Supreme Leader's Speech to Participants of 20th International Quran Competitions

Supreme Leader's Speech to Participants of 20th International Quran Competitions
13/07/2011

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 5, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution to participants of the 28th International Quran Competitions in Tehran.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise belongs to Allah and greetings be upon Muhammad and his immaculate household.

I am very happy that Allah the Exalted let me live one more year and gave me another opportunity to attend this pleasant and enjoyable Quranic recitation. I enjoyed the way the dear brothers recited the Holy Quran. I ask Allah the Exalted to associate all these dear people and all of us with the Holy Quran in the hereafter. I also ask Allah the Exalted to associate all of us with the Holy Quran in this world as well. I ask Him to let us live and breathe the Holy Quran in this world and to let the Holy Quran be our intercessor in the hereafter. This is our wish.

These international competitions show everybody that the Holy Quran is a unifying factor, the source of unity. We Muslims enjoy a lot of unifying factors. One of these factors, and perhaps the most important factor, is the Holy Quran. All Muslim nations are humble before the Holy Quran. They want to learn lessons from the Holy Quran. They want to get closer to it. This is a very important opportunity. The enemies of Islam and the Holy Quran have tried to create a rift among Muslim nations. They have tried to divide them. Sometimes they have made an attempt to pitch them against each other, creating enmity between Muslim nations. This is the result of lack of attention to the Holy Quran. Considering the fact that all Muslim nations accept this heavenly Book - this heavenly Message, this great divine gift - is there any other means of unity which is better than the Holy Quran? All of us should benefit from this spiritual blessing. All of us should make use of this source of divine and Islamic dignity and power.

There are two things that we have ignored. One is the fact that the Holy Quran is the means of Muslim unity. The second is faith in Quranic concepts and the promises that have been made in the Holy Quran. We should have faith in divine promises. If we have faith in God's promises, then the path to dignity, unity and power will be opened up before the Islamic Ummah. The Islamic Ummah will be saved from backwardness. One example is the verses which were recited in this meeting by the honorable Egyptian qari: "If Allah assists you, then there is none that can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, who is there then that can assist you after Him?" [The Holy Quran, 3: 160] If God does not assist you, who will? These are brilliant verses. Muslim nations should wave them as a flag and put them up in front of their eyes. "If Allah assists you, then there is none that can overcome you." What should we do to make God assist us? This is one issue. What should we do to benefit from God's assistance?

The Holy Quran tells us how to do this. "O you who believe, if you help (the cause of) Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet." [The Holy Quran, 47: 7] "And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause." [The Holy Quran, 22: 40] If you help God and His religion and if you rise up for the sake of God, He will assist you. Wherever nations rose up for the sake of God's religion, wherever they made use of all their power, Allah the Exalted helped them. And whenever God helped them, nobody could defeat them. We ourselves saw an example of this. We have practical experience in this regard. "Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition." [The Holy Quran, 13: 11] The Iranian nation tested this verse in action. We made some change and Allah the Exalted changed our situation. What is surprising is that if we take one step forward, God will take ten steps for us. We changed ourselves a little and God helped us a lot and changed our situation.

Today we see the same thing in the world. Take a look at the Egyptian nation. It was shouts of "Allahu Akbar". It was Friday prayers and Islamic slogans. They stepped into the arena and Allah the Exalted helped them. America did not want these things to happen in Egypt. The evil Zionist front, which has influence over all western powers, did not want this to happen. Their political allies in the region were not prepared to think of the possibility that such a thing might happen. But it happened. Why? Because "If Allah assists you, then there is none that can overcome you." If God helps, all material powers will be ineffective. This is how nations should restore their dignity. "And to Allah belongs the might and to His Messenger and to the believers." [The Holy Quran, 63: 8] Dignity belongs to God. "You exalt whoever You please and abase whoever You please." [The Holy Quran, 3: 26] He is the One who bestows dignity on people. You should seek dignity from God.

It is necessary to become familiar with the Holy Quran. It is necessary to have faith in the Holy Quran with all your heart. Superficial faith is not enough. It is necessary to believe in the Holy Quran and divine promises wholeheartedly. Today developing this faith is easier than it used to be. Today there are so many divine signs that faith has become easier because one can see the same thing that Prophet Ibrahim saw. "That my heart may be at ease." [The Holy Quran, 2: 260] One can easily develop this confidence. This is because the truth is in front of our eyes. What was Iran during the time of taghut when it was dependent on America and the usurping Zionists? But what has it become now? It has turned into a powerful pole of countering the arrogant powers and Zionism. These things are right in front of our eyes. This is the miracle of the Quranic call and the awareness that the Holy Quran has given us. We should preserve these things.

In particular I would like to ask those who are involved with the Quran to make more efforts to memorize Quranic verses. Of course memorizing the Holy Quran is just a means. It is not an end in itself. Memorizing the Holy Quran is a means, a means that will facilitate reciting the Holy Quran and will make it possible to reflect on it. The youth should utilize their talent and their memory. Encourage your children and youth to memorize the Holy Quran. Of course today is not comparable with the past. We have made a lot of progress, but this level of progress is not enough. They should go after memorizing the Holy Quran. When the Holy Quran is memorized, there will be more of an opportunity to reflect on it, and this reflection is the key. The key is to reflect on the Holy Quran.

In any case I would like to welcome all those who have attended these competitions. I hope Allah the Exalted will bestow His blessings on all of you out of respect for the Holy Quran, and I hope He will associate us with the Holy Quran in this world and in the hereafter.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1487