Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Clergy and Preachers on the Eve of Muharram

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

I extend a warm welcome to all the esteemed gentlemen and dear sisters who have come from Tehran and some other provinces. This annual meeting before Muharram is, in truth, a beginning for the Islamic Ummah to enter the blessed and eventful realm of Ashura and to benefit from the blessings of the month of Muharram.

Although valuable discussions and insights have been shared about Muharram and Ashura and the effects of this great phenomenon, and we have all heard and benefited from them, as time passes, the undying face of this luminous sun—which can be described as the 'Sun of Martyrdom,' the 'Sun of Oppressed and Lonely Struggle' kindled by Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) and his companions—becomes more apparent, and the blessings of Ashura become more evident. From the very first day this event occurred, its foundational impacts gradually became clear. From those early days, some felt they had duties. The story of the 'Tawwabin' emerged. The long struggles of the Bani Hashim and Bani Hasan (peace be upon them) emerged. Later, even the Abbasid movement, which rose against the Umayyads in the mid-second century Hijri, prepared the ground for the removal of the oppressive, arrogant, and racist Umayyad government by sending missionaries throughout the Islamic world of that day, especially in Iran and eastern Iran—Khorasan—and elsewhere. Even the Abbasid movement, which eventually succeeded, began in the name of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him).

If you look at history, you will see that the Abbasid missionaries, when they went to the corners of the Islamic world, drew from the blood of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) and the martyrdom of that great figure and the revenge for the blood of the Prophet's son and the beloved of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) to launch their propaganda. The people accepted it. Even—as I recall—the black clothing that was the symbol of the Abbasids was chosen as the mourning attire for Imam Hussein, and later, during the five-hundred-year rule of the Abbasids, their official attire was always black. Black clothing was used for the first time in mourning for Imam Hussein. They said, 'This is the mourning of the family of Muhammad' (peace be upon him and his family). This is how they started and initiated that transformation. Of course, they deviated and themselves continued the work of the Umayyads.

These are the impacts of Ashura. It has been the same throughout time. What happened in our time was above all this. That is, in an era of the dominance of oppression, disbelief, and atheism over the entire world; in an era when justice was against the law and oppression was the law and international regulations, the truth reached governance. This is why you see the superpowers bullying and wanting to impose a new order on the world—which, of course, the previous order was also the order of superpower dominance—this is the same domination of oppression. For everything in the world that is oppression, injustice, and discrimination, they give legal names like 'human rights,' 'defense of human values,' and the like. The worst kind of domination of oppression is when oppression is imposed on the world in the name of justice and falsehood in the name of truth. In such a time, suddenly, by the blessing of Ashura, the veil of darkness was torn, and the sun of truth was revealed. The truth reached power and governance. Islam, which all hands tried to isolate, presented itself in the middle of the arena, and the world was forced to accept the presence of true and pure Islam in the form of the Islamic Republic government. The start of the Fifteenth of Khordad movement was also by the blessing of Ashura. This year, after thirty-two or three years since the Fifteenth of Khordad incident, like that first year, Khordad has again coincided with Muharram.

On the Fifteenth of Khordad, which in the year 1342 solar—1383 lunar—coincided with the twelfth of Muharram, our great Imam (may his soul be sanctified) in the Ashura arena and by utilizing the Ashura and Muharram event in the best possible way, was able to convey the message of truth and justice that arose from his heart to the people and transform them. Our first martyrs in the Fifteenth of Khordad incident, in Tehran, Varamin, and some other places, were these mourners of Hussein who came and faced the attack of the enemy of Ashura. In the year 1357, you also witnessed the incident of that day and the month in which blood triumphed over the sword. This name was summarized, extracted, and presented by our great Imam from all the events of Muharram. And so it was. That is, the people of Iran, following Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), learned the lesson of Ashura, and as a result, blood triumphed over the sword. This is a remarkable aspect of the Imam Hussein incident.

Well, now we and you are the trustees and heirs of this historical truth. Today, there are those who want to hear the Ashura event as a lesson, a memory, and a narrative from the mouths of scholars, clergy, preachers, and the like. What will we do in this regard? Here we reach the very important issue of propagation. If one day these young students, scholars of religious seminaries, preachers, poets, and elegists could use the Ashura event as a weapon against the dense darkness dominating the life space of all humanity and with this divine sharp sword tear the veil of darkness and reveal the sun of truth in the form of Islamic governance—this truth has happened in our time—why should it not be expected that in every era and time—no matter how hard the enemy's propaganda is in that period, pervasive and the darkness 'most intense'—preachers, speakers, and religious scholars can wield the sword of truth and the Zulfiqar of Ali and Velayat against any falsehood and use it?!

