[19 Jan 2014] Army launches major operation against ISIL militants in...
The Iraqi army has launched a major offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in the western province of Anbar.
The...
The Iraqi army has launched a major offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in the western province of Anbar.
The military says its troops-- backed by helicopters, began the operation in Ramadi, banning all movement within the city. A police source says policemen and tribal fighters took part in the operation. In recent weeks, Ramadi has witnessed fierce clashes between the Iraqi government troops and the I-S-I-L militants. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group active in both Iraq and Syria.
0m:35s
6284
[20 Jan 2014] EU, US lifting some economic sanctions against Tehran -...
The European Union and the US have decided to lift some economic sanctions on Iran after Tehran stopped its production of 20-percent enriched...
The European Union and the US have decided to lift some economic sanctions on Iran after Tehran stopped its production of 20-percent enriched uranium.
EU officials say the decision is part of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and the permanent members of the U-N Security Council plus Germany. A statement by the European bloc says the suspension is for a period of six months. Meanwhile, American authorities also say that the US secretary of state has approved Iran\'s sanctions relief waiver. The White House, however, says the US will continue its QUOTE aggressive enforcement of sanction measures that remain in place against Iran. This comes after it was confirmed that Tehran has carried out its part of the Geneva agreement.
2m:8s
6580
[26 Jan 2014] Over half of Afghan children suffer irreversible brain...
The 10-year presence of US-led forces in Afghanistan has not benefited the children of the war-torn country and another a lost generation is...
The 10-year presence of US-led forces in Afghanistan has not benefited the children of the war-torn country and another a lost generation is growing up.
Data compiled by the UN and the Afghan government shows that 55 percent of Afghanistan\'s children have permanent damage to their brains and bodies due to poor nutrition in the crucial first two years of life. The report says chronic malnutrition is particularly widespread and persistent, while one in four children suffers acute malnutrition in Afghanistan. A recent UN study says that even a minimally healthy diet is beyond the reach of the majority of Afghans, and in some provinces, only one in five could afford regular balanced meals.
3m:44s
6827
[08 Feb 2014] US concerned about American militants returning from Syria...
The US Homeland Security Chief is concerned about Americans who have fought in Syria and are now back home.
Jeh Johnson says the issue has...
The US Homeland Security Chief is concerned about Americans who have fought in Syria and are now back home.
Jeh Johnson says the issue has become an issue of homeland security. He added that law enforcement and security forces across the world are focused on foreign nationals Heading to Syria including those from the US, Canada and Europe. Western officials are concerned that their nationals fighting the Syrian government become even more radical after joining other insurgents. US authorities have confirmed that militants from some fifty countries are in Syria fighting the government there. Damascus says some western and regional countries are facilitating insurgent infiltration into the country.
2m:50s
6151
[10 Feb 2014] Muslim Brotherhood rejects allegation of forming military...
Staying with Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has dismissed a new government claim that the group has formed a military wing.
Mohamed Ali Beshr,...
Staying with Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has dismissed a new government claim that the group has formed a military wing.
Mohamed Ali Beshr, who\'s a prominent figure of the Islamic movement, says the Brotherhood has NOT formed any military wing to stage attacks on Egypt\'s security forces. Beshr says the group has repeatedly condemned all forms of violence and terrorism. On Sunday, the interior ministry attributed an armed branch based in the city of Beni Suef to the Brotherhood. It also accused 12 members of the group of killing five policemen. Egypt\'s Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Mohamed Morsi rose to power in 20-12, has already been listed as a terrorist organization by the government.
4m:55s
5365
[11 Feb 2014] Obama once again stressed on enforcing the existing...
Us President Barack Obama has once again stressed the need to enforce existing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program.
Obama has...
Us President Barack Obama has once again stressed the need to enforce existing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program.
Obama has repeated his anti-Iran remarks during a joint press conference with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Washington. He says the U-S and France both insist on the sanctions even as they know this would endanger the possibility of a diplomatic solution. He says the U-S has recently intensified its measures to identify and punish individuals and companies that violate the existing anti-Iran sanctions. Obama went further to threaten that sanctions may be tightened if the talks between Iran and the P5+1 group fail. The French president\'s visit to the U-S follows the visit to Iran of a French business delegation which sparked criticism from Washington.
0m:44s
6058
[12 Feb 2014] Afghanistan govt. about to release dozens of inmates from...
The Afghan government is about to release dozens of inmates from Parwan detention center north of the capital Kabul. Officials say 65 inmates will...
The Afghan government is about to release dozens of inmates from Parwan detention center north of the capital Kabul. Officials say 65 inmates will be set free within the next 24 hours. The government says it does not have enough proof to keep the inmates behind bars. But the United States has already voiced concern over the release of the prisoners. U-S military officials say some of the prisoners are dangerous criminals who have links to al-Qaeda militants. Washington also says their release could pose a security threat to the future of Afghanistan. The U-S handed over control of Parwan prison to Afghan forces back in March 20-13.
2m:49s
5844
[12 Feb 2014] Egyptian prosecutor general urged to probe - English
A human rights organization in Egypt has urged the prosecutor general to launch an independent probe into alleged systematic torture of political...
A human rights organization in Egypt has urged the prosecutor general to launch an independent probe into alleged systematic torture of political detainees.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information has said in a statement that torturing the detainees is not an arbitrary practice but a planned one. The Cairo-based body says the torture incidents reported by those arrested during the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution has surpassed those under the worst dictatorial regimes. It says the national human rights council has already been informed of the violations of prisoners\' rights. The Arab Network for rights information has also accused Egypt\'s Interior Ministry of refusing to arrest officers allegedly involved in killing of protesters.
0m:50s
5390
Speech in a Meeting With Students | July 23, 2014 | Sayed Ali Khamenei -...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 23, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 23, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with students. The meeting was held on the eve of Quds Day.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household
I thank Allah the Exalted because at this point in time our country is witness to a group of young, religious, enthusiastic, motivated, reasonable and thoughtful people. Today, our meeting was a very good meeting. This matter has two parts: one is related to the details of the statements that the friends madew in this meeting. Well, good and valuable statements were made. It is possible that this humble person agrees or disagrees with these statements. The issue of content is one part of the issue. In my opinion, the part that is important and praiseworthy is the enthusiastic and inquiring spirit of students. This showed itself in the statements of the students who delivered a speech. This is important.
It is possible that some of the requests that these students made are reasonable and that some are not reasonable, achievable and acceptable. But the essence of this inquiring spirit and this motivation for wanting, thinking, suggesting and criticizing is perfect. Of course, one should observe morality, piety and religious obligations in all affairs. We should avoid unfair statements. We should avoid baseless and unsubstantiated statements. These points are important in their own respect, but what is of primary importance is that our young students should be inquiring, motivated, enthusiastic, present on the scene and attentive to the issues of the country.
Well, let us spend a few minutes discussing some of the issues that the friends raised in the meeting. The first issue is what I just said. I became happy with the spirit that exists in our young students - most of whom are representatives of student groups - and I thank God because one can feel that they enjoy enthusiasm, new ideas, motivation and an inquiring spirit. I hope that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, this spirit remains in you until you will be in charge of affairs because in the future, you will be officials in charge of affairs and you will be the managers of the country. I hope that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, this spirit and this critical, inquiring, responsible and dutiful outlook remains in you. If this happens, the country will be saved.
The friends in the meeting raised a number of issues which, in my opinion, are noteworthy and important. The issue of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"knowledge for the sake of knowledge without paying attention to its benefits for the country\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" - which was raised by a number of friends - is completely correct and we have repeatedly brought it up as well.
Today, scientific work and endeavor in the country and in our universities and research centers is a lively, successful and praiseworthy endeavor. However, everyone should pay attention that knowledge is an introduction to action. Valuable knowledge is the kind of knowledge that helps the country and that is useful for solving its problems. Mere publication of our articles in, say, ISI journals and other such journals - even if they become a reference point - is not an ideal although it is praiseworthy in terms of knowledge. Scientific work should address the needs of the country.
This was mentioned by the friends in this meeting as well and I would like to stress it. The officials and high-ranking managers in charge of higher education are present in this meeting. I hope that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, they pay attention to this point.
There was another point in the statements of the friends which was correct. I too would like to place emphasis on it. This point is the relationship between methods of economic management and the culture of society. The idea that we brought up the issue of cultural invasion in the 1370s while the invasion was economic is completely correct. We do not reject this, but our outlook on knowledge as an original and vital issue should receive everyone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s attention at any level.
At that time too, certain complaints were made about the methods of economic management. However, what was important and what is important today is our outlook on cultural orientations. Of course, we agree that the methods of economic management have certain effects on culture, but the opposite is true as well.
An issue that was discussed as a peripheral issue - but that is not peripheral to me and that is an important issue - is the issue of youth\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s marriage [students laugh and make noises indicating support]. We knew that you would have such a reaction to this issue. The issue of youth\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s marriage is an important issue. I fear that this indifferent outlook towards the issue of marriage - unfortunately, this indifferent outlook exists more or less today - will have terrible consequences for the future of the country.
You brought up the issue of military service, but in my opinion, the issue of military service is not a difficult issue. It is possible to think about and work on this issue. The solution for the problem of military service as an obstacle in the way of marriage is not that we shorten the term. We can adopt other methods for this problem, but it remains an issue. Motivation for marriage should turn into a practical measure. That is to say, marriage should be promoted.
Allah the Exalted says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out of His grace\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 24: 32]. This is a divine promise. We should trust this promise as we trust other divine promises. Marriage and starting a family has not made and will not make individuals experience hard living conditions. This means that one does not necessarily go through rough times because of marriage- on the contrary- marriage may solve the problems of individuals.
The academic environment is a good and appropriate environment for preparing the ground for marriage. In my opinion, youth themselves, their families and officials in charge of universities should think about and make a decision about the issue of youth\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s marriage. We should not allow the age of marriage - which has unfortunately gone up today, particularly among women - to continue going up.
There are certain wrong notions and traditions that are highly problematic. These wrong traditions are an obstacle in the way of promoting marriage among youth. Therefore, they should be practically broken. In my opinion, you - who are young, inquiring and enthusiastic and you who suggest breaking many habits and traditions - you should break the wrong traditions that exist on the issue of marriage. This is another issue that I deem necessary to stress.
Of course, it was common in the past for a number of well-intentioned matchmakers and religious individuals to act as intermediaries and to introduce eligible women and men to one another. In this way, they helped them get married. Such tasks should be carried out. There should really be a movement in society in this regard.
Another point that was witnessed in the statements of the friends in the meeting - this point also existed in the questions that students asked me indirectly - is about the compatibility between the political positions of students or student groups, and the viewpoints of the Leadership. Before this meeting, students had been asked: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What would you say if you were present in this meeting?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" We have received certain answers. They brought us a book that contained 100 - or even more - pages. This book is about the opinions of students.
I saw in the book that this question has been posed. And in this meeting, it was posed in a different way. In my opinion, this is not a very good and reasonable question. It is not the case that all the positions that people from different social backgrounds - including students who are among the leading groups among the people - adopt should be a copy of the viewpoints that the Leadership puts forward. This is not the case.
As Muslims and as religious and thoughtful individuals, you should take a careful look in order to perceive your responsibilities and to make your own analyses. I will expand on this later on. You should adopt a position and express your viewpoints about individuals, orientations, policies and governments. It is not the case that you should wait and see what position the Leadership adopts about such and such an individual, movement, measure and policy so that you adopt your position on the basis of this position. This will lock affairs up. The Leadership has certain responsibilities. If Allah the Exalted helps him and bestows His blessings on him, he will carry them out. You too have certain responsibilities.
You should look at the scene and make your own decisions. However, the standard should be piety. The standard should be piety. Piety means exercising self-restraint in supporting or opposing someone and in criticizing or praising someone. You should observe piety. If it is observed, then both criticizing, and supporting and praising people is good no matter if it is an individual, an administration, a political orientation or a political event that you criticize or support. There is nothing wrong with this criticism and support.
Of course, if this humble person expresses his viewpoint about an issue, it is possible that it influences the decision of those who have trust in him and who accept this viewpoint. However, this does not mean that individuals should be absolved of responsibilities and opinions. This is not what I mean. Everyone should take a look and carry out their responsibility. As I said, the standard is that piety should be observed. That is to say, if we make a criticism, if we support someone, if we approve of a movement and a policy or if we reject it, this should really be done out of a sense of responsibility and without engaging our personal interests and temptations. This is another point.
One of the friends in the meeting said that students have lost sleep over a certain issue. If concerns make students be so sensitive, this is very good. Of course, we hope that you get enough sleep and go to sleep on time! The expression \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I have lost sleep over something\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is a very good expression. If this is really the case, we become very happy. This feeling of worry and anxiety about different issues makes you look at issues with open eyes.
As for what I have written down to discuss, it has two, three parts and I will discuss each part by paying attention to our time. First of all, we should consider students to be among those individuals who manifest the vigilant conscience of a people and a country. Of course, this is the truth of the matter. If students launch a movement in a society and if they make a move and a request, this shows the general orientation of that society. This is the case all over the world.
Students are, in fact, among those groups of people who show the vigilant conscience and orientation of a nation. Therefore, students should pay attention to issues in a very wise way. They should know their conditions and their environment. They should know threats, opportunities, enemies and enmities. Of course, we do not expect students to forget about their lessons and different affairs in order to engage in political work only. This is not what we expect them to do. Rather, we expect them to look at issues with open eyes, with a clear outlook, with a sense of responsibility and with a high motivation. This is our expectation of students.
Some of the issues that we are faced with today are issues related to our surrounding environment and to the region. Regional issues are not separate from the issues of the country. Today, one important and fundamental issue is the issue of Palestine and Gaza. Well, the issue of Gaza and the disasters that have befallen the people of Gaza today and that have a long history should receive our attention from two perspectives: one perspective is that this shows the truth of the Zionist regime. This is the Zionist regime.
In my opinion, this is not the important part of the issue. The Zionist regime is a regime that has set itself the goal of showing blatant violence since the beginning of its illegitimate birth. They do not even deny this violence. They have set themselves the goal of clenching an iron fist. They say this everywhere and they are proud of it. This is their policy.
Since the year 1948 - when this fake regime came into being officially - until today, they have been pursuing this policy. It is 66 years now that they have been pursuing this policy. Of course, it had committed many crimes in Palestine even before it was officially recognized and even before colonialists imposed it on the world and on the region. But during these 66 years, they did whatever they could as a government and as a political system. They committed any violent act that one can think a government can do to a people. And they have no scruples whatsoever. This is the truth of the Zionist regime.
There is no cure for this except the annihilation of this regime. Annihilating the Zionist regime does not at all mean massacring the Jewish people in the region. The logical statement that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) made - that Israel should be annihilated - is based on a human principle. We presented to the world the practical solution for this and no one could criticize it in a reasonable way. We said that a poll and a referendum should be conducted so that the people who live in, come from and belong to this region determine who should rule over it. We said that the people should resolve this issue.
This is the meaning of annihilating the Zionist regime. This is the solution. This is a solution that is understandable and favored by today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s standards of logic in the world. This is a practical solution. We even put forward a proposal to the United Nations and a number of international organizations in charge of such affairs. And this proposal was discussed by them.
There is no cure for the problem that this savage and wolfish regime - whose policy is to behave towards people with iron fists, cruelty and savagery and that does not care about and deny killing people and children, attacking different regions and causing destruction - has created except its destruction and annihilation. If, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, that day comes and if it is annihilated, then so much the better. But what is the cure as long as this fake regime survives? The cure is decisive and militant resistance against this regime.
The Palestinians should display power in the face of the Zionist regime. No one should think that if it had not been for the missiles of Gaza, the Zionist regime would have stopped their incursions. This is not the case. Notice what they are doing in the West Bank. This is while there is no missile, weapon and gun in the West Bank. The only weapon that the people have there is stones. Notice what the Zionist regime is doing there. It is doing whatever it can. It destroys people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s homes, it destroys their gardens, it destroys their lives and it humiliates and belittles them. If it is necessary, it closes water on them and it blacks out electricity.
The Zionists could not tolerate someone like Yasser Arafat who compromised with them. They besieged, humiliated, poisoned and destroyed him. It is not the case that if we do not display power in the face of the Zionists, they will tolerate and show mercy to people and observe their rights. This is not the case at all. The only cure that exists before the Zionist regime is annihilated is that the Palestinians manage to act in a powerful way.
If they act in a powerful way, it is possible that the other side - which is this wolfish and violent regime - will retreat, as they are looking for a truce with all their power. This means that they have become desperate. They kill people and children and they show cruelty in an excessive way. But they are desperate as well. They are in dire straits and this is why they are after a truce.
Therefore, we believe that the West Bank should become armed like Gaza. It is necessary to show power. Those people who are interested in the fate of Palestine should do whatever they can. This is what should be done: the people in the West Bank should become armed as well. The only thing that can alleviate the Palestinians\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' pains is to show power. Otherwise, if we act in a tame, subservient and obedient way, nothing that is to the advantage of the Palestinians will be done and the violence that this violent, malevolent and wolfish creature is showing will not decrease.
Today, the responsibility of people all over the world is political support. There is no doubt about this. As you can see, there are popular movements in Islamic and even non-Islamic countries. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the world will witness the loud and great voice of the people of Iran on Quds Day. God willing, on Quds Day, the people of Iran will show how motivated they are about Palestine.
Of course, some people wanted to show the opposite of this with the slogan \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"neither Gaza nor Lebanon\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They are wrong. The people of Iran believe in defending the oppressed: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Be an enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 47]. This is what the people of Iran want and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be shown. This is one perspective about the issue of Gaza. This is important and great emphasis should be placed on it.
Today, western imperialist powers - that is to say, a few large, rich and powerful western powers which are headed by America and malevolent England behind it - have stood firm in order to defend this usurping, oppressive and cold-hearted regime. This is a very important issue. They are supporting it openly. What are they supporting? They are supporting a creator of disasters and no ordinary and fair-minded person can accept any indifference towards these crimes.
A small area and a piece of land named Gaza is being attacked by airplanes, missiles, armies and tanks. They have used all kinds of munitions on these people. This is really an astonishing event. So many children are being killed, so many houses are being destroyed and people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s lives are being accompanied by so much bitterness, cruelty and torture. This is while these so-called gentlemen are supporting it.
With what reason do they support this regime? They support it with the stupid reason that the President of America gives. He says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Israel has the right to ensure its own security\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Well, do the Palestinians not have the right to ensure their security? Is it acceptable for a government to threaten the lives of a people who have been cruelly besieged by it and who show no reaction? Does anyone accept this? How will history judge this reason?
The officials of these arrogant countries do not understand what they are doing - with these kinds of support - to their dignity and the dignity of their countries and regimes in history. They stand up with complete shamelessness and say that they support Israel. They do not at all point to the events that are happening in the region and to the disasters that this destructive and dangerous element is creating.
This shows that today, the logic of liberal democracy - the logic and the intellectual system on the basis of which western countries are ruled and controlled - does not benefit from the slightest moral value. There is not any moral value and humane feeling in it. In fact, they are disgracing themselves. They are disgracing themselves in the face of the critical look of nations throughout the world, whether those who live in the present time or those who will live in the future.
We should preserve this as an important experience for ourselves and we should know America. This is liberal democracy. This will and should influence our actions, our judgment and our behavior. This is the camp - that is to say, the government of the United States of America and its followers - that has stood up against the Islamic Republic today and that has challenged the Islamic Republic in different events. This is the truth about them. The truth about them is this: not only do they not show any sensitivity about the massacre of human beings and defenseless people but they also defend and support oppressors and perpetrators of appalling and great crimes - such as what is happening in Gaza today.
This should be a standard for us. The people of Iran, our intellectual apparatus, our students and our broad-minded personalities should not forget this. This is America. This is western power and its intellectual basis - which is liberal democracy. Today, it is this intellectual basis that is confronting the Islamic system.
Today, the politicians who are most indifferent to human rights are those who are in charge of managing these countries. They do not at all believe in human beings, human rights and human principles. Their behavior in Gaza and other such events is proving this. They do not at all believe in human rights, human dignity and respect, people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s votes and anything else. The only thing that they believe in is money and bullying. There is no other reason for their behavior. In my opinion, whatever comes out of their mouths about the issue of freedom, human rights and other such things is a travesty of freedom and human rights.
Well, we are not saying this as a piece of advice to America, the President of America and American politicians. It is clear [that they do not listen]. We are saying this for ourselves so that when we want to carry out an analysis, make a judgment and adopt a measure, we understand who we are dealing with and who the people we are faced with are. We are saying this so that we know what exists at the bottom of their thoughts. We should determine our responsibilities.
What is important is that we should have a correct analysis of the west\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s behavior in the present time. Their confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic movement and Awakening is part of their major polices. The major policy of global arrogance is enslaving nations and dominating their fate without paying the least attention to their interests and requests. This is the major policy of arrogance and we should pay attention to it. Anti-American, anti-western and anti-arrogance slogans in our country reflect this truth.
Some people should not immediately jump to the conclusion that a biased or completely unreasonable task is being carried out as soon as they hear an anti-western or anti-American slogan. They should not think like this because this is not the case. This anti-western and anti-American outlook in the Islamic Revolution is based on a correct experience, outlook and calculation.
On that day, I said to the executive officials and decision-makers of the country that the main goal of the enemy is to create disruption in our calculation system. When one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s calculation system is disrupted, it produces wrong outputs out of correct inputs. That is to say, experiences will no longer be useful to it. When our calculation system does not function properly and correctly and when calculation is not carried out in the right way, experiences will no longer be beneficial.
Notice how westerners and the leaders of the current western civilization have treated our country during the past 80, 90, 100 years. We have a long experience of receiving blows from the west. There are some people in the country - some western-oriented, westernized and westoxicated individuals - who witness these experiences in front of their eyes, but who do not learn a lesson from them. Well, they saw that westerners brought Reza Khan to power and helped him dominate the country. As a result of this, a bizarre Reza Khani dictatorship was established in the country by the English.
They helped a thuggish and unreasonable person who was completely indifferent to the principles of the country. Afterwards during the 1320s, the same powers came and occupied Iran. In fact, they divided it among themselves in one sense. The same powers looted our oil and imposed cruel contracts on this country. The same powers launched the coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état of the 28th of Mordad and overthrew and destroyed a national government which originated from the votes of the people despite all its flaws. The same powers made our national oil movement deviate from its path and consequently, they once more dominated our natural and material sources.
The same powers established Mohammad Reza\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s dictatorship in the country for a long time and they supported it with all their power. During the 30-plus-year rule of Mohammad Reza over the country, our material and spiritual sources of wealth were looted. They created a disastrous situation for our people. They kept them in poverty and ignorance, they promoted public corruption in all bases of the country and they truly destroyed the culture of the country, the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religion and everything. This was done with the support of the same western governments.
They created as many obstacles as they could during their confrontation with the Iranian peoples\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' Revolution and great movement. They supported and defended Saddam Hussein although they did not approve of him. Because Saddam was against the Islamic Republic, they helped him as much as they could. Westerners, England, America and France provided him with chemical bombs and different kinds of military weapons. Well, these are our experiences. Westoxicated intellectuals do not benefit from these experiences and they do not analyze them correctly because their calculation system has been disrupted.
One of the most important services of the Islamic Revolution was reviving true logic and reason in the country. The fact that you young students analyze regional issues, look at different events with complete precision, identify the enemy, analyze regional events and stand firm shows the reasonable life of a country. It was the Revolution that offered this to us, but today, some people still want to go back to prior conditions. The same westernized orientations - the ones that love the west, that humiliate our people and our achievements and that humiliate national culture and identity to the advantage of western powers - want the same powers to come again and to define and introduce standards for the affairs, culture and orientation of the country.
Those who are working against the Islamic Republic under the flag of the bloody enemies of the people of Iran are people who are after dominating the same ignorance - calculational ignorance - and the same satanic temptation that once existed opposed to the rationality of this country. I advise the dear students to strengthen their studies - both on the issue of religious and political areas - as well their scientific work. You should try to strengthen your power of analysis.
Of course, when I take a look at students\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' statements today, I witness good and outstanding points. This really requires our gratitude. It really requires that we thank God, but you should work on this as much as you can. Today, we did not have the time to discuss different issues of the country. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will discuss these issues in the other meetings that we will hold with students or other groups of people.
Students should provide people with analyses on different issues of the country including social, economic and political issues. The people should be able to benefit from students\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' analyses. Students\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' power of analysis should be like this. This depends on studying. Therefore, students should study. It should not be the case that students\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' outlook is a purely emotional one. Your intellectual products should not only be based on tabloid issues. You should deeply study, think about and discuss issues.
Many of the statements that the friends in this meeting discussed are statements that should be resolved in student meetings and in free discussions. I have written this down. The free debates that we brought up and that requires free discussions in academic environments can resolve and clarify many of the issues that the friends discussed in this meeting. Students should be able to find the pros and cons of every issue in their student discussions.
Another point that I want to discuss is that competitive discourse in academic environments is a good thing provided that it is accompanied by tolerating the opposing views. One should not become surprised, angry and intimidated at the existence of opponents. None of these three feelings is acceptable in the face of opponents.
If we become surprised at the existence of opponents, this means that we are overconfident about ourselves. This is the reason why we are surprised when someone is opposed to us, but there is no room for surprise. Well, every individual, every thought, every movement and every orientation has certain opponents. And it is not the case that we think those opponents are necessarily wrong. This is not the case. There are certain weak points and these weak points make some people oppose us. Therefore, the existence of opponents should not make us surprised, as it should not provoke our anger. We should not become angry at their opposition. Opposition is understandable and acceptable.
We should not be intimidated either. Being afraid of the existence of opponents shows that we are not confident about the power and strength of our position. This should not be the case. We have a reason. We should strengthen and build up the bases of our reason and then we should enter the arena of competitive discourse and engage in discussion. The spirit of students should be like this.
Therefore, academic environments should continue working with the same spirit that they thankfully enjoy today. They should tolerate one another, they should speak to one another, they should discuss different issues with one another and they should strengthen the bases. In practical areas, the basis of their work should be piety and in intellectual areas, the basis of their work should be observing Islamic limits, knowing the enemy and knowing the methods that he uses for showing his enmity.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows success on all of you and preserves you youth for furthering the goals of the Revolution. I hope that He increases your achievements on a daily basis. I hope that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you youth create a good future for your Revolution and for your country.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings.
30m:19s
53072
Inner Revolutions | Is He One of Y\\\'all? - English
Abu Bakr Saddique was raised by a woman known around the city of Buffalo, NY as a champion of human rights and a helper of the poor. In his...
Abu Bakr Saddique was raised by a woman known around the city of Buffalo, NY as a champion of human rights and a helper of the poor. In his neighborhood of mostly Italian-American immigrants, Saddique says there was one incident that stood out for him in particular.
“I was out front playing. We were in the projects – only black family on the street. And I saw this lady. She was a white lady. She was walking down the street and she was going from apartment to apartment – and we lived in a row house. People were slamming the door in her face. She got to our house, and my mother opened up the door and invited her in. So I’m out playing, everything is tight. We’re on welfare. I go into the house and there was this woman sitting down there – eating. I said, ‘woah, what is this? Man, she’s eating up our food.’ You know? And my mother, it was like she didn’t care. She said, ‘she needed to eat’. She gave her food and she gave her some money. Yes. That’s how she was. And she said, ‘always be kind to strangers’”.
Saddique was six and the year was 1953. He says his mother’s character and behavior in situations like this prepared the ground for his eventual conversion to Islam. Saddique first learned about the religion in fourth grade.
“There was Niagara Street Library. I got a book on the Crusades about Richard the Lionheart. That peaked my interest in Islam because they couldn’t say anything about Salahuddin Ayyubi not being good. I saw Muslims in the 50s – some NOI (Nation of Islam), some orthodox. Malcolm X also used to come to Buffalo a lot in the 50s and 60s”.
It wasn’t until 1973, when Saddique was training at an Army base in Texas, that his interest in Islam began to take shape.
visit: innerrevolutions.net
7m:42s
14237
Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and Television Uni Print
17/08/2015
The...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and Television Uni Print
17/08/2015
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 17, 2015 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the participants of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and the members of Islamic Radio and Television Union.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
I would like to welcome the honorable participants and the dear brothers and sisters, the brothers and sisters from Ahlul Bayt World Assembly, the brothers and sisters from the Islamic Radio and Television Union and the honorable families of martyrs who are present in the meeting. I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow His blessings on all of you.
