Speech in Meeting with Freed Clergy and Students

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

This is a very interesting, delightful, and historic gathering. If those who, for more than seventy or eighty years, began a comprehensive struggle against the Shia clergy with unlimited funds had known or guessed that among the clergy, despite their wishes, there would emerge individuals who would combine knowledge with action, especially such difficult action, they would certainly have fundamentally reconsidered their unsuccessful plans.

A group of young students from religious seminaries went to the battlefield and, after enduring the hardships of war, successfully passed the test of captivity and returned to their lofty origins with love and hope for the clergy. This is a very strange, historic, and great event, and I must say that in the blessed history of the scientific and jurisprudential tradition of Shia Islam and religious knowledge, which spans nearly a thousand years or perhaps more, such a phenomenon is unprecedented; that is why I take this as a good omen. I consider this gathering very important and hope that the Islamic world and the Muslim nation will feel the blessings of your gathering in the future with all their being.

The main point I want to make is that the factor that can save humanity, that powerful and miraculous hand, is none other than pure Islam, the Holy Quran, and the sacred heavenly decrees. Humanity is truly in hardship and misery. The majority of people are oppressed. A significant portion of the earth's good things is allocated to wicked people. There is no justice in the world. Moreover, there is no awareness of the lack of justice, and more importantly, the savior—which is Islam, the Quran, and divine decrees—is not properly recognized by anyone in the world. Based on Quranic insight, according to duty and historical analysis, Islam must save the nations.

If at one time these words seemed like exaggeration and far-fetched, today, with the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the awakening of Muslims everywhere and the revelation of the inherent weakness of global arrogance and world powers, these words are not surprising. It may take time, but it will happen, and Muslim nations and Islamic societies will be saved sooner than others.

The base of this global liberation and salvation movement is this very Qibla of Islam and the divine movement center of the Islamic Revolution—namely, Iran; however, without the committed clergy, this task is not possible. If anyone thinks that apart from the scholarly community of the clergy and the scholarly community of Shia Islam, anyone will be able to raise the banner of the Quran and Islam, explain and clarify it, instill faith and belief in hearts, or preserve the revolution that has come to fruition here, they are mistaken. This perception is wrong.

The clergy, as servants, not as owners, are necessary. Who are we to be the owners of this knowledge? We can be servants and carriers of jurisprudence and the link between mind and reality for human societies. Which clergy? This is the main point. The more resilient, self-sacrificing, combative, willing to endure hardship, and prepared the clergy are, the more feasible this task is. You gentlemen who were present during the revolution—whether during the victory of the revolution or during the fifteen years of difficult struggles before victory—saw that the resilient, combative, and enlightening clergy were a beacon and torch for this movement; and the indifferent clergy to these issues, or those who were hopeless, unaware, or God forbid, attached to worldly adornments, or at most dependent on oppressive systems, were a major obstacle. Some clergy caused trouble.

I want to tell you that if we want to perform our duties correctly, the path from now on is certainly not easier than our past path; it is a difficult path. From now on, the issue is the preservation of values; embedding them in the mindset of the world's nations; protecting them within the Islamic society. This is not possible with words; it is possible with action, effort, sacrifice, hope, readiness, knowledge, and piety.

If at this stage from now on, the clergy who are responsible and committed to spreading this divine thought at the level of the world's mindset possess these characteristics, this thought will advance. If, God forbid, the clergy become tired, weary, hopeless, attached, pleased with comfort and ease, accustomed to it, and flee from danger and hardship, the burden will remain on the ground, and this thought will not advance. Of course, this will not happen.

Thanks be to God, there are many high-ranking clergy, great ones, and pioneers in all sectors; but my belief is that among this group, you students and scholars who have endured the hardships of captivity—having passed the test of this period and the period of struggle—can play a very significant role. Likewise, all the combatant students, all the scholars who have felt the battlefield with their flesh and blood—not just hearing about the war on television or in the city, but feeling it with their own being on the battlefield—can play a significant role. Therefore, I look at this group of yours with hopeful eyes.

Each of you dear ones should strive to use the valuable reserve you have gained in these two fields to advance the revolution towards lofty goals and spread this thought globally and deepen it within the society. Of course, this task has prerequisites:

The first condition is to study and study well. Before the victory of the revolution, I used to tell our student friends: without substance, there is no bread. You must have substance, you must study. That combatant scholar who has gained a significant reserve can be beneficial. Our great Imam, who was able to transform the world with his powerful hand, accomplished this great movement through the blessing of knowledge. If Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) were not a scholar, it would not have been possible. Imam's work was no joke. After the early days of Islam, it is not comparable to any other movement. Who else has accomplished such a great movement? If we want to explain these dimensions, it would take an hour. Imam accomplished this great movement through the blessing of knowledge.

The second condition that immediately arises is piety, abstinence, self-building, inner-building, striving against the inner and hidden devil that exists within us, and you can fight it well. You have experienced it, you have wrestled with this devil, you have repeatedly pinned it to the ground; keep and preserve this. Do not let what was gained in hardship be lost easily in comfort; be very careful. If this piety and overcoming the self are not present, the knowledge we mentioned will not be beneficial, but rather harmful; like a weapon in the hands of an unworthy person. And again, here I must cite our dear Imam (may God's mercy be upon him). He was truly the supreme example of piety and without a shred of indulgence, vigilant and watchful over himself, his soul, and his actions. This is piety.

The third condition is acquiring the necessary awareness. A person suffers greatly from ignorance. Sometimes a person is knowledgeable and pious, but unaware, and is deceived. Acquire the necessary awareness and build yourself day by day with these three main elements, so that each of you can be a torch for the future of this revolution and this great movement.

These words I have said can be addressed to all scholars and students, and we say them; but you have an advantage. When the issue of moving along a difficult path and climbing a mountain is raised, one tells everyone to go this way to reach the top and if you reach it, what virtues it has. But the one who has been running, mountaineering, bodybuilding for a long time, there is more hope for him. That is you. This captivity and this struggle and combat in the battlefield have great value. You must use this reserve. Be careful that the glitters—which are always present in human life—do not overly present themselves. Pay more attention to the essence of the matter, which is the great responsibility and ultimate duty. Of course, a person cannot not think about life—everyone does, and it should be in a moderate and healthy way—but this should not be the fundamental issue in life. The fundamental issue should be that.

We hope that God, God willing, will bestow these blessings upon you and grant you His successes and accept your many efforts during captivity with His grace and favor in the best way and, God willing, grant you His success so that you can play an effective and decisive role in the difficult and long path towards lofty Islamic goals.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings