1
00:00:00,620 --> 00:00:02,740
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

2
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:12,340
و الحمدلله‌ ربّ العالمين و الصّلاة و السّلام علي سيّدنا و نبيّنا ابي‌‌القاسم المصطفي محمّد

3
00:00:23,250 --> 00:00:36,280
و علي آله الطّيّبين الطّاهرين المعصومين و علي صحبه المنتجبين و من تبعهم باحسان الي يوم الدّين

4
00:00:40,850 --> 00:00:51,480
I am very happy and thank the Almighty God, because He allowed this magnificent meeting,

5
00:00:52,850 --> 00:01:09,140
which is also rich in meaning and useful, to be held one more year [and] one more time.

6
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:25,770
I thank our brethren at the Endowment [and Charity Organization of Iran] and other people who cooperated with the Endowment Organization

7
00:01:26,110 --> 00:01:36,280
to hold this meeting and welcome those guests who took part

8
00:01:38,970 --> 00:01:52,620
and cooperated in this Quranic development, in this gathering and, in fact, [in this] Quranic celebration.

9
00:01:53,370 --> 00:01:56,740
God willing, all of you would be rewarded.

10
00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:15,420
The issue of the Quran is a very important issue for us; it is the perennial issue of the Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah.

11
00:02:17,650 --> 00:02:31,600
We must resort to the Quran. If the Islamic Ummah does not take advantage of the Quran and refrain [from doing this]

12
00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:39,820
– as, unfortunately, this has happened at many junctures of our history –

13
00:02:40,510 --> 00:02:46,970
it would be dealt a blow, [and] would be slapped [in the face], just in the same way that it was slapped [in the face].

14
00:02:48,400 --> 00:03:04,620
At the present time, we need the Quran. The correct path of life in the Islamic societies and the Islamic Ummah is to act upon the Quran.

15
00:03:06,170 --> 00:03:08,510
There is a hadith, which says,

16
00:03:08,510 --> 00:03:11,310
“Verily this Quran is the rope of Allah;”

17
00:03:12,740 --> 00:03:15,310
[it means that] when the Quran says,

18
00:03:15,310 --> 00:03:19,420
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided,”

19
00:03:20,110 --> 00:03:22,170
this rope of Allah is this very Quran.

20
00:03:22,850 --> 00:03:28,740
[The same hadith adds that] it is also the illuminating light;

21
00:03:30,110 --> 00:03:40,450
what is the property of light? Light illuminates the space [around us], [and] shows the way to humans

22
00:03:41,650 --> 00:03:53,650
[as a result of which] a human being is endowed with the power of sight [and] finds his insight. When there is no light, the eye is of no use and has no benefit, because it does not see anything.

23
00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:03,770
We have intellect, have various kinds of abilities, [and] have the power to think,

24
00:04:04,450 --> 00:04:12,110
but if there is no light, these [abilities] cannot help us; [this is why] light is needed. This light is the Quran.

25
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,200
[As another hadith says, the Quran] is the useful cure [for all human ailments].

26
00:04:17,770 --> 00:04:24,220
[We] are sick, [and] have affliction. Look at the backwardness of Islamic countries;

27
00:04:25,420 --> 00:04:33,710
[and just] observe the domination of infidels over many Islamic countries.

28
00:04:34,850 --> 00:04:46,170
[The fact] that the president of America comes out with total shamelessness and says ‘if it were not for us,

29
00:04:46,340 --> 00:04:57,710
many of these Arab countries could not have protected themselves even for a week’, this is humiliating to Muslims;

30
00:04:58,910 --> 00:05:09,540
this is because this affliction [exists in Islamic countries], [and] there is no affliction graver and worse than this one with humiliation.

31
00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:22,510
This is humiliation [and] this is due to lack of recourse to the Quran, [and] is because [of the fact that] we have lost this [source of] cure, [and] have lost this remedy.

32
00:05:24,450 --> 00:05:32,510
[When a hadith says,] “He who holds to it will be protected, and he who follows it will be saved,”

33
00:05:32,850 --> 00:05:43,310
it is [expressing] a reality; the Quran is [like] this. At the present time, we need [the Quran]; we need the Quran both in our personal lives,

34
00:05:43,310 --> 00:05:52,680
and in the social life, and in our policies, and in our governance behavior.

35
00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:59,420
The Quran teaches us a lesson, [like] these verses, which were recited here today:

36
00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:15,600
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration.”

37
00:06:16,510 --> 00:06:21,480
These are the characteristics of a faithful [person and] the Quran says you must be like this. The first [characteristic]

38
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,940
“forceful against the disbelievers.”

39
00:06:24,570 --> 00:06:29,200
[Therefore, the first characteristic of the faithful is] to stand fast against the disbelievers,

40
00:06:30,570 --> 00:06:42,450
not being like soft embankments, which can be penetrated, [and] standing against the infidels like a strong impediment.

41
00:06:43,770 --> 00:06:47,600
Muslims must stand against the [global] arrogance;

42
00:06:48,510 --> 00:06:57,200
Muslims must stand against the bullying of America and other bullies of the world;

43
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:34,400
[because] if they do not observe [this point], [and] if they do not pay attention to these demarcations, they will be humiliated,

44
00:07:35,420 --> 00:07:44,000
will go down with corruption, [and] will be afflicted with backwardness, and unfortunately, this has happened at the present time.

45
00:07:46,220 --> 00:07:54,970
In the last verses of the blessed Chapter Maeda [of the Quran], where he topic of discussion is alliance of the faithful with one another, [the Quran says,]

46
00:07:54,970 --> 00:07:57,420
“they are allies of one another;”

47
00:07:57,420 --> 00:08:05,880
[this] is about the faithful. In the next verse [which is] about the disbelievers, [the Quran also] says,

48
00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,250
“they are allies of one another.”

49
00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:23,080
[This means] that the faithful are allies of one another and have friendship ties with one another, while the disbelievers also have friendship ties among themselves.

50
00:08:24,850 --> 00:08:33,020
So, this is [the explanation of] an obligation expressed in the indicative mood, but it is in fact hinting at a necessity

51
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:39,600
and means that a faithful person must have friendship ties with other faithful people

52
00:08:40,970 --> 00:08:45,600
regardless of what place in the Islamic world they hail from; this is the [real meaning of the] unity that I talk about.

53
00:08:46,850 --> 00:08:54,850
On the contrary, when they see the disbelievers in the opposite front, they must not have ties with them,

54
00:08:55,940 --> 00:09:03,600
[and must not] have friendship with them. Friendship with the disbelievers spells misery for Muslims;

55
00:09:04,510 --> 00:09:11,940
[like] this friendship that you observe at the present time and [see that] some [Muslim] countries start exchanging kind words with the Zionist regime

56
00:09:12,570 --> 00:09:21,710
and [have] various political and economic and other relations [with that regime]

57
00:09:22,050 --> 00:09:27,140
Then [the Quran] says, “If you do not do so, there will be sedition on earth and great corruption.”

58
00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:36,570
[It means that] if this [principle of bolstering] friendship among the faithful and severing friendship [ties] between the faithful and the disbelievers is not observed,

59
00:09:37,140 --> 00:09:44,280
there will be sedition and great corruption on earth. This has happened at the present time.

60
00:09:45,770 --> 00:09:56,110
Today, there are wars in our Islamic region, there are civil wars, there is bloodshed, [and] there are numerous pressures.

61
00:09:58,510 --> 00:10:16,110
Imbecile and retarded governments in some countries enter into war against other countries, [and] commit crimes.

62
00:10:16,620 --> 00:10:27,310
You see what a catastrophe has befallen the people of Yemen at the present time. Their marriage [celebration] turns into mourning, they are being bombarded,

63
00:10:28,910 --> 00:10:38,510
[and Saudi warplanes] kill [Yemeni] people on the streets and markets and mosques and the likes of these. [This is happening] in Afghanistan in another way, in Pakistan in another way,

64
00:10:39,140 --> 00:10:51,820
[and] in Syria in another way. This is because we Muslims have forgotten about the [necessity of bolstering] friendship among the faithful.

65
00:10:52,340 --> 00:11:00,910
I mean, we are not acting upon the Quran; [and] this is [the result] of not acting upon the Quran. If we act upon the Quran, we would become dignified;

66
00:11:01,650 --> 00:11:07,080
[and] this is the path that takes Muslims to happiness.

67
00:11:07,650 --> 00:11:21,540
We, in the Islamic Republic, have been able to stand against bullying of the [global] arrogance for about forty years and have progressed as well.

68
00:11:21,940 --> 00:11:29,480
To the dismay of those who wanted to annihilate the Islamic Republic, we have run our roots deeper,

69
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:39,310
have become more capable, our power has grown, [and] have progressed more [and we have done all this] to the dismay of the enemies.

70
00:12:04,110 --> 00:12:12,910
This reading of the Quran and recitation of the Quran and [practicing] the tone and grammar of the Quran and the likes of these are all preliminary steps.

71
00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:24,280
Memorization of the Quran is a prelude, [and] reading the Quran in such meetings is a prelude; they are prelude to understanding

72
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:35,250
and understanding is a prelude to taking action. You dear youths – most of you are young –

73
00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:46,740
[must] approach the Quran from this angle [and] with the feeling that you must learn the teachings of the Quran

74
00:12:47,310 --> 00:12:56,510
for [improving] your life – [both] personal life [and] social life and governmental life –

75
00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:03,310
and put it into action; [you must] become committed to this.

76
00:13:03,540 --> 00:13:14,220
If you approach the Quran from this angle [and] with this feeling, the future of the Islamic world will be much better than the present time.

77
00:13:14,740 --> 00:13:26,000
[In that case,] America will no more dare to rattle its saber against [and] threaten the Islamic countries and Islamic Ummah in this way.

78
00:13:28,570 --> 00:13:34,450
If we rely on the Quran, learn from the Quran, [and] hold firm to the Quran,

79
00:13:34,450 --> 00:13:39,710
this would be [tantamount to] holding firm to the rope of Allah

80
00:13:41,020 --> 00:13:46,680
and holding firm to the rope of Allah will help one to stand fast.

81
00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:57,140
[When] you are treading a path and there is a handle, which you can hold firm, there would be no risk of falling down anymore.

82
00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:04,050
The rope of Allah is like this, [and] if you hold firm [to it], there would be no risk of falling down.

83
00:14:06,740 --> 00:14:12,510
I hope that, God willing, the Islamic world would get closer to this [concept] on a daily basis.

84
00:14:12,740 --> 00:14:21,880
I once more thank officials in charge of this competition and participants in the competition and guests of the competition.

85
00:14:22,170 --> 00:14:23,310
Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings