Statements of the Meeting with Members of the Islamic Associations of Students Across the Country

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

I am very happy and pleased to meet you dear youth, whose manifestations of purity, cleanliness, and the luminosity of your hearts can be observed in every encounter.

Young people are always important for a nation and a country. However, sometimes this importance is multiplied under certain conditions. For example, when a country or a nation is engaged in a military struggle and challenge against its enemies, the role of youth becomes more prominent; or when a country is rising towards the peaks of scientific, practical, experimental, political, and social achievements, the role of youth becomes more evident than at other times in the history of that nation.

The truth is that our country and society, after the revolution, have gone through sensitive moments throughout this period, where the role of youth and the impact of youthfulness and talents have been significant. Although we are a talented nation, due to the dominance of colonial and despotic policies and hereditary monarchies, and usurping and tyrannical governments, we fell behind in the global scientific race over the past two or three centuries.

This scientific backwardness brings along economic, cultural, military, and other forms of backwardness. A country that, considering its talents, natural and human resources, and geographical position—if you look at the world map, you will notice Iran's sensitive location—should be one of the most advanced and wealthiest countries in the world, turned into a backward, poor, weak, and subservient puppet government during the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. This happened in our history. Who is to blame? Primarily, it is the fault of those corrupt and incompetent rulers who became dependent; when the colonial policies of the West entered the scene, they became dependent as well. They lacked ambition and zeal; they were only concerned with their own lives and maintaining their power. The blame primarily lies with them; at least with these two dynasties of Qajar and Pahlavi.

The Iranian nation has the right to seize the collars of these oppressors on the Day of Resurrection and present a great and terrifying indictment against them, saying that these were the ones who turned a talented, rich, and large country with an unparalleled cultural background—such a country should at least be among the first-class countries of the world; otherwise, it is inherently first-class; and it should be at the top of the column of countries—into a third-rate country; poor, weak, humiliated, subservient, and hopeless.

Then what happened? During these past hundred, hundred and twenty years, especially the last part of that difficult period until today, awakened consciences and great personalities emerged who gave warnings; flashes illuminated the dark and gloomy sky of this country's life, bringing forth lights; awakenings occurred, one example being the opposition of Mirza Shirazi against the famous Regie Company, which was gradually swallowing the entire country and wanted to determine a fate for Iran similar to the colonial fate of India; or the cries of the late Ayatollah Modarres in the National Assembly of that day against Reza Khan and others, in opposition to the treacherous agreement they were making to hand over the entire country to the British. These were flashes that illuminated this atmosphere; they enlightened hearts and strengthened resolves. The movement began through the pioneers of this thought, with divine leadership and a determination like that of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), which God Almighty granted to the nation; again, these same youth made their movement, and a great and fundamental transformation occurred; the bars of the prison in which the Iranian nation was trapped were broken, but from the point where the revolution began to the point where the Iranian nation must reach, there is a long road ahead. This long road is full of various challenges; it requires determination, strength, vitality, creativity, and a massive accumulation of forces. These must be provided by the youth, the youthful spirit, and the vitality of youth.

Usually, the Sacred Defense period is remembered, which is indeed correct; during the Sacred Defense, one sometimes saw so many young volunteers that one's eyes would darken from the sheer number of people, and from the enthusiasm and eagerness they had to go to the front lines of defense and defend the country's independence against military aggression.

However, I want to say that our other issues and numerous delicate challenges we faced are no less than the Sacred Defense period. The Iranian nation has raised the banner of the sovereignty of spirituality and religion over human life and has taken it in hand. This is very important. It is true that today people in almost all parts of the world, especially in these Western and materialistic countries, are disillusioned with materialism; their hearts yearn for a spirituality—which they do not fully recognize—that transcends these material appearances and pleasures that have become ordinary for them; they seek spirituality; however, the powers that govern the world, the economic management of the world; that is, these plunderers and looters, whom you call global arrogance, do not allow nations to find their way towards spirituality. There is enthusiasm; however, there are also obstacles. In such a world, the Islamic Republic; that is, a nation, a large country in a sensitive location with all these youth, with these material and spiritual resources that everyone knows about, has taken the banner of spirituality in hand, saying that I want to lead people towards happiness, prosperity, security, scientific advancement, and independence under the shade of spirituality; and it has proven that this is achievable. This is a significant challenge to global arrogance and nullifies their philosophies; it completely questions their methods.

If this nation can elevate itself to the peaks of progress, science, and advancement, a great gateway will open for nations to move towards spirituality. Therefore, they engage in sabotage; they oppose; they spread malicious propaganda; they humiliate; they use political and economic pressures to prevent this nation from reaching this goal; however, our determination and the determination of this nation is a resolute one, and it will continue on this path; this is where the role of youthful energy shows itself.

A faithful youth, a hopeful youth, a self-confident youth, a youth who believes in their initiatives, talents, and creativity, with the vitality of youth and youthful energy, can play a role in lifting this immense burden and advancing this great wheel.

All the efforts of our enemies are aimed at taking away these revitalizing and advancing elements from our youth; to take away their faith, to take away their self-confidence; just as they succeeded during the era of tyranny. Our youth at that time lacked self-confidence; they instinctively and almost instinctively considered themselves smaller and inferior to a European youth! What is a European youth? Who are they? A being full of psychological complexes and various material and spiritual problems; however, colorful propaganda had created an image of our youth that when our youth looked at this image, they always felt smaller; they felt inferior; such a mistake was planted in the minds of our youth. Even now, those youths from that era who are today old men, those who were not influenced by the revolution, if you refer to them, you will see the same spirit and feeling in them; the wrong upbringing of their youth. They lacked self-confidence.

They want to take away the self-confidence of today's youth, take away their faith, take away their spirit of initiative, take away their spirit of creativity, take away their eagerness for progress and work, and keep them occupied with various problems. Now, one is occupied with desires, one with trivial matters, one with wandering aimlessly here and there, one with grabbing the collar of this or that.

You, who are members of the Islamic associations, have a double responsibility; that is, the responsibility of the youth of this era—which itself is a very great and honorable responsibility, which perhaps this piece of land you live in, in terms of sensitivity, has been less repeated in our history and will be less repeated in the future; a piece of land that is supposed to transform a backward nation into the most advanced nation in the world—and another responsibility of yours is the responsibility of the Islamic association; that is, the youth who consider themselves responsible among other youths.

Youth may make mistakes; they may be influenced by wrong emotions or misunderstandings or wrong addresses or dangerous attractions. They must be saved. You want to play the role of savior; after all, in this vast sea of youth, one may drown, and rescue is necessary. The Islamic association, without raising the banner of this claim and flaunting it before others—which is not a good thing to flaunt—must consider itself as having the role of a rescuer.

He said, "That carpet takes itself out of the wave, And this one tries to save the drowning."

You are a group that strives to ensure that no one drowns; do not let anyone make mistakes; do not let anyone remain stagnant. All evils lie not only in going astray and falling but also in not going and remaining stagnant. The environment of the Islamic association is such an environment; the motivation of the Islamic association is such a motivation. It is clear that the rescuer's swimming ability must be much better than that of others; otherwise, not only will they not be able to save the drowning, but they themselves will drown. Therefore, you must strengthen yourselves; you must strengthen your belief and moral foundations.

A few years ago, I told the youth—apparently in your gathering or another gathering—I tell the youth: education, moral training, sports. Educate yourselves; that is, strengthen the power of intellect, thought, brain, and knowledge within you. Thanks be to God, the report I have is that the students of the Islamic student association in the high schools they attend usually perform better than their classmates and peers—now, this may not be the case everywhere—but this is very good; it should be this way. Strengthen yourselves scientifically, advance; not only so that your words have an effect on others, but because you want to be a pillar upon which this great edifice, this magnificent palace—the palace of civilization and progress of the Iranian nation—stands and is built.

