Statements at the Meeting with Officials, Ambassadors of Islamic Countries, and Participants in the Quran Competitions

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I congratulate you, esteemed attendees present here, all the people of Iran, all Muslims around the world, and all truth-seekers in the world. If the call of the Prophethood reaches the hearts of truth-seekers, they will undoubtedly be captivated by it.

Upon reflection, it becomes evident that the Prophethood of the greatest Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is the greatest gift that God Almighty has bestowed upon all of humanity. Divine gifts are numerous, as stated, "And if you count the blessings of God, you will not be able to enumerate them," but no blessing, no gift, is as great and weighty as the Prophethood of the noble Prophet. The reason is that the Prophethood carries treasures for humanity that are inexhaustible. Humanity may or may not utilize these treasures, but these immense treasures brought by the Prophethood are at their disposal; these treasures can secure human happiness in this life, before the Hereafter. A person can arrive at this conclusion through reflection. Now, what are these treasures?

First and foremost is monotheism. Monotheism is the treasure that nothing compares to in weight and importance. Because the servitude to God frees humanity from the servitude and bondage to others. Humanity's predicament is this: being captive in the clutches of others; this has been the case throughout history; this is eliminated through servitude to God. If a person truly becomes a servant of God and genuinely adheres to monotheism, which negates the servitude to anything other than God, they are freed from the servitude to others; and from the things you have seen and heard in history: murders, injustices, massacres, wars, and similar occurrences. This is one of the gifts of the Prophethood.

Purification is another gift. "He purifies them" which is, in fact, the remedy for humanity's liberation from corruption. Various moral corruptions are eradicated through purification, which cleanses society and the human heart.

Teaching the Book is another of the gifts; "And He teaches them the Book"; teaching the Book means placing life under the guidance of divine direction. God, who is the owner, creator, and Lord of all things, has determined a path for human life that they should follow; this is the essence of teaching the Book. And wisdom: "And teaches them the Book and wisdom"; meaning society should be governed by reason, wisdom, and sagacity. See, all these are gifts and contributions of the Prophethood of the Seal of Prophets. Of course, some of these or many of their principles are similar to those of other Prophets, but this is the complete type.

Another gift, which is truly a treasure and part of the treasures present in the Prophethood, is the teaching of perseverance, which is the secret and key to achieving one's goals. Whatever goal you have—worldly or otherworldly—can be reached through steadfastness, perseverance, and pursuit; without it, one cannot achieve this. "So be steadfast as you have been commanded, and whoever repents with you"; the Quran has given us this instruction, and the Prophethood has provided us with this treasure; we must learn and know what we should do.

The unparalleled treasure of justice, impartial justice, whether in economic matters or human issues, and generally social justice; this is also one of the treasures that the Prophethood has given us. Manage life with justice. "So that people may uphold justice"; humanity should be able to manage their lives with justice; indeed, the Prophets have come to place humanity on this path, to teach them.

One of the very important treasures that unfortunately is not given due attention is the strength and impermeability against adversaries. One of the blows that human societies suffer comes from the infiltration of their enemies, which is present in the verse "They are severe against the disbelievers." "Severe" does not mean harshness in action. "Severe" does not mean what we refer to in Persian as harshness; "severe" means being strong, firm, and impermeable; this is the meaning of "severe." "They are severe against the disbelievers"; do not allow them to infiltrate your society. The meaning of enemy infiltration, foreign and malevolent infiltration, is that you have no control over yourself; they come and, like an unconscious person, inject whatever they want into you. You can have good, orderly, organized, logical, and rational relationships by your own choice; this is good.

Or the kindness, love, and sincerity among members of society. This "They are merciful among themselves" is also one of those treasures, which means life in society should be accompanied by compassion and kindness.

Or a person should avoid the tyrants and evildoers of the world, not associate with them: "Avoid the tyrant"; avoiding the tyrant has been taught to us in the Quran; this is one of those treasures that can always be utilized to guide life correctly.

Or liberation from the chains of ignorance, prejudice, stagnation, and similar things: "And He removes from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them." Thousands of excellent treasures of this kind exist in the Quran; in the teachings of Islam, in the Prophethood; these have been given to us by the Prophethood.

