SPEECH number twenty-three
In The Name Of God, The Compassionate, The Merciful
During his time in Mecca before his migration to Medina, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his descendants) was concerned only with propagating the word of God and acquainting the people with God the Exalted and with Islam. He had no assistant to help him combat the polytheists and spread Islam. Just as one sees in the Holy Qur'an, the suras which were revealed to him in Mecca concern the aspects of introducing Islam, preaching and guidance alone, there is no mention of disagreements or war and even the laws are spoken of less.
The ordinary man who looks only at the surface of things could not have predicted what benefits his migration from Mecca, under such unpleasant circumstances and having suffered a defeat, would hold for him. However, when he went to Medina, then the results of his migration became clear and he was able to spread the word of Islam and find followers there, eventually returning victoriously and successfully to
Mecca in such a way that the elders of the Quraysh tribe were humbled before him, and even though this was so, the Prophet set them free.
Now, even though a great many Iranians have become the scapegoats in the dispute between the governments and have been turned out of this country under such tragic circumstances, there may well be some great benefits to come from this action of which we are, as yet, unaware. May God the Blessed and Exalted return you all to this theological centre just as the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his descendants) returned victoriously and triumphantly to Mecca, and may the day arrive when this theological centre becomes even stronger than it is now. I am sure that, sooner or later, the theological centre will return to its former state, and, God willing, if you act upon your religious and scientific duties, you too will return to Najaf.
The burden of knowledge is a heavy burden which is upon your shoulders. Not only is it your responsibility to learn a handful of terms and their meanings, but you have also been given the responsibility for preserving Islam and its precepts. You are the trustees of a divine revelation, and you must purify your souls while at the same time acquiring knowledge. And as you propagate your knowledge to others, so too you must ameliorate your soul. Never fail to remember your obligations, be amicable and pleasant to one another, put aside your differences, be to one another as brothers, and with a spirit of unity and purity work for Islam. You are all scholars, you are all the leaves of one tree and all from one root, and if you are faithful to your vow, God the Exalted shall be loyal to His vow and shall return you to the theological centre. God-willing we shall meet again here. If I reach the end of my days and am not here with you, you all shall be here and gather together once again.
In any event, this theological centre will not sink into decline, it will remain in its place. Irrespective of the spiritual and divine aspects, even according to the laws of nature the theological centres will not vanish because they are held in esteem by all Muslims, especially the Shi`a, and they have the support of the nation, and that which the nations support the government cannot oppose. Governments are transient, their lives short. The support for Najaf comes from great nations and because of this it will be preserved. Now in our theological centre there are students from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iraq and other Arab nations all acquiring knowledge, and this government, which certainly cannot be called a government, does not have the power to stand up to these nations, even though it may oppose you and I it cannot oppose the nation. If the Iranian gentlemen are sent away, the others must remain and uphold their obligations to their religion. For you are like regiments of soldiers, if one regiment is attacked and defeated by the enemy, then another steps in to take its place and resolutely stands up to the enemy. It is the enemy's wish that when one regiment is defeated the rest retreat leaving the battlefield deserted.
The gentlemen who are here from other countries must stand firm and continue with their studies and with the purification of their souls. And if I, a student of religion, and the maraji` leave, you must remain and continue with your duties. Of course, my leaving has reasons that maybe many of you are not aware of, but others must remain and not desert the fortress, for we have seen what can happen. The theological centre in Qum was destroyed - such destruction! A few who were always under pressure and harassed put up resistance and soon there came a turnabout: the previous oppressor was removed and the defeated centre of that era became the six-thousand-strong theological centre of today. You have not been defeated. If you look at the history of the oppressors and those oppressed around the world, you will see that the oppressed are always victorious. Mu`awiya with all the power, wealth and greatness which he possessed was obliterated and today in Syria, the centre of his realm, there is not even a trace of his grave.
The situation of these poor merchants who have stayed long years in Iraq and who have no friends, family, acquaintances, not even a single relation in Iran, is extremely sorrowful and it is my hope that the people of Iran will treat them well. They are guests and I expect the noble Muslim people of Iran to be kind to their guests and their brothers. Give them shelter, food and clothing. Help them to solve their problems and more importantly, familiarise them with the Iranian situation with which they are unfamiliar.
You gentlemen who leave for Iran, send my regards to our Iranian brothers, tell them that I personally request that they help these brothers who number approximately a hundred thousand and have been expelled from Iraq and scattered throughout Iran and that they show them kindness.
1- During the eighth year after hijra (630 AD), the Prophet set out for Mecca. The Prophet's uncle `Abbas left the camp to find someone from Mecca to send a message to the Quraysh telling them to present themselves to the Prophet or be destroyed. That night `Abbas met Abu Sufyan, gave him shelter and took him to the Prophet. Abu Sufyan became a Muslim that night. `Abbas said: "Abu Sufyan is a man who would like to benefit." The Prophet said: "Whoever goes to his own home and closes the door shall be safe; whoever seeks shelter in the home of Abu Sufyan shall be safe; and whoever goes to the Masjid al-Haram shall be safe." The way that the Prophet dealt with the people of Mecca revealed the beneficence of Islam and the generosity of this religion's Prophet to those who once opposed him. The Quraysh had tormented the Prophet Muhammad and his followers for twenty years and they feared the consequences, but when they had been conquered by him they heard him say: "I free all of you." See Tarikh-i Tahlili-i Islam, pp. 79 and 80. 2- Historical records of the dispute between Iran and Iraq date back to the Safavid era, a period in which Iraq had still not reached independence and was part of the Ottoman Empire. However, the dispute between the two countries to which Imam is referring concerns the superpower conflict over the Ba`athist coup d'etat in Iraq. On July 17, 1968 (Tir 26, 1347 AHS), the British coup d'etat in Iraq brought the Ba'ath Party to power. After a series of political changes and transformations, the American wing of the Iraqi government was cast aside and in reality the covert disagreements between Britain and America regarding their interests in the Persian Gulf became the basis of future disagreements and struggles between Iran and Iraq. These differences, which grew with every passing day with the unilateral abrogation of the Iran-Iraq border agreement by the Shah's regime, reached a climax and resulted in worsening political relations between these two countries. Meanwhile, the Iraqi people and Iranian residents of that country became the scapegoats of these disagreements. The differences continued as long as the superpowers had disagreements concerning their interests in the Persian Gulf and after that peace prevailed. 3- The Iranians were banished from Iraq during the freezing cold of winter. They were not even given permission to take with them food, clothing and the other necessities required for a winter trip. They were taken in groups from their homes and picked up off the streets and packed into military trucks and then abandoned in the wilderness and mountainous areas. These Iranians had lived and worked long years in Iraq to become homeowners, then in a very brief space of time, all their possessions were confiscated and they were banished from their homes. 4- The Ba`athist regime of Iraq. 5- Riza Khan. 6- In one of Imam Khomeini's writings he described the destruction of the theological centre in this way: "Everyone has seen that the anti-religious propaganda was so widespread that most of the national newspapers occupied their own time and that of their readers with this matter and in whatever way possible they instilled irreligious ideas into the people......Propagation by the clergy was impossible during those twenty years. Holding gatherings for the propagation of religion was viewed (by the authorities) as being as bad as if not worse than, drug smuggling. Theological centres throughout the country which were the fountainhead of this propagation were taken over and either shut down or turned into centres of corruption for the youth. The Marvy Religious School, from which thousands of clergy had graduated, was converted into a place for a few Armenians. The Sepahsalar Religious School was given over to a few young people and renamed the Mauqufa School for their reform training and remains so even now." See Nihzat-i Ruhaniyun-i Iran, Vol. 2, p. 337. 7- Mu`awiya is quoted as saying: "I am immersed in worldly riches!" And so he was. He was the first to create an empire of Arab aristocracy. The Green Palace, where he lived, was luxurious. It was a wonder to the eye. The walls, columns and floor of the palace hall were inlaid with expensive stones of yellow, black and white. His throne was carved out of white marble. In the year 680 AD when Mu`awiya wanted to celebrate the twentieth year of his rule, half his body was paralysed and he spoke with difficulty. When he died he was buried in a small grave.
