Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Clergy and Preachers on the Eve of Muharram

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

We thank Almighty God for granting us the opportunity to once again stand on the threshold of the blessed source of Muharram and Ashura, and to expose ourselves—our hearts, minds, and physical and spiritual abilities—to the blessed breeze of Ashura and the fountain of blessings of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him). God willing, all our nation, including the esteemed scholars, respected clergy, and preachers, especially the enthusiastic and faithful youth who are experiencing the beginning of this path, will be able to benefit from these blessings. Those with greater responsibilities should draw closer to the blessings of this month. This opportunity is also precious for me, as I meet with a group of respected clergy, eminent scholars, preachers, orators, and young people who have the path of preaching ahead of them and, God willing, will accomplish great tasks in the future. Your gathering is very dear to me because it is a gathering that can elevate the word of Hussein and, God willing, rebuild this blessed path. Of course, the path of Hussein (peace be upon him) in our country and among our people has never been blocked over the centuries, and although there were opponents and adversaries, they could not achieve anything. Nevertheless, the blessings of this path are immense. If the clergy and preachers and those who speak take steps in this path as befits the month of Muharram, and if they engage in sincere efforts accompanied by valuable intellectual and scientific work, the blessings of this path can multiply many times over compared to what they have been so far. Therefore, we have a duty to collectively strive in this regard. I have a few brief reminders on this subject that I will present:

The characteristic of the sacred religion of Islam, especially the intellectual and doctrinal framework of Shi'ism—which has its distinctions—is that it encompasses all the necessary factors for individual and social growth of humans. This is a very important point. Consider this: sometimes a culture, civilization, belief, or school of thought is presented to humanity that may have many good aspects. For example, suppose the set of thoughts offered by a school leads to the activation of the inner forces of individuals, the blossoming of their talents, their work, innovation, construction, wealth production, and the renewal of the world. These characteristics may also be present in the offered school. However, this school may also have an inherent flaw that causes the people who benefit from this school to endure severe losses, sometimes greater than the benefits. A clear example is Western thought and the prevalent capitalist culture and individual freedom in the West. As religious preachers and clergy, you must scrutinize these points carefully. When we say 'Western culture,' we do not mean to say that this culture is entirely bad and ugly from beginning to end. You have seen that I repeatedly speak about the West and the cultural invasion of the West. The meaning of my words is not merely that Western culture is entirely bad and destructive from beginning to end. If it were so, the citizens of Western countries would not have accepted it from the beginning and would not have tolerated it at all. Therefore, the mentioned culture has positive points that attracted the eyes of the people and drew societies to it.

Suppose the epitome of these attracted societies is the American society. Well, there, they had a name for this culture. This culture is fully visible and has good characteristics. That is, this culture and civilization—what they call an ideology—invites people to work and effort, punctuality, and the observance of the minutiae and particles of human capital. What is the result of this culture, with all its characteristics? It is that a society with wealth, progress, science, and technology emerges. These attractions captivated the eyes of the people and thinkers of the West two or three centuries ago when these ideas were proposed in America and Europe, and everyone liked this way of life and this school and culture and accepted it.

However, this culture did not have the factors to preserve true human growth within it. They were unaware and did not realize this point. For example, suppose you create a reservoir or water source for people's drinking in a place. You build its walls strong, seal all its openings, install the inlet and outlet valves of the reservoir, and have no worries about the water entering the container and remaining there. But you do not foresee the proximity of the water source to a certain poisonous substance. Certainly, this water will be clear and cool, and when a person drinks it, they will enjoy it; but due to its proximity to the poisonous substance, there will be germs and contamination in this water. You who prepared the water source considered all the health points of the water; but you did not read this part. You saw one side; but you did not see the unseen side of the matter.

