Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Families of Martyrs of Kerman Province

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

First, we extend our greetings to all the dear families of the martyrs and the veterans and the survivors of those symbols of honor and pride. We also greet our dear disabled veterans, and we express our sincere devotion to them - who are indeed the living martyrs of the revolution and the country - and we also greet the dear freed prisoners and their families who have endured countless hardships.

Although the blessing of martyrdom has been granted to all the Iranian nation in various parts of this country in our contemporary era - there is no part of the country that does not have the fragrance of martyrdom, the light of martyrdom, and the memory of the epic events associated with martyrdom - some regions of the country have special characteristics; and Kerman is one of these regions. Kerman Province, with over six thousand martyrs and about twenty-five thousand veterans - martyrs, disabled veterans, and freed prisoners - and with having distinguished and renowned martyrs - such as martyr Bahonar - and with enduring figures among the freed prisoners, like martyr Mohammad Shahsavari - whose memory and voice still resonate in all our ears - and with having villages and sections that have achieved the first rank in the country in presenting martyrs - such as Rabur and the village of Ganjan - is an outstanding province.

These martyrdoms were not easily attained. Martyrdom is a blessing and a gift from God; this gift is not given easily to anyone. Why is it a gift from God? Because the inevitable death of all human beings transforms into an honorable phenomenon in this world and the hereafter; is this not a gift? Is it possible for anyone to escape death? When a person reaches the moment of death, does it make a difference whether they have spent 90 years or 20 years behind them? Is not the greatest concern of every human being about death due to the fact that they are unaware of what will happen to them after the journey of death begins? Place these thoughts together and see how a person can transform this inevitable and certain event of death and this ambiguous and concerning future into a glorious event, into a renowned occurrence in this world and the hereafter, into a means of dignity before God and before the exalted angels, into a reassurance and a tranquility of heart; "And they rejoice in what has come to them of grace from God, and they rejoice for those who have not yet joined them, that there is no fear for them, nor do they grieve"; there is no fear or sorrow for them. Is this not a divine gift? Is it not a blessing from God that a person dedicates the spilled oil of their life to the Imamzadeh and it is accepted? This spilled oil, this lost life, this inevitable death; then a person must sell this inevitable death to God, at the price of paradise and eternal happiness; "Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, for that they will have paradise; they fight in the cause of God, so they kill and are killed"; this is God's promise. This life that must inevitably be lost - which a person must part with - God buys from you and in return gives you paradise. This is not exclusive to us Muslims; it has also existed in the religions before Islam; "This promise has been made in truth in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran"; God has made this promise in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran as well. Therefore, martyrdom is a divine gift.

Before the revolution, I used to pray in a mosque in Mashhad and speak to the people; young people would gather as well. At that time, martyrdom was not as cheap as it was after the revolution; however, we had martyrs. I would tell them: young people! brothers! Martyrdom is the merchant's death and the death of clever people. To whom does God give this gift? God does not give this gift cheaply; He gives it to those who strive in His way. Your young people, your martyrs, the spouses of martyrs! Your spouses; your fathers and mothers! Your children; the children of martyrs! Your dear fathers did not obtain this divine gift easily and for free; they obtained it at the price of their struggles; they fought in the way of God, they sacrificed themselves, and God granted them this gift.

You Kermani people have many martyrs; however, the majority of your martyrs belong to the 41st Tharallah Division. Do you know what this division means? A powerful, brave, self-sacrificing, and honor-creating division. Some of your young people who were martyred in the Tharallah Division, during the night of Operation Valfajr 8, had to dive 1300 meters across the turbulent Arvand River to reach the enemy. The water in the Arvand River comes down from both the source and the tidal water from above. The Arvand is a remarkable passage. Your young people donned diving suits - so that the enemy would not notice - and not just 10 meters, 20 meters, or 100 meters, but traversed 1300 meters, which was the widest part of the Arvand, and reached the other side, managing to seize the opposite shore from the enemy and create that remarkable victory that shook the world.

In this operation, the boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard were transferred to the Arvand shore; however, the enemy did not realize. All these forces and all these resources came from afar to the Arvand water; however, the enemy, with all its equipment, and with the help of American, British, and Soviet satellites, could not comprehend the great movement of the Guards - which had brought all these forces to the water's edge from various divisions. The boats had to be brought to the shore by the young men of the Tharallah Division.

One of the renowned martyrs of this division is someone who, during the twenty days that these boats were secretly transferred, could not rest. According to his honorable commander - who, thanks be to God, the Almighty has preserved for us and is among our dear ones - it was reported that he said this young man did not close his eyes for three days and nights. After three days and nights, when he went to sleep in the trench, a mission arose; I called for him and took him with me on the mission! This is how they strived.

God Almighty granted them two great rewards: one is martyrdom - which belongs to them - and the other is the salvation of this country, the preservation of the dignity of the Iranian nation, and the preservation of the dignity of the Imam. Is this a joke? In the era of materialism dominating the world, a spiritual man rises; a faithful, sincere, and fervent nation moves under his banner; millions of hearts, millions of people, and millions of wills intertwine and create the Islamic Republic system - which stands alone against the world of global arrogance - then the despicable enemy and the bloodthirsty tyrannical regime like the Ba'athist regime of Saddam comes, and America, the Soviet Union, and the Europe of that day, along with the reactionaries of the region, help him to overcome this system, this nation, and this country; to break its borders; to seize its land and to disgrace this nation; was this a small matter? God Almighty did not allow it. The hand of God's support emerged from the sleeves of your children, and Islam was aided. Thousands upon thousands went to the fronts to fight; they sacrificed their lives; they gave up sleep and food; they endured the cold of winter beside their fathers and mothers; they endured the heat of summer beside the cooler and the cold water of the refrigerator; they bought hardships for themselves; some of them gave their lives; some of them gave their health, which you can see now before our eyes - these dear disabled veterans - some of them were captured by the enemy. God Almighty blessed this earnest and sincere effort; "And another (blessing) that you love: victory from God and a near conquest, and give good tidings to the believers"; God sent down His victory upon this nation. God does not grant His victory to lazy and unstriving people. God does not support idle, lazy, careless, and indifferent people; even if they are believers.

Muslims were in a state of heedless slumber for a thousand years; colonialism ruled and dominated Islamic lands for two hundred years; today, global arrogance still dominates parts of the Islamic world; are these believing Muslims not? Yes, they have faith and pray; but this is not enough. For victory and success, being a believer and performing prayers and fasting is not enough; striving is necessary. It is in the shadow of striving that a nation can preserve itself, its identity, its honor, its glories, its history, its culture, and its independence and freedom. Our nation did this, and your young people were the vanguards of this path. Take pride in these struggles.

Children of martyrs! Take pride in your fathers. They were the ones who changed the course of history; they were the ones who brought the strongest and wildest arrogant powers of the world to their knees; they honored their nation and upheld the religion of God.

Today, in the fields of economy, politics, science, technology, and international activities, Iran has made significant progress. Let me tell you; our progress compared to our peers is much greater and ahead. We have made great strides; however, these advancements are due to those defenses and struggles. The Iranian nation owes its very existence to the efforts and struggles of these self-sacrificers; whether those who were martyred, those who lost martyrs - like you - those who became disabled, those who endured the difficult life of disability for their loved ones - their fathers, their mothers, their spouses - whether those who were captured by the tyrannical enemy and their parents endured every moment of captivity with a heavy heart, and whether those who went to the battlefronts and accepted danger and put their lives on the line, but God Almighty wanted these individuals to remain alive and for their blessings to continue for their country and the Islamic world. General Soleimani is also a self-sacrificer - he is also a martyr - General Raoufi is the same; General Ahmadian is the same. These generals are living martyrs; provided they continue on this path. Of course, this condition applies to everyone.

As long as you continue on the path of God, you are among the righteous; if you stray, everything comes to an end. We are all the same; I am the same. If we take a wrong step, we cannot say we are someone who did such and such a thing one day. Those who have strived in the way of God, their striving is preserved; this is a treasure that God Almighty has kept for them in the hereafter.

One person heard from the Prophet that he said whoever says "Subhanallah (Glory be to God) and Alhamdulillah (All praise is due to God) and La ilaha illallah (There is no god but God) and Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest)", God Almighty will grow a tree for him in paradise. He said: O Messenger of God! Then we have many trees in paradise; because we have repeated this dhikr (remembrance) a lot. It is narrated that the Prophet said: Yes, provided you have not sent a lightning bolt that burns the trees! Sometimes we send a lightning bolt that burns our trees. Sometimes, like that naive dervish, we strike with a stick, and our oil jar breaks and spills our oil. Sometimes, with one sin, we fall. Sometimes, with one deviation, we devalue ourselves. We must be careful.

The families of martyrs are reminders and symbols of the nation's pride; but there is one more thing alongside this: the families of martyrs always keep us aware of the enmities that have been directed against this nation. The enemy must not be forgotten. We must not be oblivious to the enmity of the enemy. Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful) said in Nahj al-Balagha: "And whoever sleeps, does not mean that the enemy on the other side is also asleep"; no, he is awake; he is waiting for you to fall asleep so he can pounce on you. In the battlefield, the struggle is not always military; sometimes it is political; sometimes it is cultural. The enemy tries to create a breach; we must keep our eyes open; we must see the point of breach and be careful that this breach does not expand. We must prevent cultural and political breaches.

Today, the arrogant policy is neo-colonialism; meaning it is a step above the new colonialism that existed in the past decades. What does neo-colonialism mean? It means that the arrogant apparatus makes elements of a nation that it wants to seize and control, unknowingly assist it. The enemy sees your faith as its stronghold and desires to remove this stronghold. Now, elements from among ourselves come and begin to chip away at this wall or make holes in it. Although they are insiders, they are working for the enemy; and the enemy invests in them. You saw that the Americans even approved in their Congress to pay elements inside our country to work for them; this openly and explicitly! This is neo-colonialism. This is like a runner who cannot overcome his rival; he makes his rival harm himself; for example, he forces him to become addicted. When the person becomes addicted, he no longer has the strength to run; he has inadvertently worked in favor of his rival. Therefore, when he no longer has the strength to run, his rival wins. In neo-colonialism, they do this; young people must be very vigilant; girls must be very vigilant; teachers and parents must be very aware and vigilant; especially those who have a position in influencing public opinion; they are speakers, writers, artists, and engaged in various activities.

We have nothing else to say, except to pray for you and request from the officials of the Martyrs Foundation - who, thanks be to God, Mr. Dehghan is also here - to solve and alleviate the problems and knots that may exist in the work of the honorable families of the veterans - whether martyrs, disabled veterans, or freed prisoners - God willing, to the extent of their capabilities and resources.

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