Statements at the Meeting with Distinguished Professors, Reciters, and Memorizers Participating in the 31st International Quran Competition

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings upon His Prophet and his pure family.

I extend my warmest welcome to all the esteemed attendees, dear brothers and sisters, especially to the guests of the Islamic Republic, the respected professors, esteemed reciters, and honored memorizers who have come from brotherly Islamic countries. I also express my gratitude to those who have organized this magnificent, meaningful, and blessed ceremony - both the managers of the endowments and the relevant officials, as well as the brothers, professors, and elders who have managed the competitions in the best possible manner over these past few days. We hope, God willing, that all of you will be rewarded by the blessings of the Quran.

Our language is inadequate to express gratitude for the blessing of the Quran's popularity in the country; whenever I see in the news or on television that our youth across the country are turning to the Quran, I sincerely thank the Almighty God. It is a great blessing; we understand this blessing and its significance. In a time when we saw that the memorization and recitation of the Quran had no flourishing in our country; during the reign of the tyrannical regime, there were enthusiasts for the Quran everywhere, but there was no flourishing, generality, or prevalence of interest in the Quran in the country. Today, when we look around, we see that thanks to the Islamic Republic, our youth, our men, our women, and our adolescents show interest and inclination towards the Quran; they learn the Quran, practice its recitation, and memorize it. These, of course, are not the ultimate and highest goals; the ultimate goal is to understand the Quran and act upon it; however, these are necessary initial steps. If the Quran becomes widespread in society, flourishes, and the memorization of the Quran becomes common, and familiarity with the Quran spreads among various segments of society, the community will draw closer to acting upon the Quran; this is what we desire. The Quran is light, the Quran is guidance, the Quran is expression, it is clarification; the Quran speaks to humanity, it speaks to the heart of humanity, it speaks to the inner self of humanity. One must become familiar with the Quran, one must draw near to the Quran; the first benefit is taken by the prepared and receptive heart of a person; if you find your heart close to the Quran, thank God; if you find that you easily accept Quranic teachings and embrace them in your heart, know that the Almighty God has willed to guide you; for whomsoever God wills to guide, He expands his breast for Islam, and whomsoever He wills to lead astray, He makes his breast constricted and tight, as if he were climbing into the sky. The characteristic of the Quran is this: if your heart becomes close to the Quran, if you find familiarity with the Quran, know that the Almighty God has willed to guide you, and this is the greatest divine blessing.

My dear ones! Today, the Islamic world is afflicted with great calamities; you see, you hear, you are aware; the greatest calamity of the Islamic world is that it is unaware of the plots and wicked hands of its enemies; this is one of the greatest or the greatest calamity of the Islamic world. Those who are against Islam, those whose name of Islam is a burden to them, those who are willing to fight and struggle against any rightful call for the sake of preserving their material interests - and Islam is a rightful call that invites to truth and justice - these individuals are not idle in the Islamic world, especially after the emergence of the Islamic Republic; after the establishment of a system based on Islam in this sensitive geographical point of the world, the plots have intensified and become more complex; today, the plots are more intricate than before; this must be understood by everyone in the Islamic world. They incite us against one another, they set brothers against each other; the policy of the enemies of Islam is to instigate brother-killing and internal wars in Islamic countries, among Islamic communities, and within the Islamic Ummah on their behalf; they sit back and watch as we turn against one another. Here, we must recognize the enemy, we must understand the enemy's plot; this is the deficiency of the Islamic world. Among the Islamic Ummah, there are those who collaborate with the enemies of Islam to confront their Muslim brothers; today we have this situation; they draw close to the devil to fight and oppose their Muslim brothers; today there are those who are willing to cooperate with the Zionist regime to bring down their Muslim brothers. Indeed, they have taken the devils as allies besides God and think they are guided; they ally with the devil, join hands, and their false assumption is that they are taking steps on the path of guidance. These are Quranic criteria, these are clear criteria that the Quran provides us, we must understand these; when can we understand? When we have familiarity with the Quran, when we open our hearts to the Quran; all of these ceremonies are a prelude to this.

I advise you, dear youth, to increase your connection with the Quran; those who have established a relationship with the Quran should appreciate this connection; those who have memorized the Quran should value this memorization; they should keep this precious jewel for themselves; those who are familiar with the recitation of the Quran should not let go of this blessed thread; those who are connected to the Quran should make contemplation in the Quran, reflection on the meanings of the Quran, and deep understanding of Quranic concepts their goal; these are the things that bring us step by step closer to the Quran. If we become familiar with the Quran, if we draw near to the Quran, if Quranic concepts can have an effect on our hearts, then we can hope that the Islamic Ummah will attain the promised dignity from the Almighty God: and to God belongs the dignity and to His Messenger and to the believers; this dignity will then be granted by God to the Islamic Ummah. If we become familiar with the Quran, the effects and blessings of it are these.

I once again thank all those involved in this ceremony; the professors, the participants in the competition, the dear youth, the managers of this beautiful and magnificent ceremony, and the people who welcomed this ceremony. I hope that the Almighty God preserves all of you, keeps you, and we thank the honorable and eloquent moderator who managed the session beautifully - both here and apparently at the venue of the ceremony.

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