Alongside education, there should be moral training. Your hearts, young people, are luminous; the divine nature within you is alive and radiant. Today, if you compel and habituate yourselves to good deeds, good character, and good behavior, your human identity will take shape in this way and this achievement will remain with you for the rest of your life. Especially at this age of yours, which is a golden period; a golden opportunity.

In this period, many great works can be done on your character; self-building. Strengthen your connection with God. In religious matters, delve into rational and subtle points and learn them from your skilled teachers. Religion also has emotions; however, these emotions rely on deep spirituality and deep thought; this thought must be learned, and one must become familiar with religious foundations and, based on that, affect one's character and heart. You must address your own heart frequently.

One of the people of meaning said, "I recited a certain mention several thousand times for this sleeping, heedless heart of mine; what a beautiful expression!" Prayer is that mention, that water of life that one grants to their heart; prayer with attention; attention to meaning, attention to the fact that we stand before God. Pray in this way. When you stand for prayer, remember that you are standing before the Almighty God and speaking with Him. Throughout the prayer, strive to maintain this state; then this prayer will have an effect and will transform the heart like an elixir. An elixir is a chemical substance that is said to turn copper into gold. Even if our heart is made of copper, the elixir of mention turns it into gold. This is very important.

Moral training also includes behavior; behavior with parents. Love your parents and express this love to them; respect them; obey them; within the home environment, your ethics and behavior can build a family. A young person sometimes influences a family, parents, siblings. Sometimes when I visit the families of martyrs, fathers and mothers—I have heard this—they say that this young martyr of theirs, within the home, was our teacher; his praying taught us to pray; his reciting the Quran taught us to recite the Quran; his sense of duty and enthusiasm for work taught us enthusiasm and sense of duty. A faithful and well-mannered youth within the family illuminates the environment of the family, and brothers and sisters learn from him; within the neighborhood, within the living environment, within the work environment.

Now summer is approaching. God willing, after the exams, the youth of the Islamic associations should think more than others about using this summer break and this opportunity for studying, for learning, for participating in physical activities that serve the people—sometimes the Basij and others provide activities for the youth; physical activities, services, construction—and helping parents, helping the family, moral training, and sports. Sports are also necessary. My constant recommendation to all youth, girls, and boys is to engage in sports.

You, the youth of the Islamic association, should carry out these three main elements with better quality and at a higher level in your behavior and in the impact you have on other youths.

Youth is a great blessing that is given to every human being only once; it also has a specific period. Once that period passes, you can benefit from the blessings of that period. The elderly who have spiritual peace, clear thoughts, and organized behavior are those who spent their youth with these characteristics. The elderly who are lethargic, confused, impatient, and tired of life are those who did not prepare this reserve in their youth.

The elderly men and women who find comfort with God in old age are those who taught this comfort to their hearts in their youth. It is a mistake to think that youth can be spent entirely in heedlessness. However, in old age, a person was a rememberer and grateful to God; no, it cannot be done. They sometimes try, but they cannot. This reserve that you prepare in youth is the reserve of your entire life until the end, whether it is a physical reserve, a mental reserve, or a heart and spiritual reserve. This is your reserve for the rest of your life and your eternal reserve for eternal life, where true life exists.

Appreciate this period; appreciate your membership in the Islamic association. The future of this country belongs to you; building this country is possible with your capable hands. The youth community of our country is a very good community. Talent is natural; the atmosphere is one of movement, vitality, and effort. Of course, the enemy is making great efforts to disrupt our youth community; we do have some losses here and there, and I am not unaware of them; however, the gains are far greater than the losses. Our youth are good, they are getting better, God willing, they will progress together. And I am confident that the day when I and my peers—our age groups—are no longer in this world, you will see and experience the excellent world that is the product of your efforts today. And God willing, you will plan for even better and greater futures.

We hope that God Almighty keeps your luminous hearts and pure souls always radiant and pure.

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