Statements in Meeting with a Large Number of Workers and Teachers on Labor Day and Teacher's Week

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

I welcome all of you dear brothers and sisters who have come and formed this gathering with such sincerity. Labor Day and Teacher's Week — which represent two fundamental and effective classes in any society — in our country is adorned with the fragrance of martyrdom and the name of a great scholar, a martyr in the path of God and truth, namely the late Ayatollah Martyr Motahhari. The efforts of this great man during his lifetime were dedicated to defending Islamic truths and opposing the enmities that were raised against Islam in the realm of thought and ideology. Of course, this man had many great and positive qualities. Today, everyone emphasizes a different aspect of the life of that martyr from their own perspective; all are correct in some way; however, the outstanding characteristic of this great man was his defense of the truth and Islam without hesitation, without consideration, and without fear.

As far as I can remember, from the years 1955 and 1956 until 1979 when he was martyred, at every moment in time, with his profound insight — which had complete mastery over the intellectual and cultural atmosphere of the country — whenever he observed an attack on Islam and Islamic laws and principles in the realm of thought, he would rush to confront it and create a barrier like a mountain against the objections. Today, our youth, our students, our teachers, and our workers, if they want to deepen their understanding of Islamic thoughts and find answers to their questions, must refer to the books of Martyr Motahhari; for Imam has expressed a sentiment regarding the books of this great man that is close to this meaning: "All of them are good and beneficial." This is a very important expression from someone like the Imam. The idea that the intellectual and cultural environment should encourage the intellectual activity of individuals and open new paths is correct; however, this should not lead to the unbridled thinking of the enemies of Islam. We must pave the way for the thoughts of the youth, the younger generation, and the sincere seekers. One of the best means for this is the pure, outstanding, and elevated thoughts of this man who sacrificed his life in the path of God.

Labor Day and Teacher's Week in our country coincides with this enduring phenomenon — namely the martyrdom of this great man. Let us honor his memory and let everyone, especially the youth, benefit from the blessings of this man's existence. Everyone should take this torch in the intellectual atmosphere of society. Merely mentioning the name of the late Motahhari and paying verbal tribute to him is not very useful; if it is not followed by a deep exploration of his works. They should go read his books, classify his works, and utilize them in the realm of thought and ideology as a torch.

Regarding teachers and workers, I must say that these two classes are the noblest or at least among the noblest classes of any society, especially our society. A teacher is, in fact, a worker. One of the most honorable tasks performed by teachers is the work of education and training and producing the complete human being. Workers, in turn, are both knowledgeable and practical; because if a worker is not knowledgeable and aware of his work, no work will be accomplished. Altogether, these two classes represent a combination of knowledge and action; that is, two high values. The services of these two classes to our country are unparalleled. I remember both the role of teachers and the role of workers before the revolution and also in the early years after the victory of the revolution; if it were not for our faithful workers, dozens of conspiracies would have occurred in this country that could have led to numerous problems. Teachers were exactly the same. During the war, both teachers and workers played one of the highest roles in organizing the front lines, strengthening the rear, and sending individuals to the front. These two classes, which play such a role in the most sensitive times of a country, deserve great respect. Today is no different; today, if we seek economic development, we must strengthen work; without work, nothing can be achieved. There is constant talk of investment. I accept the role of investment; without investment, no work can be done; however, investment is one pillar of work; the fundamental pillar is the work of the worker. Work that is done with compassion, expertise, persistence, and acceptance of difficult conditions cannot save the country. Without such work, the country will not reach where it should.

Today, we seek economic independence; we seek to free the country from dependence on oil. Today, we want the economic situation of the country to be arranged in such a way that a decrease in the price of a barrel of oil cannot have such an impact on our country. How can this be achieved? If we want to free ourselves from oil, is it not necessary to pay special attention to the work environment, to the working community, to the issue of workshops, and to the training of workers? Of course, the government, thanks be to God, is engaged in these matters. Truly, our brothers in the government are doing valuable work; however, I want to say that one of the most fundamental tasks of the country is this. Both the parliament and the government, as well as various officials, should not view the issue of work and workers as something they occasionally face and encounter difficulties with; they should view it as a fundamental and real issue of the country. Our workers are, of course, noble, faithful, vigilant, and aware of the enemy's conspiracies. If this vast multitude of our workers were not vigilant and did not care about their revolution, religion, government, and system, today our enemies would create disasters in the working environments. They are still trying, but these workers are strong. Our workers — this noble class, this faithful class, this hardworking class — thanks be to God, are vigilant and aware and do not succumb to their conspiracies. The efforts being made must continue and be strengthened. Economic development is not possible without strengthening work issues and looking at work. This person who dedicates himself to this work must know that the system supports him.

Regarding dear teachers, there is a similar fundamental point. These days, there is talk of "political development." What does political and cultural development mean? Cultural and political development means that individuals in society feel they can think correctly, understand correctly, and learn correctly. If a country can reach this point, conspiracies and misguidance will not affect it. This is a good thing, but it cannot be achieved through noise, uproar, and newspaper games; it is achieved through teachers. Political and cultural development is established by teachers. You are the ones who take this child from the age of seven in your schools and hand him over to the university at eighteen or nineteen. The most fundamental and important period of this child's life is with you teachers. The country and society must account for this issue. A teacher is someone who can nurture good moral qualities in a child; teach good knowledge to the child; teach the child to think; teach the child independence of opinion; and teach the child to stand against falsehood and strive for the truth.

My dear ones; dear teachers! In the classroom, not only the lesson you teach but also the gaze you cast, the gesture you make, the smile you give, the frown you show, the movement you perform, and the clothes you wear all have an impact on the student. If we delve into our deepest feelings and emotions, at the end of the line, we find a teacher. It is the teacher who can make us brave or cowardly, generous or stingy, self-sacrificing or selfish, knowledgeable and seekers of knowledge and culture, or stagnant and bound to rigid thoughts. It is the teacher who can raise us to be religious, pious, chaste, or, God forbid, unrestrained. The teacher has such a role. This is the value of the teacher; this is the impact of the teacher; this is the teacher's role in the major issues of our lives, the lives of our future generations, our society, our children, and our future history. Now, with this role that the teacher has, how should society, the country, the people, the government, and the system think about the issue of the teacher? We do not want to place the burden solely on these two classes in our discussions about workers and teachers; no, we all have responsibilities. Ordinary people who are outside these two classes also have responsibilities towards them; the government has responsibilities; the entire system has responsibilities; the parliament has responsibilities; everyone has responsibilities towards these two classes. Of course, I do not want to limit the issue to just the economic aspect. Livelihood is a necessity; but it is not everything. What is more important than the issue of livelihood is appreciation and valuing. The status of the teacher in society should be such that if a young person is asked what they want to become in the future, they say a teacher. The worker's status and dignity should be such that if a young person or child is asked which class they value and appreciate more, they say the worker.

People should appreciate the work of the worker. Of course, know that God appreciates it: "And Allah and His Messenger will see your deeds"; God and the Prophet appreciate it; the honorable scribes appreciate it. Know that in the presence of God and in the divine court, not a moment of your dear ones' sufferings is overlooked. Those last moments of work when you are tired, but due to the legal and religious duty you have, you still work diligently during those moments, the employer may not understand it, the manager may not understand it, the head of that factory or school may not understand it; but the Almighty God records those moments for you. These are values. Do not think that these are deferred to the future. Of course, if the future is the Day of Judgment, that is very important. When it is the first night in the grave, that future is also very important; but it is not only that. These are what build the country, the system, and the youth. These are what create Motahhari. Motahhari, may God's mercy be upon him, was nurtured in the arms of several good teachers, the first of whom was his father. Yes; some fathers are teachers; they are the best teachers. That good teacher brought this great man into existence. Martyr Motahhari was a remarkable exceptional human being in his time who was far greater than his father — I had also visited his honorable father — Motahhari was an outstanding exceptional human being in his time who was far greater than his father; but it was that father who was able to bring this great man into existence and nurture him in his upbringing. His teachers were also like that. The late Mr. Motahhari narrated to me about his one or two months of Ramadan with the late "Aqa Najafi Quchani," that great man who wrote "The Travels of the East" and "The Travels of the West." It became clear that the spiritual ranks and upbringing and character of that man had an impact on the spirit of the late Motahhari, may God's mercy be upon him. The late Allameh Tabatabai and the late Haj Mirza Ali Aqa Shirazi and others and foremost among them Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) had a great impact on him. The teacher does such things.

Dear teachers! Dear workers! The country needs you. Know that thousands of you may not be recognized by name and title; but the impact of each one of you on the future of this country — not in the distant future; but in the next ten or twenty years — will be significant. All of you will have an impact; therefore, work. The noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Amir al-Mu'minin, peace be upon him: "Beware of laziness and boredom"; avoid two things: one is boredom and the other is laziness. Boredom means that a person has no patience for work; laziness means idleness. It is also narrated from the Noble Prophet: "May God have mercy on the person who performs a deed and perfects it"; may God's mercy be upon the person who performs their work — any work — firmly and proficiently. Know that today the enemies of this country, whose propaganda against Islam, against Islamic values, against the revolution, against the Imam, against personalities, and against Martyr Motahhari has become clear to all — unless someone is blind to see the cultural environment and these hostilities — they hope that the teacher community, the working community, the student community, and the clerical community — these sensitive and effective communities of society — do not perform their duties. If everyone performs their work correctly, proficiently, completely, and with knowledge and awareness, know that this country and system will be the most solid and stable system that has come to power in this country in the centuries we know, and it will be able to confront the greatest conspiracies. These words, these statements, these actions, these propagandas, these sieges, and these conspiracies against a nation that stands with firm determination and knows what it is doing and understands what it wants to do and is engaged in its work with awareness and faith cannot achieve anything.

I hope that the Almighty God grants you all success and enables the dear officials to carry out the tasks and responsibilities that are upon them in the best possible way, and that all segments of the Iranian nation, especially the two important and sensitive classes of workers and teachers, can, God willing, remain as they have been until now, always honored in the presence of God and in the future history of the country.

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