Statements in Meeting with Quran Reciters

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

Today was a very good session, and we truly enjoyed listening to the noble verses of the Quran from the throats of these nightingales of the Quranic garden. I sincerely thank the organizers of this magnificent and valuable ceremony, and I hope that, God willing, our success in drawing closer to the Quran increases day by day.

The truth is that we are still very far from the Quran and have a long distance to cover. Our hearts must become Quranic. Our souls must become familiar with the Quran. If we can become familiar with the Quran and let its teachings penetrate our hearts and souls, our lives and our society will become Quranic; it does not require activity, pressure, or policymaking. The essence is that our hearts, souls, and knowledge must truly be Quranic.

I must tell you; for many years, efforts have been made to create a distance between the Quranic teachings and the hearts of the Muslim community and the Islamic Ummah; this effort continues today. Currently, in some Islamic countries, the Muslim leaders of these countries are willing to exclude the chapter of jihad from their Islamic teachings in order to appease the enemies of Islam. They are willing to remove Quranic teachings from their general teachings in schools and among their youth where it harms their interests. This effort is ongoing today.

The Quran has promised us a good life: "فلنحیینّه حیاة طیّبة" (We will surely give him a good life). What does a good life mean? A pure life means a life in which both the spirit of man, the body of man, the world of man, and the hereafter of man are secured; individual life is secured, spiritual peace exists, tranquility and assurance are present, and physical comfort is available; social benefits, social happiness, social dignity, independence, and public freedom are also secured. The Quran has promised us all of these. When the Quran says: "فلنحیینّه حیاة طیّبة", it means all of this; it means a life in which there is dignity, security, welfare, independence, knowledge, progress, ethics, forbearance, and forgiveness. We are distant from these; we must reach them.

Familiarity with the Quran brings us closer. These Quranic sessions, these Quranic courses, these Quranic competitions, our commitment to training reciters and memorizers are all for this reason; these are all prerequisites; but they are necessary prerequisites.

I again advise our dear youth to become familiar with the Quran, to engage with the Quran. "و ما جالس هذا القران أحد الّا قام عنه بزیادة او نقصان، زیادة فى هدى او نقصان من عمى" (No one sits with this Quran except that they rise from it with an increase or a decrease, an increase in guidance or a decrease in blindness); every time you engage with the Quran, a veil of ignorance is lifted from you; a spring of illumination opens up in your heart and flows. Familiarity with the Quran, engagement with the Quran, understanding the Quran, and contemplation in the Quran are all necessary.

The prerequisite for this work is that we can read the Quran, that we can memorize the Quran; memorizing the Quran is very effective. Young people should value their youth and their ability to memorize. Families should encourage their children to memorize the Quran and compel them to do so. Memorizing the Quran is very valuable. Memorizing the Quran gives the memorizer the opportunity to gain the ability to contemplate through the repetition of verses. This is an opportunity, this is a blessing; do not miss it. Those who are memorizers should appreciate this great divine blessing; they should not allow their memorization to weaken or, God forbid, be lost.

Reading the Quran from beginning to end is essential. The Quran must be read from beginning to end; then again from beginning to end; so that all Quranic teachings become familiar to the human mind at once. Of course, teachers are needed to interpret for us, to clarify the difficulties of the verses, to explain the teachings of the verses and the depths of the divine verses for us; all of these are necessary. If this happens, as time goes forward, we will move forward, and there will be no stopping.

And I must tell you; in these thirty-one years, this forward movement has existed. Before the revolution, there was no news of the Quran in our country. Here and there, a lover would emerge, holding a Quranic session, gathering ten, fifteen, or twenty Quran seekers around them. We had seen this in all cities; it was in Tehran, it was in Mashhad. This great movement of youth towards the Quran, this enthusiasm for reading and reciting the Quran, this training of a multitude of skilled reciters of the Quran, these things did not exist; memorization did not exist. When these young people who are memorizers come and recite the Quran from memory, I thank God from the depths of my heart. These are due to the blessings of the revolution, due to the blessings of Islam; appreciate these.

The closer we get to the Quran, two things happen: one is that we become stronger; the second is that our international enemies mobilize against us even more; well, let them. The more we move towards the Quran, the closer we get to the Quran, the more the enemies of humanity become enraged; they slander, they lie, they create rumors, they impose economic pressure, they impose political pressure, they commit all kinds of wickedness and malice against our nation - as you see they are doing - but in return, our strength, our capacity for endurance, our ability to influence will increase day by day, it will be multiplied; as you see it has happened.

Today, look at the front of hostility against the Islamic Republic of Iran; it is a broad front; all the devils and evildoers of the world are gathered in this front; from the Zionists to the Americans, to the most wicked Western governments, to the most dependent and despicable non-Western governments - now let’s not limit the circle further - all are in this front; they are doing everything they can. Do not think that there is anything that our enemies can do against the Islamic Republic and have not done; no, whatever they could do, they have done so far; and whatever they can do, they will do. The reason they do not do everything is that they cannot. But the Iranian nation stands against all of this with power, dignity, and pride.

He said: "حبل ممدود من السّماء" (a rope extended from the heavens); this Quran is a divine rope; a strong divine cord that if we hold onto it, slipping, falling, and getting lost will no longer be an issue.

O Lord! Keep us alive with the Quran, let us die with the Quran, and resurrect us with the Quran. O Lord! Be pleased with us through the Quran. O Lord! Do not separate us from the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt for a moment. O Lord! Unite our dear martyrs and the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) with Your saints.

I also thank all the dear guests; especially these two esteemed reciters who recited; Mr. Naeini and Mr. Shazdeli. Their recitation was very good. God willing, may God grant them success and support.

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