Statements of the Supreme Leader in the Sacred Courtyard of Imam Reza in Mashhad

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 guided, the infallible, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth. I am grateful to the Almighty God for granting this weak and humble servant the opportunity and time to meet once again in the presence of the holy and illuminated shrine of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him) with you, dear brothers and sisters, who are pilgrims and residents here, and to convey my congratulations on the arrival of the new year, along with some remarks to you, dear brothers and sisters present here, and to the entire nation of Iran. Of course, the divine opportunity and time that God grants us in this world, although it is a great blessing, also proportionately increases human responsibility and divine accountability. Every year that passes in our lives and every day that we remain in this life and in this world, our burden of responsibility before the Lord becomes heavier. This is indeed a blessing, but like all other blessings, it comes with responsibility. With the beginning of the new year and such historical and calendrical milestones, we must all pay attention to the fact that entering any year, any month, any day of our lives calls us to recognize our responsibilities and motivates us to fulfill them. In our New Year message to the nation of Iran, we stated that this year, in our view, is the year of accountability of the officials of the system to the people. This is, in fact, accountability to God as well; just as it is accountability to oneself. Accountability is, in essence, a kind of report card reading; like a student who reads their report card at the end of the academic year - both the student reads it, and their guardians read it - they recognize their strengths and also their weaknesses; the score that brings them joy encourages them to continue this work, and the score that brings them shame compels them to compensate for this shame. The total scores of good and bad constitute a student's average, and the total averages of students in a class determine the average of that class, indicating whether the administrators of that class have succeeded in advancing the students or not. Of course, the total averages of the classes also form the average of the school; it determines whether this school is effective or not; it prompts the shareholders of the school to think; they understand; they discern whether the administrators of this school have managed well or not; and they decide. In a social and political system and in the Islamic Republic, the report card of the institutions determines the average of those institutions. The average of various institutions determines the average of each of the three branches of government and the major institutions of the country, and the total average of the three branches determines the average of the system. The shareholders of the system are the people of Iran; you, the people of Iran, are the owners of the Islamic Republic. By recognizing the averages of the institutions and based on that, and by understanding how well the managers of the country have performed, you make decisions about the managers of the country. This is a healthy system. The structure of the constitution also guides us in this direction and helps us. The Islamic system, in accordance with the promise of the Holy Quran, moves the people towards a good life. The verse of the Quran states: "Whoever does a good deed, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely give them a good life." A good life means a pleasant life. A nation has a pleasant life when it feels and sees that its worldly and otherworldly affairs are progressing according to its interests and moving towards its goals; this is a pleasant life; it is not only about the "world" nor only about the "hereafter." Those nations that cling to worldly life and have succeeded in advancing their worldly life to a higher level of perfection do not necessarily have a pleasant life. A pleasant life occurs when material welfare is accompanied by justice, spirituality, and ethics. This can only be provided for humanity by divine religions. On the other hand, a good life is not only about the hereafter. Islam does not say that it wants to improve the afterlife of people after death while their worldly life is neglected; this is not the logic of Islam. The logic of Islam is that the life of the Islamic community must be filled with divine blessings, and humanity must not lose the path of spirituality while benefiting from material advantages in their lives and must move correctly. If such a life comes into existence, then oppression, injustice, and discrimination will be eradicated in society; violations of human rights will be eradicated; wars and brother-killing will disappear; insecurities in human life will reach zero. The prophets struggled for this; the great chosen ones of God throughout human history sacrificed their lives for this. We have envisioned a high and lofty peak that represents this desired life of the prophets and divine saints. All our efforts, endeavors, and thoughts are directed towards bringing ourselves closer to this peak. Of course, the distance is great and the path is difficult, but reaching the higher and loftier slopes is valuable and enjoyable; we are pursuing this goal. What is the key to success in this endeavor within the Islamic system? The key to success is that the officials of the Islamic system - as mentioned in the verse of the Quran - possess faith and good deeds. Faith and good deeds are not merely belief in God and performing prayers and fasting; rather, faith means faith in God; faith in the divine promise; faith in what the Almighty God has sent for humanity in His legislative commands through the prophets; faith in the correctness of one's path. "The Messenger believes in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers"; the Prophet himself had faith in his path, and the believers followed the Prophet with faith in their own path. The Almighty God has made promises to us; we must have faith in these promises. The Almighty God has firmly stated: "Fulfill My covenant, and I will fulfill your covenant"; fulfill the covenant you have made with God, so that I may also fulfill the promise I have made to you. The characteristic of faith in the existence of a responsible person is that it smooths their path and diminishes difficulties in their eyes; it elevates their aspirations; it prevents them from being tainted by the petty desires of the worldly; it makes them loving, serving, and caring for the people, and it makes them resilient against the threats of the enemies and steadfast in the face of the challenges of work and responsibility. The good deeds that are required of a political system's official in Islam are religious behaviors. Religious behavior means promoting justice in society and serving all people. In Islam, serving humanity, even non-believers, is considered; the horizon of Islam is very broad. Serving, avoiding discrimination, avoiding the waste of public funds, and avoiding the violation of people's rights, avoiding the abuse of position and responsibility - someone who has a responsibility has gained a status through this, which belongs to the people; like public funds. Just as an official, because they hold the key to the public treasury, cannot spend from the public treasury for personal expenses, they also have no right to use the status, power, and opportunities they have for their personal benefit and interests - diligent and hard work; that is, employing intellect, knowledge, expertise, and experience, and utilizing all the capacities of the managed institution to achieve the ideals of the Islamic system is religious behavior. If an official is very pious but does not utilize their capacity for work and effort, their religious behavior is incomplete; if they do not take advantage of opportunities and do not employ intellect, wisdom, knowledge, expertise, and experience, their religious behavior is incomplete. Our Islamic teachings are full of these lofty and sublime concepts, and our Quran and hadiths are rich with these teachings. Of course, a pious official is someone who considers these principles as absolute and non-negotiable rules in their life. If the officials of the Islamic Republic adhere to these principles, the Islamic system will progress day by day and step by step. My personal belief is that today the Islamic Republic, with its twenty-five years of experience, can continue this path with strength and intensity, provided that the officials of various institutions primarily prepare their performance report cards for themselves; they should see the positive and negative scores and subsequently inform the people - who are the owners of this revolution; the shareholders of this vast entity called the Islamic Republic - about it. The executive branch - which consists of various institutions - should specify its report card to the people in detail. Of course, I believe that in this case, the people will certainly be pleased; because this report card contains very good and brilliant scores. The judiciary should also present its report card to the people, which will certainly also contain good and brilliant scores. The legislative branch should show its report card to the people, which will also contain encouraging scores; however, in all these institutions, there are also negative and disappointing scores for the institutions and the people. The officials of the institutions themselves should see what their negative points are and strive to eliminate the factors of those negative points. Of course, the backing and guarantee of this work is the awareness, demand, and will of the people. If these tasks are carried out, this is the same revolutionary reform that I mentioned to the nation of Iran two or three years ago in the Friday prayers in Tehran. Reforms are necessary for every system; reforms are among the most essential needs of every society; we also need reforms. Reforms mean listing the positive and negative points and converting the negative points into positive ones. This is what the revolution took the first bold step towards and succeeded, and the sincere agents of the revolution have made all their efforts in various institutions for this work and have achieved great successes. This is revolutionary reform; this is Islamic reform. Of course, the enemies of this system and revolution have targeted the structural change of the system itself, and for them, reforms mean changing the system and transforming the Islamic Republic into a dependent and submissive system to the arrogant enemies. True reform encompasses all the institutions of the country. No institution should consider itself immune from criticism and free from faults; all institutions of the country should be subject to fair criticism and should all correct their behaviors in line with the goals of the system and within its framework. The government, the parliament, the judiciary, and other institutions that bear significant responsibilities are all subject to this general rule; criticism, reform, and accountability. This is the true meaning of the reform of the system envisioned by Islam, which states, "I only seek to reform as much as I can"; the prophets said this. All the work of the prophets was to reform as much as they could; that is, to eliminate corruption in the country; this is the meaning of true reform. Accountability must exist in the correct sense of the word. The cultural institutions of the country - whether those related to the government or those not under the government, such as the media - must clarify what measures they have taken to elevate and enrich Islamic and revolutionary culture and to generalize its prominent points in the face of the widespread cultural onslaught of the enemies. The economic institutions must also state what efforts they have made to enrich the economy of the country, fill the class gaps, eliminate poverty and