Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Quran Reciters

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

We express our deep gratitude to the dear brothers who organized this session, as well as to the brothers who recited and to the esteemed trainers and teachers who have worked hard to nurture this generation of young reciters.

The issue of reciting the Quran, which we emphasize so much, is not merely a source of entertainment and artistry; rather, it is a means to achieve a Quranic atmosphere throughout society. This is accomplished by our good reciters who, utilizing their pleasant voices and artistic methods of recitation, as well as their proficiency in pronunciation and articulation of the letters, words, and sentences of the verses of the Holy Quran, attain this goal.

My dear ones! Know that today the Islamic world is in need of the Quran. In the meanings of the verses of the Surahs Al-Imran, Al-Baqarah, Al-Anbiya, and Al-Ahzab, which your friends recited here, there are matters that today serve as remedies for the pains and weaknesses of the Islamic world. These are what deepen and solidify human faith; they illuminate and make human knowledge aware; they bring forth the vital energy of humans and utilize it. A society with these characteristics will both progress and gain spirit. When a society's spirit is strong, the enemy cannot impose its will upon it. When the tyrants of the world seek to dominate an individual, a group, or a nation, their first action is to break the spirit of that individual or nation and to eliminate their sense of capability and resilience. As long as a sense of power and capability and spirit exists within a nation or group, no one can overcome it; neither external enemies nor internal adversaries; laziness, lack of shame, and idleness. The narration states: "And a man who recited the Quran placed the remedy of the Quran upon the ailment of his heart"; this is so that the Quran is not read merely to gain fame or to create an occupation for oneself, but rather to read it as it contains the main remedies. We should place the remedy of the Quran upon the pains of our souls and existence and heal these pains with the Quran. This requires that the atmosphere becomes Quranic.

For long periods, we have been kept away from the Quran in various ways. Today we want to have a Quranic atmosphere; we must return to the Quran. Of course, for twenty-five years, our society has been seriously and collectively moving towards the Quran. There was a Quranic movement before the revolution, but it was more of an individual nature. The collective movement of society has occurred after the establishment of the Islamic system, which has been a good movement but still has a distance to reach the desired point. The result of that movement is that today you see our old and young, men and women, are largely familiar with the Quran. The presence of young people who are acquainted with the Quran in every corner and section of society is the result of that movement, which must be strengthened. Strengthening this movement requires that you, the reciters, be able to recite the Quran beautifully and with a good voice. The importance of these sessions is to clarify the significance of recitation in society; otherwise, to the extent that the Quran is recited here, one can read it several times more alone.

Recitation is not just about sound; it has various techniques and methods; whether techniques related to the outward aspects, such as melodies and rhythms of recitation, or deeper methods of the Quran, which represent a more profound stage than the previous one, and that is familiarity with the meanings of the verses. I have often told our young reciters and I emphasize again that one of their most important endeavors should be to understand well the verses they recite. At the very least, they should pay attention to the translation and meanings and subtleties of the verses they intend to recite, so that when they read, the meaning emerges from the depth of their souls; then it will have an impact on the atmosphere of society and affect everyone. The reason you see that the recitation of some Egyptian reciters has a profound effect is due to their adherence to this principle. They recite in a way that seems as if they want to illustrate the meaning of the verse before you. Sometimes, I give examples of some of our young reciters by referring to the friends who recite poetry, and I say that these friends, when they want to recite a couplet in a gathering where everyone understands its meaning, can do so in two ways. One way is that this reciter, who recites beautifully, seems to be speaking to you word by word, which deeply affects your soul. The other way is that he reads something for himself! The Quran can also be recited in two ways. The reason many recitations, despite the fact that their melodies and tunes are not very different, do not have the necessary impact on hearts and do not move hearts from their places is that the reciter does not speak to the audience from the depth of his heart and soul with the words of the Quran. In our environment, where many do not know Arabic, even those who do understand, one can sense that the reciter does not speak to the audience from the depth of his heart. If you want your recitation to be successful in terms of impact and in shaping the environment of society and transforming hearts and souls, one of the important and essential conditions is that the Quran reader is completely familiar with the meaning of the verse he intends to recite and recites in a way that seems as if he wants to illustrate that meaning for the audience with his beautiful voice.

Today, as I look at the Quran reciters of our country - who, thanks be to God, are mostly young and some are even teenagers, like this dear young man who recited beautifully - I see that, thanks be to God, every year we are ahead of the previous year; this is a reality. The established and seasoned Quran teachers and reciters of past years have their place; thanks be to God, our newly emerged young generation is also getting closer to the Quran and to good recitation and innovations in recitation, and it is improving day by day. This is truly a good movement. My address is particularly to the Quran teachers: make sure that these young people pursue recitation with the conditions we mentioned - paying attention to the outward aspects: melodies and rhythms; and paying attention to the meaning - and observe the nuances of the recitation, such as the rise and fall, connection and pause, emphasis, and embellishment during recitation.

O Lord! Keep us alive with the Quran, let us die with the Quran, and resurrect us under the shadow of the Quran. Do not separate us from the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them), do not separate us from the Quran; draw our lives closer day by day to a Quranic life; make the pure souls of our dear martyrs and the pure spirit of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) pleased and joyful with this gathering.

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