Statements at the Meeting with Members of the Organizing Committee of the National Congress of Four Thousand Martyrs of Yazd Province

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

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

Welcome. Wherever the memory of martyrs and their names are mentioned, it is sweet and desirable for us who are deprived of the high blessings bestowed upon them. God willing, may God grant you success.

Appreciation for Material and Spiritual Initiatives to Honor the Martyrs of the Province You have done a very good job by holding this commemoration in this manner, with the philosophy and basis that the gentlemen have articulated. Therefore, I sincerely thank all those involved in this commemoration and all those who participated in this work; especially since this initiative you have started and carried out is accompanied by very interesting and beautiful innovations; this issue of forty services on behalf of the pure souls of the four thousand martyrs that you have raised and expanded throughout the province is a very beautiful, meaningful, and useful work that you have done; the details of these forty services were presented by Mr. Naseri. I will also make a reference so that this message is conveyed and reflected in the public space of the country.

These forty services include various types of services; from planting four thousand saplings to providing complete dowries, to facilitating easy marriages, to naming newborns - which is one of the important cultural issues that many currently do not pay attention to, but the issue of naming newborns is one of the important cultural matters of the country, where there is a misguided movement in this area and you have actually stood against that movement - to free medical treatment, to livelihood packages, to cultural packages, and to four thousand recitations of the Quran; meaning everything; from tangible and material issues related to daily life to spiritual matters and spiritual ascension such as the visitation of Ashura and the recitation of the Quran and similar things; this is a very prominent initiative. The people of Yazd are innovative; this is one of the most important and beautiful initiatives you have undertaken in this regard.

History of Innovations by the People of Yazd During the War It was the same in the front; everyone saw the innovations of the people of Yazd in the front; I saw some, and I heard of others; for example, consider the use of the art of digging qanats in Yazd and creating underground channels for the needs of the combatants, or using active housewives in Yazd for [service in] sewing houses. Large sewing houses were established in Yazd; first in one center, then it expanded, and the late martyr Sadooghi (may God be pleased with him) encouraged and appreciated this work, which became widespread as they prepared and sent clothing for the combatants to the front. Or in the garrison or camp of the Ghadir Brigade, which I also visited, they had built a bath - I went inside that bath - like very good urban baths: multiple showers, a bathhouse; these are innovative works, meaning things that one does not observe elsewhere; now military work and breaking the lines are another matter. The people of Yazd were like this. Before the revolution, it was the same; shortly before the revolution, this famous lamentation that was recited in Yazd, we heard it in Mashhad - one was recited by the people of Jahrom, and one by the people of Yazd - they had incorporated revolutionary concepts and issues into the lamentation of chest-beating and had created a tremendous expansion; it was a great work.

The Great Right of the People of Yazd Over the Revolution The people of Yazd have a great right over the revolution, and that is the issue of the tenth of Farvardin that the gentlemen referred to. The tenth of Farvardin was formed under sensitive conditions; (5) that is, there had been a massacre in Tabriz, the people's movement had been suppressed - of course, the Tabriz uprising was also an extraordinary uprising - in such conditions, the people of Yazd held an Arbaeen meeting, and the late martyr Sadooghi himself participated; of course, the late Mr. Falsafi (6) was also there, who did not go to the pulpit, while Mr. Rashid (7) and others went to the pulpit, and those painful events, but from one perspective, joy-inducing, occurred, which demonstrated the great movement of the people of Yazd. These are important matters.

The Prominent Role of Martyr Sadooghi in Leading the People of Yazd Of course, the role of martyr Sadooghi should not be forgotten in this regard; martyr Sadooghi was not just an active cleric, he was a leader; I witnessed this closely in Yazd. Around the months of Mehr and Aban when I returned from exile, I came from Jiroft and reached Yazd and stayed at Mr. Sadooghi's house for a few days, I saw what he was doing; he was truly leading the people’s movement, commanding, making decisions moment by moment; I witnessed this closely in his house. Of course, I had heard about it before; when we were in Iranshahr or Jiroft in exile, the people of Yazd would come and go because of Mr. Rashid who was with us, they would tell us about the situation of martyr Sadooghi; but what I saw up close was that he was truly leading in Yazd; this was his extraordinary role. Of course, during the war, as long as he was alive, this situation existed where he would come to the front, encourage; after him, the late Mr. Khatami (8) (may God be pleased with him) with his integrity and the truth that he had, and I was very familiar with him and knew him closely, continued the same path. May God elevate their ranks, God willing.

