Statements at the Meeting with the Organizers of the Commemoration of the Martyrs of Qom

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially the remaining one of God on the earth.

First, I extend my welcome to all the dear brothers and sisters who have come from Qom, and I thank you for your efforts in once again holding this necessary and important memorial for the martyrs. Regarding the actions that our brother mentioned, I would like to make one remark before entering our discussions.

All these actions and the works you mentioned are good; however, please note that the activities we undertake in the congress, before the congress, and after the congress have many characteristics, two of which are the most important: one is "memory," and the other is "message." The memory of the martyrs must remain alive, and the message of the martyrs must be heard; if the actions we take are devoid of these two, they are of no benefit. For instance, consider making a statue of a martyr or an image of a martyr on a carpet and similar things; yes, within a certain scope—either the family scope or broader—these are memories, which are good, but there are things that can carry a message; artistic works, poetry, documentaries, films, books, or sessions can carry a message; we need these [types of works], we need the message of the martyrs. Let us not think that "well, it is obvious, everyone knows the message of the martyrs"; no, not everyone knows. The new generations that come must be informed about what has happened, and about the motivations, thoughts, and such matters. Works that contain a message have this great characteristic; in the totality of the works you do, pay attention to this [point].

Now, after expressing my gratitude once again for starting and carrying out this work, and God willing, completing it in the best manner, I will present two points in two short sentences; one regarding Qom, and the other regarding the issue of martyrdom and martyrs. Qom is both the city of uprising and the city of establishment; it is a city that rose up itself, a city that compelled Iran to rise up, it established [the revolution]; this is the characteristic of Qom. Of course, we must not forget the blessings of Lady Fatimah al-Masumah (peace be upon her) and the presence of the blessed seminary in this city in influencing these characteristics. Alongside these, there are the people of Qom, whom we have seen up close, we have seen their actions, their ethics, their characteristics; the people of Qom are truly good people, they acted upon the call of Qom, they rose up earlier than anywhere else, they fought earlier than anywhere else, they gave martyrs earlier than anywhere else.

Many of the martyrs who fell outside of Qom are, in fact, martyrs of Qom; Martyr Motahhari is also a martyr of Qom, Martyr Beheshti is also a martyr of Qom, Martyr Bahonar is also a martyr of Qom; these martyrs are also nurtured by Qom, and perhaps in a sense, it can be said that the martyrs of all of Iran are martyrs of Qom. Qom opened this path, Qom initiated the movement, Qom responded to the call of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Who understood what the Imam was saying in 1961 and 1962? It was the people of Qom who came into the field. Even when they felt that the movement had somewhat weakened, in 1961, when the movement began, the people of Qom rose up and came to Imam's class—I was there, I remember—traders of Qom and a large crowd followed them and sat in the class. When the Imam finished his lesson, one of them stood up—if I remember his name correctly, it was the late Tabatabai—and began to speak to the Imam with complete fervor and demanded the continuation of the work! In fact, they demanded from the Imam, and the Imam entered the field and in that session, he provided a sufficient and comprehensive response, and in practice, he breathed new life into this movement; this is how the people of Qom are. The youth of Qom at that time, even those who were not initially in this field, we saw how they showed inclination and solidarity after the clerical movement began; these are the people of Qom. Then the revolution occurred, and the events after the revolution and the sacred defense and subsequent issues until today; until today, these tests have continuously existed for our nation and for all of us, and in these tests, the people of Qom have given a very good account; very good.

Of course, there are also prominent points that I insist should be worked on a lot; [that is] the same two characteristics of "memory" and "message." One of the prominent points is the martyr Mahdi Zeynoddin; this itself is a prominent point. [This] martyr, a young man in his twenties, demonstrated that skill in commanding a combat unit; in the battlefield, that courage, that wisdom, that construction, that self-sacrifice, and then in the field of ethics, in the field of piety, the same goes. These are truly extraordinary; these must be told to the people, they must be reflected.

