Speech in Meeting with Reciters from Forty Countries and a Group of Enlightened Individuals on the Anniversary of the Prophet's Mission

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

At the outset, I extend my congratulations to all Muslims around the world, the revolutionary people of our country, and to you, brothers and sisters, on this great festival and unparalleled divine mission that you, believers in Islam and admirers of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), have celebrated today.

The issue of the mission and the occurrence of this divine event is the most important issue that has happened to humanity throughout its long history. No event has been as influential in the destiny of mankind and human history as this event, and no grace from the Lord of the worlds has been as great as this grace and favor for humanity. We are honored to have accepted this great mission with all our being, to have believed in it, and to have recognized this path of salvation. This, in itself, is a great divine blessing, and every Muslim has the duty to realize the prophetic mission in their personal life and world, and through faith, action, and movement towards the goals that existed in the mission of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), to reach and attain the heavenly and spiritual paradise.

Of course, we cannot speak of the meaning of the mission and its truth. This truth is beyond the mind and out of reach of our limited intellects.

What is presented today in the issue of the mission for the Muslims of the world are two matters:

First, this mission and its source are alive and flowing, and this divine grace and blessing is for humanity throughout history. As the Almighty God has repeatedly promised in the Holy Quran, the appearance of this truth is for it to prevail over human life and to bring life into its own color and form. This truth will be realized: "To make it prevail over all religion."

The issue of the mission is a natural truth of this world and a definite and inevitable state for humanity. The justice and truth that was presented in the world with the mission of the Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) was not for a group of people to accept it at a certain time and for a large part of human history and people to reject it; rather, it was presented to shape the world and humanity according to its proposal and to bring humanity and all existence to perfection through this path, and this will happen; if it does not, it would be a contradiction of purpose.

Of course, the movement towards this goal is a movement that takes place with conditions and causes appropriate to itself, and we are moving towards this truth, and every step that humanity takes—whether it wants to or not; even whether it knows it or not—brings it closer to the truth of the mission.

Today, what is presented in the world as slogans is the same divine mission; although often there is no action under these slogans; like the slogans of social justice, freedom and liberty, science and knowledge and progress, the elevation of living standards, and other slogans that governments, nations, and thinkers and schools of thought present. The very presence of these slogans in the world is due to the blessing of the missions and the last mission (the mission of the Seal), which, of course, exists in its incomplete form in the hands of the people, and some are moving towards it.

Today, we and all humanity are moving towards adherence to the concepts and values of this mission, and we in the Islamic Republic are proud to be among the people and nations who have realized and implemented the slogan of religion and the practice of the Quran in our lives and are moving towards the full realization of it. We are proud to have recognized this truth, seen it, loved it, started moving towards it, and have advanced significantly. The whole world and all humanity must and will follow this path.

The second matter is regarding the person of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The name, memory, love, respect, and veneration of this great figure are the main axis for the gathering of all Muslims in all Islamic periods. There is no other point in the entirety of religion that is so universally accepted and agreed upon from all aspects—intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and moral—by all sects and individuals of Muslims. This is the central and pivotal point.

The Quran, the Kaaba, the obligations, and beliefs are all shared; however, each of these attracts one aspect of a person's character—such as belief, love, spiritual inclination, imitation, and practical emulation. Moreover, among Muslims, most of these mentioned things are considered with different interpretations and viewpoints; but what all Muslims share in terms of thought, belief, and—more importantly—emotion and feeling, unity and understanding, is the sacred existence of the Seal of the Prophets and the Noble Prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him and his family). This point must be magnified. This love must be increased day by day, and this spiritual and emotional inclination towards that sacred existence must be intensified in the minds of Muslims and in the hearts of all people.

You see that in the conspiracy and cultural attack on Islam, one of the parts targeted by the enemy's malicious conspiracy is this sacred and great existence, which was attacked in that satanic book, showing where the enemy's conspiracy in the collection of beliefs and emotions of the Muslim nation is directed.

The last point I raise is attention to the Quran, which, thanks be to God, has been increasing among our nation since the victory of the revolution, and I must sincerely thank the dear brothers who organized this ceremony, arrangements, invitations, competitions, and public encouragement for our nation, as well as our dear brothers in Hajj and Endowments who have paid attention to this issue. This attention deserves appreciation and gratitude; however, even more and broader attention must be paid to the matter of the Quran because the Quran is everything to us.

We must accept that our nation, in the half-century before the victory of the revolution—which is indeed not a short time—was increasingly distanced from the Quran. Until before this half-century, our people—even those who were illiterate—could mostly read the Quran. For this reason, these traditional schools were a great blessing. How many elderly individuals of the previous generation did we know who were illiterate, could not read or write Persian, and although their language was Persian, they could not write and read their own language in written form, but they could read the Book of God and understand the Quran.

The policy that brought the dependent, corrupt, and malicious enemy regime to power in this country and kept it dominant for more than fifty years, one of the greatest blows it dealt and the harm it inflicted was that it gradually set aside the Quran; to the extent that the Quran was removed from our society. Therefore, in our schools, they taught music lessons; but there was no news of Quranic education! Every child who went to elementary and high school learned musical notes but did not learn the text of the Holy Quran! Therefore, they separated us and kept us away from the Quran.

Before the revolution, when I looked at the state of the Quran in our society and saw the young people who, with this talent, enthusiasm, and interest, were kept away from the Quran, what heartache I endured. We thank God—although we are incapable of expressing this gratitude—that with the victory of the revolution, He returned us to the Quran, acquainted us with the Quran, and opened the path of the Quran to us.

We must make up for the backwardness. We are different from those whose mother tongue is Arabic. They can understand the Quran with a little literacy. Of course, the text of the Quran is not something that every illiterate Arab can understand correctly. Some knowledge and understanding are necessary; but ultimately, they can understand; whereas Persian speakers are not like this. We must, in addition to reading the text of the Quran, also learn its translation. Today, thanks be to God, our young people are Quran readers and read well. Throughout the country, we have valuable and distinguished reciters who, when participating in international competitions, surpass other countries, and thanks be to God, we do not have few of such reciters.

Besides what has been done so far, two other tasks must be accomplished:

First, Quran reading must encompass our entire nation. There should not be a single person among our nation who cannot open the Quran and read it correctly. Men and women, young and old, and the elderly and the young must be able to read the Quran. Of course, this task must be planned. The Endowments Organization, the Islamic Propagation Organization, the Ministry of Education, various organizations, and other institutions that have been established out of love for the Quran must place this task at the top of their duties. This task must be accomplished. It is not acceptable in a country governed based on Islam to hand the Quran to someone and ask them to read it, but they cannot open this precious book and read it. Therefore, everyone must be able to read the Quran. Of course, this is the first step.

The second task is moving towards understanding the Quran. The Quran must be translated. Until today, we have had few good translations, and we are poor in this regard. Some of the translations available are better not to exist at all because they are not reliable! Of course, some are better, and some are relatively good, which have recently become available.

The Quran must be published with multiple translations. Multiplicity and repetition are not problematic and are not excessive. If we have ten good translations of the Quran, it is not too much; because everyone, according to their taste, style of thought, and level of knowledge, will be able to use one of them. Therefore, multiplicity and repetition are not problematic; however, the translation must be correct and reviewed by experts. People should read this correct translation with the text of the Quran, and especially those of you who recite the Quran, must understand the translation of the part you read and know that without knowing the translation of the Quran, you will not be able to recite well.

I have repeatedly reminded the brothers who are Quran reciters that you cannot recite well if you do not know where to connect, where to pause, and what tone is appropriate for reading. Even in ordinary speech, you raise your voice, lower it, and increase the impact of the speech. These are the necessities of speech. When you recite the Quran, you must be able to do these things, and without knowledge, these things cannot be done. Memorizing the Quran is the next step, and whoever succeeds in this has certainly gained great good.

We hope that God will gather all of us with the Quran in this world and the hereafter. God willing, our lives will be Quranic, and we will move towards the goals of this noble book, and our death will also be with the knowledge of the Quran and in its service.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings