Message on the Occasion of the Commencement of the Prayer Seminar in Holy Mashhad

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

Hujjat al-Islam Mr. Qara'ati (may his blessings continue)

I am very grateful to you and your colleagues for your efforts in organizing the second assembly for the establishment of prayer to expand the culture of prayer and strengthen its foundations in the Islamic society of Iran. I hope you all will be rewarded and achieve your sacred goal.

If this year I am to give a message to you and that honorable assembly, it is that you should exert all your efforts to realize the recommendations included in last year's message to the first assembly, and prevent them from remaining merely words on paper or phrases to start a discussion. Undoubtedly, there is much unsaid about prayer, and someone as limited as myself is too small to grasp all of that knowledge, let alone include it in a message or messages.

It is hoped that, by God's grace and the assistance of His Eminence, the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him), the path to understanding and conveying it to others will be made smooth for enlightened and knowledgeable hearts. However, one of the greatest goals of knowledge is action, and always, acting upon what we have recognized and known opens the way for us to greater understanding and makes our knowledge clearer and without doubt.

Reports indicate that since last year, commendable practical steps have been taken in this path. However, this is far less than what the great right of prayer demands in Islamic Iran. God willing, the cooperation of all Islamic institutions - including education, universities, radio and television, the Islamic Propagation Organization, the press, and other influential institutions and organizations - can assist you in your sacred purpose. I ask God for the success of everyone.

Seyyed Ali Khamenei

21/06/1371