No language other than the language of art can express these; only the language of art can convey the intricacies of their lives; whether through artistic writing, poetry, film, documentary, or similar works that can be done. For example, one is this: there is a young army commander here [named] Martyr Amir Ahmadlu; he is an army man from Qom who, in the last moment of his life, water is brought to him or someone thinks to give him water so that he does not die thirsty, this young soldier does not drink the water, he gestures to the soldier next to him; this is like the incident of the early Islam that we have repeatedly talked about on pulpits and people have heard and have not formed a correct perception of it, it actually happened; an army officer showed us this reality. Is this a small thing? How can this be expressed other than through the language of art? Go pursue this work. Or the martyrs of the choir group, which is among the rare events during the sacred defense; a number of teenagers, for example, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old, sing a song, then an airplane comes and targets this group, shoots, and all of them—almost all of them—are martyred. Where is their song? What did they sing? What did they say? What did their parents do? These need to be explained, these have a message. This is one of the characteristics of Qom; these are the prominent points of the sacred defense period in Qom. Or the martyr women; now they mentioned the number of several hundred martyr women, some of whom were martyred during a mourning session for Imam Hussein. These are all truly important issues.

Well, this is regarding Qom and the characteristics of this eventful and glorious period from the revolution until today; these forty-some years. Each of these events in this period is a bright historical point, a star. The incident that occurred a few days ago in Shahcheragh, this is a star, this is not something that ends, this remains in history, this will be a source of pride and dignity in history. Yes, some have mourned; some of these events are sorrowful [and] fill the heart with grief, but they are stars; these remain in history, these are events that will not be forgotten. In these forty-some years, how many of these events have we had! This is a sign of the vitality of this nation. Now, this is regarding Qom.

Regarding martyrdom; the title "martyr" is a title that should not be passed over lightly. In the word "martyr," a collection of religious, national, and human values is embedded. When you say "martyr," in fact, this word is a book; there is a collection of religious knowledge in this word, a collection of national knowledge in this word, a collection of ethical and moral knowledge in this word; this word is very important. The fact that you see and hear that some of our martyrs passionately wished for martyrdom, God Almighty had cast a light into their hearts; with this light, they saw a truth, and that is why they were in love with martyrdom. Martyr Soleimani said, "I am running in the deserts looking for martyrdom, I am searching for it." They threatened him that they would kill him, he said, "I am running in the deserts looking for it, I traverse heights and depths looking for this; you threaten me?" Some have turned a page of this book, and that has captivated them, that has made them in love.

Well; we said it is a collection of religious knowledge, national knowledge, and ethical knowledge. But regarding religious matters; the first thing that a martyr reminds a person of is jihad in the way of God; the martyr has moved in the way of God, has struggled, and has reached martyrdom. The martyr is the embodiment of sincere faith: "They have fulfilled their covenant with God; among them are those who have completed their vow"; this is the same "completed their vow"; it is the embodiment of sincerity, it is the embodiment of good deeds. What deed is better than going in the way of God and offering all of one's existence, all of one's being to this path? Sincere faith, good deeds. This religious aspect, which now in these short words, contains a world of knowledge.

National knowledge; martyrdom and martyrdom are among the things that highlight national identity and elevate the rank of national identity. The Iranian nation gained greatness because of these martyrdom-seeking actions in the eyes of those who heard about it—of course, the noise and clamor of the enemy's media does not allow many things to reach people's ears, but those who heard it, and there were many, many nations—became great; for what? Because of the martyr. It is not just because of the war; there are wars in many places; it is because of these sacrifices that the martyr emerges from the water; it is because of these families; the families of the martyrs, these fathers, these mothers; it is because of these. Whenever news of these reached outside, it created greatness for this nation; thus, the martyr illuminates national identity, highlights it, and elevates its rank.

Regarding ethical knowledge and human moral values—regardless of religion—that are embedded in the word "martyr"; for example, self-sacrifice. Martyrdom is the embodiment of self-sacrifice. Someone gives their life for the comfort of others; the martyr of security gives their life so that others can live in security; the martyr of the sacred defense gives their life so that that wicked, oppressive enemy cannot fulfill the promise they made to themselves—that they said they would go to Tehran and humiliate the Iranian nation; this is the martyr. I and you are sitting in our homes, and he is fighting there so that we can sit comfortably, so that the enemy does not come after us. This self-sacrifice is a prominent ethical value; regardless of any religion, belief, or religious ideology, humans value this. [Martyrdom] evokes courage. Therefore, the word "martyr" embodies all these ethical teachings.