Why should we consider such a thing unlikely?! It is true that today the enemy's propaganda has covered the entire mental space of humanity. There is no doubt about this. It is true that large sums of money are spent to distort the image of Islam, especially Shiism. It is true that anyone who has illegitimate interests in the lives of nations and countries sees themselves obligated to act against Islam and the Islamic government. It is true that disbelief, with all its division and discord, using all possibilities, has agreed on one matter, and that is opposition to pure Islam, and even distorted Islam has been brought to fight pure Islam and brought to the field. All this is true; but can the right wing and the front of pure Islam not repeat the same miracle once again against this hostile and malicious propaganda by the blessing of the spirit, message, and truth of Ashura and the message of Muharram?! Why can't it?! It is difficult; but it is possible. It requires effort and sacrifice. The path is open; there is no dead end.

This is our and your responsibility. Today the world is thirsty for truth. This is not the word of a cleric or an Islamic fanatic; rather, it is the word of those who have had years of interaction, exchange, and even goodwill towards Western culture. They say that today the Western world at its sensitive levels is thirsty for Islam. What does 'sensitive levels' mean? Such and such a common and oblivious group, or suppose groups whose interests are intensely at stake—like rulers, statesmen, capitalists, gold hoarders, and bullies—are the numb and slow-feeling parts of the Western culture and Western societies. Scholars, thinkers, conscientious people, intellectuals, and young people are the sensitive parts of the body of Western societies. These sensitive parts today are thirsty for a school and a lesson from life that will save them from thousands of real life difficulties. Many of these life problems are not real problems. The real problem is the feeling of spiritual insecurity, loneliness, depression, instability, and lack of confidence and spiritual tranquility. These are the real problems of humanity that, at the height of wealth and fame, lead a person to suicide. Young, wealthy, and having the means to enjoy life; but they commit suicide. Well, why? What is their pain? Which pain is harder than lack of money and lack of physical enjoyment and sexual pleasures? The pain that today grips the material societies of the world and Western civilization is lack of confidence, lack of peace, lack of a spiritual anchor point, lack of intimacy and communication between people, a sense of alienation, and fracture.

The sensitive parts of societies that feel these pains more are waiting for a saving hand to come and rescue them from this state. In places where there is awareness, eyes are turned to Islam. Of course, some of them are not aware and do not know Islam; but they have the inclination towards Islam. Those who know Islam specifically emphasize Islam. One of our own Iranian thinkers said—I heard that person has passed away—'Today the West is in search of figures like Sheikh Ansari and Mulla Sadra.' Their life, spirituality, and values today attract Western figures and Western thinkers. The abundant source of these truths and values is Islamic knowledge, and at the peak and summit of this knowledge is Ashuraic knowledge. These should be valued. We now want to place this knowledge before the eyes of the people of the world. Here, with thanks to all the individuals and people who responded to our request last year and removed a distorting movement from the page of Ashura mourning, I want to emphasize this issue again. My dear ones; believers in Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him)! Today Hussein ibn Ali can save the world; provided that his face is not distorted by distortion. Do not let distorted and wrong concepts and actions divert eyes and hearts from the blessed and luminous face of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him). Confront distortion.

I want to briefly present two points: One is that Ashura and the event of Hussein ibn Ali should be recounted on the pulpit in the traditional form of elegy reading; but not for traditionalism, rather through event narration. That is, on the night of Ashura this happened, on the day of Ashura this happened, in the morning of Ashura this happened. You see, a great event gradually disappears; but the Ashura event, by the blessing of these readings, remains with its details. Such and such a person came to bid farewell to Imam Hussein in this way; went to the field in this way, fought in this way; was martyred in this way and uttered these words.

