Statements in Meeting with Students and Youth of Qom Province

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the infallible guides, especially the Awaited One of God among the people of the earth. Peace be upon you, O Fatimah al-Masumah, daughter of Musa ibn Ja'far. May God's peace be upon you and your pure and chosen ancestors.

Meeting with you, dear youth, in the last days of this relatively long trip seems to be a new beginning, a renewal of strength. The youthful environment, the feelings of youth, the thoughts of youth, the spirit and motivations of youth influence every space, every environment. One reason that the general atmosphere of the country, by God's grace, is filled with determination, will, enthusiasm, and rationality is that the youth constitute the majority of the population. This session is, in the true sense of the word, a session of youth.

I have both memories and abundant information regarding the youth of Qom. Although among the students, there are youths from other cities present here, the majority, or nearly all, are youths from Qom. Before the struggles peaked in 1961 and 1962, we observed the cleverness and intelligence of the youth of Qom here. I will not forget; right in front of the alley of the shrine or across the street, in the alley of Arg, there was a newspaper kiosk; the headlines of the newspapers were posted there. When we returned from class, we would stop and look at the headlines of these newspapers. When the issue of provincial and local councils arose, the tyrannical government was forced to retreat and annul that resolution, I saw these youths who were around this alley of the shrine and in Eram Street - whom we often saw and never imagined they would be involved in political thought and issues - came to us and congratulated us on the success of the clergy against the tyrannical government. The youths of Qom, who appeared to be detached, came to us, the seminarians, with whom they had no acquaintance, to offer their congratulations.

From that time, it occurred to me what spirit the youth of Qom possess - students who were not present in Qom at that time; school-age youths or even non-students; unemployed youths - who are so sensitive to the issue of struggle and the movement and the confrontation of the clergy with the tyrannical government.

Later, when the events of 1978 occurred, Qom showed itself. Truly, in the real sense of the word, the leadership of the people's movement in the streets and their presence in the arenas and standing against the iron fists of the regime began in Qom. These youths of Qom came into the streets, their blood was shed on the ground; of course, they also seriously troubled the agents of the tyrannical regime! The cleverness of the youths of Qom and their cunning confused the agents significantly.

Then the issue of the revolution arose. Everywhere, Qom was at the forefront. This army of Ali ibn Abi Talib was among the successful forces in the Sacred Defense and at the front lines. In all major tests, the people of Qom performed well; the front line was also made up of youths. I want you, the youth of today who have feelings, thoughts, enthusiasm, and awareness, to keep this proud identity of the youth of Qom from several decades ago to the present in your sight.

The people of Qom played a significant role in the revolution. They played a significant role in the Sacred Defense; after the war ended - especially after the passing of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), when his shadow was lifted from us - the role of the youths of Qom became even more prominent; this is an important point.

Pay attention; from the last years of the first decade of the revolution onwards, the enemies of the revolution and the enemy front designed a policy using Iranian experts - because non-Iranian experts did not pay attention to this point; those who were consulted were Iranians - and that policy was to create an anti-thesis of the revolution from Qom. Just as the revolution emerged from Qom, they aimed to create a counter-revolution from Qom. Qom is the center of clerical authority. The seminary is apparently in Qom, but this clerical community is, in essence, spread throughout the country. This Qom seminarian who resides in Qom has influence in his city, in his village. They gather here from all over the country. The day these seminarians go home for a break or for any reason, it means that the seminary is spreading throughout the country. Therefore, every thought here, every idea here, every determination and will here, every movement and direction here has an extension throughout the country; the foreigners did not understand this; the Americans could not analyze this truth; only a native, an Iranian, someone familiar with the nature of clerical authority could understand this; they were taught this; hence they tried to create the ground for sedition in Qom. Since I do not want to name anyone, I will not mention names and will move on. In the same years of 1979 and 1980, both the people of Qom and the people of Tabriz created epic moments; not only the epic of coming into the arena and clenching fists but also the epic of spirituality, the epic of awareness, the epic of correct analysis. After the passing of the Imam, a similar event occurred in Qom. Here too, the opponents and enemies - mainly the enemies from outside the borders; they are the main ones - had designed to create this anti-thesis here. If the people of Qom were oblivious, if the youths of Qom were incapable of analysis, if they did not possess the necessary intelligence, the problems would have been much greater; this is the reality, this is the true statement regarding the youth community in Qom.

My main audience in many discussions, including the one I am raising today, is you youths; because the work belongs to you, the country belongs to you. We are guests for a few days. Our turn, our share, our era has passed. From now on, it is your era; you are the ones who must manage this country; you must elevate this national power, this national dignity using the achievements that have existed so far; this is a duty that history has placed upon you. Therefore, my audience is you.

If we accept that the enemy front has long-term plans for our country and our revolution, then we must also have long-term plans. It cannot be accepted that the enemy front of Islam and the revolution, which is severely threatened by Islamic awakening, does not have long-term plans; no one can believe this unless we are very naive and oblivious to believe it. They certainly have long-term plans; just as the events that sometimes occur in the country, where the hand of the foreign is evident, are not spontaneous occurrences, they are not created out of the blue; these too have been medium-term and long-term plans. They have planned, and the result of this planning has been this. It is not that they decided to do this that night and acted the next day; no, I showed some friends signs and evidence in the 2009 sedition; at least from ten years, fifteen years before that, there was planning. After the passing of the Imam, there was planning; the effects of that planning appeared in 1999; the events of Koo University and those issues that most of you remember, some may not remember correctly. The events that occurred last year were a revival of those plans. Of course, they tried to carry this out with consideration of time and various aspects, which, thanks be to God, they failed; they should have failed. Therefore, the enemy front has long-term plans. They do not become despondent when they see that they have failed today; they do not give up; no, they plan for ten years, twenty years, forty years from now. You must be prepared.

We must have long-term planning. Of course, this long-term plan is not the place to discuss it here - think tanks, centers of thought, political and cultural centers are pursuing these matters and they must do so - what I can convey in this context is that there is a fundamental basis for long-term planning that I have repeatedly emphasized, and here I find it necessary to speak a bit more about it, and that is the issue of gaining insight.

Regarding insight, I have spoken a lot in the past year and before that; others have also said many things; I have seen some youths doing good work in this area. I want to emphasize the issue of insight again. This emphasis of mine is actually motivated by the fact that you, who are the audience, you are the ones who have the responsibility, the work is on your shoulders, go towards the tasks and plans that are related to gaining insight; fulfill this important need. Insight is a spotlight; insight is a compass and a guiding star. In a desert, if a person moves without a compass, they may accidentally reach a place, but the probability is weak; there is a greater chance that they will encounter many problems and hardships due to confusion and bewilderment. A compass is necessary; especially when the enemy is in front of a person. If there is no compass, at one point you may find yourself surrounded by the enemy without any means; at that time, nothing can be done. Therefore, insight is a compass and a spotlight. In a dark space, insight illuminates. Insight shows us the way.

Of course, for complete success, insight is a necessary condition, but it is not a sufficient condition. In the terminology of our clerics, it is not the complete cause of success. For success, other conditions are also necessary; which now, if God willing, I will refer to at the end of the talk if I remember. But insight is a necessary condition. If all those other things are present but there is no insight, reaching the goal and success will be very difficult.

Insight can be defined at two levels. One level is the fundamental level and the underlying layer of insight. A person gains insight in choosing a worldview and understanding fundamental concepts of monotheism, with a monotheistic view of the natural world, gaining insight. The difference between a monotheistic view and a materialistic view is this: with a monotheistic view, this world is a systematic collection, a law-abiding collection, nature is purposeful; we, who are part of this nature, our existence, our emergence, and our life are purposeful; we did not come into this world without a purpose. This is a necessity of the monotheistic view. The meaning of believing in the existence of the Almighty God is this. When we understand that we are purposeful, then we seek that purpose. This search itself is a hopeful endeavor. We strive to find that purpose. After we find the purpose, we understand what the purpose is, and an effort begins to reach that purpose. In this case, all of life becomes effort; that too is directed and purposeful effort. On the other hand, we also know that with a monotheistic view, any effort and struggle in the way of the goal will certainly lead a person to results. These results have degrees; they will certainly lead to a desirable outcome. With this view, in a person's life, despair, hopelessness, frustration, and depression have no meaning. When you know that your existence, your emergence, your life, your breathing have been realized with a purpose, you seek that purpose and strive and endeavor to reach that purpose. From the perspective of the Almighty God, who is the creator of existence, this endeavor itself has reward and recompense. Wherever you reach, in fact, you have reached the goal. This is why in the monotheistic view, loss and harm are not conceivable for a believer. It is said: "We have nothing but one of the two best outcomes"; either we are martyred on this path, which is the best, or we remove the enemy from our path and reach our goal, which is also the best. Therefore, here, there is no harm.

In stark contrast, the materialistic view sees the emergence of human beings, the existence of human beings in the world as purposeless; it does not even know why it has come into the world. Of course, in the world, it defines goals for itself - to attain wealth, to attain love, to attain status, to attain physical pleasures, to attain scientific pleasures; it can define these goals for itself - but none of these are natural goals, nor are they inherent to its existence. When there is no belief in God, ethics also become meaningless, justice also becomes meaningless; nothing other than personal pleasure and profit has meaning. If a person encounters obstacles and suffers in the path of reaching personal profit, they have suffered loss, they have incurred damage. If they do not reach profit, if they cannot strive, it leads to despair, hopelessness, and engaging in irrational actions. So see the difference between the monotheistic view and the materialistic view, divine knowledge and material knowledge. This is the most fundamental basis of insight.

With this view, when a person struggles, this struggle is a sacred effort; if they engage in armed struggle, it is the same. Struggle is not based on pessimism and malice. The struggle is for humanity - not just for oneself - to attain goodness, perfection, and the welfare and elevation of lofty ranks. With this view, life has a beautiful face, and moving in this vast field is a sweet task. A person's fatigue is alleviated by remembering the Almighty God and the goal. This is the fundamental basis of knowledge; the fundamental basis of insight. This insight is a very necessary thing; we must secure it within ourselves. Insight is, in fact, the foundation of all human efforts and struggles in society. This is one level of insight.

Besides this broad level of insight and the deep layer of insight, in various events, insight and lack of insight may occur to a person. A person must gain insight. What does it mean to gain insight? How can this insight be gained? This insight that is necessary in events and is emphasized in the narrations and the words of Amir al-Mu'minin means that a person should reflect on the events that occur around them and the events that are ahead of them and relate to them; they should strive not to pass over events in a superficial and casual manner; to use the words of Amir al-Mu'minin, they should consider: "May God have mercy on the one who thinks and reflects"; they should think and based on this thought, consider. That is, they should weigh the issues with reflection - "and consider so that you may see" - with this weighing, they gain insight. Looking at events correctly, weighing them correctly, reflecting on them creates insight in a person; that is, it creates vision and opens a person's eyes to the truth.

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) says elsewhere: "Indeed, the insightful one is the one who hears, thinks, and looks, and thus sees"; the insightful one is the one who listens, does not close their ears to the sounds; when they hear, they think. Not every heard thing can be dismissed or accepted merely by hearing; one must think. "The insightful one is the one who hears, thinks, and looks, and thus sees." Looking means to look, not to close one's eyes. The flaw in many of those who stumbled in the pitfalls of lack of insight and fell is that they did not look and closed their eyes to clear truths. A person must look; when they look, then they will see. Many times, we are not even willing to look at certain things. One sees deviants who are not willing to look at all. We do not concern ourselves with the obstinate enemy - I will discuss this later; "and they denied it while their souls were certain of it, unjustly and arrogantly" - some are motivated and enter with malice; well, they are the enemy; the discussion is not about them; the discussion is about you and me who are in the arena. If we want to gain insight, we must open our eyes; we must see. There are things that are visible. If we pass over them superficially, do not see them, we will certainly make mistakes.

Let me give an example from history. In the Battle of Siffin, the army of Muawiyah was on the verge of defeat; it was close to being completely destroyed and defeated. The trick they devised to save themselves was to raise the Qurans on spears and bring them to the middle of the battlefield. They raised the pages of the Qurans on the tips of their spears and brought them to the middle of the battlefield, with the meaning that the Quran should be the judge between us and you. They said, "Come, let us act according to what the Quran says." Well, it was a beautiful populist act. Some who later became the Khawarij looked at the army of Amir al-Mu'minin and said, "This is a good idea; they are not saying anything bad; they are saying let us refer to the Quran." See, this is where they were deceived; this is where they stumbled because they did not look under their feet. No one forgives a person if they stumble because they did not look under their feet, did not see the melon peel under their feet. They did not look. If they wanted to understand the truth, the truth was right in front of their eyes. The one who is inviting and saying let us submit to the judgment of the Quran and agree is the one who is fighting against the Imam who is divinely appointed! How can he believe in the Quran? Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, besides being divinely appointed by the Prophet in our view, was accepted by all the people after the caliphate of Uthman; he became the Imam, the divinely appointed ruler of the Islamic community. Everyone who fought against him was obliged to confront him. Well, if this person who raised the Quran on a spear truly believes in the Quran, the Quran says, "Why are you fighting against Ali?" If he truly believes in the Quran, he should raise his hands and say, "I will not fight;" he should drop his sword. They should have seen this; they should have understood. Was this a difficult matter? Was this a problem that could not be understood? They fell short. This is lack of insight. If they had reflected and contemplated a little, they would have understood this truth; because they themselves were companions of Amir al-Mu'minin in Medina; they had seen that in the killing of Uthman, the agents and assistants of Muawiyah were influential; they helped in the killing of Uthman; yet they raised the shirt of Uthman as a blood avenger. They themselves did this, they were guilty, but they were looking for a culprit. See, this lack of insight stems from carelessness; it stems from not looking; it stems from closing one's eyes to a clear truth.

In the recent sedition events, some made mistakes; this was due to lack of insight. An allegation of fraud in a grand and magnificent election is made; well, the way is clear. If someone believes in fraud, first they must argue, provide evidence for the existence of fraud; then, if they provide evidence or do not provide it, the law has determined the way; they can file a complaint. An investigation must be conducted, impartial people must come to look to determine whether fraud occurred or not; this is the way. If someone does not accept this way - even though we provided a lot of help: I extended the legal period; we even said that individuals should come in front of the television cameras to count - they are rebelling. ...(4) Pay attention. The intention is not to comment on past issues; we want to give an example. Therefore, gaining insight is not a difficult task. If you look and see that there is a reasonable legal path and someone deviates from that reasonable legal path and does something harmful to the country, detrimental to the interests of the nation, well, with a fair view, with a conventional view, with an impartial view, it is clear that they are condemned; this is a clear matter, a clear judgment. So see that the demand for insight is not a difficult and impossible matter. Gaining insight is not hard. Gaining insight requires only that a person does not fall into the traps of various friendships, enmities, desires, and various prejudices. A person just needs to look and reflect, and they can find the reality. The demand for insight is the demand for this reflection; it is the demand for this looking; it is the demand for nothing more. And thus it can be understood that gaining insight is the work of everyone; everyone can gain insight. Of course, some do not do so not out of malice, not out of ill will, but sometimes out of negligence. A person, even though they love their life very much, may sometimes lose focus while driving, may doze off for a moment, and an incident may occur. The slips that occur in this regard cannot be blamed; but if it continues, this is lack of insight, this is unacceptable.

Today, the main work of the enemy in the soft war is to create confusion in the political atmosphere of the country; pay attention to this. Today, the most important task of the enemy is this. Those who are involved in political work and are informed know that today the power of the superpowers is more in their accumulated wealth in their banks than in their nuclear bombs; it is in their propaganda power, in their loud voice that reaches everywhere. They are well aware of the methods of propaganda. In fact, they have made progress in propaganda. Today, the Westerners - whether in Europe or in America - have learned and mastered very advanced and modern methods of propaganda; we are lagging behind in this regard. One of their most fundamental tasks is that they know how to propagate. With these propaganda methods, with uproar, by sending a multitude of false statements, they try to transform the atmosphere of societies and influence them; this point must be noted, this must be monitored. Today, the duty of our youths is heavy in this regard. Not only must you discern the truth, but you must also enlighten the environment and surroundings around you and clarify the issues for them.

A fundamental point is that falsehood does not always appear naked before a person so that they can recognize it as falsehood; often, falsehood enters the arena dressed in the garb of truth or with a part of the truth. Amir al-Mu'minin said: "Indeed, the beginning of the occurrence of seditions is desires that are followed and innovations that contradict the Book of God," then it reaches this point: "If falsehood were to be pure from the mixture of truth, it would not be hidden from the seekers, and if truth were to be pure from the garb of falsehood, the tongues of the opponents would be cut off"; if falsehood and truth come to the field openly and unambiguously, no difference remains; everyone loves the truth, everyone dislikes falsehood; "but rather, a portion of truth is taken from this and a portion from that, and they are mixed, and then the truth becomes ambiguous to its followers." They mix a part of truth with a part of falsehood, preventing it from being purely false and unambiguously false; thus, the audience becomes confused; this must be monitored very carefully. Today, in global propaganda, all the emphasis is on distorting the truths in your country, in your society, in your Islamic system; their propaganda capabilities are abundant, and they are constantly engaged in this.