Thus, martyrdom is, on one hand, a transaction with God; the sincerity that exists is a transaction with God: "Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise for them." As far as I remember, it has been narrated from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and from Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) that the price of your life is very high, do not sell it except for Paradise. This life is very valuable; the value of your existence is very high; sell it only for Paradise; do not sell it for anything less than Paradise, which God Almighty is also the buyer; the soul belongs to God, and God is the buyer. "Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise for them"; thus, on one hand, it is a transaction with God. On the other hand, it secures national interests; the same strengthening of identity that we mentioned. Martyrdom in the way of God secures national interests and the benefits of the nation.

Martyrdom can create solidarity. Now look at our country; well, our country is a collection of different ethnicities; different languages, different ethnicities: we have Persians, Turks, Arabs, Lurs, Bakhtiaris, and so on, various ethnic groups; a string of beads connects them, and part of this string is martyrdom. In every city you go to, you see the name of a martyr or martyrs prominent in that city. Suppose you go to the north of this country, to the south of this country, to the east of the country, to the west of the country, in every city you go to, there are martyrs' names that are prominent. These cities may not know much about each other, but these martyrs from different places were martyred in one place with one goal. For example, a martyr from the south of the country is with a martyr from the north or east of the country; they were all in one line, for one goal; they were martyred for the dignity of Islam, for the greatness of the Islamic Republic, for the strengthening of Iran; they were martyred for these things, for a common goal. This connects these ethnicities, these cities, these regions; this is the characteristic of martyrdom. Its religious aspect, which is a transaction with God, its national aspect, which connects different parts of the country, and its ethical aspect, which reminds us of the ethics of this country.

Well; now I just want to offer one recommendation in continuation of the point I made at the beginning of my speech. These should not be stopped. I once said that war is a treasure; it truly is. I read many books related to the martyrs; each one I read, it is as if a new thing is understood from them. I still read; I have been reading these books for decades, since the 1980s until now. Each of these books that narrates the life of a martyr opens a new page for a person and shows them something; whether regarding the martyr themselves or regarding these fathers and mothers; these brave mothers, these selfless fathers. These fathers and mothers have a great right over us! Some of the fathers and mothers of our dear martyrs are present in this session as well.

These must be conveyed, and I mentioned that their transmission primarily, that is perhaps ninety percent, requires the language of art. Of course, we do not say that history and books and such should not be written; yes, they must be written; however, what has the capacity to convey all the details and intricacies and subtleties of this martyrdom and martyr and sacred defense and self-sacrifice and such things is art. Now, for example, I recalled this choir group; very well, make a documentary for this; make a documentary for this choir group, simulate it, let people see it with their own eyes; show them the incident that happened. When I say "people," well, we old ones have seen these things, but many of you sitting here have not seen them; our youth, the new generation, have not seen them. They should see; they should see up close what happened. In these biographies of the martyrs, they should see these details. There is so much potential for artistic work, making documentaries, feature films, series, poetry! Thanks be to God, we have good poets, and you also have good poets in Qom; they should write poetry, good poetry so that these memories remain.

In any case, your work is of great value; I appreciate it and hope that, God willing, all those who have hearts beating for Islam, for the revolution, for this nation, for these youth, for this new generation, for our children, for our dear Iran, will do as much as they can, as much as they are able, as much as they have the capacity, to work in these areas, strive, and continue the topic of martyr and martyrdom with the memory and message, God willing.

We honor the memory of the dear martyrs of the holy shrine of Hazrat Ahmad ibn Musa, we deeply extend our condolences to their families and their survivors, and we congratulate them—because their status before God Almighty is, God willing, very high—we also ask God for your success; may God Almighty also encompass the pure soul of the Imam with His mercy and grace, for he was the one who opened this path for all of us.

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