Statements in Meeting with Various Segments of the People

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I welcome all of you, dear brothers, sisters, and beloved youth who have made the effort to come from far and near, truly making our holiday a real celebration. The gathering of the friends of the Ahl al-Bayt, the friends of Sayyid al-Shuhada, with smiling lips and joyful hearts on the occasion of the blessed birth of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) truly makes this day a real holiday. We hope that the Iranian nation, in all circumstances, over time, day by day, God willing, will be more successful, more dignified, and happier through seeking the divine grace and with attention to the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and the Islamic teachings.

The day of the birth of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) is a day of great significance. As stated by the late Haj Mirza Javad Tabatabai Maleki - a great scholar and mystic - the greatness of the third of Sha'ban should be considered as a reflection of the greatness of Husayn ibn Ali. It is a significant day. On this day, someone was born whose destiny was tied to Islam, to his movement, to his uprising, to his sacrifice, and to his sincerity. This great figure presented a movement in the history of humanity that has no parallel and will never be forgotten; he is a model. Sacrifice for a divine goal, on such a scale; sacrificing one's own life, the lives of loved ones; the captivity of the Ahl al-Bayt, in such conditions, with such atrocities; enduring this difficult incident so that Islam remains, so that the principle of opposing tyranny remains as a legacy in the history of Islam and humanity; this is something that cannot be found a counterpart for. Many have been martyred for the sake of God, alongside the Prophet, alongside Amir al-Mu'minin, alongside the divine prophets, none of them can be compared to the incident of Karbala. There is a difference between someone who enters the battlefield amidst the cheers and admiration of companions, hoping for victory, fights, and then is martyred, which indeed has a very high reward, and those who, in a dark and gloomy world, when all the great leaders of the Islamic world refuse to accompany them and even blame them for their actions, with no hope of support from anyone, such as Abdullah ibn Abbas who forbids them, such as Abdullah ibn Ja'far who forbids them, their loyal companions and supporters in Kufa refuse to accompany him, alone, with only a few loyal companions, and with family - with wife, with sister, with nephews, with young ones, with a six-month-old child - enters the battlefield. This is a remarkable incident; a magnificent scene presented to humanity. Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) was preparing himself for such a day.

Of course, the life of Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him) throughout his fifty-plus years of life is a lesson: his childhood is a lesson, his youth is a lesson, his behavior during the Imamate of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) is a lesson, and after the martyrdom of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him), his behavior is a lesson. It was not that Imam Husayn's work was only on that last day, but the incident of Karbala is so great, so radiant that like the sun, it overshadows all other lights; otherwise, Imam Husayn's speech to the scholars and elders and companions and followers in Mina - which is mentioned in the hadith books - is a historical document; his letter to the scholars and elders and pillars of religion in his time - "Then you, O group, are a group known for knowledge" - which is narrated in reliable hadith books - is an important historical document; his behaviors; his interactions with Muawiya, his letter to Muawiya; his presence alongside his father during the short caliphate of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him); all of these are step-by-step lessons; however, the incident of Ashura is something else. Today is the day of the birth of this great figure; on this day, we must learn from Husayn ibn Ali; the lesson of Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him) for the Islamic Ummah is that for the truth, for justice, for establishing justice, for opposing tyranny, one must always be prepared and must bring oneself into the field; at that level and scale, the work of you and me is not; but at levels that correspond with our situation, our characteristics, our habits, we must learn.

Today, fortunately, the Iranian nation has learned this lesson from Husayn ibn Ali. For thirty-some years, the majority of the Iranian nation has been moving in this direction; now, there are indeed some oddities and exceptions here and there, but the movement of the majority of the Iranian nation is in the direction of Husayn ibn Ali. The destiny of that great figure was martyrdom, but his lesson is not just the lesson of the path of martyrdom. This movement is a blessed movement; sometimes it may end like the story of Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him) in martyrdom, but this state, this spirit, is beneficial for establishing God's religion and all the blessings that are associated with establishing God's religion. The Iranian nation entered the field with this spirit, destroyed a national and international edifice of oppression in Iran, and established an Islamic foundation in its place. It is not that now anyone who follows the path of Husayn ibn Ali must necessarily end up in a seemingly worldly failure; no, this path, this lesson has been presented before humanity, they say if you want the world, if you want dignity, it is in this path; you must move forward. The Iranian nation has experienced this; this must be appreciated. The Iranian nation entered the field with a Husayni and Ashura spirit, in a great revolution, and perhaps it can be said that it is unparalleled in these long centuries that are before our eyes - at least it is rare - and has succeeded. The Iranian nation adopted this method, and to this day, it has progressed day by day. Of course, the enemies, with their propaganda tools, with their loudspeakers, are not willing to openly acknowledge the progress of the Iranian nation, but the people of the world are not blind; they see it; where was Iran during the tyranny, and where is the Islamic Republic of Iran? Where was Iran in 1979, and where is Iran in 2013? In science, in politics, in security, in controlling regional events, in influencing global events, in hope and self-confidence in pursuing the path of dignity and happiness, today where is it, and where was it yesterday? Today, the Iranian nation is galloping forward. And God willing, this will continue day by day; I must tell you; all signs indicate this. Well, this is one chapter.

Alongside this chapter, let me also mention that aside from the third of Sha'ban, we have entered the month of Sha'ban. The month of worship, the month of seeking intercession, the month of supplication; "And hear my supplication when I call upon You, and hear my call when I call upon You"; this is the season of supplication to God Almighty, the season of connecting these pure hearts with the source of greatness, with the source of light; this must be appreciated. This Sha'ban supplication is a gift that has been given to us. Well, we have many supplications, all of which are full of lofty meanings, but some have a special prominence. I asked the great Imam (may God’s mercy be upon him), I said among the supplications that have come from the Imams (peace be upon them), which supplication do you love and cherish the most? He said the supplication of Kumayl and the Sha'ban supplication; these two supplications. The Imam had a heart focused on God, was a person of intercession, a person of supplication, a person of humility, a person connected to the source; the best means in his eyes were these two supplications: the supplication of Kumayl, the Sha'ban supplication. When one refers to these two supplications, one notices how similar they are; they have many similarities; the supplication of a humble person, the supplication of a person who relies on God; "As if I am standing before You, and I am overshadowed by the beauty of my reliance on You, and You said, 'What are You worthy of?' and You enveloped me with Your forgiveness"; hope, hope for divine forgiveness, for divine mercy, for divine attention, high aspirations in requesting from the Lord; "O God, grant me the perfection of severing ties to You, and illuminate the eyes of our hearts with the light of Your gaze upon us". The month of Sha'ban is such a month; pure hearts, luminous hearts, young hearts, should take advantage of this opportunity, use it, and strengthen your relationship with God.

In this path of greatness and dignity that the Iranian nation has ahead, attention to God, reliance on God, and connection with God play a significant and fundamental role. Some are heedless, calculating everything based solely on material considerations; in their calculations, spirituality and divine assistance and reliance on God and good opinion of divine promises seem to have no place. Well, these material calculations are also made by the arrogant powers of the world, and they do it better than you; why do they fall behind day by day? Why do they face so many problems? Why are they forced to commit oppression? Why are they forced to invade - in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Pakistan - and kill innocent people? "And indeed, the weak need to oppress"; those who are weak need to oppress; they are weak who oppress; because their hands are familiar with weapons, they recklessly use this weapon, oppressively, aggressively, arbitrarily; well, this itself is regression, both regression in spiritual criteria and regression in material calculations. Day by day, Western civilization is facing more problems around itself, and these problems will bring it down; this is due to severing ties with the source of existence; this is due to severing ties with the source of light and greatness; "So that you may connect to the source of greatness, and our souls may be attached to the glory of Your sanctity"; these are necessary. Today, for the Iranian nation, this ground is prepared.

I will now enter the issue of elections. We said "political epic"; this political epic has begun today. Of course, Friday is the peak of this epic; but today, thank God, one sees that a political epic has begun in the country. This year's elections have a different color and flavor. The whole world is watching this election; the enemies of the Iranian nation are focused on this election, and so are the friends of the Iranian nation; they want to see what the Iranian nation will do. The enemies have spent money, made efforts, employed policies, and formed what they call think tanks to find a way to separate the Iranian nation from the Islamic system. The Iranian nation, by participating at the ballot boxes, by voting, is proving its strong connection and attachment to the Islamic system. This is evident to the people. The Iranian nation, with the enthusiasm and excitement that is observed today - which, thank God, is a blessed enthusiasm - with God's hope, with the efforts of the dear nation, this epic will truly be realized; it is a display of power, both for the Iranian nation and for the Islamic Republic system, in front of the eyes of the enemies. They have tried so hard to separate the nation, to make them indifferent, to instill skepticism about the elections, to instill skepticism about the election organizing body, but they have failed, and God willing, they will continue to fail. This is an important and great experience for the Iranian nation. My insistence on maximum and public participation of the Iranian nation is because I see and know that the unified presence of the people, the enthusiastic and hopeful and powerful presence of the people will cause the enemy to despair; when the enemy becomes despondent, it will lose its effectiveness. The reason you see the enemy making advances in various arenas, from various angles, sometimes aggressively, sometimes invasively, is because some give it a green light, encouraging the enemy. Some words encourage the enemy; some posturing and behaviors encourage the enemy. When the enemy becomes hopeful, it increases its pressure; when the enemy becomes despondent, it will naturally see that pressure is ineffective and will pursue another path. The security of the country is dependent on the presence of the people; the reduction of pressures from the enemies is dependent on the presence of the people, dependent on the unity and cohesion of the people with the system and with the Islamic Republic and the sense of mutual trust between the people and the officials. This sense must be strengthened day by day.

Thank God, the election process has been good so far. One of the prominent and positive points that one observes - with the news we have, with the clear information that exists - is that the discourse of the people in this election is a discourse of lawfulness; when they talk to anyone, when they interview, the people speak of adherence to the law; this is a very valuable and prominent event; lawfulness. The people suffered from lawlessness; in 2009, the lack of adherence to the law, trampling on the law, trampled on the country; the people saw this. One of the prominent phenomena today is that the people's outlook, their inclination is towards lawfulness. Fortunately, so far, both the officials and the various and respected candidates have adhered to legal aspects; God willing, this will continue after this as well. This is an important point.

Another important point is that with the movement that the broadcasting organization has undertaken - that the various candidates, with different inclinations, eight people with eight inclinations, with eight different perspectives on various issues of the country, came before the eyes of the people and expressed their views - a number of people who have been shouting for years that there is no freedom of expression in this country have been embarrassed. What the broadcasting organization did, putting the people in touch with the thoughts and opinions and views of the candidates face to face, was, in my opinion, a very useful and valuable act. A number of people have been shouting for years: they don’t allow it, they don’t give a platform! Here you go, this is a platform, this is a voice; not for a specific inclination, for eight inclinations; there were eight gentlemen that day, they spoke about the country’s issues - various analyses, various opinions - well, the opinions of the respected individuals are valid. Of course, I have my own opinions regarding the issues that those gentlemen mentioned; I have things to say, but the time is not now; God willing, after the elections, if I am alive, I will present truths to the Iranian nation regarding the matters that those respected gentlemen expressed; there are things worth saying - but this was very good, it was pleasing for us. The enemies of the Islamic Republic, those who slander the Islamic Republic, have been embarrassed; they saw that so easily, freely, the candidates come and speak, attack one, defend another, condemn a policy, affirm a movement. The intellectual and political currents of the country were fully present in these debates; this was one of the strengths of this year’s elections. The people also feel enthusiastic inclinations within themselves, without any aggression. In 2009, there was also excitement, but it was accompanied by insults and disgrace! In this city of Tehran - now less in the towns - people walked in these streets, some against this, some against that, some shouting slogans against this, some against that, talking, jumping at each other, some would appear among them and use foul language, insult; but in this election, no, there is excitement, there are feelings, but there is no disrespect, no rudeness. This is very valuable; we have made so much progress in four years; thank God for this progress and for all the other numerous advancements that have occurred for the country, thank God.

My first and foremost recommendation is participation at the ballot boxes; this is more important than anything else for the country. Some may not want to support the Islamic Republic for any reason, but they must support their country; they too must come to the ballot box. Everyone must come to the ballot boxes, prove their presence. Whoever will be elected - we do not know divine destiny - if they have more votes from the people, and if they have a strong and good vote, they can better defend that vote; they can stand against the opponents of the country. Our country has enemies, has opponents. In the international arena, the international enemy is not one that will withdraw with courtesy and say, 'You die, I die'; in the world of politics, it is not like that that we say: let’s embarrass the opponent, for example, to make them withdraw; no, the more you show weakness, the more they will advance; the more you withdraw, the bolder they become. We have experienced this; in some places, we withdrew, our enemy became bolder; we accepted something they said, thinking it was for some benefit, and saw that they stepped on that word, took a step forward; this is how the enemy operates. In the face of the international enemy, with strong will, with a sense of dignity, with trust in this nation - we must trust this nation, our nation is brave and noble - and with reliance on the great God and good opinion of divine promises, we must choose the path, move forward with a correct, wise, and prudent outlook, and then God Almighty will bless such work and divine successes will be granted to all.

I hope, by the grace of the Lord and divine mercy, that God willing, this test we have ahead - the test of next Friday, the test of the elections, the test of presence at the ballot boxes - God Almighty will assist, and the Iranian nation will, God willing, be successful and victorious in these elections; by His grace and power.

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