Some of us Muslims do not recognize these treasures at all; some of us deny them, showing ingratitude for these great divine gifts; some of us take pride in them but do not act upon them; this is how it is. What is the result? The result is that the Islamic world suffers from division, backwardness, and scientific and practical weakness; this is the outcome. At one time, Muslims, by partially acting upon these immense treasures—not fully acting—were able to create the greatest civilizations of their time, producing them; in the third and fourth centuries of the Hijra, there was no government, no power, no nation on the face of the earth that was as advanced as the Islamic Ummah; even though we know that at that time, actions were also partial; those in charge were not entirely correct, desirable, or complete individuals, but even that had an impact. We can eliminate the weaknesses of the Islamic world by returning to these treasures bestowed upon us by the Prophethood; whether those treasures related to Islamic knowledge, those related to Islamic laws, or those related to Islamic ethics. This is how it is.

One issue is Palestine, which remains one of our important issues today. A nation, a country is completely under the control of savage, wicked, and evil individuals—not ordinary people—and the Islamic world watches, observes! This means that truly, the Palestinian people in their own land, in their own homes—those who have remained and have not been expelled—are being oppressed day by day. In front of the eyes of the Islamic world, every day they destroy a part, build a settlement; all these Islamic governments, with the wealth present in the Islamic world, with the capabilities that the Islamic world possesses collectively, are watching this happen; and for many years, this oppression has been occurring before the eyes of the entire world. This has also struck the Islamic world; that is, the fact that Islamic governments and countries have remained silent in the face of such aggression—which is aggression against themselves, aggression against the Islamic Ummah—and in some cases, especially recently, unfortunately, have cooperated with it, has weakened these countries and brought about this situation, allowing the enemy to dominate them.

Today, the advanced countries of the world, the powers of the world consider themselves entitled to interfere in Islamic countries; they come and interfere; America in one way, France in another, and others in yet another way. They interfere in Islamic countries, considering themselves entitled to do so! They are helpless in managing their own countries, unable to solve their own problems, yet they want to seize Islamic countries and claim to solve their problems! Well, this signifies the weakness of the Islamic world and the weakness of Islamic governments due to the issue of Palestine.

If from the very beginning, Islamic governments had stood firm and resisted in the issue of Palestine, certainly today the situation in the West Asian region, our region, would be different; today we would be stronger, more united, and in various respects, our situation would be better. At that time, well-wishers, including the great scholars of Najaf, said so. The great scholars of Najaf wrote letters, made statements, and delivered speeches regarding the issue of Palestine and the usurpation of Palestine; and some caring individuals and those who were truly concerned. An Arab poet has said:

"If you abandon Palestine, your life will be filled with hardships and pains."

He spoke the truth; if you abandon Palestine, you will suffer from pains and hardships over time. If we had intervened from the very beginning, our situation would have been better.

Now today, the Islamic Republic openly and clearly expresses the heart of the oppressed Palestinian Muslims. We do not consider anyone's opinion; we loudly declare the truth: we support the Palestinian people, we defend them, and we say that we will defend them by any means possible. This has caused the enemies to concentrate and create an atmosphere of Iranophobia, and those who are also obliged to at least assist Palestine as much as we do, join in the chorus of Iranophobia.

The solution to all these problems is a return to Islam; the unity of Islamic nations, the solidarity of Islamic nations, the cooperation of Islamic governments in the true sense—not in a superficial manner; they must cooperate in the true sense, be united; and all components of the Islamic Ummah need to collaborate with one another. Problems arise. Now you observe this devastating earthquake that has occurred in Syria and Turkey; this is a severe incident; it concerns all Muslims; indeed, everyone should feel pain and suffering from such events; however, in comparison to political issues like the issue of Palestine, like American interventions in various regional countries, in Syria, and elsewhere, it is a small matter, yet it is still an important incident.

We hope that God Almighty helps us all to truly benefit from the Prophethood and to make the occasion of the Prophethood of the greatest Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) a true celebration for the Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah; may God assist us on this path. May the ranks of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), who showed us this path, elevate, and may our esteemed martyrs be united with the martyrs of the early Islam, God willing.

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