Statements at the Meeting with the Organizers of the Congress for the Martyr Cleric Sadoq Golpayegani and 372 Martyrs of Golpayegan

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

As the gentlemen mentioned, Golpayegan city and the Golpayegan region is a place of great scholars, and many prominent scholars have emerged from this city in the past 150 years, who, thanks be to God, still have some of their great descendants in the religious seminaries today. However, the color of martyrdom and the adornment of martyrdom is something beyond these words, and thanks be to God, as was understood from the gentlemen's statements, Golpayegan city has had distinguished martyrs, including the late martyr Sadoq, of whom I do not have a prior mental record; however, the characteristics you mentioned are remarkable: firstly, the characteristic of serving the people; secondly, the characteristic of confronting and opposing the tyrannical regime; and above all, the characteristic of martyrdom in the way of God. They sacrificed their lives in this path and attained martyrdom; this is very valuable and magnificent. May God, God willing, elevate their ranks and unite them with their saints, with the martyrs of the early Islam, and with the martyrs of Karbala, God willing.

Other martyrs who have fallen in the battlefield against the enemy—whether in the Sacred Defense or otherwise—also possess this high rank of martyrdom. In the matter of martyrdom, what is important is that one becomes ready to hold their life in their hands to offer it in the way of God; our self-sacrificers, our warriors, our martyrs who held their lives in their hands and went forth, all of them possess this virtue. However, sometimes the Almighty God bestows a special favor upon certain individuals and rewards them with martyrdom in a tangible manner; thus, their value and credibility become multiplied. This is because they received the reward for their struggle from the Almighty God in a tangible form: Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise for them; they fight in the way of God, and they kill and are killed; this is a true promise upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran. This means that the Almighty God accepted their lives, this commodity from them, and in return, granted them Paradise; this is the highest transaction, this is the highest profit. Our life is the capital that, whether we like it or not, will eventually be lost; that is, there is no one who can preserve this life and age, which is the most valuable human capital. It lasts for a while; then, it will be taken from us. It will be taken in various forms; for instance, someone might have an accident in the desert or the street and perish in that accident; another might perish due to illness; but one trades this life with God; they trade this life that is destined to be lost. I repeatedly mentioned before the revolution in my speeches that martyrdom is a merchant's death, a calculated death; someone who is martyred in the way of God is actually making the best calculations, because this life is not everlasting; it is like the famous expression, "spilled oil, dedicated to the shrine of the saint." Well, this spilled oil is not lasting; if one dedicates it to the saint, it is very valuable, it requires a lot of cleverness; this cleverness was possessed by our martyrs who were able to trade this life that is destined to be lost with the Almighty God, and the Almighty God speaks to them in this manner: Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives; O Lord! Who are we that You would buy our lives? This life belongs to You, it is Yours; we have no authority over it at all; see how much the Almighty God values this martyr in the way of God. This is what the Almighty God has established for our martyrs; we must greatly cherish this value, and you, who now defend and support this dear martyr cleric—martyr Sadoq—and the other martyrs of your city, and honor and respect them, this is a very good deed. We hope, God willing, that the Almighty God rewards you and that the future of Golpayegan city will be as rich in knowledge, spirituality, and self-sacrifice as its past.

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