Statements at the Meeting with the Organizers of the First International Congress on the Quran and Humanities

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

Welcome. One of the shortcomings of us in the seminary has always been working individually; even when a group of us gathered—let's say for a lesson—each one worked for themselves. Our joint work has been limited to discussions where two or three people debate a lesson together; otherwise, in terms of scientific productivity and achieving scientific outcomes, collaborative work and collective thinking have not been common among our seminaries. In contrast, in the world—especially in the West—this is not the case; there, collaborative projects are frequently undertaken. Sometimes, for instance, projects are designed where each component of a single product is assigned to different groups; then there are those who take the outputs of these groups and produce the final product from them; this is how they design their work. It is evident that working this way yields much better and more significant results. Fortunately, it can be observed that the seminary is moving in this direction; that is, your work is an example of this collaboration. It should be a true collaboration in the real sense of the word; that is, everyone should work together, minds should come together, and a desirable product should emerge. This is one point.

The second point is that in your congress, there are two important sections: one is the Quran; the other is the humanities. The issue of the Quran and its authority, referring to the Quran, and seeking understanding from the Quran in various intellectual, practical, social, political, and governmental matters is very important. We are truly lacking in this area; we are indeed underperforming, [and in terms of] contemplation in the Quran for those who are inclined to reflect; [this] shows that we have deprived ourselves of the divine verses and the guidance of divine verses in various fields; well, this authority of the Quran regarding this important issue is a fundamental and sensitive topic. The humanities and attention to them—which has been a common topic for several years—are also an issue. Your work is to connect these two important matters, and I believe this is very important; it is very appropriate that efforts are made in this area.

Another point is that today in the country, there are places and centers that are working on the humanities, both within the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and outside of it; various sections are working in the field of humanities. Their goal is the same; now they have not named their work Quran and humanities or something like that, but they are working to direct the issues and topics of the humanities towards Islamic teachings. These should be utilized; that is, collaboration should occur with these groups. We need to utilize the products of each other's thoughts; that is, there are people who are working, striving—of course, I do not know, now in your report and that of the gentleman, it was not mentioned whether you have collaboration and communication with various centers or not; if so, that is better; if not, you must seek out—find these elements, find these centers, and collaborate with them, utilizing their experiences; they have done work. This is another point.

A fundamental point is that the humanities have been invented in the world for two or three centuries, and individuals have thought about them, worked on them, and created issues; some of them, whose inventions do not even reach a century, have been working on them for several decades; that is, there are things that are part of various human sciences that for us take on the status of imports; now aside from philosophy and literature and such things that pertain to ourselves, issues have arisen, chapters have been produced, work has been done on them, they have been thought about, critiqued, and exchanged in several layers—these works have been done—we now want to enter and separate these issues from their non-religious or sometimes anti-religious roots and connect them to a Quranic and religious and divine source. Well, this is very important; this requires a fundamental mastery over the works of others; we must know what others have done in these areas. [Knowing] the works they have done, the advancements they have made, is something that is necessary; work must be done.

Now you mentioned that, for example, nine hundred or eight hundred articles or abstracts have come to the congress; well, this quantity is truly noteworthy; however, more important than quantity is quality; that is, let us ensure that from the work you will do in this congress—in December—twenty or thirty profound and groundbreaking articles emerge that can be of use to all those who think and work in these areas.

Another point is that today in the Islamic world, thinkers are working in these areas; in the Arab world, for example, there are those who are working, in the subcontinent—in India—there are scholars who are working in these areas; we should not neglect them. Fortunately, your congress is international, and the work that you can do—collaboration and solidarity with thinkers in the Islamic world—cannot be done by many of our other academic centers; that is, this Jamia al-Mustafa has the characteristic that it can raise an issue on a broad international level and benefit from it. This is very good; these should truly be utilized; that is, there are people in the Islamic world; sometimes they bring some books, for example, from North Africa or from this region of West Asia, from Arab countries, written by individuals; [when] one looks, one sees good thoughts among them; that is, they have truly thought, worked, studied, and can be utilized. We are unaware of many of these; just as they are also unaware of the works that have been done here; that is, truly in the thirty or forty years after the revolution, good works have been done; we are not satisfied, we feel a lack, you also pointed out, I also agree that we have underperformed; however, in this state of underperformance, good works have been done, we have good books; valuable works have been done; now one looks at the seminary in Qom and in some other places, the articles that have been written, the books that have been written, the lessons that have been taught, are sometimes very valuable, very good. They are also unaware; in the Islamic world, they are generally not informed about the works we have done and accomplished here. This international collaboration is, in my opinion, one of the very good aspects that can be associated with this congress. Now, two or three topics have also been suggested by the gentleman that I should mention; now I do not have the presence of mind to express opinions on those issues, but you have plenty of time until December; fortunately, there is ample opportunity; if something comes to mind later, I may mention it.

In any case, we pray that God grants you success. Truly, the works being done today by the young and innovative scholars of Qom are very valuable; very. Sometimes when I see and observe—the motivations, or the words, or the works one looks at—I truly thank God. There were times when such thoughts came to the minds of some in Qom—it was not that they were completely empty-minded; no, some things came to their minds—but it was like a dream, truly like a dream [for] a person and the hope that these things might come to fruition; in Qom, or outside Qom, in the seminaries, one truly had no hope; today, fortunately, it has come to fruition; today, a general movement has begun. Now there are some problems, we have some faults; we ourselves, the seminary, and the elders of the seminary sometimes have legitimate criticisms and faults, but truly what has happened is very valuable. In any case, we ask the Almighty God to grant you success, assist you so that this work can be done as well as possible, as cleanly, more profoundly, and more presentable, God willing, and we all benefit.

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