Statements at the Meeting of the Organizers of the Congress of Martyrs and Religious Veterans of Qom Province

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

Discussing the martyrdom of scholars, students, and clerics of the seminaries from various aspects seems to be an important and profound discussion; among them is that this is a symbolic matter; that the seminary presents martyrs, and that too in such large numbers; whether in Qom or in other seminaries across the country. Therefore, this movement is a symbolic movement and has a meaning that is very important; that meaning is that someone becomes a martyr who is in the field of struggle and combat! Otherwise, someone who is not in the field of combat, in the field of struggle against the enemy - the enemy of religion, the enemy of independence, the enemy of the country - if, for instance, a thief comes into his house and kills him out of greed for wealth, he does not attain the rank of martyrs. Martyrdom is among the necessities of struggle; someone who struggles and is killed in the path of struggle is a martyr! Well, this means that the clergy has had a serious and extensive presence in the arena of struggle; this is very important. One of the afflictions that we, the clerical community, have faced at times has been distancing ourselves from the struggle against the enemies of religion and the enemies of independence and foreign adversaries and tyrants and colonizers; we have indeed faced this problem at certain times, and it has harmed us and harmed the clergy. Whenever the clergy entered the field of struggle and stood firm against the enmity of the enemies of religion and the enemies of Islam, truly struggled, and suffered and was killed in this path, they have been honored; we have had clerics of this kind in various periods. However, now in the recent period - [that is] our period, our time, the period of the revolution - thanks be to God, the scope of this field has been vast; many have entered the field, thanks to the great movement that our Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) carried out with divine success, divine guidance, and the support of this nation, which truly brought the clergy into the field of struggle.

And it must be firmly understood that if the clergy had not entered the recent struggles, that is, the struggles that culminated in the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the revolution, this event would never have occurred; that is, no party, no group, no collection of intellectual groups, from political groups to guerrilla groups, would have been able to overthrow and eliminate the oppressive and monarchical government in this country and destroy the long-standing colonial dominance over this country and eliminate its foundations. If the clergy had not entered this field, such an event could not have happened. The people did the work, but the presence of the people was due to the presence of the clergy. If there had been no clergy, the people would not have entered with this volume and seriousness; if there had been no clergy, the religious aspect of this struggle and this jihad would have remained hidden and unaddressed. If the religious aspect had not been addressed, all these martyrs, all these sincere individuals for the sake of God, all these sacrificing mothers and fathers who raised their children like a bouquet and sent them to the battlefield and endured their martyrdom would not have materialized and come into existence. Therefore, the presence of the clergy in the field of struggle is a very important historical phenomenon, and this martyrdom is a sign of that presence. Thus, martyrdom itself is a value; its conjunction with the clergy and their scientific and religious presence and such is a compounded value; the sincerity that exists among the young students who went to the front is a value, like the sincerity of many other youths; all of these have their own place, [but] what is special about the clergy and the martyrdom of the clerics is this symbolic aspect; that is, it indicates their presence in jihad and struggle. And this presence is very important, and God's mercy be upon the great ones who paved this path.

The late Allameh Tabatabai (may God be pleased with him) was among the enlightened clerics with social thoughts; this characteristic is fully evident in his Tafsir al-Mizan; however, he was not present in the field of struggle. Once, in a private conversation - a private discussion between two individuals - he said that there is no doubt that a great shortcoming - or perhaps he said a great fault or sin - has occurred on our part as clerics; I do not remember the exact details of his words; the essence was, I do not remember the words. He accepted and confirmed that in the past such a flaw existed among us, [while] this was not the case in our current period. When the clergy is revolutionary, when it is in the midst of struggle, when it is in the midst of jihad, when it recognizes the enemy, when it identifies the enemy's methods and tricks, when it prepares itself to confront these methods and tricks, then it has truly approached or reached its original and real position. And this naturally carries risks, it has harms, it has material losses, including that a person may be killed in this path, his blood may be shed, which itself is the greatest rank before God Almighty, and God Almighty does not grant martyrdom to just anyone. In any case, the value of the martyrdom of these dear ones is a high value, and honoring them is a worthy honor and very good.

Of course, efforts should be made so that the martyrs of the clergy are not separated from other martyrs. After all, all martyrs are martyrs in the way of God; whether a student, whether a cleric, whether without a turban, all of these are martyrs in the way of God and are alive in the presence of God Almighty and "they are alive with their Lord, receiving sustenance" (Surah Al-Imran, part of verse 169) and we must look with regret and envy at the high status of the martyrs and [wish for it]; their value is higher than these words. But in any case, the martyrs of the clergy are a group that can be worked on.

Thanks be to God, this thought of struggle and jihad has developed and spread with these martyrdoms and sacrifices; both within our own country and among Muslims. Today, you observe that the spirit of struggle, the spirit of jihad, the spirit of readiness for martyrdom is widespread throughout the Islamic world; in some places it is stronger, in others it is less so. One example is this great Arbaeen march; this is truly a phenomenon, a divine phenomenon, a spiritual phenomenon. It is truly indescribable; like many of these important divine phenomena, it is not even properly analyzable; that is, this incident cannot be analyzed. How can such a massive crowd of millions mobilize, and within a few years this come to fruition and take shape! Yes, there were marches in the past, but there was no news like this. We know that at various times, whether Arbaeen or other times - regarding Arbaeen or some other occasions - students from Najaf and various places in Iraq would move and there were many crowds. However, this massive crowd of millions from various parts of the world - several million from Iran and millions from Iraq and other countries - this great movement, despite the terrorist threats that have always existed and still exist today, is an extraordinarily significant phenomenon; it is very important. This indicates the peak of the same thought of struggle in the way of God and in the way of Islam and the general and collective readiness in this path. And we hope that God Almighty blesses these movements and blesses the people.

Of course, here, on the occasion of mentioning the Arbaeen march, while praying and wishing for the acceptance of this movement, we thank all those who participated in this march this year; we find it necessary to thank the Iraqi government for providing the means for this event to take place; we find it necessary to sincerely and joyfully thank the dear nation of Iraq who felt obliged during these days - during this week or more - to receive the pilgrims and visitors of Aba Abdillah (peace be upon him) in such a sincere and joyful manner; truly and from the heart, we thank them and ask God Almighty for a good reward for them; it is necessary to thank the Iraqi youth fighters, the Hashd al-Shaabi, and others who were involved in the security of this ceremony and were able to maintain the security of these visitors; it is necessary to thank the officials of the holy shrines in Najaf and the shrine of Aba Abdillah (peace be upon him) in Karbala and the shrine of Abu al-Fadl in Karbala who provided means for the people. And we hope that God Almighty grants blessings to them and to this great movement and to all those involved in this movement so that they can continue this work, God willing, in the best manner. We hope that your session will also be a profound and beneficial session and that God Almighty grants blessings to your session as well, God willing.

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