Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with the President and Cabinet on the Occasion of Government Week

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

We are grateful to Almighty God for fulfilling this long-standing wish that Mr. Khatami's government could enter the scene of work and mission in the best manner and in the shortest time. Thanks be to God, you were able to take on this sensitive duty at the appointed legal time.

At the outset, we honor the memory of the dear martyrs of this day - Rajaei and Bahonar. Of course, these two were individuals; however, their revolutionary, religious virtues, and piety were so prominent that they are fortunately considered a movement in our society. When Government Week arrives and the names of Martyr Rajaei and Martyr Bahonar are mentioned, people do not think that we are merely honoring two martyrs; they understand that it is a revolutionary intellectual and practical movement being honored. Your gathering is also a respect to those great figures. God willing, may God encompass the pure souls of all martyrs and those two great figures with His mercy and reward them in the highest ranks of the heavenly abode for the efforts they made and the sincerity they showed.

We also fondly remember our dear brother Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, with whom we used to sit during these days for many years, discussing matters related to the future and the state of the country. Thanks be to God, I feel that this void has been filled, and the new government has entered the field with fresh breath, good spirit, and firmness. God willing, the efforts of those dear brothers - Mr. Hashemi and his government - will be appreciated and accepted by the Lord, and God willing, it will be a continuous blessing in the country, and you will also, according to your duties and responsibilities, do what you deem necessary for this country in the best way and leave a good footprint in the history of this country.

On the occasion of Government Week, I have no other remarks to make to you, my dear brothers, except to remind you of a few points. Of course, the points Mr. Khatami mentioned and has repeated many times are truly things that our government and country need, and we see that, thanks be to God, the new government has also been formed on this basis. We hope that God willing, God will bless the start of this new phase for you. The true blessing will be when you can fulfill the heavy duties that are upon you and meet the rightful and appropriate expectations of the people. Of course, the expectations of the people are not things that can be fulfilled in a short period. What people expect from you is not that all economic problems will be solved in a short time, all fundamental tasks in this country will be shaped, and all matters will be set in motion. The people are aware, and what they expect from governments is a reasonable and logical movement towards the announced goals. God willing, Almighty God will also grant success so that what you told the people and promised, and what the people accepted and expect from you, can be accomplished in the shortest time.

However, I recommend to everyone here; both to the officials, not to rush and not to do hasty work; and to the people, not to have unreasonable expectations and not to think that all problems will be solved within six months or a year. Of course, when the movement starts, the effects of the movement will be shown. That is, after six months, a year, it will be clear that the government is working and moving. The people also want this from you. I do not think that our dear people have any expectations from governments other than to implement the programs that are in the interests of the people and the will of the government in those areas that are of concern.

In addition to what Mr. Khatami said, I want to offer two or three reminders to you, dear ones. One is that in matters of work, the foundation should be the people. This is a general statement. Everyone says this; no one denies this statement. The novelty of this statement here is that if we want to pay attention, sometimes the interests and desires of the general public conflict with the interests of specific groups. This is a very sensitive place. Brothers who deal with governmental issues and large-scale management can well find examples of this. Perhaps now, if I want to express it, there are many examples in my mind, but I do not intend to mention examples.

There are places where if we take action in the field of industry, in economic matters, in monetary matters, in cultural matters, and in various matters, it is in the interest of the people; but there are specific groups in society - monetary, financial, economic groups, the wealthy, cultural groups, and political groups - who will be harmed. This is the sensitive point. The straight path is revealed here. This is where the statement of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, applies: 'For the anger of the public overwhelms the satisfaction of the elite.' That is, if at any time the people are angry, the satisfaction of the elite will be completely destroyed and will vanish. The public's anger will trample the satisfaction of specific groups. Suppose that for a few days, in a policy we implemented and a task we carried out, we satisfied four people from specific groups or monetary and financial groups; but if, God forbid, with this action, we have made the people dissatisfied, this dissatisfaction of the people will come like a storm and sweep all of these away. This has no value. Then he says the opposite: 'And the anger of the elite is forgivable with the satisfaction of the public.' That is, if we assume that specific political, economic, cultural groups, etc., became angry and dissatisfied with a policy and action of ours and said why the government did this, if 'it is forgivable with the satisfaction of the public'; that is, when the general public - in today's terms, the masses - are pleased and satisfied, the anger of those groups is forgivable. This should be considered.

My dear ones! Every wise person and every group should search for their sincere and truthful soldiers. Our great Imam's greatest skill was that he recognized and found his army and knew who would come to his aid the next day and who would listen well to his words. See who listened to the Imam's words? Fortunately, the scene of the imposed war, which is a lesson for us from many aspects, is also a lesson for us from this aspect. On the day when the Imam said a word about the Paveh issue in 1979, it was around three-thirty or four in the afternoon when I was going to Jamaran. The city's appearance was completely changed, and people were spontaneously moving. This state, with ups and downs and fluctuations, continued until 1987. When the Imam made a gesture, shouted, and gave an order, who went? They are your true army; find them.

Of course, a government does not think for a group or a subgroup. Security is for everyone. It does not matter whether those we say are among the government's sincere supporters or not. Even those who are not sincere supporters of the government must have security. Those who do not have very cordial relations with the government must have the opportunity to work and strive. There is no doubt that your services belong to everyone. You do not work for a group or a subgroup; but know that among these, the one who will come to your aid when you cry out for help is who. Suppose, if one day you needed electricity consumption to be reduced and announced that electricity should be consumed less, see who listens to you and who does not care and increases their consumption a hundred times more than the person who has normal consumption with two electric burners; that is, they are not thinking of you. In my opinion, these can be easily recognized.

I ask you to consider in all sectors - in culture, in political matters, and in security - the issue of 'the satisfaction of the public and the anger of the public' versus 'the satisfaction of the elite and the anger of the elite'; see who are those who respond to your cries and calls for help when necessary.

Another point that came to my mind to tell you is that one of Mr. Khatami's very good slogans - which I really thanked God for when I first heard it from him - was the issue of 'lawfulness.' This is a very good statement, and fortunately, you have repeated it many times. You said it during the elections, you said it in the parliament, you said it here and there. I want to say that you should adhere to this slogan until the last moment and know that lawfulness is also a difficult task; but despite its difficulties, in the short and long term, its benefits are better than lawlessness. When a person is driving and wants to reach home, they may choose a shortcut, a forbidden entry route. If you went this way and reached home, it seems to you that there is an immediate benefit; but the dangers in this path are far incomparable to that benefit. All laws are like this. From the constitution - which is the basis of our work - to the customary and ordinary laws passed in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, to possibly the resolutions of some other centers like the General Assembly of the Judiciary - which are in the status of law - to the resolutions of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which are also in the status of law. What they determine and guide the officials has more value.

Of course, this statement - as I said - is an easy statement that has difficulties in practice. Some apply the law in the way the Sabbath people acted! The Sabbath people also acted according to the strict letter of the law; that is, God had said not to catch fish on Saturday, and they did not catch fish on Saturday. Yes; they did a small thing that was not explicitly prohibited, and that was, they made holes, the fish entered those holes, they closed the way of those holes on Saturday, so the fish could not return! They did this on Saturday, and on Sunday, they caught the same fish! This is the appearance of the law. If you look, this is like those legal loopholes where a heavy usury was exchanged with a branch of sugar! It was the law, the appearance of the Sharia; but our great Imam, may his soul be sanctified, who was a strong jurist aware of the essence and spirit of religion, prohibited this before forming the government. Among his fatwas - which during the struggle, we were proud of and mentioned everywhere - was the prohibition of usury loopholes. He absolutely prohibited usury loopholes. You gentlemen, also prohibit legal loopholes and prevent them. Some companies and some seemingly legal entities carry the essence of the Sabbath people. Be careful that those who want to escape the law do not trap you in this trap; do not come to convince you that this work is legal.

Another point is that, my dear ones! Value the time. You now have four years. These four years will pass like a blink of an eye. Indeed, four years is a very short time. If someone works and uses every moment, it is a great and valuable asset. If, God forbid, we say that we still have time, there are still four years or three and a half years, and we procrastinate - which this procrastination mentioned in our narrations means this; I will do it, I will do it: I will do it, I will do it - and constantly delay the work, one day you will see that four years have passed, but we have nothing in our hands! From this very first moment, value the minutes and do that important fundamental work that you want to do at the end, right at the beginning.

The last thing I want to say is that apart from the official and usual connections in the Islamic system, without relying on and trusting in God and having a special connection with Him, you will not achieve the necessary success. Success is from God; it is not compulsion. Success means arranging and bringing things together and making them agreeable to nature and desire. This is the meaning of success; not that when we say God gave success, it means He grabbed the back of a person's neck to do this work. Again, it is your own will that does the work; but success is from the Lord. If you want this success and the necessary opportunity for work, you must establish a direct relationship with God; a relationship of supplication, a relationship of request, a special relationship.

Everyone should have this relationship with God; but you who are responsible and one of the high managements is in your hands - when I say you, I mean us officials, of which I am more deserving of this work than you - are among the most deserving individuals who should have this special relationship with God. Pray with attention and presence; give importance to the supererogatory prayers and try to recite some Quran during the day. No day should pass for you without reciting some Quran - even ten verses, five verses - with reflection. This gives you enlightenment. Do not expect that if we perform a supererogatory prayer tonight, tomorrow, for example, a significant opening will occur in our work and its effect will appear; no. In our prayers, the very relationship with God is among the certainties and firm principles of our supplications, and Almighty God pays special attention and favor to those who supplicate to Him. Supplication has these properties.

Although Imam, may his soul be sanctified, was a person of worship from before - we had heard and knew - but in the later years, as he approached the end of his life, although when a person becomes old and tired, just as all other tasks become difficult for him, praying and worshiping and reading prayers also become difficult, and a young person, just as he exercises easily, performs worship more easily and prays more easily - nevertheless, his supplication and attention and care and crying increased with old age and disability, and Almighty God also accordingly arranged and brought things together.

We hope that God willing, Almighty God will grant you success and that you will always be under the favor of the Lord, and may God help you in all stages. Thanks be to God, one feels that God willing, divine favors are also upon this government and the honorable and dear president. The fact that, thanks be to God, he was able to easily carry out the task of selecting ministers and find the desired and favored ministers with whom he could work, and easily take them to the parliament and the parliament also easily voted, shows that Almighty God has willed to advance matters, and God willing, it will continue to be so; 'And whoever is for God, God is for him.' God willing, God will be with you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings