Statements at the Meeting with Participants in the International 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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, infallible family and his chosen companions, and those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

We are very happy and grateful to the Almighty God for granting us the opportunity to hold this magnificent, meaningful, and beneficial session once again this year. We thank our brothers in the Endowments and other individuals who collaborated with the Endowments Organization to organize this session, and we welcome the guests who participated and contributed to this Quranic event, this gathering, and indeed this Quranic celebration. God willing, may all of you be rewarded.

The issue of the Quran is a very important matter for us; it is a perennial issue for the Islamic world and the Islamic community. We must cling to the Quran. If the Islamic community does not utilize the Quran and turns away from it—as has unfortunately happened during many periods of our history—it will suffer, it will be struck; just as it has been.

Today, we need the Quran; the correct path for the lives of Islamic societies and the Islamic community is to act according to the Quran. In a narration, it is stated: "Indeed, this Quran is the rope of God"—the Quran states, "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of God, and do not be divided"; this rope of God is the Quran itself—and it is the clear light. What is the characteristic of light? Light illuminates the space, shows the way to humans, and grants them the ability to see and insight; without light, the eye is of no use and has no benefit, as it cannot see anything. We possess intellect, we have various abilities, we have intellectual power, but if there is no light, these cannot help us; light is necessary. This light is the Quran; and it is the beneficial healing. We are sick, we have ailments. Look at the backwardness of Islamic countries; observe the domination of the infidels over many Islamic countries; the fact that the President of the United States shamelessly stands there and says that if we are not there, some of these Arab countries cannot even maintain themselves for a week, this is the humiliation of Muslims; this is because of this sickness, there is no ailment worse and more severe than this humiliation.

This humiliation is due to the lack of adherence to the Quran; it is because we have lost this healing, we have lost this remedy. "A protection for whoever clings to it and salvation for whoever follows it" is the reality; this is the Quran. Today, we need [the Quran]; both in our personal lives and in our social lives, in our politics, and in our governmental conduct. The Quran teaches us; just like these verses that were recited here today: "Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are severe against the disbelievers, and merciful among themselves; you see them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from God and His pleasure; their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"; this is the characteristic of the believer, the Quran says you should be like this. The first part states, "Severe against the disbelievers"; standing firmly against the disbelievers, like an impenetrable barrier against them. Muslims must stand against global arrogance; Muslims must stand against the bullying of America and the other bullies of the world; if they do not observe this, if they do not pay attention to these boundaries, they will be humiliated, they will fall into corruption, they will suffer backwardness, which unfortunately has happened now. In the last verses of Surah Al-Anfal, where the discussion is about the guardianship of the believers over one another, it states: "Those are allies of one another"; this is regarding the believers; in the following verse, it states about the disbelievers that they too are "allies of one another"; both believers are allies of one another and have a bond of guardianship with each other, and the disbelievers also have a bond of guardianship with one another. Thus, this is an obligation in the language of news, but in reality, it is an establishment, and its meaning is that a believer must have a bond of guardianship with another believer, no matter where they are in the Islamic world; this unity that we speak of is this. Conversely, they must not have a bond with the disbelievers, they must not have guardianship with them. The guardianship of the disbelievers brings misfortune to Muslims; like this guardianship that you see today, and some countries establish with the Zionist regime, exchanging affectionate words and various political and economic communications, etc. Then it states: "If you do not do this, there will be great turmoil and corruption on the earth"; if this guardianship between believers and the severing of guardianship between believers and disbelievers is not observed on the earth, great turmoil and corruption will arise. Today, this has happened; today in our Islamic region, there is war, there is internal conflict, there is bloodshed, there are numerous pressures; some foolish and backward governments of certain countries wage war against other countries, engage in criminal acts. You observe, today the people of Yemen are suffering what calamity! Their weddings turn into mourning; they bomb them, destroying people in the streets, markets, mosques, and so on; in Afghanistan it is one way, in Pakistan another way, in Syria in yet another way; this is because we Muslims have forgotten the guardianship among believers! This means we are not acting according to the Quran; this failure to act according to the Quran is the problem. If we act according to the Quran, we will gain dignity; this is the path that will bring happiness to Muslims.

In the Islamic Republic, for nearly forty years, we have been able to stand against the bullying of global arrogance and also make progress. To the dismay of those who wanted to eliminate the Islamic Republic, we have become more rooted, our capabilities have increased, our power has grown, and we have made more progress; to the dismay of the enemy! This recitation of the Quran and the reading of the Quran and the tone of the Quran and the proper pronunciation of the Quran and such things are all a prelude; memorizing the Quran is a prelude, reading the Quran in these sessions is a prelude; a prelude to understanding, and understanding is a prelude to acting. You dear youth—you are mostly young—should approach the Quran with this perspective, with this feeling, that you must learn the teachings of the Quran for your lives—your personal lives, your social lives, and your governmental lives—and put them into practice; be committed to this.

If you approach the Quran with this perspective, with this feeling, the future of the Islamic world will be much better than today; America will no longer dare to threaten Islamic countries and the Islamic community in this manner. If we rely on the Quran, learn from the Quran, cling to the Quran, this clinging to the rope of God will enable a person to stand firmly. When you are passing through a path and you have a support that you hold firmly, there is no danger of falling; this is the rope of God, if you cling to it, the danger of falling will be eliminated; we hope, God willing, that day by day the Islamic world will come closer to this.

I once again thank the organizers of this conference, the attendees, and the guests of the conference.

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