Event narration, as much as possible, should be accurate. For example, within the limits of 'Lohuf' by Ibn Tawus and 'Irshad' by Mufid and the like—not made-up things—event narration and elegy reading should be done. During the elegy reading, speech, poetry of lamentation, reading of chest-beating elegies, and during instructive speeches, the story and goal of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). That is the same goal that is in the words of that great figure: 'I did not rise up for the sake of playfulness, arrogance, oppression, or corruption, but I rose up to seek reform in the Ummah of my grandfather.' This is a headline. Phrases like 'O people, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: Whoever sees a tyrannical ruler, violating the sanctities of God, breaking the covenant of God... and does not change it by action or word, it is incumbent upon God to place him in the same place as him' and 'Whoever is willing to sacrifice his life and has prepared himself for meeting God, let him come with us,' each is a lesson and a headline.

The discussion is about meeting God. The purpose of human creation and the purpose of 'Indeed, you are laboring toward your Lord, laboriously'—all these efforts and labors—is that 'you will meet Him': to meet. If someone is determined in meeting God and has prepared himself for meeting God, 'let him come with us': he must set out with Hussein. One cannot sit at home. One cannot cling to the world and worldly pleasures and be heedless of Hussein's path. One must set out. This setting out from within and from our soul begins with self-purification and extends to the level of society and the world.

These should be stated. These are the goals of Imam Hussein. These are the summaries and conclusions of the Hussaini movement. The conclusion of the Hussaini movement (peace be upon him) is that one day Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), while the whole world was covered and condemned under the dominance of the darkness of oppression and tyranny and no one dared to speak the truth—the atmosphere, the earth, and the time were black and dark—rose up. You look and see: 'Ibn Abbas' did not come with Imam Hussein. 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far' did not come with Imam Hussein.

My dear ones! What does this mean? Does this not show what the world was like? In such a situation, Imam Hussein was alone. Of course, a few dozen people remained around that noble figure; but even if they had not remained, that noble figure would have stood. Is it not so?! Suppose on the night of Ashura, when that noble figure said, 'I have lifted my allegiance; go.' everyone left. Abu al-Fadl and Ali Akbar also left, and that noble figure remained alone. What would have happened on the day of Ashura? Would that noble figure have returned, or would he have stood and fought? In our time, there was a person who said, 'If I remain alone and the whole world is against me, I will not turn back from my path.' That person was our Imam who acted and spoke the truth. 'They fulfilled what they promised to God.' We all have the tongue of speech. You saw what a Hussaini and Ashuraic person did? Well, if all of us are Ashuraic, the movement of the world towards righteousness will be fast, and the ground for the appearance of the absolute guardian of truth will be prepared. This content should be explained to the people. Do not forget that the goal of Imam Hussein should be explained. Now, one may also read an ethical hadith, or explain the politics of the country or the world. These are necessary; but during the speech, it should definitely be spoken in such a way that explicitly, implicitly, independently, and incidentally, the Ashura event is explained and not concealed or hidden. This was the first point.

The second point is that this opportunity should be used, and just as Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) revived Islam by the blessing of his jihad (Islam is, in fact, revived and liberated by the blood and uprising of Hussein ibn Ali), today you should, motivated by the memory, name, and pulpit of that noble figure, explain Islamic truths; introduce the Quran and Hadith; read Nahj al-Balagha to the people; explain Islamic truths, including this blessed truth that today in the government of truth, that is, the Alawi, Velayi, and Nabawi system of the Islamic Republic, has been embodied for the people. This is among the highest Islamic knowledge. Do not think that Islam can be explained and the governance of Islam—which today is embodied in this land—can be neglected and left unnoticed. This is our recommendation to you dear ones.

Thanks be to God, all the blessings are present in the existence of the esteemed gentlemen, the elders; especially the young, enthusiastic, faithful, and learned students. On the first day, this very class expanded the movement, and by using that noble hadith, they likened their companions to bees, this verse was visualized before the human eye: 'And your Lord inspired the bee, saying: Take for yourself among the mountains, houses, and among the trees and in what they construct. Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord.' They absorbed the truths and gave pure honey to the thirsty for truth, 'in which there is healing for people.' Today is the same. Today, too, students, scholars, and young preachers, by utilizing the experiences of the masters and elders of these arts, should strengthen their backpacks and, with God's hope, for God, in God's way, and with the intention of closeness, go and present these truths everywhere in the country, in the regions of this country, in the regions of the world, in an appropriate language.

God willing, the favors of His Holiness, the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him), will be upon you. God willing, from this Muharram, which coincides with the anniversary of the Imam's departure and his ascension to the heavens, we will be able to make maximum use and benefit. God willing, all of you will be included in the pure prayers of the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

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