Statements at the Graduation Ceremony of Students of Imam Hussein University

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, especially the remainder of God on earth.

Peace be upon Hussein, and upon Ali ibn Hussein, and upon the children of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein who sacrificed their lives for Hussein (peace be upon him).

First, I congratulate this ceremony, this day to you dear youth and the fruits of the hearts of the revolutionary nation of Iran, and God willing, the sweet fruits of the pure tree of the revolution; both to the youth who have completed their studies and received their degrees and joined the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and to the youth who have entered this field and today received their epaulettes, and God willing, will continue their studies in this blessed university.

Today, I will speak with you dear ones about two or three matters: one about this university, one about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and one about a fundamental issue related to the Islamic Republic system and the country.

Regarding this university—whether it is the comprehensive university or the Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) Officer Training University—it must be stated that it is one of the great divine blessings for all those who study at this university, serve in this university, or will benefit from the blessings of the graduates of this university, God willing; it is a divine blessing. This university is an important university; I insist that the esteemed officials of the Guards focus on the issues of this university, for the elevation and advancement of this university. Of course, the report presented by the esteemed commander here was a good report, promising, and indicative of progress; the ceremony you held was a sign of the continuity of the initiatives of the Guards' youth, and today’s ceremony was beautiful, profound, and meaningful. However, as we have repeatedly emphasized, we are pleased, we are proud, but we are not satisfied; this movement of progress must continue; both at the scientific and educational level of the university and in other matters that I will mention. Among them, the system of recruitment and membership is very important; it must be emphasized and focused on. Educational programs must be deeply rooted; training programs must genuinely possess depth.

The matters that the commander of the Guards referred to are important matters; as he said, it is true; the scientific future of humanity and the world is heading towards these emerging issues, and we are, thanks be to God, not lagging behind in these matters. We must emphasize as much as possible on these issues: deep education, comprehensive training, necessary specialization in the managers of the organization, and adherence to regulations. Among the things I emphasize is the systematic nature and adherence to regulations in all matters of this university, and at the same time, with the existence of strong and disciplined regulations, an emotional and brotherly connection between the commanders and managers and the organization; the very characteristic that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards had from the very beginning of its formation, where the high commanders of the Guards treated all members of the Guards in a brotherly manner. One of the points is that the professors engaged in this university, deeply faithful to the issues of the revolution, faithful to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, must focus on these issues; our dear friends, our dear brothers, the officials of the Guards, must concentrate on the issues of this university; this university is very important and, God willing, will play a role in the fundamental issues of the country.

The second matter is about the Guards. The Guards, thanks be to God, today possess dignity—both inside the country and outside the country—and coincidentally, the enemies have also contributed to this dignity. The Americans, with their harsh, grim, and hostile demeanor towards the Guards, have increased the dignity of the Guards; this too was the enemy's help to what we accept and cherish. The enemy of God opposes the servants of God, and this enmity makes the servants of God more esteemed and brightens their faces.

Well, there is a permanent lesson for the Guards; I, of course, just a few days ago had a detailed conversation with the brother commanders of the Guards about the Guards; what can be said has been partially expressed, but I emphasize that there is a permanent lesson before the eyes of the Guards, and that is the noble verse: In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and prepare for them what you can of power and of tethered horses, by which you may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy. (3) There are several points:

First, preparation—meaning readiness—should be to the extent of capability; that is, do not be satisfied with a certain limit; whatever you can, this readiness in the sections mentioned in the verse must be emphasized and increased. The Guards must increase their readiness day by day. What you must prepare for, first is "power," secondly "tethered horses." "Power" means strength, means capability and force; "tethered horses" means tools; various tools; in every era, the tools are appropriate for that era. What is the goal? You may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy; "you may terrify" does not only mean to scare them so that they fear you; no, this fear is deterrent. If the enemy becomes fearful of your power, of your readiness, then this fear becomes a deterrent to the enemy. You must make the enemy feel fear from the presence of motivated, self-sacrificing, and faithful young men; and this is the most important part of deterrence.

This "power" in "prepare for them what you can of power" means strength; this strength manifests itself in various aspects: first, organizational strength, which must be strong, solid, and comprehensive. This organizational strength is among the issues that must be considered in the Guards.

Scientific and specialized strength; all successful movements of various human organizations have initially taken place under the shadow of knowledge; it is through knowledge that they achieve power, wealth, international authority, and dignity; this is why Islam emphasizes knowledge. Therefore, an important part of "power" is knowledge.

Strength in tactics and strategy; the military organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards must always have increasing readiness and movement in tactical and strategic matters.

[Strength] in the area of vigilance and readiness. Negligence is absolutely unacceptable; one must always be awake, one must always be vigilant; as Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: Whoever sleeps, does not mean that the enemy has also slept; he may be awake; one must always be awake and ready in the trench. Strength means a firm and resolute determination; strength means strong and sincere faith, strength means increasing motivation; all of these are strength; prepare for them what you can of power, all of these must be prepared. Strength means training noble and motivated youth. The manifestation of strength here is the Imam Hussein Officer Training University; it trains capable and faithful youth; all of these are "power" and fall under "prepare for them what you can of power."