deprivation from the deprived classes of the country, and develop this blessed and cultivable country in all its vast regions. The scientific institutions of the country - whose managers are in universities and religious seminaries - must specify what great efforts they have made for the production of knowledge, scientific free thought, and the exchange of ideas - which we have demanded from universities and seminaries - how far they have progressed, and what other tasks they need to undertake. The industrial institutions and the agricultural sector of the country must also explain. The judiciary of the country must clarify what efforts and actions it has taken to uphold the rights of the oppressed and to ensure that the oppressed of the country truly consider the judiciary as their refuge and sanctuary. The legislative branch, which has two main responsibilities of legislation and oversight, must specify what efforts it has made in the legislative process to pass laws necessary for facilitating the true reform of the country; likewise, this branch must clarify what efforts it has made in overseeing the institutions and monitoring their proper functioning. The representatives of the people in the Islamic Consultative Assembly who wish to enter the parliament must know that the people, especially with the affection, intelligence, and sense of responsibility they have shown in the recent elections, have not entered into a bond of brotherhood with the representatives. The people expect work, initiative, and participation in important plans and bills from their representatives in the parliament and government and in any place where they have a representative. What the people expect from their representatives in the parliament and government and in any place where they have a representative is that they should utilize all their capacity and efforts to provide and implement what is expected of them and what is in accordance with Islamic goals. What I want to say at the end of my remarks is, in my opinion, a duty that is of utmost importance; both for the officials and for the people. I believe that vigilance, intelligence, and increasing awareness are responsibilities. They must set aside destructive hostilities and transform negative rivalries into positive competitions and consider the stability of the Islamic system as a great opportunity. My dear ones! The stability of the country and the stability of the Islamic system is the greatest opportunity that is currently available to the people of Iran and the officials. The enemies want the country to lose its stability. In an unstable country, no scientific work can be done, nor economic work; no cultural work can be done, nor can the rights of the nation be defended; just as the dignity of the nation cannot be preserved in the world. This stability that exists in this country today is due to the manifestation of the power of the Iranian nation at various stages. The very fact that you participate in rallies in such a manner; that you enter the ballot boxes with such sincerity despite the efforts of the enemies and the foreign propaganda machines, demonstrates national power, and this national power is the backbone of the stability of the country and the Islamic system. Of course, the centers of global arrogance do not want our country to be stable; they want to create turmoil in the country. Know that, and you know, that they are making every effort to create crises; to create turmoil and chaos; just as they have done. In the summer of 2003, all the intelligence agencies affiliated with Zionism and America mobilized to plunge the country into chaos; however, the awareness and vigilance of the people and the diligent efforts of their servants thwarted all these conspiracies. I have repeatedly stated that the enemy does not abandon its hostility unless it feels that its enmity is futile. Today, you, the people of Iran, are seen by the arrogant powers of the world as a nation that timely and appropriately manifests what signifies national power; they have recognized this. This awareness, vigilance, and readiness of yours have nullified and destroyed the years-long cultural and political conspiracies of the enemy. They had dreams; they had plotted; but your awareness thwarted the enemies' conspiracies. Today, the enemies of the Iranian nation, whose goal was to plunge the country into turmoil and chaos and to incite brother-killing; their aim was to create war and discord among the officials, have reached a dead end. They have also reached a dead end in Iraq and Palestine; because the struggle and sacrifice of the Palestinian nation have brought them to a dead end. Last year, around this time, they thought that by occupying and dominating Iraq, they could easily seize a completely ready prey and eliminate it; but today, their problems in Iraq have bogged them down and brought them to a dead end. Of course, the enemy, faced with these dead ends, may make insane decisions, but whatever decision they make will be thwarted against a free nation like the Iranian nation; our nation is awake. I do not wish to keep you, dear brothers and sisters, waiting any longer in this cold weather. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make our life and death subject to Your grace, mercy, and favor; decree a good life for the nation of Iran. O Lord! Accelerate the success of the nation of Iran in advancing towards lofty goals day by day; grant the caring officials of the Islamic system Your support, guidance, and grace. O Lord! Familiarize our hearts with divine and Islamic teachings day by day. O Lord! Foil the enemies of the nation of Iran and their hostilities. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make the sacred heart of the Awaited Imam pleased and satisfied with us; include us all in the blessed prayers of that great one. O Lord! Include our dear martyrs in Your ever-increasing mercy and grace; unite the Imam of martyrs with his companions and forgive our deceased. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.