Most human schools, including the Western capitalist school, are like this. They have seen one side. They have seen the side that draws people to work, effort, progress, material growth, wealth, and science, and it has been correct. But they have not seen the other side, that in this society where there are skyscrapers and wealth and luxuries, there is also poverty and misery for many people. There is also death from hunger. There is also oppression. Worst of all, there is pervasive corruption that infiltrates the homes of all those who enjoy this situation and will make life bitter for them. Well, this problem arose and ruined the situation. The art of a system and a school is that it encompasses all factors. Otherwise, if a school is only good at expansion, it can conquer but cannot maintain. It can preserve natural resources well, but it is incapable of preserving human resources. It can provide material growth, but it fails in providing spiritual growth. Ultimately, it can establish equality among the people, but it ends up being a replica of the communist school! The communists nationalized everything; they rationed everything and, to make people equal, they completely took away personal wealth from them. Very well! The one who was wealthy lost his wealth, and everyone became equal—meaning almost poor! Suppose somewhere they even executed the rich so that the poor would benefit. Their claim was to create equality among the lower classes of society. But in the upper classes, the discrimination and class differences that existed in other countries became several times greater here! We had seen communist countries. During my governmental responsibilities, in my travels to communist countries, I saw the state of their poor and rich up close. In the lower classes of society, people did not have bread to eat. But at the head of their governments, such grandeur and pharaonic and imperial power had emerged that it rubbed shoulders with the great global capitalism! As if they were not 'socialists' as they claimed!

Yes; when a school is incomplete, the situation does not improve beyond this. It fixes one side, and the other side gets ruined!

The characteristic of Islam is that it contains all the factors of human growth. It has both material growth and spiritual growth. That is, in Islam, there is 'He created for you all that is on the earth' (Quran 2:29). There is 'Say, who has forbidden the adornment of God which He has brought forth for His servants?' (Quran 7:32). There is the use of material resources. There is work and effort. There is the Prophet kissing the hand of a worker. There is Imam Ali working. - All of these have meaning. - There is also the notion that if someone does not work, their prayer will not be answered.

In the time of the Messenger of God, some people sat at home and said: 'Almighty God has promised that 'And whoever relies upon God, He is sufficient for him' (Quran 65:3). Well, we rely and sit at home.' When the Prophet was informed, he told them: 'God will not answer even one of your prayers!' Why is this? It is so that society grows materially, engages in construction, and develops. The difference between the living environment of early Islam, where people lived in 'Suffa,' and fifty years later, when in the same Islamic country, all kinds of material blessings filled everywhere, was due to this aspect.

Of course, Islam creates spiritual growth alongside the material growth of society. It says you must go to the door of God: 'Say, my Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication' (Quran 25:77). You must pray. 'And your Lord says, Call upon Me; I will respond to you' (Quran 40:60). You must pray to hear a response from God. Human life has no meaning except in relation to God. The life of the heart and soul and spirit of a human being has no meaning except in connection with God. As soon as someone neglects God, the heart loses its life, and the spirit becomes mortal. If remembrance and attention return to it, it revives; otherwise, it will die. If its return to God and spirituality is prolonged, it will turn into inanimate matter. This is what Islam and the verses of the Quran tell us: 'Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of God?' (Quran 57:16) and 'Unquestionably, by the remembrance of God hearts are assured' (Quran 13:28). These are in Islam. That is, the same Islam that says 'Go to discover natural resources and build this world; take material tools in hand; equip the mind with knowledge; know and discover and develop the world, nature, matter, and resources because they are yours'; reminds you that 'Do all this for God; be mindful of God; do not remove the remembrance of God from your heart and perform all these actions as worship.'

The combination of material effort and construction with spiritual effort and construction means this. Therefore, you see that the one who is materially constructive in Islam is also the most ascetic of God's creation. Imam Ali (peace be upon him), with his own hands, dug wells and qanats, and when the water gushed forth as thick as a camel's neck, he came out of the well; with the same mud-stained work clothes, he sat by the well and wrote on paper that 'I have endowed this water for the poor and made it a charity.' That is, because he engaged in the development of a place, he immediately donates it in the way of God. The most generous, the most constructive, the most materially engaged; and in terms of meaning, the highest and the best. This is the result of the training and the indicator of the material and spiritual welfare program of Islam.

Observe the factors of survival in Islam! One of the factors of survival is this Ashura. One of the factors of survival is enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is evident that corruption arises in society. There is no human society in which corruption does not arise. How should this corruption be eliminated? Some people, as soon as they see manifestations of corruption, say 'So where are the officials to come and eliminate the corruption?!' They often cry out about the corruption they see and ask for the officials. But the corruption that is seen is much smaller than the major corruptions that cannot be seen with the naked eye in the streets and markets. Those who are knowledgeable know and understand that major corruptions are often hidden from view. Therefore, the environment of society should be such that if corruption appears in it, it does not find the opportunity to grow and is quickly eliminated. Like the great currents of water.

Do you see the great rivers of the world? No matter how much pollution and filth are poured into these rivers, a little further on, the turbulence of the water, the crashing of the water against the rocks, and the movement of the water eliminate the harmful substances and instead produce vital substances. The environment of society should be like this. It should be so clear that if someone drops a drop of corruption in it, the society itself digests it and eliminates it. How is this possible? With enjoining good, with forbidding evil, and with inviting to good. The Quran says: 'Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom' (Quran 16:125). Wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. Solid thought is referred to as wisdom. Wisdom, which the prophets are distinguished by and belongs to the chosen and righteous servants, is the firm thought that no rational tool can negate and eliminate. No argument or experience can neutralize it. Look at the verses in the Quran that define wisdom, and see what they are: 'That is from what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom' (Quran 17:39). These are things that if humanity strives forever, it cannot reject them. No denier, no malicious person, no adversary can strive to refute them. Wisdom means the most solid and unassailable thoughts and ideas. This is what the sages mean when they say wisdom is 'the transformation of a person into a world analogous to the sensory world.' That is, such prominent and solid and unassailable thoughts have spread in the spirit of the chosen and righteous servant that he himself has become a world, and you can see the universe, existence, and all creation in his speech, in his gesture, and in his action.

This is wisdom. Then 'Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom.' Invite people to God in this way. 'And good instruction' (Quran 16:125). 'And argue with them in a way that is best' (Quran 16:125). This is also there. That is, these are the factors of survival. These are what have allowed Islamic thought to survive until today.

My dear ones! The clergy must know that if the Islamic system and society shape themselves as Islam has commanded and provide the factors of survival within themselves, no force in the world will be able to confront them; neither material force nor military force, which constantly threaten that planes are coming; missiles are coming, what is coming, what is coming. Can they?! The agents of global arrogance threatened our country for eight years and even put their threats into action. During this period, what did they do that they can do after this?! Today, global arrogance has mobilized its scientific force and its multitude of men to try to destabilize Islamic thought with thought, culture, and scientific tools. But even with this trick, they will not be able to achieve anything. Of course, the condition for the failure and inability of arrogance is that here, as Islam has commanded, it is acted upon. That is: 'Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction.' In this case, even with corrupt tools, they will not be able to do anything.

The agents of arrogance today make bad films, make bad tapes, make bad words, write bad poems, write bad stories, and spread and distribute all of these among teenagers, young people, and ordinary people inside the country, or they spread them through satellites. This recent case—satellite—is truly a cesspool of corruption that targets its poisonous arrows at nations and countries. Thanks be to God, last year, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, with a good understanding of the issue, banned satellites. With all this, if in society, the instructions of Islam and the commands of the Quran are followed, none of the tools and factors of corruption can have the slightest effect. In a more precise sense, attention from various aspects and enjoining good and forbidding evil will not allow the enemy to succeed. This is why the Islamic society is a lasting society. This is why 'Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian' (Quran 15:9). This is why 'And God will surely support those who support Him' (Quran 22:40). This is why 'And those who strive for Us—We will surely guide them to Our ways' (Quran 29:69). These are not mere pleasantries that God has made with us. Now, let the world's powerful ones shout and slander the Islamic Republic system. Thanks be to God, this is a solid structure. It is a structure that anyone who tries to wrestle with it will wound and injure their own hands and claws. Today, all the factors of survival and life are present in the Islamic system. Those who sometimes object to some religious actions and Islamic slogans and complain that 'Sir, you have overdone it! You constantly talk about Islamic values! What is this slogan and what is that action?!' are actually repeating the enemy's words. The enemy does not want Islam to be fully implemented; because if Islam is fully implemented, it becomes invulnerable. Now, to make it vulnerable, what should they do? They must make it incomplete. They must prevent one corner of it from being implemented. For example, they create uproar over the 'Retribution Bill' and the 'Penal Code.'

The duty of the scholars, preachers, clergy, and those wearing the turban becomes clear here. Of course, it is clear, and thanks be to God, the gentlemen know their duties very well. We do not want to remind the scholars of their duty. Because they are knowledgeable, and they know themselves. What we say is for 'reminder.' It is for the young and those newly arrived on this path to know that this path is a blessed path. This path is a path of invincibility. This path is a path in which all the means for survival have been provided by the wisdom of the Lord of the worlds. This path has both jihad for repelling the enemy; and 'merciful among themselves' for a livable environment within the country; and 'God does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion' to 'be righteous and just towards them' (Quran 60:8) for good relations with the countries and nations of the world; and 'God only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion' (Quran 60:9) for fighting against Israel and America. That is, it has everything. It has both this world and the hereafter, both the preservation of values with precision and meticulousness and the pursuit of construction and the creation of a good world and the discovery of the depths of nature by capable hands. Everything is there. It has both the emotions and feelings of the people and divine help, both work in it and reliance. Therefore, at that time, this verse finds meaning: 'And whoever fears God—He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect' (Quran 65:2-3). If there is piety—that is, this collection is together—then no one can harm.

Today, seventeen years have passed since the victory of the revolution. What could our enemies have done against the revolution and the system in these seventeen years that they did not do?! Our enemies have done everything possible. If they did not engage in some actions, it was due to their inability to do them. Or global necessities did not allow it, or they faced the problems of public opinion and fear. With all this, they did everything they could against this nation. Today, when you look, you see, thanks be to God, we are ahead in the field of construction and in the field of international politics. In these recent days' events and the inauguration of the Mashhad-Sarakhs railway line, you saw that everyone came and praised. Who did and does such works? Are there factors other than religion and independence capable of doing such things?! The Iranian nation accomplished these tasks at a time when America and America's allies were enemies with it. Some pretend that if a country is at odds with America, it can no longer take steps in the path of construction and do anything. So, what are the works we did?! We did these works during the period of estrangement with America. All these advances were achieved when America was thirsty for our blood. Many of these constructive works were done when America's allies—some in Europe, some in Asia, and some in Africa—had drawn daggers against us. They sometimes stabbed us from the front and sometimes from behind. Despite this, we did all these constructive works. So, let them know and take a lesson. Do not think that building this country and its progress depends on us going to the door of the enemies of God—America and others; no. If we had gone to their door, this much progress would not have been achieved. As you saw during the Shah's regime, this country even lost what it had! It had agriculture, it lost it! It did not have industry, it did not gain it! They created a false and wrong assembly in this country and called it 'industry,' which was not really industry. At that time, of course, they imported all kinds of corruption and vice and evil. They imported all kinds of alcoholic beverages and all kinds of cabarets and all kinds of unhealthy entertainments.

Connection with the enemies of the nation and the country, connection and attachment with those who want to rule over our country; they do not intend friendship with us and want to seize the wealth of this country for their own benefit, has no result for our nation other than harm and loss. We, in the shadow of separation and distance from America and its allies, have made all this progress in these seventeen years, which is observable. These constructions and works that cause the country's advancement are mostly done by faithful elements. Non-faithful and non-believing elements—who are not Hezbollahis—although they talk, they do not do much for the country. Most of the constructive and effective works are done by these faithful and Hezbollah elements and engineers who believe in the revolution and activists and managers who are devoted to the country and the system. The active elements are the children of the revolution themselves. Others have not helped or served us at all. It is the children of the revolution who do the constructive works and bear the exhausting efforts. The country's progress is achieved in this way.

The respected clergy and dear preachers, in this great month, must clarify the various dimensions of the issues for the people and make them understand that both the world and the hereafter are achieved in the shadow of religion. Connection with Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and understanding the meaning and concept of martyrdom helps both the material and spiritual life of a person. A nation, if it understands the meaning of martyrdom and knows how to go and sacrifice life for ideals, can then live independently and without worry; because death is no longer an obstacle for it. If it is otherwise, the enemy will frighten it with death and it will become like some countries, some governments, and some nations that show weakness in the face of enemies.

We hope that God will help and favor so that the dimensions of dear Islam and the dimensions and actions of the important event of Ashura become clear to everyone and they truly use it like a source. God willing, you respected gentlemen, dear brothers—especially the faithful, sincere, and enthusiastic youth—will be able to perform your duty in the best way; quench the people from the blessed source of Ashura and may the sacred heart of the Guardian of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) be pleased with all of you.

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