Statements at the Imam Hussein Officer Training 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, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One of God on earth.

It is a sweet and beautiful day for me among you dear and revolutionary youth with pure hearts and motivated souls, who truly create great hopes for the future of this country and this revolution. First of all, I congratulate you on the blessed birth of the Master of the Universe, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance and may our souls be sacrificed for him); God willing, may all of you be among the true waiters and companions of that great figure today and tomorrow.

The third of Khordad is also a day that should not be forgotten; it is a day that shines in the history of our country and in the history of the dear Islamic Revolution of Iran. It is a symbol; a symbol of the victory of truth over falsehood and a symbol of divine power and the hand of power that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) said: there is a hand of power that supports us. Such a day is the third of Khordad and the day of the liberation of Khorramshahr. I congratulate you dear graduates, and also you dear ones receiving your epaulettes. You have begun a good path; you have entered a good course; may God grant you success, God willing; may you pursue this path with seriousness, with firm determination, and with renewed motivation, God willing.

Regarding the liberation of Khorramshahr, most of you young people were not there that day, or if you were, you were very young; the day of the liberation of Khorramshahr was a great event. Perhaps only a few hours had passed since the news when I was leaving the [Presidential] building heading towards Imam's house to meet Imam (may God be pleased with him). In this street and on the way, the people were in an uproar; it was like a march, like a demonstration. When they saw our car, they came forward to congratulate us. A spontaneous public celebration erupted across the country; the matter was so significant.

Of course, the people at that time mostly did not know what had happened that led to this liberation. They were unaware of the sacrifices, the intricate details, and the incredible efforts that had taken place; even today, many are unaware. I recommend that you read the books that detail the operations of "Operation Beit al-Muqaddas" which led to the liberation of Khorramshahr, as well as the other operations - "Operation Fath al-Mubin" and others. Read them and see what happened. I once likened the Sacred Defense to a very large and magnificent painting that has been installed high above; we see this painting from below and admire it; however, if we get closer, we will see the intricate details that have gone into this painting, the artistry involved, the various colors, the different designs, and the various strokes, which will increase our admiration tenfold. These books that have been written actually explain these details for us who have seen this painting from afar. Well, it was a great event.

However, greater than this event was the fact that Imam (may God be pleased with him) - that man of God, that divine sage in the truest sense of the word - when Khorramshahr was liberated, when all this struggle bore fruit, when so many young people shed their sweat, when we sacrificed so many martyrs, when we worked so hard, he said that Khorramshahr was liberated by God; Khorramshahr was liberated by God! This is important; what does this mean? This means that if you strive, God's power will come to support you. An army without a rear cannot do anything; an army that has a rear, that has reserves, that has abundant backup, can do everything. Now, if an army's rear is the divine power, can this army be defeated? Imam made us understand this; he made us understand that when you strive, when you do not become lazy, when you enter the field, when you bring your forces to the scene, it is God's power that is behind you, thus God liberates Khorramshahr. With this logic, God can also liberate the entire world subjugated by global arrogance. With this logic, Palestine can also be liberated. With this logic, any nation can remain unoppressed; provided that this logic is realized. When we have this logic, we become invincible. When we enter the field with this logic, there will be no fear or intimidation; the military, propaganda, or financial and economic power of the powers will no longer be frightening; we rely on God's power. Of course, God's power does not come to support lazy people; it does not come to nations that are unwilling to sacrifice. God's power comes to those who enter the field, who move forward, who strive, who prepare themselves for everything; these are the ones who rely on divine power. Indeed, God is the protector of those who believe, and the disbelievers have no protector; this is a verse from the Quran; God is your protector; you have a protector who has authority over all of existence; this is your protector, and the disbelievers have none.

In the Battle of Badr, when the disbelievers began to chant and mention their idols, the Prophet said to the Muslims: "God is our protector, and you have no protector"; God is our protector, our support, our power is dependent on His power, and you do not have this; and so it was.

For 37 or 38 years now, they have been using all their resources to try to bring this blessed growth, this Islamic Republic, this embodied revolution to its knees, and they have not succeeded; God is our protector. The Iranian nation is present in the arena; do not look at a few idle, complaining people or those who follow their desires; the nation is present, the nation is in the field. Among this nation, there is a large group that is willing to sacrifice their lives; this is what brings God's power behind man; this is what asymmetric warfare means.

The meaning of asymmetric warfare is that the two sides of the war have different resources and identities; this is asymmetric warfare; it means that each of these two sides has capabilities and sources of power that the other does not have. We are in asymmetric warfare with global arrogance; why? They may have some resources that we do not have, but we also have resources that they do not have; what is that resource? Trust, reliance on God, confidence in ultimate victory, confidence in human power, in the willpower of the believing human; this is what we have; this is asymmetric warfare. In asymmetric warfare, wills are what fight against each other; whichever will prevails will be victorious. In the field, do not weaken your will; do not let your will be shaken in the battlefield; if one side of the war weakens its will in the battlefield, it will certainly be defeated. Do not let your will weaken; do not let the enemy's propaganda and temptations create doubt in your firm resolve; maintain this strong will; this is the guarantee of victory.

[Today] military warfare is not the issue; today, the likelihood of traditional and conventional military warfare for our country is very, very weak, but jihad remains; jihad is something else. Jihad is not just about fighting; jihad has a much broader meaning. Among the types of jihad, there is one that God Almighty has called "the great jihad" in the Quran: "And strive against them with a great striving"; this verse is from Surah Al-Furqan; "with it" means with the Quran, "strive against them with it" means to wage a great jihad with the Quran. This verse was revealed in Mecca. Young people, pay close attention! In Mecca, military warfare was not the issue; the Prophet and the Muslims were not commanded to engage in military warfare; what they were doing was something else; it is that other work that God Almighty refers to in this noble verse: "And strive against them with a great striving." What is that other work? That other work is standing firm and resisting and not obeying. "Do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with a great striving"; do not obey the polytheists. Not obeying the disbelievers is what God Almighty has called the great jihad. This classification is different from the classification of the greater jihad and the lesser jihad: the greater jihad, which is the hardest of all, is the jihad against the self, which preserves our identity and our essence; the lesser jihad is the struggle against the enemy, but among the lesser jihad, there is a jihad that God Almighty has called "the great jihad," which is this. What does "the great jihad" mean? It means not obeying the enemy, the disbeliever; do not obey the enemy who has placed himself in the battlefield against you. What does obeying mean? It means submission; do not submit. Where should you not submit? In various fields; do not submit in the field of politics, in the field of economics, in the field of culture, in the field of art. In various fields, do not submit to the enemy; this is the "great jihad."

This non-submission is so important that God Almighty repeatedly advises His Prophet about it. The shocking verse at the beginning of Surah Al-Ahzab: In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful * O Prophet, fear God and do not obey the disbelievers; [He says] "Fear God and do not obey the disbelievers!" O Prophet! Be God-conscious and do not obey the disbelievers; indeed, God is All-Knowing and Wise; we know your difficulties, we know the pressures they exert on you to force you to obey - they threaten, they tempt - but you must be vigilant about God's commands, be God-conscious, and keep your focus. "And do not obey the disbelievers"; this non-obedience to the disbelievers is the great and important thing that God Almighty speaks to His Prophet in this tone.

Well, do not obey the disbelievers, so what should you do? "And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; indeed, God is All-Aware of what you do." [He says:] O Prophet, fear God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; indeed, God is All-Knowing and Wise * And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; indeed, God is All-Aware of what you do; do not obey them; you have a program; you have a life plan; divine revelation has not left you alone; the Quran is at your disposal, Islam is at your disposal, the program of Islam is at your disposal; follow this path. See, all these are the first verses of Surah Al-Ahzab; one after the other; first, "Fear God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites"; then, "And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord;"

Following that, the answer to the question arises that, well, there is danger, they exert pressure; "And put your trust in God, and sufficient is God as a guardian"; in the face of all these pressures, rely on God; rely on God. Trust does not mean abandoning work and sitting back for God to do the work for you; that is not it; trust means that you get up, sweat, strive, and then be certain that God Almighty will help you; today, the issue of the Islamic Republic is this.

The issue of the Islamic Republic is that the arrogant enemy is trying to bring the revolution to its knees; with what? By infiltrating its culture, with its economic pressure, with various political efforts, with its vast propaganda, and with the treacherous agents at its disposal, it seeks to shake the atmosphere of the Islamic Republic to bring it to submission. What enrages global arrogance about the Islamic Republic is not the Muslim identity of the Iranian people; it is that the people, because of this Muslim identity, are unwilling to submit to global arrogance; they are unwilling to obey; this is what enrages the enemy. They try to cover this up with various pretexts, but the reality is this. The nuclear issue was an excuse, even the missile issue - this missile issue they have raised, "missile, missile" which, of course, is of no benefit and they cannot do anything - is an excuse; the issue of human rights, various other issues, are all excuses. The issue is non-submission. If the Islamic Republic were willing to accept the submission of global arrogance, they would have built missiles, they would have developed nuclear energy and various other things in this area, and they would not even mention human rights. The Islamic Republic, with divine education, is unwilling to submit to the arrogant disbeliever, to the front of disbelief and arrogance; this is the main reason; all their efforts are aimed at this.

Of course, they try not to express this openly, but sometimes their statements reveal them. Just a few days ago, an American official listed the accusations against the Islamic Republic: missiles and so on and "ideology"! They reveal themselves; they expose themselves. [This ideology] means thought; Islamic thought that compels you not to submit to the disbelieving enemy and the front of disbelief and arrogance. This is what causes enmity, and this is what gives you strength; this is what gives you strength. This motivation is what has kept the Iranian nation standing; this motivation is what has maintained the firm resolve in the Iranian nation; steadfastness. Preserving the revolutionary and Islamic identity for the Islamic Republic system and for the Iranian nation; this is what the enemy is greatly upset about; they have no remedy. They have tried hard to bring the decision-making and decision-making centers under their control, but they have not succeeded, and by God's grace and with divine support, they will not succeed.

You are the guardians of the revolution, the guardians of the revolution. Of course, the entire Iranian nation is a guardian of the revolution or should be, but you are an organization that is honored and proud to bear this name: the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. You must make this great jihad the cornerstone of your work. Today, they are angrier at the Guards than anyone else; in the names they mention, in the insults they hurl, in the accusations they make, they target the Guards more than anyone else; the reason is that the Guards have shown that they stand firm. Do not lose this spirit, this orientation, and this state.

Dear youth! My dear children! Tomorrow belongs to you; the future is yours; you are the ones who must preserve this history with its dignity; you are the ones who bear this burden of responsibility; Khorramshahrs lie ahead; not in the battlefield of military warfare, but in a field that is harder than military warfare. Of course, it does not have the destruction of military warfare; on the contrary, it brings prosperity, but its difficulties are greater. When we said resistant economy, we meant the economic aspect of this great and fundamental policy, economic resistance. When we said that believing, Hezbollah, and revolutionary youth should not abandon their spontaneous cultural activities and should pursue them, and we have invited and continue to invite all cultural institutions of the country to move in this direction, this is the cultural aspect of this non-submission; this is the great jihad, the great jihad. When we invite all the existing talents of the country to bring their talents into the service of the advancement of this country and to bring them to the scene and to the field, and we invite government officials and other officials to welcome these talents, this is the active social aspect of this great jihad. This great jihad has dimensions: "And strive against them with a great striving."

This does not mean cutting off relations with the world; some people, in order to undermine this divine policy, falsely say, "Revolutionaries say to cut off relations with the world"; no, we do not advocate cutting off relations with the world, nor do we advocate surrounding the country with a barrier; they should have exchanges, maintain relations, trade, but they should not forget their main identity and personality; this is our message: "And you are the highest if you are believers"; they should act like representatives of the Islamic system, speak like representatives of the Islamic system. With everyone, wherever the interests of the country require, sign contracts, but sit at the contract table as representatives of Islamic Iran and representatives of Islam. Everyone should act wisely; this jihad requires intelligence, this jihad requires sincerity. This jihad is not like military jihad where some shine there, and whether they are martyrs, alive, or disabled, they are shown as heroes - we honor these martyrs and these disabled veterans and self-sacrificers - this jihad is one where someone may work very hard, but no one recognizes their face; this jihad requires sincerity.

Today, the enemy is hopeless of being able to deliver a fundamental blow to the Islamic system because they know that there is enough motivation, faith, truthfulness, and readiness within; therefore, they are hopeless of being able to deliver a fundamental blow, but they are not hopeless of being able to infiltrate. The tools of infiltration are abundant today.

They are trying to raise the Iranian youth in a way that they prefer. If the Iranian youth grows up in a way that is pleasing to America and global arrogance, America will no longer have to spend money and resources to implement its plans in Iran; this youth will work for them like a servant without pay; they want to raise the Iranian youth this way. A few identity-less people spoke and acted in such a way that an American came to Iran a few years ago and when he returned, he said there are people in Iran who have weapons in their hands and are waiting for our orders to shoot! He had seen a few identity-less people and had been deceived. The great problem of the Americans is that they do not know our country, they do not know our people, and they cannot know them either. The problem of global arrogance is that they look mostly at appearances; they look at the superficial glitter, but they cannot see the essence. Their power is also superficial power and power over bodies; they cannot gain power over hearts as they wish. They made a mistake. However, they are not hopeless of infiltrating; they want to infiltrate, they want to capture hearts, they want to change minds.

This places a great responsibility on all those who care for the Iranian nation and the country, including you dear youth guardians and the great organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Your job is not just to fight; the Revolutionary Guards are the guardians of the revolution. Of course, the military aspect of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps must not be weakened at all; just as is fitting for a military organization, it must continue its work in the best way and in the most innovative form; but it is not just this. The duty of elucidation is now on everyone's shoulders; including yours. The reason I emphasize elucidation so much is that today this great jihad largely depends on elucidation; elucidation, expression, and enlightenment; today enlightenment is necessary. Strive to deepen minds, to reach the depths of truths and issues. Your university can accomplish great things in this regard and can make elucidation one of its fundamental programs; both within its own community and in a wider realm, as far as its capabilities allow.

The slogans of the revolution must be preserved; this is one of the goals. One of the great tasks and one of the major sections of this great jihad - the great jihad - is to preserve the slogans of the revolution. The slogans indicate the goals, the slogans show us the way, the slogans are like signs placed along the way so that a person does not go astray; "To the right and to the left is misguidance, and the middle path is the straight path"; they should not veer to the left or right, but should follow the straight and right path; this is the role of these slogans. In regard to these slogans and truths, do not rely solely on emotions. Of course, I attribute great importance to emotions, I attribute great importance to sentiments, but it is not enough; it is necessary but not sufficient. Depth, contemplation, and profound insight must exist in all these slogans. Strive to contemplate on issues; when you achieve depth, this established faith will not be separated from you by any force. The problem with those you see who one day are more fervent than all the fervent ones and one day they veer 180 degrees to the other side is the lack of depth in their faith. We had some people in the early days of the revolution who were so fervent and fiery that they did not accept the original and veteran revolutionaries and criticized them, but they were superficial; this superficiality became their downfall, and they veered 180 degrees to the other side; their stance changed. Have depth and profundity; go into the depths of thought and use the guidance of righteous teachers in this path.

Creating a cadre is another task. The future belongs to you; in the future, you can play a significant role in creating and providing worthy and righteous cadres for the general system of the country and the management system of the country. Document the accumulated experiences of the revolution, the vast experiences of these 37 years; this is a scientific task, a historical research task. Today we need to take a look at the past; the paths we have taken, the actions we have taken, the actions they have taken, the experiences we have gone through, the strange ups and downs that have been on the path, and how the revolution has managed to navigate through these twists and turns towards its goals without stopping; this needs to be documented; this needs scientific work. Your university is a different university; of course, this address of mine is not only to your university, but to all universities and all scientific centers and seminaries; however, well, Imam Hussein University is Imam Hussein University! It is a different university; you have greater responsibility.

One more point is that consider elucidation as the foundation of your work. I sometimes see a group of people, perhaps righteous and believing youth, opposing someone or opposing a session, and they start making a fuss and creating a commotion and chanting slogans; I do not agree with this behavior. This is of no benefit; I have always advised those who have been involved in such activities. That they go to a gathering because someone is speaking there whom you do not accept - it is possible that you are right or wrong - and go to disrupt that gathering, to disturb it; no, this is of no benefit. The benefit lies in elucidation, in doing the right work, in intelligent work; these are what are beneficial. Sometimes some people do these things for ulterior motives and blame them on believing and Hezbollah youth; be aware of this too.

The last point I want to mention is that all that we have said, all that we must do, all that our capabilities are sufficient for, depends on our supplication to God Almighty, our attention, and increasing our connections with God. The relationship of hearts with God Almighty is the relationship that, if secured, will be the backing of our revolutionary identity and determination and will enable us to create the groundwork we have discussed.

Dear youth, maintain your connection with the Quran; thanks be to God, there are many Quran memorizers among our youth. Pay attention to memorizing the Quran, reciting the Quran, contemplating the Quran, and reflecting on the divine verses; pay attention to prayer, good prayer, prayer with focus, prayer with a sense of presence before the Lord. Presence of heart means that the heart is present during prayer, it should be here. Sometimes we are praying, but our hearts are elsewhere; presence of heart means that our hearts should be right here, on our prayer rug, focused on our prayer, not elsewhere. You young people should practice this; it may be difficult at first, but practice, and it will become easy, it will become a habit for you. If you practice today, it will always be useful for you; if you do not practice in your youth, when you reach the age of people like me, it will be difficult. Connect with prayer, with the Quran, with supplications, with the prayers of the month of Sha'ban, with the Sha'baniyah supplications. The month of Ramadan is approaching; purify yourself during the blessed days and nights of the month of Ramadan, perfume yourself, illuminate yourself, God willing, you will be able to accomplish all these great tasks.

May we remember our dear Imam; may God's mercy be upon that great man who opened this path for us, and may God's mercy be upon the dear martyrs and greetings be upon the families of the martyrs and the disabled veterans.

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