Statements of the Supreme Leader in a Meeting with a Large Number of People from Amol

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon our master, our prophet, and the beloved of our hearts, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen family, especially the Awaited One of God on earth. I express my gratitude to the Almighty and Honorable God for granting me the opportunity to fulfill my previous promise to you, the dear, faithful, and revolutionary people of Amol, and to visit you in the city of Amol. I am pleased to be among you, the warm-hearted and faithful people; both the residents of the city and those who have come from the villages and surrounding areas or from other cities. My concern was that I might not be able to fulfill this previous promise; however, the Almighty God bestowed His grace, and thanks be to God, the promise has been realized. Your city has been a brilliant city both in the past and during the revolution; there is a glorious history behind these faithful and warm-hearted people. The people of Amol did not surrender to the swords of the fighters that prevailed across the world at that time; rather, they received the message of truth and reality from the family of the Prophet, with the affection, love, and passion they had for that family. This place is among the few regions where the people have learned Islam directly from the family of the Prophet, without intermediaries. It is a stronghold of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist; it is a place of attention from the family of the Prophet (peace be upon them). Your region is a point where the oldest Alawite governments were established. The great figures of the family of the Prophet - such as Da'i Kabir and Nasir Kabir and the other descendants of Hasan - along with the offspring of the Prophet (peace be upon them), were able to raise the flag of Islam, the flag of the Guardianship, and the flag of the pure Quranic teachings in this region, and to quench the thirst of the people from this pure spring. Thus, throughout time, great scholars - whether jurists, philosophers, historians, or renowned mystics - have emerged from this region. When we look at the lists of libraries and the scientific glories of the Islamic world and Shia, we repeatedly see the name of Amol and the relation to Amoli. Jurists, philosophers, mystics, poets, and great figures have emerged from this region, each of whom is a shining star in the sky of Islamic knowledge and culture. This place is the stronghold of the authentic and deep-rooted culture of Islam and Shia. Thanks be to God for this blessed region. The divine blessings upon you are not limited to the greenery of the earth; the greenery of the world of meaning, thought, and mind is even greater, "And the good land brings forth its plants by the permission of its Lord." Today, thanks be to God, great figures from this region shine, such as Ayatollah Hassan Zadeh and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, who are prominent examples of these two brilliant jewels of the Amol region. Thanks be to God, scholars and great figures in this region have been able to demonstrate themselves to all those who are eager for knowledge and understanding. After the revolution, when one looks, they see that this region is one of those that has been able to show a lasting movement to strengthen the revolution. Before the war and during the war, in confronting the invading enemy at the borders, the number of martyrs from this region and also the disabled veterans is significant. Above all, in confronting the internal anti-revolution that thought it could raise the banner of opposition to Islam and the Islamic revolution in this region, you people, you youths and Basijis, you men and women, the individuals of this city, and each and every one of you were able to turn your city into a city of a thousand strongholds. In fact, you transformed your city into a stronghold of Islam and a stronghold of the revolution. May this solid position and steadfastness be sweet for you. What I want to convey to you, dear people, on this occasion is that the establishment of a government based on the principles of the Quran, since the early days of Islam, has been an unprecedented phenomenon. Such a thing, which Muslims were eager for, had never been witnessed or achieved. The Iranian nation, by the grace of God's special favors and by the great gift that God bestowed upon this nation at this time - namely, the presence of that heavenly, spiritual man, that wise jurist who is God-conscious, that true pious believer, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), who was truly a precious and unparalleled gift that God gave to the people of Iran - was able to witness the realization of this phenomenon in their country. My dear ones! If the establishment of an Islamic government were to be a characteristic of Islam that is foreign to it - meaning if it did not confront oppression, evil, and wickedness - it might not encounter a significant enemy; however, Islam does not merely suffice with proclaiming support for humanity, but it also engages in struggle and confrontation against wickedness and devilishness to realize this slogan. In fact, for Islam to achieve happiness for humanity, it must confront the elements and factors that act against humanity and against human happiness, and whose existence depends on that. Therefore, jihad and struggle exist in Islam. Throughout the Quran, the name of Satan and the concept of devilishness have been repeated more than many other concepts; this is to ensure that people do not forget Satan and the presence of Satan. If you forget that the enemy is lurking, negligence will overtake you, slow down your movement, and destroy it - meaning it is the greatest opportunity for the enemy - thus you see that throughout these many years, whenever anyone has spoken about the enmity of the enemies and the plots of the arrogant powers and the enmity of America and Israel and the other opponents of freedom and human happiness, they have been criticized by global propagandists! They want the Iranian nation to forget that they have an enemy. In the shadow of this forgetfulness, they can distract the people with smaller issues and sow discord among them. A nation and a population, when they know that the enemy is lurking, will not occupy themselves with small matters, with everyday and secondary issues. If they have any disagreements, they will set them aside for the time being; however, when they become negligent of the enemy, small internal issues become major; disagreements grow, and individuals turn against each other, and factions are formed. This is due to negligence of the enemy. My dear ones! One of the important tasks of the enemy is to make you and us oblivious to their existence, so that we search for the enemy among ourselves and look for the enemy among our own people! When someone has a great enemy waiting for an opportunity outside their borders, they will never pay attention to small enemies, to imaginary enemies, and to factional enemies. We have great enemies. What is the meaning and concept of the slogan "freedom" that the Islamic nation and the Iranian nation proclaim? Freedom from the domination of the oppressors, freedom from the interference and influence of foreigners, freedom from the