Well, there is a point here: sometimes insight exists, but at the same time, mistakes and errors continue; as we said, insight is not a sufficient condition for success, it is a necessary condition. Here, there are factors; one of them is the issue of lack of determination and will. Some know the truths, but they do not decide to act; they do not decide to express their decisions; they do not decide to stand on the side of truth and defend the truth. Of course, this lack of decision has its reasons: sometimes it is due to seeking comfort, sometimes it is due to seeking purity, sometimes it is due to desires, sometimes it is due to considering their personal interests, sometimes it is due to obstinacy. They have made a statement, they want to stand by this statement because they are ashamed to go back on their word; as it is said: "May God curse obstinacy"; God curses obstinacy. There are individuals who are informed, they know the reality; yet they assist in opposing trends, in the enemy's direction. Many of those who regretted and turned back were once extremely revolutionary; but one day you see they are standing exactly opposite to that day and are serving the counter-revolution! This is due to these factors; the desires of the soul, the material desires, being immersed in material demands. The main factor behind all this is negligence from the remembrance of the Lord, negligence from duty, negligence from death, negligence from the Day of Resurrection; these cause their direction to change completely by one hundred and eighty degrees.

Of course, some also make mistakes. Not everyone can be blamed. We have seen some who came as gifts, as expressions of affection, and gave them money; they took the money and did not realize that this is called bribery. What happens in reality is similar; however, being aware of whether this is called bribery or not is important. You are in a position where you can do something according to their wishes, they come and kiss your hand and give you money. Well, this is called bribery; this is the forbidden bribery.

In the issues of sedition, it is the same. Some entered this sedition and turmoil, not realizing that this is subversion; they did not understand that this is the same sedition that Amir al-Mu'minin said: "In seditions that trample them with their hooves and crush them with their claws and rise on their tips". Sedition destroys and annihilates those who fall under the feet of sedition. They did not realize this is sedition. One person said something, and they repeated it. Therefore, not everyone can be condemned to one judgment. The judgment of an adversary is different from the judgment of a negligent person. Of course, the negligent must also be awakened.

I want to tell you youths; in order to build an Islamic Iran, that is, to elevate both your dear nation and homeland and your history, and to fulfill your duty towards the magnificent Islam - that today, if someone strives for the elevation of Islamic Iran, they have served their homeland, their nation, their history, and they have served the dear Islam that is the salvation of humanity - you must be awake, you must be vigilant, you must be present in the arena, you must place insight at the center of your work. Be careful not to fall into lack of insight.

Know the enemy. Do not be deceived by the appearances of the enemy. Materialism, material tendencies, material thinking, material civilization are the enemies of humanity and your enemies. The Western world has achieved superior knowledge and technology and found the hole of wealth and accumulation of wealth for two or three centuries. Various social schools emerged, various social philosophical thoughts emerged - liberalism based on humanistic thought, the idea of democracy, and the like - the goal of these or the goal of those who pursued these thoughts was to bring humanity to comfort, tranquility, and prosperity; however, what actually materialized was the opposite of these. In the shadow of humanistic thought and in the direction of human-centered systems, not only did humanity not achieve humanity, nor did it achieve comfort, but the greatest wars, the most killings, the worst cruelties, and the ugliest behaviors of humans towards humans occurred during this period.

Those who were more advanced in this field were worse. Yesterday, I read in the newspaper that it was reported from American sources that America initiated eighty military coups around the world from the 1940s to the 1990s - that is, in fifty years! You see, these people who reached the peaks of wealth, technology, weapons, and equipment, their savagery is like this. Killing is normal for them; as they say, cold-blooded! In Western literary expressions, they say someone killed with cold blood! This is a sign of complete cruelty. Not only in Afghanistan and Iraq and in those areas they occupy and have made military conquests, but also within their own communities, among their own youth, depression, hopelessness, and rebellion against the social norms of life are observed. The way they dress and the way they style themselves are often because the youth are fed up with the atmosphere that dominates them. This is the experience of the schools and systems that the Westerners have created. The cause of all this is that they have distanced themselves from religion, from spirituality, from God. Therefore, their behavior is the enemy of humanity.

Today, you are moving in the opposite direction to them. You want to harness knowledge with divine thought; you want to gather natural and human resources for the material and spiritual good of nations and your own nation, for the material and spiritual good of humanity. Your direction is a divine direction; this will succeed, this will progress; this is the same movement that is the opposite of the two or three-century erroneous and deviant movement that started from the West. This movement is a blessed movement and will continue.

The Muslim youth of Iran must prepare themselves; they must equip themselves; they must rely on the Almighty God in the path of progress; they must seek help from God; they must move forward with insight; in this case, they will find the appropriate means to confront the erroneous methods that are dominant and prevalent in the world, and God willing, they will reach all the ideals and aspirations that this revolution and Islam have outlined.

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