Statements in Meeting with Families of Martyrs and Disabled Veterans in Qom

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

Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Messenger of God, O Fatimah al-Masumah (peace be upon her), and upon your pure and purified ancestors.

With permission from the pure soul of Lady Fatimah al-Masumah (peace be upon her), this spiritual and divine gathering has been formed under her shadow.

Qom excels in many matters. Regarding the issue of martyrdom and martyrs and the families of martyrs, Qom is considered a leading city. It has presented nearly six thousand martyrs to Islam and the Revolution; in some years of the Sacred Defense, over a thousand martyrs fell in the path of jihad for the sake of God in a single year, and this magnificent city honored their bodies without flinching. It has about eleven thousand disabled veterans; these dear veterans are, in fact, living martyrs among us; renowned martyrs who are a source of pride not only for Qom but for the entire country, shining stars. These are great distinctions.

My dear ones! The issue of martyrdom is a very profound matter; it is an important issue. Our people, with their faith, their religious sentiments, and their courage, have resolved this issue in practice among themselves; they gave martyrs and there were parents who did not even weep for their martyrs; there were families who wore joyful clothes at the memorials of their martyrs; thus, in practical terms, it has been resolved in the minds of the people; however, we have much ground to cover in thinking about martyrdom.

If we want to express the issue of martyrdom and its importance in one sentence, we must say that belief in martyrdom, the belief in the greatness of martyrs for a nation, is the spiritual depth of that nation's character and identity. How can a nation be recognized with greatness in the eyes of the world? How can a nation, instead of being influenced by various political factors in the world, have an impact on all world events? How does a nation achieve such a status? How can a nation, without having complex military tools and without having extensive propaganda capabilities, have such an effect in the world and among nations that other nations become captivated by it? Look at the reception that the people of Lebanon gave to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These are not trivial matters; they deserve study and analysis. How can the president of one nation in another country, among another nation with whom he has no kinship, be so regarded? Where did this nation's greatness come from? The answer to all these questions lies in paying attention to the importance of martyrdom. When a nation, its individuals, its youth, its parents, accept sacrifice in the way of God, sacrificing themselves for the divine goal as a matter of faith, this nation gains a tremendous depth of power; naturally, this nation becomes powerful, becomes strong, becomes a leading nation; without having weapons, without having extraordinary cash resources at its disposal.

You see, one hundred people are equal to one hundred other people in terms of number. One hundred against one hundred, one thousand against one thousand, ten million against ten million; well, they are equal. One of them may be stronger in terms of physical strength and material capabilities, but when the other group, which even lacks such physical and material strength, is equipped with faith in God, believes that if they sacrifice for the sake of God, they lose nothing, but rather gain something, these one hundred people gain such strength that the one hundred opposing them cannot achieve this power with any material means.

In the Battle of Badr, the enemies of the Prophet were many times more than the Muslims, their weapons and equipment were several times greater than those of the Muslims, their money and resources were many times greater than those of the Muslims, yet the Muslims were victorious; why? Is victory not dependent on physical strength? On swords? On money? On apparent power? No, victory does not depend on these. Victory is dependent on a power that does not come from money, material resources, or nuclear weapons; it comes from belief in martyrdom, faith in sacrifice, the belief that when a person sacrifices, they are making a deal with God. With this calculation, if we assess - which is a correct assessment - the Iranian nation is stronger than all other nations, more magnificent.

Who gave this greatness to the Iranian nation? At the forefront are our dear martyrs, these Zain al-Dins, these Sadeghis, these Vaqilis, these Haidarians; they were the ones who demonstrated this belief not just in words, but in action.

On the day when martyr Haidarian left Qom with a few others and went to Kurdistan and fought against the enemy, that day the Iranian nation was in complete isolation; all the camps of the West were standing against us; all the global resources were equipped against us. A few young men from Qom, a few young men from other cities, from all the villages, from all the cities, demonstrated the belief in making a deal with God in practice; "Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, for theirs is Paradise; they fight in the way of God, so they are killed and they kill; a promise that is true in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran." (1) The divine promise is a true promise. At the forefront are our martyrs; at the forefront are our self-sacrificers - these disabled veterans - they became our leaders; they became the vanguards of this front of truth; they went and demonstrated the belief in martyrdom, the belief in making a deal with God in the field of action.

The second line belongs to the families; to you fathers, mothers, children of martyrs, spouses of martyrs; you who endured, you who bore this seemingly bitter incident. Losing loved ones is bitter, it is heavy. Fathers and mothers toil, watering this bouquet, this blessed sapling with their blood, raising it, then bringing back its body from the front; it is a heavy thing, it is not easy. Fathers, mothers, spouses, children accepted this seemingly bitter incident with open arms; they showed that they believe in making a deal with God.

I have visited the mothers of martyrs who sincerely and truly said that if we had ten children, we would be willing to give them in the way of God; they were not lying. I met mothers and fathers who felt dignity and pride because their children were martyred in the way of God. Of course, they are right; it is dignity and pride; just as our aunt Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) said: "I saw nothing but beauty"; (2) I saw nothing but beauty. Is the incident of Karbala a trivial matter? This God-seeing eye observes a beautiful truth from this incident, from this spilled blood, from this heavy calamity; "I saw nothing but beauty." I saw many families who had the same feeling as Zainab al-Kubra; they too said: "We saw nothing but beauty." It is these that give a nation power; it is these that create self-confidence in a nation; it is these that do not allow the threats of the material powers of the world, the arrogant shouts of the aggressive and arrogant governments of the world to shake their hearts.

Today, the Iranian nation is not afraid of threats, of the shouts of the materialistic presidents who are engulfed in desires and who dominate the world; it stands firmly for its ideals; just as the respected and dear fathers and mothers who came here spoke; these words are true. The families of martyrs stand firm, the Iranian nation stands firm, because of this spiritual power and this strength that exists in them due to their faith in God. This faith must be strengthened.

My point is that both the officials and the people, and the families must appreciate this faith; they must root it deeper in themselves day by day; this is what secures the power of the Iranian nation; this is what can support our scientific advancements, our technical advancements, our political advancements, our social advancements. Know that in the years following the passing of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), some people gathered all their efforts to eliminate this feeling, this faith from our nation. They wrote, they spoke, they repeated; the enemy concentrated on eliminating this faith. Of course, they could not, and they will never be able to.

Our dear youth today are very good youths. The young generation that has emerged from this environment and this feeling and this faith is a blessed generation. If today there were an incident like that of the 60s, today's youth would not be less than the youths of that day in their presence in the battlefields. That experience was before them; they went; today, if it were to happen, they would go. The youth are good, the youth are pure, the youth are ready. I advise our dear youth, especially the youth of martyrs, to appreciate their dignity; appreciate their connection to the dear martyrs; this is a pride for both you and for the entire Iranian nation.

O God! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make us appreciative of the martyrs; make us appreciative of the self-sacrificers. O God! Keep this path of faith towards the spirituality and purity and light that the martyrs created for us always open for us. Make the sacred heart of the Awaited One pleased and satisfied with us.

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