"And of tethered horses" means tools; the tools must be advanced tools. In the era of the tyrannical government, we were both dependent and backward, and we were also unskilled; we had some things, but we did not know how to use them! This is the characteristic of the tyrannical government. The tools must be advanced; they must be independent; the tools must belong to you; you must have created, produced, and innovated the tools; you must truly own the tools. The tools must be up-to-date. A tool that was used ten years ago may not be useful today; see what is needed today. In terms of tools, you must be up-to-date. The tools must be diverse; [appropriate for] land, sky, space, sea, borders, and within the heart of the country, everywhere; and informational tools and operational tools and all kinds of tools. Diversity in tools is also among the things that must be considered. The issue of cyberspace is today among the tools; the issue of war games is today among the tools; you must pay attention to these. Therefore, that "power," this is also "tools"; whatever you can—what you can—must be prepared in these areas.

In the tyrannical regime and the corrupt dependent regime, our warehouses were full of American tools that belonged to them; we were not allowed at that time to even open many of these, look at them, or recognize the parts; if possible, we were not allowed to change the parts ourselves. Dear brothers in the army who were familiar with the issues of that day informed me and said that sometimes in the same collection of tools, a tool that was sealed—let's say it had twenty or thirty parts—was sent inside an airplane to America to be repaired and returned! They did not allow the relevant technical officer or the military brother related to this work to open it and look at it and repair it; this was not allowed. That is, the warehouses were full of weapons, but weapons that belonged to others, and their permission was in the hands of others; wherever they said it must be consumed; if they did not allow it, it could not be consumed. These arms manufacturing factories of the enemy had to be developed with the money of the nation, at the expense of the nation. One of the two components of the power of the tyrannical regime was this, the other component was that we had to be the gendarme of the region at the behest of America; that is, the tyrannical regime of pre-revolution Iran had to clear the way for America, suppress and silence any anti-American voice there; that is, at the expense of the Iranian nation, at the expense of the human resources of Iran and the money of the Iranian nation, the interests of others were to be secured. Today, the situation is completely the opposite; today, the Iranian nation acts for itself and works with its own will, moves with its own ability, and does what is in the interest of the country. Strength means considering all of these.

One of the manifestations of strength that today the Islamic world is witnessing is the Arbaeen march; and prepare for them what you can of power. The Arbaeen march is the strength of Islam, the strength of truth, the strength of the Islamic resistance front, where such a massive gathering of millions heads towards Karbala, towards Hussein, towards the pinnacle and peak of honor, self-sacrifice, and martyrdom, from which all the free people of the world must learn. From the very first day that Arbaeen came into existence, the importance of the first Arbaeen was to this extent. The importance of the first Arbaeen was that it was the powerful media of Ashura. From the day of Ashura to the day of Arbaeen—according to one narration, it is the day when the family of the Prophet returned to Karbala—these forty days were the days of the rule of the logic of truth amidst the dark world of the tyranny of Bani Umayyah and the Sufyanis. The true media was the cry of Zainab al-Kubra, the cry of Imam Sajjad; where? In Kufa, in Sham, in those places where there was absolute darkness; these were the greatest media. It was these that preserved Ashura, it was these that brought Ashura to today. This is the history and root of this day of Arbaeen and the story of Arbaeen. On that day, the family of the Prophet (peace be upon them) created a storm with this forty-day movement; a storm arose in that strange oppression. In that day and age, the oppression was such that around Imam Hussein, the son of the Prophet, the grandson of the Prophet, the beloved of Zahra al-Tahira, only 72 remained. In such a time, the story of the Tawabin arose in Kufa, it transformed Medina, it transformed Sham, to the extent that the Sufyan regime fell; this great Arbaeen movement of Zainab al-Kubra and the family of the Prophet (peace be upon them) was.

Today, the same event is happening in the world. Today, in the complex world full of propaganda and noise that dominates humanity, this Arbaeen movement is a loud cry and an unparalleled media. Such a thing no longer exists in the world: that millions of people set out, not just from one city or one country, but from different countries, and not just from one Islamic sect but from various Islamic sects and even some non-Islamic religions. This is the unity of Hussein. You rightly said: "Hussein unites us"; it is truly so; Hussein creates a great gathering. These hearts, with thousands of steps, are on the way, all moving, all setting out towards that mine and source of spirituality and freedom, and they showcase this to the materialistic world of today. And this, God willing, must move more and expand more day by day, and of course, it must also gain more depth. Fortunately, today the works we have and our mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) in terms of spirituality, in terms of spreading thought and disseminating Islamic teachings, have more depth than fifty years ago or forty years ago, for example. The issue of Arbaeen is the same; day by day, God willing, it must gain more depth. The wise and knowledgeable must think and work in these areas, and God willing, strive.

The third matter, on this occasion, is about the path and direction and movement of the Islamic Republic. From the very beginning of the revolution, we began a movement; in the area of ideals, in the area of people's lives, in the area of building the country, in the area of training people, great movements have begun and great successes have been achieved. Of course, there are many shortcomings, and the problems are not few, but the successes and advancements are more than these problems. The movement that has taken place until today is a stunning movement for those who can grasp the dimensions of this movement. Well, now the direction of this movement must be clarified for the continuation of work. What is the direction of the movement? We are Hussaini, after all; the direction of the movement has been determined by Imam Hussein. At one of the stops along the way, Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) stood and delivered a sermon: O people, indeed the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: Whoever sees a tyrannical ruler who is violating the sanctities of God, breaking the covenant of God ... acting unjustly and aggressively against the servants of God, and does not change him by word or action, it is a right upon God to admit him to the same place. (5) This is a very significant statement, a very strange statement; first, it is addressed to the people, we are also among the people; this address is also directed at us. It is not an address to the believers, it is not just an address to that group of companions; it is an address to humanity, not just at that time, but in all times until today. He quotes the Prophet, expressing the philosophy of his movement; he says, I am acting according to the words of the Prophet, the Prophet has commanded me to do this. What did the Prophet say? Whoever sees a tyrannical ruler; he said that whoever observes a tyrannical power—sultan is not just a king; sultan means power; today the sultan is the front of disbelief and global arrogance, the front of Zionism and America; this is the sultan; you see the oppression of today’s world that this oppression is widespread everywhere: warmongering, colonial pressure, sucking the blood of nations, pressuring nations, creating internal wars, and other atrocities that global arrogance commits—acts unjustly and aggressively against the servants of God; he does not say "acts against the believers"; this is what obligates you to take a stand; it is not that this power acts badly towards the believers; no, it acts unjustly and aggressively against the servants of God; among all humanity, any front, any power, any center of oppression that does these things among the people: acts unjustly and aggressively against the servants of God, then what is the result? What is the duty? And does not change him by word or action; whoever sees such a power in front of him and does not take a stand against it, does not oppose it—now this opposition may sometimes be by word, sometimes by action; both ways; sometimes it requires you to act against the tyrannical power, sometimes the conditions are not suitable for action, at least take a stand; see! These define our duty today—then it is a right upon God to admit him to the same place, God Almighty has placed a right upon Himself that whoever does not take a stand and act against the oppression and injustice towards the servants of God, He will subject him to the same fate that He will subject that oppressor to, meaning hell; this is the issue. Imam Hussein says, I moved for this.

I have previously elaborated on the explanation of the movement of Abu Abdullah; some say Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) moved to seize power—this is said even by some believers—this is a mistake; some also say he moved to become a martyr. I say he moved to fulfill his duty; however, in the path of fulfilling the duty, one possibility is that a person reaches power; what is wrong with that? One possibility is that a person becomes a martyr; what is wrong with that? The point is that we must be able to carry out this action, fulfill this duty; this is the issue; this is before the Islamic Republic.

The reason we do not yield in confronting America is this. The reason we do not falter in the face of the enemy's propaganda pressure, by God's grace, is because it is a duty; if we do not do it, it is a right upon God to admit us to the same place. If we yield, God Almighty subjects us to the same fate and the same hell that He will subject that oppressor to; our duty is this, this is the Islamic Republic. You saw that from the very beginning when Imam entered this struggle, he faced America—Imam was still giving speeches in Qom and had not yet been exiled when he spoke about America; at that time, Imam (may God’s peace be upon him) in Qom stated in a speech that today the most despised person in our country is the President of America; (6) this issue dates back fifty years—because Imam was insightful, his eyes were open, he saw the truth, he understood; and he was hopeful, he believed that God Almighty has said: And God will surely support those who support Him; (7) whoever supports God, God will surely support him, and He did support.

And I tell you dear youth! Continue this path with strength, move forward; not only you but all the youth of the nation of Iran, all pure hearts and untainted souls who want to fulfill their divine and human duty, if they stand in the path of resistance against the enemies of religion and humanity, God Almighty will surely support them; and God will surely support those who support Him. Just as we have triumphed in these forty years by God's grace, in the future, in the second step, in the subsequent steps, by God's grace, we will overcome all obstacles and triumph over the enemies.

Hope is in the youth; not that the non-youth have no duty in this path; yes, the non-youth also have duties, the elderly also have duties. You have observed that our great Imam, in his old age, moved like the youth, spoke like the youth, thought like the youth; however, the driving force in every society is the youth. The youth must prepare themselves, prepare their thoughts, recognize the enemy's tricks. The first target of the enemy's attack is your thoughts, your minds, what governs your thinking; this is the first target of the enemy. With various tricks, he tries to change this thought; when the thought changes, naturally, the action will change. Do not let them change your thoughts, do not let them weaken your motivations; do not let the inner strength of your faith and high determination be destroyed by the enemy's tricks. Stand firm, trust in God, and God Almighty will surely be with you; indeed, God is with the pious. (8) God is with the people of piety, God is with those who move in His way, and God willing, He will support the Mujahideen.

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