity.

The matter that you, dear brothers and sisters, must pay attention to is that the Islamic Revolution came into being to give the Iranian nation a good life. A good life, as the Quran says: 'We will surely give them a good life.' (16:97) This is the ultimate fruit and goal of this revolution. A good life means that a nation enjoys material and daily life, welfare, security, knowledge, literacy, political dignity, economic independence, and financial and economic prosperity, and also that spiritually, faithful, God-conscious, and pious people with high divine morals live in it. This is the good life.

Some places in the world have economic prosperity and material welfare to some extent; but they lack spirituality. When spirituality does not exist in society, economic welfare is of no benefit; it does not eliminate discrimination, it does not create social justice, it does not eradicate hunger, and it does not eliminate corruption. Economic prosperity is not everything for a country. If a family has money, but the husband and wife constantly quarrel within the family, life in that family is bitter. Or if a family has money, but there is no security within the home, or the youth of that family is addicted to heroin, that family does not enjoy the pleasure of wealth.

A society is like a family. Consider a family like the American nation! In terms of economic activity, their production is high. Their scientific progress is good. Their factories are working. They export goods to the whole world, and the country's income is good; but that nation cannot derive real benefit from that economic progress. Why? Because there is no security in that country, there is no spirituality, and the youth in that country do not know what to do. Therefore, the rate of suicide and juvenile delinquency is high; children learn to kill from the age of twelve or thirteen; families disintegrate; husbands and wives cannot rely on each other's existence. A woman cannot feel that she has a husband, and a husband cannot feel that he has a wife! There is no family there.

We used to say these things; but today, the Americans themselves say it: their magazines write, their intellectuals shout, their politicians tear their collars and say that spirituality has been taken from American society. Why? Because there is no religion and faith in it. Yes; there is economic welfare to some extent; but even that economic welfare is not for everyone. The vast income of that country is for a few, and the rest do not benefit from it.

This is a society that has materiality; but it lacks spirituality. Islam does not want to create such a society. Islam wants both material and spiritual, both wealth and welfare, both faith and spirituality, both economic progress and moral and spiritual flourishing to exist in society. This is the good life of Islam; 'We will surely give them a good life.'

My dear young people! Intelligent and alert children of the great country of Iran! Students, pupils, sons, and daughters; those to whom the future of this country belongs! Know that if you want to build this country, you must see what the revolution, the values of the revolution, and the Islamic Republic system, the prescription it has given for building Iran is—an Iran that has been ruined and destroyed for centuries by oppressive kings and corrupt and dependent rulers. Do you think that the Pahlavi kings did not inflict damage and destruction on this country?! Before them, did the Qajar kings—from the time of Nasser al-Din Shah onwards—not inflict damage and destruction on this country?!

Who will rebuild these ruins of the revolution? You will. If you want Iran to be prosperous, economic welfare and prosperity, comprehensive progress, political dignity, social security, job security, knowledge, and progress in research on one hand, and spirituality on the other, to illuminate and brighten this country, you must consider two things. These two things are the duty of all classes, especially the aware classes. The merchant, the farmer, the industrialist, the worker, the student, the teacher, the cleric, the cultural and respected clergy, must consider these two things together.

One is that everyone must participate in the construction of the country. The second is that they must strive in the construction of their own selves. 'And turn to God in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.' (24:31) Success and salvation lie in the fact that all of us have the path of turning to God, supplication, and resorting to the Lord as a clear path. Neither alone is sufficient.

Let no one think that the country will be built without activity and effort, just by mentioning God; absolutely not. Effort must be made, struggle must be made; both scientific struggle and practical struggle.

Mazandaran is one of the most populous provinces in this country; a province with four million people and abundant natural resources. Your province has resources that few provinces in this country have together. One great resource of this province is this blessed sea. This sea is a great source of wealth and divine blessing. It is at your disposal. Another resource is the vast agricultural lands, these pastures, these forests, these agricultural lands, and this suitable climate. In many places in this province, it is possible to cultivate twice a year. Some of the country's products, the most of them, are produced in this province by the blessing of this climate, by the blessing of this water, these facilities, and this fertile land.

In addition to these, there are natural mines; that is, the grounds for industrialization also exist in this province. The grounds related to the sea are also a wide door, one of which is fishing, and it is not all of it. Such a part of this country, with all its natural values and God-given blessings, is in your hands.

In this province, no one should be unemployed, the great national reserves should be enriched by this province. There should be no deadlock. There should be no poverty in any part of it. These require effort.

My dear ones! If global arrogance had not incited its puppets against this nation and that eight-year war had not occurred, the revolution would have done these things in the first years. Some people like to sit on the sidelines and campaign against the country's officials; against the sincere and devoted officials who work for this country in the government and often refer to foreign enemies in their speeches when explaining problems. Some have become accustomed to saying in response to these, 'Sir, you attribute all the problems to foreign enemies!'

Sir! Was the eight-year war not part of the realities of this country?! Is it a joke to impose an all-out war on a country for eight years and drag all its financial resources towards war?! Is this a small thing? God Himself knows what we, who were the executive officials of this country at that time, went through during the war! To think, plan, and prepare; so that this enemy would not be allowed to carry out its vile intentions against this nation and this country. Was there time left for other tasks?!

If the enemy had not plotted; if the enemy, led by global arrogance and at its head the vile and wicked America, had not been active against this country, many of these tasks would have been accomplished. We are a few years behind; but it is not too late. This nation is capable. It relies on itself and trusts in God. It has caring and interested officials; it does not lack experts and skilled people; it has plenty of workforces. It can build its home in such a way that it has no need for foreigners whom this nation detests.

Now the Americans sit and draw lines for the Iranian nation and government, saying that there should be economic sanctions. We thank God that in the past few days, the American officials themselves have explicitly and officially announced that their policy of economic sanctions against Iran has failed internationally!

This is the result of your nation's steadfastness and the result of not fearing the enemy's threats. Do not fear the enemy's threats. Never fear America. The courageous behavior of this nation and the officials of this country, thanks be to God, has also encouraged other nations.

The time has passed when the Americans thought they were the masters of the world; they drew lines and made decisions for various countries of the world. All of this is thanks to the fact that you, the nation, do not forget these two tasks: one is participation in the construction of the country; both scientific construction, meaning study, teaching, research, thinking, innovation, and finding shortcuts; breaking through dead ends and moving forward, and practical work. Everyone must participate in the construction of the country. No one should withdraw. The government must guide, which it does. The second program is responsible for carrying out great tasks that, God willing, will be accomplished. Exceptionally, some parts of this country, some provinces that deserve it, should receive special attention, and God willing, Mazandaran will be among these provinces. We hope the officials will strive and work hard, and now that an opportunity has arisen, they will pursue the sections that can be followed here and the tasks that can be done for these dear people and for the country with full strength and power. Make the face of the province more beautiful than it is, and from the perspective of spiritual and divine blessings, make it more blessed; so that, God willing, the root of poverty will be completely eradicated in this province.

And the second, 'And turn to God in repentance, all of you, O believers.' My dear ones! You must return to God; do not forget God. Dear young people! Be mindful of the divine and Islamic morals that are a trust among this nation. Today, one of the main goals of your enemies is to corrupt the morals of the youth of this nation. They are striving and investing for this purpose. Who should be vigilant? Everyone; especially the youth; the faithful youth.

A nation that is reconciled with God; a nation that does not forget supplication and resorting to God, its path of construction will also be smoother. 'And O my people, seek forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers and increase you in strength [added] to your strength.' (11:52) The Quran teaches us this way; that is, seeking forgiveness, returning to God, attention and observance of divine commands and prohibitions, chastity, piety, truthfulness, the spirit of brotherhood and equality, kindness to subordinates, humility towards Muslim brothers and sisters, helping the needy, worship of the Lord, supererogatory prayers, recitation of the Quran, supplication, and entreaty.

When these values exist in a country and among a nation, if along with it, the other factor, which is effort, is also present, nothing will be able to prevent that nation from pursuing the path of happiness and righteousness. Be careful that the era of construction is also the era of the greater jihad: self-construction, fighting against Satan, and repentance to God.

This province is devoted to supplication, entreaty, attention to God, and holding religious gatherings and assemblies. It has been this way since ancient times; after the revolution, it has become better and more and of higher quality. I recommend to the youth to take seriously congregational prayers, attendance at mosques, holding gatherings of supplication and entreaty, and understanding the meanings of these supplications so that you understand what you are saying to God and what you are talking about. On one hand, active arms and firm steps in the path of scientific and practical construction; on the other hand, a humble and submissive heart before the Lord and attention and resorting to Almighty God and seeking help from His pure and infallible saints; especially His Eminence, the remainder of God, may our souls be sacrificed for him. This will be able to bring you the good life that the Quran has promised and for which the revolution exists, God willing.

Once again, I thank all my dear brothers and sisters in the city of Sari and also the brothers and sisters who came to Sari from other cities of the province. I heard that some walked from some cities to come here. God willing, these steps will be firm in the path of God, and these loving faces will be placed before the lights of the Lord's grace and favor, and Almighty God will bestow His favors upon all of you dear people in this city and in other cities.

We will be in this province for a few short days, God willing; we will meet with the populations of this province in various cities, and we hope that this trip, these meetings, these sayings and hearings, will be in the path of God and for God, and God willing, will be subject to the grace and acceptance of the Lord from you and us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings