Statements in Meeting with Imams of Friday Prayers Across the Country

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 infallible progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I am grateful to the Almighty God for granting me the opportunity to serve you dear brothers today in this Hussainiyah. Welcome. And right at the beginning, lest I forget, I would like you to convey my thanks and greetings to all those who kindly sent their regards to us through you. This meeting, fortunately, has taken place in one of the most virtuous months and weeks of the year; that is, the month of Rajab. Truly, the month of Rajab is a blessed month. Divine mercy is available throughout this month for all those whose hearts are mindful of the remembrance of the Lord. It can be said that the greatest blessing of God, namely the Prophethood, occurred in this month; the Prophethood of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) is the most blessed and greatest feast for all of humanity, not just for Muslims. The birth of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) also took place in this month, along with many other blessed days. God willing, may all of you esteemed gentlemen, myself, and our other faithful brothers across the country benefit from the blessings of this month.

The most appropriate act that a person can perform in this month is perhaps seeking forgiveness. Indeed, all of us need to seek forgiveness and turn to the Almighty God. Divine forgiveness is the greatest blessing that God bestows upon a person in this world and the Hereafter. Even the divine saints, even the Prophet of God, are not free from the need for divine forgiveness: "So that God may forgive you what has preceded of your sin and what will follow." This forgiveness is because no one can fulfill the right of obedience and worship of the Lord; seeking forgiveness is for this reason. "We have not worshiped You as You deserve to be worshiped"; there is no one who can fulfill the right of worship of the Lord, the right of servitude, as it is worthy of Him; no matter how much effort one makes, one cannot do so; this seeking forgiveness is for this reason. We are indeed troubled; we, like myself, are filled with troubles, errors, and spiritual, emotional, and practical problems; thus, we need to seek forgiveness; all of us must seek forgiveness. [The month of Rajab] is the month of supplication, the month of intercession. Fortunately, the supplications that have been transmitted in this month from the Imams of Guidance (peace be upon them) — the authentic supplications — are of good content and lofty meanings; may we benefit from them, God willing.

The topic I wish to discuss with you dear brothers today, as briefly as possible, is regarding the Friday Prayer leadership. The Friday Prayer has a significant aspect, but today my main focus is on our duty as Friday Prayer leaders, as I am also one of them, if God accepts. What should we Friday Prayer leaders do, and how should we proceed? Regarding this, I will present a few points.

First, the leadership of Friday Prayer is among the most challenging tasks, and perhaps there is no task as difficult as leading the Friday Prayer. The reason is that the leadership of Friday Prayer has both a divine aspect and a human aspect; in prayer and sermon, one must have sincerity and attention to the Divine Presence — if this is absent, and the heart is devoid of the intention of closeness and sincerity to God, the words will have no effect, and the prayer will not be blessed — both are necessary, as well as attention to the people. In non-Friday prayers, the poet says, "My back is to the people, and my face is to God"; however, in this prayer, not only is your back not to the people, but your face is also towards the people; you have both your face towards the people and towards God; you must consider the pleasure of God, as well as the benefit and satisfaction of the people. It is indeed very difficult; this is one of the hardest tasks. Well, later I will discuss the issue of "facing the people".

Here, I would like to remind you of an Islamic principle, which is the role of the people in the Islamic system and, fundamentally, in Islamic life. In the view of Islam, in the view of the Quran, considering the entirety of Islamic laws, the people are highly regarded in the movement of the Islamic community, the Islamic society, and the life of the Islamic community; they have a prominent role. You can observe in the words of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in that famous statement: "If it were not for the presence of the present and the establishment of the proof by the existence of the supporter... I would have thrown its rope to its end"; here, both the role of the people is emphasized, as well as the right of the people. "The role of the people" means that if the people do not come to the one who considers himself the rightful owner and wants to accept a responsibility, it is not obligatory for him to pursue that right: "I would have thrown its rope to its end"; if the people were not there, I had no duty, no obligation. The role of the people is that significant. Even someone like Amir al-Mu'minin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, if the people are not with him, are not around him, he says he has no obligation. If the people come, then it becomes obligatory for him to accept the responsibility; thus, the Imam accepted the responsibility; the people came, pressured him, and insisted that he accept the caliphate, and he accepted. The role of the people is that important.

In the sermon related to Siffin, this statement of Amir al-Mu'minin is very important; he says, "And no one, even if his status in truth is great and his virtue in religion is advanced, is above needing the help of the people for what God has entrusted him with of his right"; no matter how high the intrinsic, existential, scientific, and religious value of someone is, no one is free from needing the help of the people. This "to be aided in what God has entrusted him with of his right" means that if he wants to fulfill his duty and responsibility, he needs the help of the people. That "aid" comes from the people; this is what the entire sermon indicates; the phrase before this phrase and the phrase after this phrase clarify that the meaning is the assistance of the people; Amir al-Mu'minin needs the assistance of the people. Now, this "people" we speak of includes both those who have a social status — for example, scholars, religious figures, politicians; they have a social status — and the masses; assistance from all is needed. Therefore, the Almighty God tells His Prophet, "He it is who supported you with His help and with the believers"; this is very important! The Almighty God places the believers alongside His support; that is, if the believers did not help the Prophet, the Prophet would not have been victorious. Thus, the first thing the Prophet did was to build believers; to create believers, to form believers.

Therefore, it is clear that achieving Islamic goals — now you can call it the "Islamic system", ultimately the "Islamic civilization" — is not possible without the presence of the people, without the attention and initiative of the people; the people must want, the people must come, the people must act. This has become a principle for us; now, if someone has a governmental responsibility, they must act in a way to attract the people, to bring the people to the scene; at one time, someone is active in the Friday Prayer pulpit, they must act differently; that is, we must keep in mind that the issue of "the people" is an Islamic principle; without it, nothing can be done, goals cannot be reached, life cannot be achieved.

Thus, one can say that the Almighty God has established the composition of the Friday Prayer for this very purpose; the composition of the Friday Prayer and the legislation of the Friday Prayer is for the purpose of ensuring the presence of the people in the scene. Well, there are other prayers besides the Friday Prayer; anyone who wants can come, and anyone who does not want does not come; they come, pray, and leave; however, in the Friday Prayer, a conversation is held with those who come, words are spoken to them, thoughts are presented to them, and paths and programs are given to them. The Friday Prayer is fundamentally for keeping those who are present in the scene; if someone is slow in this regard, it is to speed them up, to motivate them, to set them in motion; the composition of the Friday Prayer is fundamentally this. Truly, one can understand the wisdom of the Friday Prayer in this way: the principle of the presence of the people, and then the elevation and expansion of the presence of the people.

Well, the specific part of the Friday Prayer is the sermon. The two units of prayer are present in all prayers; the specific part is the sermon. In the narrations related to the sermon of the Friday Prayer, what is mentioned in almost all of them is the issue of "exhortation"; the exhortation and admonition in the sermon are present in all these narrations related to the Friday Prayer. Thus, it is evident that the main focus of our sermons is admonition. What does "admonition" mean? When we say "admonition", our minds immediately go to moral, spiritual, and ethical admonition and similar matters. Yes, moral admonition is the most important task that must be performed; it is the foundation — which I will mention a word about later — but it is not limited to this; we have political admonition, we have social admonition.

In this narration of Fadl ibn Shadhan from Imam al-Ridha (peace be upon him), this meaningful phrase has come: "And he informs them of what has come to them from the horizons"; the Friday Prayer leader informs the people of the events of the horizons. "Of the events that have harm and benefit for them"; this is not the case that we go there and just say, "O believers! Fear God"; no, you must inform them of the news of the world, everything that is related to your audience that has harm or benefit for them; if there is an enemy that may harm your audience, you must inform them of that enemy; if there is a way that can protect them from that enemy, you must tell them; you must inform them of the political situation of the world. "He informs them of what has come to them from the horizons"; well, this is political; "political admonition" means this. Of course, it is clear that if you want to present the events of the world to your audience, you must, a fortiori, present the events of your own country; if there is a sedition, if there is a conspiracy, if there is harm, if there is benefit, if there is a service, if there is a task that must be performed, a task that has been left undone, a task that is beneficial for the people and informing them can help, you must inform them and present these in the sermon. These never become outdated, as events are not always repetitive; this week there is one event, and next week there may be another event; you must inform them of these.

Social admonition. We have issues within our society that do not have a political aspect, but are vital for the community; for example, the issue of population growth or the issue of youth, which is a vital issue. Some enemies of the Iranian nation are sitting in a corner of the world, planning to prevent the population of Iran from increasing; after all, a country with so many material resources and strategic geographical positions, with this talented population, could have, for example, 150 million or 200 million people! This is a great danger for them, so they have plans to prevent this. Who is the driving human force that moves the country forward? The youth. A few years ago, when we provided the statistics of the country, we said that a certain percentage of the population — a high percentage — are young; today, it is not like that; today, it has decreased. If this decreases and the country becomes an aging country, there will be no progress; this is the plan of the enemies. I once mentioned in a public speech to the entire nation, I said I am one of those who made a mistake in the 1990s regarding this issue, and we pursued this. Well, the beginning was good, but the continuation was wrong; we should not have done this wrong thing. Now, this is a social issue, and it must be communicated to the people. The issue of young people's marriage; they keep raising the age of marriage, constantly delaying it! Well, this is a social problem, a social issue; this must be clarified to the people. Young people — whether girls or boys — should marry as soon as possible and at the right time. This noble verse "If they are poor, God will enrich them from His bounty, and God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing" is for us, it is addressed to us, it is the word of God; we must tell this to the people. These are social issues, these are admonitions. The issue of wastefulness; one of the problems in our country now is wastefulness. We waste water; we waste bread; we waste leftover food; we waste in our living tools; those who can waste do so; we waste electricity. These are social issues; we must admonish, we must tell the people, we must draw attention to not doing these things.

So see! The Friday Prayer is a place for admonition, and admonition is not just moral admonition. Imam (may God be pleased with him), in his Tahrir, has stated that the news of Islamic countries, what relates to the independence of the country, what relates to relations with other nations, what relates to the interference of foreign governments in the country, must be told to the people in the prayer; he says these must be stated in the sermons of the Friday Prayer; your audience is anyone — whether they have a regular job, whether they are a regular worker, whether they are a regular merchant — they must know these things. Well, what does this mean? It means enriching the thoughts of the audience. You enrich the thoughts of your audience; that is, you give them intellectual richness so that they can think and act correctly on their life issues and their community issues.

Of course, these are political and social admonitions; moral admonition also has its place, and it is of utmost importance that a person needs spiritual refinement, needs moral purification. Our hearts are polluted; polluted with misplaced affections, polluted with misplaced enmities, polluted with misplaced desires, polluted with misplaced dependencies; well, this affects our actions, it holds us back, it entangles us, and we are entangled; thus, we need spiritual refinement. "O God! Fill my heart with love for You, and fear of You, and belief in You, and longing for You"; the heart must be a vessel for the love of God, it must be refined; this also requires moral admonition. We should teach seeking forgiveness; one of the things mentioned in the sermon is to say, "I seek forgiveness from God for myself and for you"; we must seek forgiveness for ourselves, we must seek forgiveness for our audience, we must teach them to seek forgiveness; we must truly teach this to ourselves. Seeking forgiveness is not just saying "I seek forgiveness from God". That famous sermon of Nahj al-Balagha states: "Do you know what seeking forgiveness is?" Seeking forgiveness has several conditions, seeking forgiveness has several components, which is the true seeking forgiveness, and now we will not delve into it. Therefore, this is one point regarding the sermons of the Friday Prayer that the content must be a comprehensive admonition. There are other points regarding the sermon — both regarding the sermon itself and the content of the sermon, and regarding the behavior and conduct of the Friday Prayer leader — which are also influential in the effectiveness of the sermons and are important matters.

One issue is the need assessment and audience analysis. When you want to speak, see what the audience needs; know your audience. It may be that we say something in one gathering that is suitable for that gathering, but if we say the same thing elsewhere, it is not suitable; that is, it does not benefit them. So one of the issues is that we must know our audience. Now, your audience is mixed; that is, you have youth, you have elders, you have women, you have men, you have those with high education levels, those with low education levels; all kinds are present; in such a place, your skill and art must be demonstrated in being able to give each one a taste, so that each one can benefit and gain something.

Well, you all are mostly young, you know that today's youth are faced with strange mental imports that did not exist until a few years ago; now, the time of our youth is very far away — from earth to sky — but even until twenty years ago, there was not this amount of mental imports for the youth that exists today; all kinds of words, sayings, in the virtual space and so on. Well, the mind of this [youth] is mixed with many words; you must know what they understand, what they want, what is in their minds, what questions they have; you must recognize their questions.

Well, now how can this be recognized? If you assume that you live in another city and [only] go to this city for prayer once or twice a week, or have limited connections in that city, well, you cannot diagnose and assess needs. Needs assessment requires social interaction. Here we reach the issue of the Friday Prayer leader being among the people; the Friday Prayer leader must be among the people, must be with the people, must know the minds of the people. One of the things that is needed for you to prepare the sermon according to the needs of your audience is study. In Islam, divine knowledge is very extensive and encompasses all details and needs of human life; how can these be understood? Through study, through familiarity with the Quran, familiarity with Hadith, familiarity with books of knowledge. Study is very necessary. We are never free from the need for study and reading books. Reading books is necessary, and it is one of the needs.

Another point regarding the Friday Prayer leadership is the issue of being compassionate and loving towards the people. Now, some of us naturally love the people; we love the people of our city, the people of our region, our audience. Our people are very good people; our people are believers; our people are faithful. Even those who, according to appearances, do not adhere to some of the legal formalities, this lack of practical adherence does not mean a lack of heart adherence; their hearts are with God, their hearts are with spiritual meanings and concepts, they have faith. Well, there is a shortcoming in action among all of us. Which of us does not have shortcomings in action? Each of us has shortcomings in one way or another; I have shortcomings in one way, you have shortcomings in another way, and he has shortcomings in another way. Our people are faithful people; our people are loyal people; our people are present in various issues of the country. You see how many issues we have had in this country over these forty-plus years, how many conspiracies have been made against us, how many various attacks have been made against us from all sides — propaganda, practical, military, economic, and so on; who has defended the Islamic system? These very people. These very people were the ones who came to the streets when necessary; they were the ones who endured when necessary; they were the ones who supported when necessary; they were the ones who shouted slogans when necessary; they were the ones who went to the battlefield when necessary.

The Imam said that the faith of our people is better than that of the people of the early Islam; the Imam stated this emphatically. Some are surprised; well, you can compare. The Messenger of God is the first person of the universe; who can be compared to the Messenger of God to say that he is a thousand times [greater]? A thousand times what; [even] a billion times any great personality we know, like Imam (may God be pleased with him) who was a great personality; can the personalities of these be compared to the Prophet? Those people, in the city of Medina, have such a personality as the Prophet among them, it is the beginning of the revolution — for example, in the second year of the revolution, which is the Battle of Badr — the Prophet takes them to the battlefield, the Quran says: "And you wished that a non-armed group would be yours"; there were two groups; one group was a military group from the disbelievers who were coming; one group was a commercial group; it says you wished to go towards that commercial group: "And you wished that a non-armed group would be yours." Of course, they went and fought, and thanks be to God, they were victorious, and it was very good, but their hearts desired this. Compare this with that youth who, during the Sacred Defense, has a beloved wife, has a small child, has loving parents, has a comfortable home, and receives a message from the Imam — he has neither seen the Imam nor heard from him directly, [only] the message of the Imam has been conveyed on the radio — he leaves all this behind and goes to the battlefield to fight. The same goes for defending the shrine; now, thirty years have passed between these two great movements.

Our people are like this; these are faithful people, these are loving people, these are loyal people, these are wise people. Well, we must appreciate them, we must truly love them. The people have not held back in sacrificing for Islam, for the country, for the Islamic system; they have done everything that should and could be done. This is also a point that we should love the people. If we love the people, love is a reciprocal matter; if you love them, they will love you too, they will be interested in you; then, your words will have an effect on their hearts. Love is an elixir; when the relationship is a loving and friendly one, your words will have an effect on them, and they will move in the same direction that you conveyed to them from the words of the Almighty God.

One more point — which is similar to the point regarding admonition — is the issue of piety; inviting to piety has also been repeated in narrations and in the fatwas of scholars and similar matters that the Friday Prayer leader must invite the people to piety. Piety, at first glance, seems to be an individual matter — piety is "abstinence" which is an individual matter — while piety is also a social matter; that is, it relates to the individual, to the heart and action, and it also relates to the community as a whole, because the Almighty God says: "And cooperate in righteousness and piety"; thus, piety is also a participatory matter, a cooperative matter. "Cooperate in righteousness and piety"; things in which the cooperation and participation of the people are influential are among the instances of piety.

In the matter of piety, we have political piety, which is abstaining from political sins. The political arena is a slippery field. Of course, everyone must be political; that is, in the Islamic world, there is no non-political region, and Islam is a political religion; as has been understood from previous statements, everyone must be involved in politics. However, politics is a slippery field; if piety is not present, a person makes mistakes, slips. With piety and self-restraint and open-eyedness in political life, one can prevent these slips.

If there is political piety, then the enemy's psychological warfare will not have an effect. One example of the enemy's psychological warfare is this "blame of the blamer". Someone does a good deed, and four bad people attack him, asking why he did that; someone says a good word, and others threaten him, asking why he said a good word. The field is like this. If there is piety, "they do not fear the blame of the blamer"; this "they do not fear the blame of the blamer" mentioned in the Quran, in that noble verse, the Prophet of God referred to Salman and said [the meaning of] "Then God will bring forth a people whom He loves and they love Him" to the end, these are the people. Countering the enemy's psychological warfare is also this, and this is one of the examples of soft warfare that should not be feared; one should not fear the "blame of the blamer".

One important point in the Friday Prayer and sermons — which is the last of my remarks — is encouraging all people and your audience to participate in various fields. For example, participation in social fields and social services; for instance, a school is to be built in a city, people should be encouraged to participate, everyone should contribute as much as they can, in whatever way they can. For example, suppose in a city, benefactors are planning to build a hospital — such charitable works have always existed, and they are still being done — or they are planning to pay the blood money of prisoners who are in prison due to blood money, to free them from prison; these charitable works. People should be encouraged to participate in these matters; this is one field; a field of social issues. [Also] the field of political issues, such as elections; elections are a complete example of a political field. I have repeatedly stated regarding elections that elections are a political field in which the presence of the people is truly necessary; that is, it is both a duty for the people and a right for the people. Participation in elections is not merely an obligation; it is a right; it is your right, it is the right of the people to choose someone to legislate for them or to execute the law or to express their opinion about the leader or to elect the leader through the Assembly of Experts. [This] is the right of the people; they must participate and exercise their right.

Of course, I mentioned that this cannot be achieved only by words. Of course, words are effective; the very act of speaking and explaining is a jihad; in the true sense of the word, speaking for the people and telling the people and conversing with the people is truly a jihad; however, it is not only with this; as we previously pointed out, it must also be accompanied by action; with a pleasant demeanor, with a responsive tongue, with presence in various gatherings of the people — especially gatherings of the youth — this work must be done. Now, these were a few points regarding the leadership of Friday Prayer. I mentioned that the leadership of Friday Prayer is truly a difficult task, among the hardest tasks; God willing, its reward with the Almighty God is high in proportion to its difficulty.

The current Islamic international issue is the issue of Gaza. In the matter of Gaza, one can observe the hand of God. These people, these oppressed and powerful people, have managed to influence the world; today, the world is influenced by the struggles of the people of Gaza and Palestine. The world views these people as heroes; both their people and their fighters, their resistance groups, are seen as heroes; these are heroes. It is interesting that the people of the world accept two things about the people of Gaza and Palestine together: one is that they are oppressed, and the other is that they are victorious; the entire world acknowledges that they are both oppressed — their oppression has been understood by the world — and victorious. Today, there is no one in the world who imagines that the wicked usurping regime of Zionism has been victorious in the Gaza war; everyone says it has been defeated. In contrast, the usurping regime is seen by the people of the world, by politicians of the world, and by all people of the world — both Muslims and non-Muslims — as both oppressive, a bloodthirsty wolf, merciless, and defeated, broken, and hopeless.

This is the quality of patience and reliance. The people of Gaza have promoted Islam through their steadfastness. Around the world, searching individuals want to see what is the factor that keeps the Palestinian fighter in the scene; what is this Islam? They have introduced Islam; they have made the Quran beloved in many eyes. O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, increase day by day the honor and dignity of the fighters of the resistance front, especially the oppressed people of Gaza and the fighters of Gaza.

The people of Yemen and the Ansarullah government have also done a great job; what they have done in supporting the people of Gaza is truly commendable; they have struck at the vital arteries of the Zionist regime. America threatened them, but they were not afraid of America! This is how it is; when a person fears God, they do not fear anyone else. Their work is truly an example of jihad in the way of God, and we hope that, God willing, these struggles, these resistances, these activities continue until victory, by the permission of God Almighty.

May God grant success and victory to all those who move in the way of God, in the way of His pleasure. May God protect you and grant you true success in this path.

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