interventions of elements that have brought evil, corruption, misfortune, and even poverty and misery wherever they have intervened. Look at the countries that are referred to as developing countries, or backward countries, or third-world countries. Which of them has been able to achieve anything due to the interference of America, the interference of the World Bank, the interference of global political centers? An independent and free nation is one that can stand on its own feet, work with its own resources, move with its own will, and with unity and correct direction, act in accordance with what is in its interest, for its benefit, and that secures its future; this nation will reach its destination. Just as the Iranian nation has taken significant steps and accomplished great works in these nineteen years since the glorious and monumental revolution. Of course, we are still far from the ultimate goal and must strive hard; however, thanks to being liberated from the harmful magnetic attraction of global arrogance, we have been able to focus on ourselves. How many scientific achievements, how much flourishing, how many great movements, how much dignity, and how much hope have emerged in this nation! This nation has come alive. This path must continue in this manner. My dear ones! In the early days of Islam - at the dawn of Islam - the Quran mentions those who are called hypocrites: "In their hearts is a disease." These individuals, when faced with difficulties and when confronting the enemy, are inactive, fearful, evasive, and seeking comfort; when a nation is in hardships and difficulties, there is no trace of them! "And when fear comes, you see them looking at you," like someone who is confronted with death, they look at you; they fear death! Why? Because they have sensed danger. But when the danger is removed, when the field is no longer one for demonstrating true human worth, when the field is one of opportunism: "When fear departs, they lash out at you with sharp tongues, stingy towards good." These are the ones who, when the field is one for demonstrating manliness, for showing jihad and sacrifice, for showing struggle, they are nowhere to be found! But when the field is one where there is apparently no threat, you see that their tongues are long against the believers, their tongues are long against the Basij youth and the families of martyrs. These are not the points that the Quran looks upon with admiration. Admiration in the Quran belongs to those who stand firm in times of hardship; when a day comes when the enemy poses a threat to the nation and the country, they stand in the front lines. Even when it is a time for construction, for social work, for scientific work, for studying, and for nurturing and developing talents, they are still in the fields - in the fields that are suitable for these tasks - with realism, nobility, and patience, seeking to benefit society. We thank God that among our nation, there are many such individuals, and very few of those like that. I want to emphasize and repeat this point to you; I want to say: O dear people of Amol! O noble people of Mazandaran and all the great nation of Iran! Your country is a country that the Almighty God has filled with material and spiritual blessings. The talents of this country, the talents of this soil and culture and history, are countless! You can and deserve to be a nation that other nations take as a model. During the reign of tyrants, there were obstacles to the growth and flourishing of these talents and to walking this path; your great revolution came and removed these obstacles. The dear Islam has illuminated the path with the powerful lights of Quranic verses, and you have embarked on this path and taken significant steps. There are also enemies lurking against you. If you wish, you can traverse this path; just as you have desired until now and thanks be to God, you have been able to. If you wish to traverse this path, the essential condition is that, firstly, you maintain your unity of word. Secondly, do not separate from the guidance of Islam and the Quran for a moment. Our dear Imam (may his soul be sanctified) did not limit himself to the guidance during his lifetime; rather, he left this precious will after his departure. My dear ones! If you look at the will of the Imam - I recommend to you, the youth, to especially refer to this will and look at it repeatedly - you will see that from the beginning to the end, there are two shining points, and those two points are: first, adherence to Islam and its values and principles, and utilizing the guidance of Islam that leads you to happiness and shows you the way, and second, unity and agreement. The enemy tries to discredit anyone who says, "This nation has an enemy and an enemy is lurking against it!" They want to portray that, no, what enmity? Which enemy? Their argument is that you, the nation, and these pure-hearted, faithful, and zealous youths should be at ease, that no enmity threatens you! When a group feels that there is no enemy outside, they start looking for small, imaginary, and factional enemies among themselves; at that time, disagreements arise and grow. No, it is not so! There are formidable enemies lurking against this nation, this country, and this revolution. Although these formidable enemies, with all their apparent power, have not been able to do anything until today, and by the grace of God, they will not be able to do anything in the future; however, this does not mean that we should remain oblivious to the existence of the enemy. My dear ones! My advice is that do not think the enemy always comes from geographical borders - the geographical borders are completely closed, and no one has broken them - sometimes the enemy comes from cultural borders and creates openings in ideological borders. Be aware of those enemies as well. Your vigilance will open the way to the happiness of this nation, and we hope that the Almighty God grants you, the youths, you believers, you zealous and free men and women, success. I was not even hopeful that I would be able to speak with you. I thank God that, thanks be to God, my condition improved upon seeing you people, and I was able to speak. I will suffice with this and offer a few prayers: O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, keep us alive in the service of Islam and let us die in the service of Islam. O Lord! Honor Islam and Muslims, grant victory to the Iranian nation, and crush its enemies. Place the pure souls of the martyrs in the highest heavens, and unite the Imam of Martyrs with the infallible Imams. O Lord! Grant this nation success and support in its path. Strengthen unity and agreement among this nation day by day. Make the dear Islam more alive and honored among this nation day by day. O Lord! Revive all Muslims around the world with Islam, place them in the service of Islam, and grant the blessing of a good Islamic life to the entire Islamic community. O Lord! Make the sacred heart of the Awaited One pleased and satisfied with us. Include us among the recipients of the pure and blessed prayers of that great one. O Lord! Grant us the great blessing of visiting that great one. Make us among the soldiers of His presence and absence. Do not let our death be except in martyrdom in Your way. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.