Statements to Quran Reciters on the First Day of Ramadan

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

It was a very desirable, sweet, and good session. Firstly, the Quran session itself—especially with these beautiful melodies and pleasant voices—is a delightful gathering; secondly, the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan coincides with this blessed session. We hope that the Almighty God makes us and you among the people of the Quran; may our lives, God willing, be Quranic, and may our deaths be desirable and recommended by the Quran.

Firstly, the connection with the Quran and its recitation in the country has grown very well. The recitations that took place here—I thank all the dear brothers who recited here and also the organizers—were among the very good recitations. Some truly reached the level of standards; whether in terms of performance, melody, recitation, attention to themes and concepts, and adjusting the performance according to the themes and concepts; in these respects, our youth have made good progress, thanks be to God. This is good. It has been repeatedly stated that these sessions and encouragements for good recitations are a precursor for our society to develop a connection with the Quran. To escape from the estrangement with the Quran that our country and nation have suffered for many long years, and to draw closer to the Quran; this is gradually progressing. Of course, there is still a long way to go until all our nation, all our youth, both men and women, develop a connection with the Quran, so that when a connection with the Quran is established, then the opportunity will arise for a person to seek guidance from the Quran, to want and hear the words of the Quran regarding various life issues. This will be achieved in the shadow of a connection with the Quran; otherwise, it is not the case that anyone can just open the Quran without any connection or background and necessarily find something from it; no, many times the Quran does not yield, and the heart cannot bring itself close to the Quranic concepts and meanings. When there is a connection, then yes; this will become practical. So these are a precursor for a connection with the Quran.

As usual, I give recommendations to our dear reciters. One additional recommendation I want to make this year is that these melodies and tunes are good; these are things that sweeten the Quran in the ear and heart and influence the penetration of the Quran; however, there are two ways to perform these various melodies with these good voices: one is that someone merely performs as a singer; this is one way; we have among the well-known Egyptian reciters—who are now prominent reciters—some are like this; it is merely singing; they sing well, their voices are good, and their melodies and tunes are good. Another way is to recite the Quran in such a manner—with these voices, with these melodies and tunes—that it creates humility in the heart, reminds the heart of God: "And when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith"; this should be achieved. It should bring a person closer to a state of humility and supplication; we have this as well. Among the well-known reciters, some are like this; their recitation is one of humility. They should observe this, especially you young people who, thanks be to God, have good voices, good mastery, and I understand that you are familiar with the meanings and concepts of the verses you recite. It was not like this before; in the early years of the revolution, it was not like this; there were good voices, they recited, but they often did not pay attention to the meanings and concepts. Thanks be to God, now these advancements have brought the youth forward. This is good; however, you should also observe this and incorporate it into your recitation standards, so that this humility can be established. When humility is found in the face of the verses, then the heart becomes receptive to Quranic guidance. Some hearts you see do not get affected no matter how much you recite the verses of the Quran and its guidance to them; they do not get influenced; while some do, "So whoever Allah wills to guide, He expands his breast to Islam, and whoever He wills to misguide, He makes his breast tight and constricted as if he were climbing into the sky." We must ask the Almighty God to make the heart such that it learns from Quranic guidance and the pointing finger of the Quran, and becomes influenced.

We keep reciting these verses, we say them, we repeat them to each other, you say them to me, I say them to you; well, we must affect the heart with these concepts. For example: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah"; this is another Quranic teaching; we have repeated it many times, we keep reading it. When this noble verse descends upon our hearts as divine inspiration—let the heart attract it, digest it, grasp it, let our hearts and souls take shape in accordance with this verse—then the issue of unity will become a fundamental issue for us, and for the sake of personal interests and objectives, we will not disrupt the great national unities; see, this effect becomes apparent here. If the verses of the Quran descend upon a person’s heart in such a way that the heart attracts and understands and takes shape according to that verse, then when we are told: "And those with him are severe against the disbelievers, and merciful among themselves," acceptance of that becomes easy for us. With the disbelievers, we are strict, severe; severe and intensity means hardness; it does not mean that one must necessarily trample and suppress the enemy; no, sometimes it requires suppression, and sometimes it does not; but in all cases, one must be steadfast against the enemy. Your fortifications must not be soft against the enemy; the enemy must not be able to infiltrate; must not be able to influence; this is in front of the enemy. The opposite point: "merciful among themselves"; we should be kind to each other, be merciful, be gentle with one another. See, this is the command of the Quran. Why do we not act on it? Where is the problem? The problem is precisely this. If we make our hearts the receptacles for the rain of the Quran's mercy and guidance, if we entrust our hearts to the Quran, it will become easy for us. Personal objectives, material interests, the pursuit of power, the pursuit of wealth, favoritism—these will not cause a person to forget this Quranic recommendation and Quranic guidance; they will not lose it; they will not cast it aside.

See, opening the Quran in front of us and listening to the Quran and reading the Quran should lead us step by step to this point; it should be like this. The characteristic of the Quran—the heavenly book—is this. The Quran is not like an ordinary book that one reads once, very well, we read it and learned it, then we close it and put it back; no, it is like drinking water, life-giving, always needed, its effect is gradual, over time, it has no end, its guidance has no end. The more you learn from the Quran, there is always another door that can be opened; another knot that can be untied; another unknown that can be made known; this is how the Quran is. Therefore, we must constantly read the Quran. Well, the means for this is that we become familiar with the Quran, our youth with good voices, with good melodies, should recite the Quran and observe various aspects in it; just as I mentioned, they should also include humility as part of the components and elements of a good recitation.

O Lord! Keep us alive with the Quran; let us die with the Quran; resurrect us with the Quran. O Lord! Make our hearts receptive to Quranic guidance and Quranic knowledge; make us among the people of monotheism. O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make this month of Ramadan a blessed month for our nation and for the Muslim community. O Lord! Make the Quran increasingly prevalent and widespread among the Muslim community day by day. O Lord! Include our predecessors in Your mercy and forgiveness.

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