Television Speech at the End of the Gathering with the Holy Quran

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, and God's curse be upon all their enemies.

We sincerely thank the dear brothers who organized and arranged this program and have today delighted us with the recitation of the noble verses of the Quran; and I sincerely thank all the esteemed reciters who recited today; we truly enjoyed, benefited, and were enriched by these recitations, as well as the esteemed host who managed the session well.

First of all, I congratulate the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadan to all those who hear this speech and to all Muslim brothers around the world; and we hope that God grants us the ability to fulfill the rights of this month. This month is the month of the Quran; as mentioned in the noble verse of the Quran when the name of the month of Ramadan is mentioned, it states, "The month in which the Quran was revealed." This is a very important characteristic of this dear and noble month.

I have noted some points to discuss about the Quran, but time is short; I will present a brief overview. We have often said about the Quran, and we have often heard that the Quran is the book of life. The reality is that the Quran is indeed the book of life. If individuals align the rules of life with the Quran, they will attain happiness in this world and the hereafter. Our problem is that we do not do this; our problem is that we do not align our lives with the rules of the Quran; it is like someone who visits a doctor, receives a prescription, but does not follow it. This visit to the doctor without acting on the prescription will have no effect; today, our situation is like this.

The Quran is both a book of knowledge and understanding, meaning it quenches the heart and the human intellect - the Quran is an endless source for those who seek knowledge - but in addition to this, the Quran also provides guidance for life; the Quran, in addition to its epistemological and knowledge-seeking aspects, has practical instructions for life; that is, it enriches the environment of life, providing security, health, and comfort. "God guides whom He wills to the paths of peace." It shows people the paths of safety, the paths of security, and the paths of comfort in life. Throughout history, humans have grappled with oppression, discrimination, war, insecurity, and the trampling of values; they still do today; the remedy for these is the Quran. If we act upon the Quran, all these problems will be resolved. This means that human societies, if they act upon the practical instructions of the Quran - which I will now briefly mention as much as time allows - will undoubtedly be freed from all these problems. Within the apparent Quran, there are thousands of life instructions. Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful) said: "Indeed, the Quran has a beautiful exterior and a profound interior;" beautiful means astonishing and lovely. The exterior of the Quran is astonishing and beautiful; for those who have an aesthetic perspective, the Quran is unparalleled in beauty and wonder; however, its interior is profound.

The things I am mentioning that exist in the Quran and are lessons for life pertain to this very exterior of the Quran; they are what I and those like me understand from the Quran; otherwise, what the perfected ones (the complete ones) of monotheism understand from the Quran, the firmly rooted in knowledge understand, the friends of God understand, are the depths of the Quran, which is far beyond these discussions; what I am presenting - these thousands of life instructions - are merely what can be derived from the exterior of the Quran. Now, regarding these practical aspects: some of these relate to the organization of life rules; for example, consider the verse: "And among the people are some who say, 'Our Lord, give us in this world,' and they will have no share in the hereafter." Some people confine all the rules of human life, friendships, enmities, relationships, goals, and motivations to this world; what does this world mean? It means money, it means power, it means lust; this is what is meant by the world here. Their friendships are for these reasons, their enmities are for these reasons, their relationships are for these reasons, their efforts are for these reasons, their goals are for these reasons; God Almighty rejects this. God Almighty rejects this kind of life rule; "and they will have no share in the hereafter." They will achieve some things in this worldly life - in this short temporary life - but in the main and true life, which is the life of humans there, they have nothing, they are deprived, they are without benefit.

However, in contrast, there is another rule for life: "And among them are some who say, 'Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.'" This is the second rule-making. That is, those who seek goodness in this world, not just anything; in "give us good in this world," it does not specify what to give us; it is clear that they want something from this world, but this "give us good in this world" means to give us good things that align with human nature, that meet the real needs of humans; "and good in the hereafter;" they are also seeking the hereafter; "and protect us from the punishment of the Fire;" then those whom God Almighty guides to the true goals of life. A group of verses of this kind specifies the rules of life. Or consider the verse related to the wise among the Children of Israel, where some of them advised Qarun, saying: "And seek by means of what Allah has given you the abode of the hereafter, and do not forget your share of the world, and do good as Allah has done good to you." They did not tell Qarun to throw away everything he has or does not have; they said to use what you have as a means. The wealth and riches of this world are a means, a means to reach the lofty human and spiritual ranks; it can be a means. You can use wealth to enrich the world, to save the lives of people, to eliminate discrimination, to lift the poor and the weak out of poverty and weakness. "And seek by means of what Allah has given you the abode of the hereafter;" first, what you have is given to you by Allah; secondly, the way is to use it for God; "and do not forget your share of the world;" but it is not that you should have no share or benefit for yourself; yes, you have a share, and you should also use your share. "And do good as Allah has done good to you;" see, this is the life rule that Islam defines for us. Contrary to what that foolish one thought; that foolish, wealthy, ignorant Qarun said: "Indeed, I was given it because of knowledge I have." I obtained this through my own skill; while it is not like that; God Almighty had provided the means, and he was able to obtain it. Therefore, some verses in the Quran are like this, and we have many such verses that specify the rules of life.

Some verses relate to the organization of social relations; these practical instructions pertain to social relations. For example, consider: "And do not backbite one another;" this instruction organizes social relations. When you backbite, you dirty your own heart, you dirty the heart of your audience, you unnecessarily expose the hidden reality of a believing brother or sister to this and that; it is a wrong and incorrect act. They may also do the same to you. This act disrupts life and social relations from proper order.

Or consider that it states: "Let not the hatred of a people cause you to be unjust;" if you are opposed to someone, if you are enemies with someone, this should not lead you to be unjust towards them, to commit oppression and injustice against them. See, this is a practical instruction. Yes, you may be opposed to someone, but this should not lead you to hide the truth where it is with them, or to conceal it, or to violate that right and commit injustice and unfairness against them. You observe in gatherings, [let's not go too far] in our own society - if we act according to this verse with those we oppose, meaning we do not act unjustly towards them and they do not act unjustly towards us, see how much better the situation of society will be.

Or for example, consider: "Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge;" I mentioned that there are thousands of Quranic instructions like this; "Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge;" do not pursue something you are not certain about; do not trust something you are not certain about. Today, the prevailing journalism in the world acts exactly the opposite; they spread rumors, lies, things they have no knowledge of, and they spread them unnecessarily. Unfortunately, this also exists within our own society. This is the opposite of the behavior that exists today in the world. If we act upon this one instruction, a significant part of our problems will be solved.

Or "Do not lean towards those who have wronged;" do not trust someone who is oppressive, do not incline towards the oppressor - "leaning" means to incline and trust them - do not trust the oppressor. The result of trusting the oppressor is what you see; Muslim governments, Islamic groups trust the most oppressive and tyrannical elements in the world and see the results and consequences.

Or "Be just; indeed, Allah loves those who are just;" justice is commanded in all matters of life; or "Do not betray Allah and the Messenger and do not betray your trusts;" do not betray the trust. Trust is not just the money you have in your hand; the position you hold, the responsibility given to you is also a trust. If I do not act correctly with this trust, it is a betrayal of trust. See, if we act upon this one instruction, what will happen. Therefore, what the Quran has for us consists of these practical operational instructions.

Or for example, "So do not fear them, but fear Me if you are believers;" which is followed by the verse, "Indeed, it is Satan who frightens his allies." They came and said, "They are conspiring against you, be afraid," [they frightened the Muslims]. The Quran says, no, do not fear them, fear Me; worship God Almighty, trust in God, stand firm against the enemy, and you can push the enemy back. This very frightening of people by the oppressors, who tell you to be afraid of this and that power, is Satan; we have seen throughout history that those who feared these powers faced hard and bitter tests in life. Today, Islamic powers, Islamic governments observe the oppressive powers of the world and fear them, and overlook their own power; the result is that they are crushed.

Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) taught us not to fear the powers of oppression and tyranny. I do not forget in the year 1979, when our youth captured the American spies and the American embassy, some pressured the Revolutionary Council to say to release them quickly. I, the late Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Banisadr, the three of us from the Revolutionary Council went to Qom; at that time, Imam was in Qom; we went to see Imam to ask him what to do. We asked, "Sir, this is the situation; they are pressuring us to release them as soon as possible;" Imam turned to us and said, "Are you afraid of America?" I replied, "No, we are not afraid," he said, "Then do not release them." The reality was just that; if someone was to fear America and consider it, it would have brought very bitter consequences for the country that day. We have seen instances where our governments and powers feared the enemy, and this fear caused them numerous problems. The Quran says: "So do not fear them, but fear Me;" "fear Me" means to observe My regulations; where God Almighty has commanded to strive, strive; where He has commanded to hold back, hold back; this is the meaning of "fear Me."

And also "Establish prayer for My remembrance;" now, on the occasion of the month of Ramadan, let us also pay attention to "And establish prayer for My remembrance;" this is one of the practical instructions. Prayer is for remembrance, for remembrance; preserve prayer for the remembrance of God. Today, if we act upon this regarding ourselves, which all of us can do; we can pray attentively and not divert our hearts elsewhere during prayer and pray for the remembrance of God Almighty, this will undoubtedly have numerous effects on our spiritual elevation; also, "O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance;" these days are days of repentance, days of seeking forgiveness, days of returning to the Lord. We hope, God willing, that God Almighty grants all members of our nation and all Muslims the ability to fulfill the duties of the month of Ramadan, the Islamic duties. Let us act upon the Quran; these Quranic instructions, all these thousands of practical Quranic instructions, are operational, meaning they can be acted upon; of course, governments have greater responsibilities, the powers that dominate the country and the managers of society have greater responsibilities.

It seems our time is up; I think the call to prayer should be now; therefore, we will conclude our remarks. I am very happy; today was a very good session, and I once again thank all those who were involved.

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