Hearing the Message of the Martyrs; The Philosophy of Holding Martyr Commemorations My dear ones! The commemoration of the martyrs is for hearing the message of the martyr. The martyrs have a message for us, this message is conveyed in the Quran; we need to hear the message of the martyrs amidst the daily events of life, the various essential and non-essential distractions that surround us, and the various attractions that draw us here and there; these congresses and commemorations can carry the message of the martyrs to us.

The Message of the Martyrs: 1) Expressing the Great Status of the Martyrs The martyr has multiple messages; now that the Quran - the truthful saying of God Almighty - tells us that "And do not think that those who were killed in the way of God are dead; rather, they are alive," one point is that they are alive. Well, in the Barzakh realm, many are alive; if the living of the martyrs were like the living of others, it would not have been necessary to say "alive"; it is clear that this is a special kind of life, a specific type of living of the martyrs: "They are provided for by their Lord"; (9) they are in the presence of the Almighty God and divine sustenance is constantly reaching them; this is the first point: the great status of the martyrs; which [of course] is in response to the hypocrites. In the same verses before this verse in Surah Al-Imran, the hypocrites said, "If they were with us, they would not have died and would not have been killed"; (10) if these young men had not gone to the battlefield, they would be alive now; we still sometimes hear that if such and such a thing had not happened, such and such a person would be alive. The Quran says it is not like that: "Say, 'Ward off death from yourselves'"; (11) if you consider staying as a means of remaining alive, then you do not die; you who are sitting here, do something so that death does not come to you. Then it says that they are alive, they are not dead; the concept of dead and alive in this verse has changed. They are not dead at all; their bodies that are buried under the soil, you think they are dead [but] they are not dead, they are alive, they have a special Barzakh life.

2) The Inclusion of Divine Grace and Mercy Upon the Martyrs One is this: "They are joyful for what God has given them of His grace"; [they are joyful for] what the Almighty God has bestowed upon them by His grace and mercy; which [this grace] is beyond their deserving. Grace means that excess that God grants; when you perform an action, God has determined a reward for it; this reward is in proportion to this action. Grace is that in addition to that reward, He gives you something else.

3) The Martyrs' Joy for Their Followers Due to Their Fate Then the next message [is]: "And they rejoice for those who have not yet joined them from behind them, that there is no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve"; (12) they are joyful - joyful is said to someone who receives good news and becomes happy; this is joyful - they say we are happy for you who have not joined us and are on our way and your movement is towards our goal, because of the fate that awaits you, we are happy, we are joyful; what is that fate? "There is no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve"; you should know that in the future, for you, there is neither fear nor grief; [the fate] of you who are moving in our way is this. See, this is the message of the martyrs to us, a very important message; "They rejoice in the bounty of God and His grace"; God will grant you blessings, God will grant you grace; "And indeed, God does not waste the reward of the believers"; (13) this movement that you are making has a reward before God and God will not waste this reward; they are telling us, they are strengthening us, they are motivating us, they are encouraging us in this movement to make the movement stronger, more powerful, more enduring, more continuous. Well, now you have performed faithful movements; you have done four thousand, four hundred, forty important works; these are the very things that make the martyrs happy, and they are joyful about your movement, the good news of your works makes them happy; they are joyful.

Well, this is the message of the martyrs to you and me so that we know and be vigilant in our movement and continue on the path. This message of the martyrs is exactly the opposite of the message that the worldly seekers give us, the seducers tell us; they tempt us by saying, "What is the benefit? Why? What are you doing? Why are you going?"! Exactly the opposite of that is the message of these dear martyrs.

Commendation of Good Taste in the Martyrs' Book Publications Well, I saw these books that you had placed here; now there was no opportunity to look at them in this time, but I admired the titles of the books and the taste that was used in the appearance of the books and their publication; it was very good; they placed the martyr's picture on the book, and there were multiple books, and I saw very good images installed here, all of which are innovative works and good works and other works that the gentlemen have pointed out that are being carried out.

The Necessity of Clarifying the Martyrs' Goals for Going to the Battlefield: Supporting the Revolution, the Imam, and the Religion One point you must definitely consider in this collection of works is the issue of the motivation of the martyrs and the goal of the martyrs; [that is] why did the martyrs go to the battlefield that led to their martyrdom? This is important. Well, it may be clear to you and me; their motivation was the revolution, support for the Imam, keeping the great movement of the Islamic Republic alive, which the enemy wanted to destroy and extinguish; but in this regard, temptations occur, they philosophize, they speak to negate this; strengthen this. Their goal was to support the revolution, support the Imam, support the religion; see, in many of these wills, the blessed name of the Imam is mentioned, the issue of hijab is there, the issue of the revolution is there; these are their motivations. And their ideal is that the country and society achieve the goals of the Islamic revolution; that is their ideal, and they go to ensure that this work is done; they go to confront this enmity that has come to cut off the line of the revolution and to destroy the Islamic Republic system that is based on this revolution, to stand firm and repel it, which they succeeded in doing, and they themselves were martyred. This is one point.

The Necessity of Introducing All Martyrs and Highlighting Them in the Eyes of the Youth Another point is introducing the distinguished faces of these martyrs to the youth; well, I have seen that now the names of the great and prominent martyrs exist; do not settle for these. As I have been informed, among the martyrs of Yazd, there are a thousand student martyrs; that is, out of these four thousand martyrs, a thousand of them are student martyrs; this is very important. [According to] what has been reported to me, they say the average age of the martyrs of Yazd is 23 years, meaning about half of them are under 20 years old; the youngest martyr of the Sacred Defense is from Yazd; a twelve or thirteen-year-old child; these are important, highlight these, show these - a thousand student martyrs - so that today’s student understands what a great work the previous generation did at this age; these are important matters that should be considered.

The Necessity of Efforts to Protect Youth from the Temptations of the Enemy Be aware that the enemy - I keep using the term enemy [and] some people get upset that why does he keep saying enemy; yes, it must be emphasized so that people do not forget that their enemy is lurking - is constantly working to discourage the youth, mislead them, divert them from the path; those who are not believers are drowned in corruption, and those who are believers are misled and diverted from the line of the revolution; the enemy is constantly planning. Many of the enemy's plans for us - perhaps not all, but many of them - are reported to us, we understand, we become informed; in response, your effort should be to protect your youth, and you can do this. Do not let the enemy's temptations affect the youth and cool them down and ultimately take them into service.

The Necessity of Recording the Memories of the Parents and Spouses of Martyrs to Illuminate the Family Atmosphere Another point is the issue of the memories of the parents of the martyrs. Of course, many of the parents of the martyrs of the imposed war and the Sacred Defense, unfortunately, passed away before their memories could be recorded, but some are still alive, thank God; either the father or the mother. Of course, the memories of the spouses are also very important, they should also be recorded, and fortunately, many of them are there, but the memories of the parents of the martyrs are particularly important in that they depict the internal atmosphere of the martyr-cherishing family for us. This family, whose three young men become martyrs - there are now several books here about three martyrs and two martyrs; this family, whose three young men become martyrs: one young man becomes a martyr first, then the twins become martyrs on the same day; on the same day, these twins are born, and on the same day, they become martyrs - what did they do? How was it managed? What did the parents do that such motivation and movement and excitement arose in these young men that they rise and go to the front? This is important, and attention must be paid to these. The memories of the fathers and mothers [are important]. Of course, the memories of the spouses are also very important; family characteristics and the family atmosphere are among the things that must be recorded.

The Necessity of Increased Efforts in the Path of Truth Unfortunately, today there are those who, under the shadow of the Islamic Republic and thanks to the struggles of these martyrs and warriors and the sacrifices of such people, live with security and freedom and act and move 180 degrees contrary to their wishes and the goals of the revolution! They must clarify for themselves how they will answer for these pure bloods. In contrast, your efforts in the path of truth, in the right path, in the path of the revolution must be doubled.

God willing, may the Almighty God be pleased with you; may the sacred heart of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him) be pleased with you; and may the pure souls of these martyrs, God willing, be pleased with you and pray for you; and God willing, may divine successes in the great and important works that lie ahead of us and must be accomplished be granted to all of us. Convey my greetings to the dear people of Yazd on my behalf.

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