Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with the Families of Martyrs, Disabled Veterans, and Freed Prisoners of Hamadan Province

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful I am grateful to the Almighty God for being present in this gathering - which is undoubtedly a session of purity, light, and guidance - The memory of the martyrs, the names of the martyrs, the survivors of the martyrs, the esteemed and valuable personalities of the disabled veterans and freed prisoners, wherever they may be, is light, mercy, and guidance. This program is a constant part of our travels, and I consider this program among the blessings and divine grace for myself. I would like to initially express a point on this occasion, and that is that those friends who spoke and expressed their kindness and thanked me for coming to this session, I want to say that I am grateful to those who organized this gathering and to each and every one of you dear brothers and sisters who participated in this session. For me, the connection with the families of the martyrs and the disabled veterans and freed prisoners is a true and heartfelt blessing. If I could meet each of you who are present here in your homes, rest assured that I would do so; but since that is not possible, we have inevitably gathered in such a meeting, and we thank God. The issue of martyrdom and sacrifice is not something that can become old; it is the engine of society's movement; some people neglect this point. Those who, with their words, writings, and actions, cast a negative and ungrateful gaze towards sacrifice and martyrdom do so out of their negligence; they do not understand how important it is to safeguard the dignity of the martyrs and the sacrifices for a society, nation, and country. You see that the pure blood of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) was shed in Karbala in solitude; however, the greatest responsibility that fell upon Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) and Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) from that very first moment was to carry this message and convey it to the entire Islamic world in various forms. This movement to revive the true religion and the religion of Hussein ibn Ali and the goal for which Imam Hussein was martyred was a necessary and essential matter. Of course, the divine reward for Imam Hussein was preserved; they could have left him in silence; but why did Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) throughout his life - thirty years after him, Imam Sajjad lived - in every occasion mention the name of Hussein, the blood of Hussein, and the martyrdom of Aba Abdillah? Why did he remind the people of it? What was this effort for? Some think this was for taking revenge on the Banu Umayyah; while the Banu Umayyah later perished. Why did Imam Reza (peace be upon him), who came after the Banu Abbas, instruct Rayan ibn Shabib to read the lamentation of Aba Abdillah among themselves? At a time when the Banu Umayyah were not there; they had been destroyed. This was because the path of Hussein ibn Ali and his blood is the banner and flag of the great movement of the Islamic Ummah towards Islamic goals; this flag must remain upright; it has remained upright until today and continues to guide. The most important point of strength for us in the Islamic Republic's uprising was human strength. We had neither weapons, nor money, nor organization, nor party, nor global support; we, the Iranian nation, did not have a single point in all the countries of the world that would support and defend our uprising, revolution, and movement. What made this nation victorious was the power of human force; that is, awareness and steadfastness; the same that Amir al-Mu'minin said in the Battle of Siffin: "Only those with insight and patience can carry this banner"; insight means awareness; patience means perseverance; only these can take this banner in hand and move forward. The pinnacle of this patience and insight are our martyrs; these very freed prisoners who are present here and these dear disabled veterans who are seated here. They were the ones who put their lives at risk; they sacrificed their lives for the continuity of this great and human movement; they are the peak of sacrifice and the embodiment of insight and patience; the embodiment of awareness and steadfastness. Does our country not need awareness? Does achieving the ideals of this nation and this revolution not require perseverance? Does this nation not need to always have its effective weapon in hand against the malice and enmity of the global plunderers; that is, the weapon of will, perseverance, faith, and awareness? If it needs - and it does - then this spirit of faith and awareness and perseverance must be preserved in the form of respect for its symbols among the people, and the symbols are these martyrs; these disabled veterans; these freed prisoners. If I respect the martyrs, if I express sincerity to the families of the martyrs, this is not merely a dry and empty sentiment; it means that this is a true strategy for our nation; the memory of the martyrs must be honored. These dear youths, these resilient families, these fathers and mothers, these spouses and children; those who, with their patience and perseverance, were able to navigate this long path through these difficult passes, must be celebrated, so that for our youth and for the future of our country, this flag remains upright. The enemy understands what it is doing; those who try to erase the name of sacrifice, the name of jihad, the name of martyrdom, the name of patience and perseverance from the minds of our country are serving the enemy of the Iranian nation. Those who honor the memory of the martyrs are the ones who serve the Iranian nation. It is this spirit of patience of your dear martyrs that has been able to advance this nation. Our martyrs were the embodiment of human virtues. I have spent many days and nights with the youths during the war and have closely felt the character, identity, and spiritual greatness of those youths who later became immortal martyrs; they were truly symbols of virtue. In the information given to me, I read that among these martyrs of your Hamadan, there was a commander of the Revolutionary Guard - who had a position and status - who, when his mother asked him what he did in the Guard, replied: I sweep the floor in the Guard. His mother thought that this young man was truly a regular servant in the Guard. Even when they went to propose for this young man and the family of the girl asked what your son does, his mother said he is a servant in the Guard! Later, in a gathering where a ceremony was held, one person was speaking, and this mother saw that person resembled her son very much. She asked who this person was. They said this is so-and-so; one of the commanders of the Guard. At that moment, the mother recognized her son! The things we read in history seemed like legends to us; but we saw them in our real lives. I want to say this to the youths; to the children of the martyrs and to their families: the greatness that the families of the martyrs and the fathers and mothers and spouses have shown is no less than the greatness of the martyrs themselves. We have seen mothers and fathers who faced the heavy and crushing incident of losing their child as a glad tidings; because they knew that their child was moving in what path. Today I say: Fathers of our martyrs! Mothers of our martyrs! Grieving spouses! Children who did not see their fathers or saw them for only a short time! Dear disabled veterans who have lost their health for many years! Your efforts, by divine grace and with the help of God, have not gone in vain, and God has blessed your efforts and saved your work, country, and nation from great difficulties. You see what the American and British occupiers are doing in Iraq; the plan of global arrogance was that the Ba'athist occupiers in our country would behave in the same way with our people; the plan of America and its arrogant accomplices in the world was to humiliate and degrade the Iranian nation. They could not bear that a nation they had humiliated for decades and plundered its human and financial resources would now stand tall; would resist; would not fear their threats and would demand and achieve its rights with its own strength. Today they say - they said the same thing back then - that they did not want their illegitimate interests to be cut off by the Iranian nation and the Islamic system in this region; they wanted to continue to have these illegitimate interests. Their leashed dog was the same Saddam, whose hands and feet they have now chained; even then, his hands and feet were in chains. The plan of the occupation of Iraq by America and Britain is a regional plan; otherwise, if it were only about Iraq, they would have easily coexisted with Saddam and could have lived with him; Saddam was not a problem for them. Wherever he raised his head, they would hit him on the head, and that would be the end of it. They helped Saddam; Saddam was in their hands. With their signal and with their green light and help, they wanted the Iranian nation to be humiliated and degraded by Saddam, but the youths, martyrs, disabled veterans, and families of the martyrs did not allow it; this is an everlasting honor. This is not something that time will pass over and become old. I advise all speakers, writers, and those who have a podium: if they want the good of this country and this nation, they should honor the memory of the martyrs, the names of the martyrs, the memories of the martyrs, and their survivors and the disabled veterans. You children of the martyrs! You brothers and sisters of the martyrs! Be proud. Children of the disabled veterans! Be proud of such fathers and such brothers; they are the pride of a nation. And of course, the enemies should know that, with divine grace, we will not allow and this nation will not allow the name of martyr and the name of martyrdom to be forgotten in this country; and with divine grace, day by day, this name will become more prominent and enduring in our country, and this honor will remain for our country. Know this as well that our martyrs and our veterans in the Sacred Defense and before and after it until today, and also their families, have no parallel in the history of Islam, after the martyrs of Karbala; they have truly shown their prominence and realized all the things that we considered like legends - we believed them, but they seemed like legends - they made them a reality. The path of these dear ones must be continued not only by the families of the martyrs but by all the Iranian nation, and despite the enemy's violence, this path will continue. This path is the path of values; the path of the elevation of the Iranian nation and country; the path of raising the flag of Islam. This path will be continued with the same strength and power by the Iranian nation, whether the arrogant global enemies like it or not; whether they want it or not, by the grace of God and with divine assistance, it will continue. O Lord! Bestow Your mercy and grace upon the pure soul of our dear martyrs. O Lord! Include and bestow Your grace, mercy, and kindness upon our dear disabled veterans, the families of the martyrs, the spouses of the disabled veterans, and their children. O Lord! Always elevate the pure soul of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) - who has been the driving force of this glorious path - under Your grace and favor day by day. O Lord! Make us grateful for the sacrifices of the veterans, martyrs, and the families of the martyrs. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.