I would like to raise a few points about the Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and the Islamic Radio and Television Union. As for the Ahlul Bayt World Assembly, its significance originates from the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (a.s.) household. Allah the Exalted says something - in a very explicit manner - about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.) in the Holy Quran: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you members of the Family, and to make you pure and immaculate\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 33]. This description has been used for few groups of people in the Holy Quran. The Ahlul Bayt\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s understanding and knowledge lies in their divine purity. Well, this purity has many dimensions. If a group of people associate themselves with the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.), they should observe certain criteria. This is what we want to say: these groups should observe certain criteria. The efforts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) revolved around these pivots- first, reviving the original teachings of Islam. They wanted to keep Islamic principles alive. Oppressive governments and taghuts always tried to destroy or change and distort Islamic teachings. One of the most important moves of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household was to resist this attempt. They wanted to preserve and revive Islamic teachings. This was one of their tasks.
Another task that the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) did was to implement divine laws. They did so whether during the time when they ruled or during the time when they were removed from government. Their efforts were focused on implementing divine laws in society. This was another task. Another task that they carried out was to engage in jihad in the way of God. You read in the ziarat of the Imams, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I testify that you strove [jihad] in the way of God, such a striving is due to him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This means that they did not show any negligence in fighting in the way of God. They engaged in jihad in the way of God with all their power and capability. This was another task.
An important part of this jihad - which is a separate chapter in itself - was fighting against oppression and oppressors. The lives of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.) were imbued with fighting against oppression and oppressors. The reason behind all those pressures and poisoning attempts and all that martyrdom was this- they fought against oppression and oppressors. This is the life of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household. Now, we want to be their followers. Therefore, we should observe these things. These things should be observed. We should promote Islamic teachings. We should consider implementing divine laws as one of our goals. We should engage in jihad in the way of God with all our power. We should fight against oppressors. We should fight against and confront oppressors. This is our responsibility.
Well, jihad is not confined to a military war. Jihad includes all kinds of fighting, ranging from cultural to political and economic fighting. All these kinds of fighting are included in jihad. Our minds should not only switch to a military war. Sometimes, it is possible that a military war breaks out, but jihad is not only this.
In our opinion, today, the manifestation of jihad for us Muslims and followers of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household is fighting against the plots of arrogance in this Islamic region. Today, this is the greatest form of jihad. We should fight against the plots of arrogance. First, we should identify these plots and study the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s thoughts so that we know what he is going to do. After that, we should plan on how we want to fight against his goals. And this is not confined to defense. Fighting includes both defense and offense. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to adopt a defensive position and sometimes, it is necessary to adopt an offensive position. In both cases, the goal is fighting against the plans of arrogance - which is the main enemy - in the region.
This fighting should take place in the entire Islamic region - particularly in this region which is West Asia. The Europeans insist on referring to this region as the Middle East region. In other words, they locate east on the basis of Europe. To them, a region is Far East, another is Middle East and another region is Near East. Because of the Europeans\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' arrogance, this region has been called, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Middle East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" from the beginning. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Middle East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is a wrong name. This is West Asia. This is Asia - a large continent - and we are in West Asia. This region is a very sensitive region. It is a very important region in terms of strategy, military power, important underground resources and connection between three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa. It is an important region for which they have certain plans. We should see what these plans are and then we should confront them. This is jihad. The Holy Quran says to us, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And strive hard in the way of Allah, such a striving is due to Him\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 78]. Today, this is jihad in the way of God.
Hatching plots against the world of Islam and this region in particular is not a new development. Since many years ago - since 100 years ago: since World War I until today - this region has been exposed to many pressures by arrogant powers. One day, it was England, one day it was America and one day it was France. It is 100 years or more now that arrogant powers have been pursuing their goals here. However, these pressures, plans and plots have been reinforced since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This is because the victory of Islam in an important, great and sensitive country like Iran was confusing for arrogance. In the beginning, they lost the power to analyze events. We used to pursue events and we were witness to this. In the beginning, they were confused. Later on, when they collected themselves, they began to exert pressure and the pivot of this pressure was the Islamic Republic of Iran. First, they focused their efforts on preventing this experience from being repeated in other countries. They were after this. This was why they thought of increasing pressures on Iran. It is 35 years now that we have gotten used to the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s pressures. The people of Iran have gotten used to pressures. It is 35 years now that we have been facing threats, sanctions, security pressures, different political plots and all kinds of pressures.
This began with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. However, after the emergence of Islamic Awakening - that began four, five years ago in North African countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and other African countries - the enemies increased their pressures. That is to say, the enemy became anxious and uneasy in the real sense of the word. They adopted many measures that are continuing in the present time. Of course, they think that they have suppressed Islamic Awakening, but this humble person believes that Islamic Awakening is not suppressible. Although they have adopted some measures, this movement exists and it will find its true position sooner or later. In any case, they have increased their efforts in the recent years. They have adopted many measures and they have brought new elements into the equation.
The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plans are based on two things. First, I will tell you that when we say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" we do not refer to an imaginary and fictional creature. By \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" we mean global arrogance and arrogant powers: powers whose existence depends on dominating others, interfering in their affairs and possessing their financial and vital resources. These are arrogant powers or in other words, the leaders of global arrogance. We have a term in our political literature which is global arrogance. It means the division of the world into \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the oppressor\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the oppressed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This is global arrogance. Those who are the leaders of this system are enemies.
If we want to give an example of who this enemy is in the outside world, we should refer to the regime of the United States of America. This regime is the epitome of global arrogance. Of course, others are part of global arrogance as well, but the clearest and the most obvious example is the regime of the United States of America. It knows nothing about human morality and it is not ashamed of committing any crime - of any nature. It covers these crimes, pressures and violent acts behind its smiles and its good and beautiful words. The manifestation of global arrogance is this regime. Therefore, when we say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", it means this.
This enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan in the region is mainly based on two things. Of course, it has many branches, but these are the main two. One is creating discord and the second it exerting influence. This is the basis of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan in the region. They want to create discord between governments and - after that - between nations which is more dangerous than discord between governments. They want to make peoples bear grudge against each other and establish biased groups with different names. One day, it was \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Iranism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Arabism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Turkism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and other such orientations and today, it is the issue of Shia and Sunni, takfirism and other such things. They create discord with anything they can. This is only item of their measures and they are working on it in a very serious way. Of course, the English were the first experts of this measure. They have expertise in creating religious discord. The Americans have learned this from them and they are working on it today with all their power.
All the takfiri groups that you see are their handicraft. Of course, we have been saying this for several years, but some people had doubts. Today, the Americans themselves are acknowledging this. They are acknowledging that it was they who created DAESH, al-Nusra Front and other takfiri groups. A bunch of simple-minded - although sincere - Muslims were deceived by them. This is the important point. What is very instructive to us and what we should pay attention to is that sometimes well-intentioned individuals work inside the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan because of lack of vigilance. This has happened. One clear example of this is the issue of Syria. When taghuti governments were overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt with Islamic slogans, all of a sudden the Americans and the Zionists decided to use this formula for destroying resistant governments and countries. Therefore, they turned to Syria and as a result, a group of simple-minded and naïve individuals became the target of this plan. They made Syria reach the current situation. It is four, five years now that Syria has been experiencing this tumultuous situation and it is not clear when it will come to an end.
This was what the enemy did and simple-minded individuals were incorporated in this plan. They filled in the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s puzzle. This happens in many cases. It was they who created takfiri groups. It was they who created thuggish and violent groups and set them on the Islamic Ummah. They pretend that this is a denominational war. I will tell you that the conflicts that they are trying to label as denominational conflicts in Iraq, Syria and other countries are not denominational at all. They are of a political nature. The war in Yemen is a political war, not a religious one. They falsely claim that the issue is about Shia and Sunni while this is not the case. Some of those people who are losing their children, women, infants and their hospitals and schools in Yemen under the bombardment of the Saudis are Shafi\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'i and some of them are Zaidi . So, the issue is not about Shia and Sunni. The conflict is a political conflict, the conflict between policies. Today, they are creating such a situation in the region. It was they who created discord.
We should try to eliminate these differences and conflicts. We have said to everyone in an outspoken way that we extend the hand of friendship to all regional and Muslim governments. We have no problems with Muslim governments. Of course in the present time, our relations with many of our neighbors are already friendly and brotherly. The countries to the north, south, east and west of the Islamic Republic of Iran have good relations with us. Of course, some countries - near and far away - have certain differences with us. They behave in an obstinate way and show malevolence. This exists as well, but our principle is based on establishing good relations with neighboring countries, governments and - particularly - peoples. Our country has very good relations with peoples.
Of course, we believe that we should be committed to principles. We say that principles should be preserved. It was with commitment to principles that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) managed to achieve victory, preserve the Revolution and give stability to the Islamic Republic. He was committed to principles. One of these principles is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"They are strong against unbelievers, compassionate amongst each other\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 48: 29]. This is one of the principles. We do not make peace with our enemies - with arrogance - and we do not show enmity towards our Muslim brothers, rather we behave in a friendly and brotherly manner towards them because we believe that we should be \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strong against unbelievers, compassionate amongst each other.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
This is the lesson of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). This is the clear line of the Islamic Republic. In supporting the oppressed, we do not look, have not looked and will not look at the other side\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religion and denomination. This is our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) guideline. Imam behaved towards Shia resistance in Lebanon in the same way that he behaved towards Sunni resistance in Palestine. He behaved towards them without any difference. We supported our brothers in Lebanon in the same way that we supported our brothers in Gaza without any difference. The former were Sunnis and the latter were Shias. The main issue for us is defending Islamic identity and supporting the oppressed. The main issue for us is the issue of Palestine which is the main issue for Muslims in the present time. This is the main issue for us.
We behave in the same way towards our enemies. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) fought against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was apparently a Shia. Likewise, he fought against Saddam Hussein who was apparently a Sunni. Of course, the former was not a true Shia and the latter was not a true Sunni either. Both of them were separate from Islam, but the former was apparently a Shia and the latter was apparently a Sunni. Imam (r.a.) fought against them in the same way. Therefore, the issue for us is not the issue of Sunni, Shia, denominational bias and other such things. The issue is the issue of Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Be an enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 47]. This is Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s command. This is our path. This is our line.
Intensifying discord in the world of Islam is forbidden. We are opposed to the behavior of some Shia groups, as it leads to discord. We have said outspokenly that we are opposed to insulting the holy beliefs of Sunnis. Some people from both sides intensify and fuel the fire of enmities. Many of them have good intentions, but they do not have foresight. Foresight is necessary. We should see what the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan is. The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s first plan is creating discord and his second plan is exerting influence. They want to have decade-long influence in Islamic and regional countries. Today in the region, America does not enjoy the reputation that it did in the past and therefore, it wants to retrieve it. They have the same intention in our country. They have the same intention in Iran. They thought that they could use the nuclear negotiations to exert influence inside our country. Now, the fate of this nuclear agreement is not clear either in Iran or in America. It is not clear whether it will be approved or not in both countries. They wanted to use it as a means to exert influence in our country, but we blocked their path and we will definitely block their path in the future as well [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"].
We will not allow the Americans to have economic or political influence in our country, nor will we allow them to have a political presence and cultural influence in our country. We will confront them with all our power which is thankfully great in the present time. The same is true of the region. In the region too, they want to exert influence, have an excuse to show their presence and pursue their goals. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, we will do our best to prevent this. Our policies in the region are the exact opposite of the Americans. The territorial integrity of regional countries is very important to us. The territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria is very important to us. On the contrary, they are after dismembering these countries. I have said before that the Americans are after dismembering Iraq, but some people expressed surprise. Recently, the Americans themselves have acknowledged that they are after dismembering Iraq. They want to dismembering Iraq. If they can, they want to dismember Syria as well.
Their purpose of doing this is to create small and obedient countries, but by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, this will not happen [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"]. We will defend the Resistance in the region. We will defend the Palestinian Resistance which is one of the most prominent chapters in the history of the Islamic Ummah throughout these years. We will defend this group. We will support anyone who fights against Israel, who condemns the Zionist regime and who approves of the Palestinian Resistance. We will offer all kinds of support, within the scope of our capabilities, to such people. We will offer all kinds of possible support to anyone who confronts the Zionist regime. We will support the Resistance. We will support the territorial integrity of countries. We will support all those individuals who resist the divisive policies of America. We confront all those people who create discord.
We do not approve of the kind of Shia whose headquarters are in London [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"] because it is not the kind of Shia that the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) promoted. The kind of Shia that is based on creating discord and on clearing the road for the presence of the enemies of Islam is not real Shia, rather it is deviation. Shia is the epitome of original Islam and the Holy Quran. We will support all those people who help unity and we will oppose all those who act against unity. We will support all the oppressed. We will not leave the arena just because they say that we interfered in the affairs of Bahrain and other countries. We did not interfere at all, but we will support them. We feel for the oppressed people of Bahrain and Yemen. We pray for them and we will offer any kind of help we can.
Today, the people of Yemen are really oppressed. They are destroying a country just because of some arrogant and political polices which are pursued in a foolish manner. They could have pursued political goals in a different manner, but they are pursuing them foolishly. The events of Yemen and many other events in the world of Islam - in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other such countries - are really painful for us. And these events are too many and they are really painful. The world of Islam should cure such problems with vigilance and foresight.
As for the Islamic Radio and Television Union, I want to say that this union is very important. The task that you have begun - that is to say, establishing this union - is a very important task. Notice that in the present time, at least 70, 80 percent of the people in Muslim countries are committed to religious principles and beliefs. If you take a look at Islamic countries, you will see that the people are committed to and believe in their religion. To what extent are the radio and television networks in such countries - which should be the representatives of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wishes and demands - committed to religion? There is a shocking gap and rift. Seventy, eighty percent of the people are religious, but radio and television networks in such countries do not move in a religious direction and they do not reflect the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s demands. This is very strange. They reflect the same things that the dangerous media empire of arrogance wants. Today, arrogance has created a great media empire. They distort and cover up news and they tell lies. This way, they promote their policies. This is while they constantly say that they take an impartial position. The English radio claims that it is impartial, but they are lying. They are not impartial at all. They move in the exact direction of arrogant and colonialist policies - whether American or English policies.
Audio and print media, news agencies and the complicated means of mass communication that exist today are all at the service of their policies. They are at the service of arrogance, Zionism and their goals. We should do something in the face of this dangerous empire and this large media mafia that is in the hands of American and Zionist capitalists and cartels. What you are doing is the beginning of a movement and therefore, it should be pursued and strengthened on a daily basis. You should bring your partners and colleagues into the arena as well.
By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, a good future is awaiting us. I will tell you that despite the boastful behavior of arrogance and the great efforts that arrogance and its allies and followers are carrying out in financial, military, political and security areas, the future belongs to Islam in the region and in the entire world of Islam. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s dignity and power will increase on a daily basis. Of course, it is necessary to show diligence. Thankfully, there are many mujahid men, women and youth in the entire world of Islam. Therefore, we should appreciate their value and we should use our slogans, our moves, our words and our activities in this direction. If we do so, Allah the Exalted will definitely help: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you help the cause of Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7].
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
26m:33s
40697
Dua Sabah - Arabic with English subtitles (HD)
Dua Sabah is from Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).
The compiler says, Allahmah Majlisi has cited this supplication in Bihar al-Anwar, both...
Dua Sabah is from Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).
The compiler says, Allahmah Majlisi has cited this supplication in Bihar al-Anwar, both in Kitab a-Du’a and Kitab al-Salat with an exposition. He says, “This is one of the well known supplications, though I did not find it in any reliable compilation other than the Misbah of Sayyid ibn al-Baqi, may Allah be pleased with him.”
He adds that the popular practice is to recite it after the obligatory Fajr prayer, though according to the narration of Sayyid ibn al-Baqi it is to be recited after the morning nafilah prayer, and whichever time it is recited is good and well.
11m:51s
1583
[Clip] Talking Properly: Politeness or Honesty | Agha Ali Reza Panahian...
Talking Properly: Politeness or Honesty?
“Pious people have superior virtues. Their words are proper.” [Imam Ali (as), The...
Talking Properly: Politeness or Honesty?
“Pious people have superior virtues. Their words are proper.” [Imam Ali (as), The Muttaqin Sermon] At the top of the list of moral virtues, which Imam Ali (as) lists for pious people, are controlling one’s tongue and speaking correctly.
“Pious people have superior virtues. Their words are proper.” “Their words are proper” tells us a few things. Being proper does not mean being honest. You can talk honestly and ruin a nation. You can talk honestly and ruin a person. Backbiting is saying something that is true. [One says,] “I’m saying the truth [about him].” You are wrong to say this truth! You shouldn’t say all true things. You shouldn’t talk about a person’s fault when he is absent. Don’t say that. It is even said that when a person backbites you should defend the one who is absent. You shouldn’t say all truths. Proper doesn’t mean honesty. Talking properly is different from talking honestly.
Sometimes people talk honestly in order to relieve themselves, but they shouldn’t. They tell others about their sufferings, but they shouldn’t. People sometimes talk honestly and tell others about the good deeds they have done, and that is hypocrisy. People sometimes talk honestly and show their hatred toward others. I can tell you numerous examples of honest words that are not “proper.”
But I have to tell you one thing. Speaking the truth, in any area, reduces a person’s mental pressures. When you tell other people’s secrets, you release yourself. When you talk about your own pains, you release yourself. When you talk about your hatred, you release yourself.
It’s interesting that some people say any truth and say, “My conscience is at ease this way.” That is not their conscious. They have relieved themselves in a way that God didn’t want. Releasing yourself like this ruins you and makes you cheap. Not all ways of finding ease are good. In the past, some psychologists used to say that if a person’s father has passed away and he has inherited money, since an obstacle has been removed from his life, why should he act like he is upset? He can easily go, have fun and say that he’s happy.
Such a society will gradually lose its modesty. Do you know what happens when there is no modesty? When there is no modesty and people relieve themselves by talking honestly, they become weak. When you control your honesty due to your modesty and other boundaries, you will feel a pressure. This pressure makes a person grow and strengthens him. For example, when one gets angry, he shouldn’t curse. This brings a pressure. [One says,] “I honestly ask God to make you wretched! I wish you didn’t exist on this earth!” You should have controlled this! The result of some kinds of honesty is weakness. This pressure makes a person grow. It strengthens him.
Should we push children to be honest or polite? Politeness. What is politeness? It’s basically modesty. Politeness tells a person what he shouldn’t say. Is politeness more valuable or honesty? If you don’t attack me, I’ll say politeness. A child likes to say many things honestly. But you should tell him, “You should observe these rules when you talk. This is politeness.”
“Pious people have superior virtues. Their words are proper.”
===================================
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
4m:39s
2166
[Session 5] Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the...
Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication
Session 5
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful....
Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication
Session 5
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. One of the very beautiful, monotheistic sentences in the beginning of the Sha’baniya Supplication is the phrase, which I mentioned in previous sessions for another reason, “What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss, are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else. My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?” What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss,
are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else. Then, it concludes, “My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?”
The first point is that it’s obvious when we are asked, “Who has power and in whose hands are affairs? Is there anyone else with the Almighty God?” we give a clear answer. “Power is in God’s hands. Others besides God cannot do anything.” So why don’t these monotheistic teachings become internalized in our hearts the way they should for them to cause us to cry, moan and talk to God, and have the most intense love in our hearts for the Lord? Loving to talk to the Almighty God and feeling a need for this conversation deeply, are due to these monotheistic teachings that have become internalized in one’s heart. What is the obstacle to these monotheistic teachings becoming internalized in our hearts? The obstacle is that we give too much value to various causes. We don’t see God’s role as being more than a cause, the tools that we have, or even our own power.
It’s usually tribulations that create such a feeling for a person. Tribulations bring a person to a dead end. Then, one suddenly feels that he doesn’t have anyone except God. But, when we are at the peak of prosperity, we don’t have anyone but God either. When everything around us and all events are going smoothly, when we are on the verge of reaching all of our desires, in the same way, we don’t have anyone except God. We are not polytheists in this way that we believe in God while believing in other gods with Him. We are not polytheists in this way that we worship idols and consider both God and idols to be effective in the world. But, an amount of polytheism exists, which prevents us from having monotheism in our hearts. It takes away our feeling for wanting to talk to God. This amount of polytheism is usually in our hearts that we see causes and people to be very effective in our lives.
We should think deeply about how much power God exerts in our lives according to the verse of the Qur’an where God tells the Prophet, “…and you did not smite when you smote the (enemy), but it was Allah Who smote them!” [Qur’an 8:17] A high understanding of monotheism will become internalized in a person’s heart. We should ponder on the topic of “determinism and free will.” We should look at how involved God is in our lives in each moment.
We should consider this fact that there are no coincidences in our lives. When we get a taxi in the street or call for a taxi, which taxi and which taxi driver comes, which radio station he is listening to in the taxi, and what we are hearing, none of these are coincidences. And, God can change the minds of people around us about what they say to us. He always does this. Because, all the scenes around us should be designed in a way that are in accordance with God’s tests. Therefore, everything is in God’s hands. It’s really in His hands.
It’s fine if we do our duty with regard to the causes. It’s our duty to repel a harm that comes towards us and to go towards a benefit, which comes to us, and take that benefit, but of course using lawful ways. Otherwise, we have turned God against ourselves. It’s not that we shouldn’t care about causes at all, but we should see God to be more powerful than these causes. If this state is created within us, the feeling of wanting to talk to God will intensify.
We often talk to and supplicate God politely, which is excellent. Sometimes we talk to and supplicate God with affection. Of course, this is excellent too. But, these don’t contradict a person understanding his exigency. The Household of the Prophet talked to God politely, affectionately, and also with an intense urgency. Where does this urgency arise from? It comes from the monotheism in their hearts, not in tribulations, but in regular situations. They truly look intensely at God in regular situations.
The next point, which can be connected to this topic and strengthen it, is in the second phrase that I read for you. He says, “My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?” Believing that we always need God’s help is a very valuable belief. One of the greatest tribulations that God threatens bad people with in the Qur’an, is where He says, “I won’t help you!” What does this mean?
9m:27s
2503
HD Footage | Hezbollah Training On Snow Mountains | Arabic Sub English
An interesting and action-packed clip showing Hezbollah’s special forces carrying out advanced military exercises in the beautiful snowcapped...
An interesting and action-packed clip showing Hezbollah’s special forces carrying out advanced military exercises in the beautiful snowcapped mountains of South Lebanon using snowmobiles and skis.
As Sayyid says, one of the special and unique features endowed by Allah to Hezbollah is that before Hezbollah reaches the enemy, the fear of Hezbollah reaches the enemy.
As the Almighty Allah says in the holy Qur\\\'an, “Allah has decreed, \\\'Surely, I will overcome, I and My Messengers.\\\' Indeed, Allah is All-Strong and All-Mighty.” [Qur’an 58:21]
Enjoy thoroughly, but try not to shake in your boots.
#MustWatch #MustShare
2m:26s
4299
Video Tags:
purestream,
media,
production,
Footage,
Hezbollah,
Training,
special
forces,
military,
Lebanon,
allah,
quran,
holy
quran,
[Clip] Tell me about the future of the world | Agha Ali Reza Panahian...
What will the future be like? The future is Islam.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram:...
What will the future be like? The future is Islam.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
We are at the end of one century and the start of a new century based on the Hijri solar calendar. Even if it wasn’t the beginning of a new century the changes in the world show that a long period of history has finished and the state of the world is changing.
Maybe we couldn’t have said this eight months ago. We couldn’t have said it last year. But now, with the events that we are witnessing in the world in recent months and in the period that we are in, everyone agrees that we are at a turn in history, an expression used by the dear Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
The last century can be called the century of the rise and fall of Western civilization. When I was a teenager, about fifty years ago, people used to say that we are at the end of the world. But this statement was retracted by the world\\\'s most prominent thinkers some time ago. Fukuyama said, “I was wrong when I said the end of history is liberal democracy. We don’t know where the end of history is because liberal democracy hasn’t been successful.”
What do you predict for this coming century? What do you suggest for its name? I have a suggestion for the name of this century. The coming century is bringing a civilization that will replace Western civilization. It will be an alternative civilization to Western civilization, according to many thinkers. Of course, they say this quietly and don’t announce it frequently on TV.
The alternative civilization will be the \\\"new Islamic civilization.\\\" The future civilization will be a \\\"Mahdavi [Imam Mahdi] civilization.\\\" Why am I saying this? Because no one in the world has any plans for the future! There is no thinker in the world to say that the future will be determined by socialism, or by liberal democracy, or to say the future will be determined by a certain lifestyle.
Yes, in terms of technology, they say technology will advance a lot! Yes, it is said that the world’s governments will be saved from dictatorial rulers. Yes, everyone is saying that a new chaos is being created in the world. Everyone says these things. But can the United Nations ensure order in the world? No. The previous century was the century of the rise and fall of Western civilization. The next century is the century of the new Islamic civilization.
It has been narrated from Imam Muhammad Baqir (as), “Our government will be the last government. Because after our government has been established, has succeeded and that great civilization ‘has been raised by God above all religions’ [Qur’an 61:9], no one will say, ‘If I had been in charge, I would have done that too.’” According to Imam Baqir (as), when that government is established no one will have anything else to say. A theoretical vacuum will have existed.
There is no voice in the universe talking about the future of the world for us to evaluate it to see if it is right or wrong! No one in the world says that in the future everyone will go toward Marxism, or that everyone will go toward a certain religion. Except for us. We are the only ones talking about the future! For forty years, we have been answering in religious forums. We have answered doubts. We have answered false claims. There is no longer a false claim in the world for us to answer! No one even has a claim for the future.
Only these minarets and mosques of yours talk about the future. Only you have hope for the future! This is a big celebration itself. And our community must be the one to explain the Mahdavi civilization. Every mosque, gathering, class or book that does not talk about the Mahdavi future of the world, has reduced its own value to nearly zero. Tell me about the future! What will the future be like?
#AliRezaPanahian #EndOfTheWorld
7m:14s
2620
What is your purpose in practicing religion Agha AliReza Panhiyan 2022 -...
I want to enjoy more.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/......
I want to enjoy more.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
What is your purpose in practicing religion? We can mention other reasons for our religiosity. They are right too. But it\'s not suitable to word it like that. It’s not nice or pleasant to say it like that. [We can count them,] “One, two, three, four.” Usually the reasons mentioned are not accurate. It’s more accurate to say, “I want to enjoy more.”
Why do you want to enjoy more in this world and in the Hereafter? Because God has created me to enjoy, not to suffer. God is kind. He has allowed me to experience pleasures and has created me in a way that I pursue enjoyments. He doesn’t say, “Don’t touch it! I want to bother you.” Is God like this?! One doesn’t understand God if he thinks he hasn’t been created to enjoy.
Have you seen how some fathers are a little grudging? God forbid, I don’t want to insult fathers. Or some employers or bosses. For example, a father sees his child is playing. As soon as he sees his child playing, he says, “Shouldn’t you be studying now?!” [The child says,] “You can’t tolerate me playing? You have to remind me now?!” Some people think the same way about God. They think God likes to see us suffering!
What is your purpose in practicing religion? Don’t say, “So I won’t go to Hell.” Don’t say, “I’m forced to.” Only a part of this is true! Don’t say, “This is God’s right.” What will happen next after you carry out God’s right? Will you enjoy it? [You’ll say,] “No, I’m not after enjoying.” You force me to say something! I have to tell you, “Kiddo! You’re not at that level! You’ll go astray with one small pleasure. And now you’re talking about carrying out God’s right?!”
Human beings have been created to enjoy. “Why do you practice religion?” To enjoy. “Is practicing religion the way for us to enjoy?” Yes! Now the second part of the discussion starts. Yes, no one else knows how to show the way. [One might say,] “No, God is showing us how to stay away from sins.” God is not that boring! God has created me to enjoy. Is it rational for Him to not let me enjoy? [He won’t say,] “I’ve created you to enjoy, but don’t touch anything! Go away!” This is a misconception about God! Such a God is not kind.
We say, “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” God Who is kind has created me to enjoy. We can’t deny this. Wouldn’t this be unkind for Him to tell me to move away [from pleasures]?
What is your purpose in practicing religion? We can mention other reasons for our religiosity. They are right too. But it\'s not accurate to word it like that. It’s more accurate to say, “I want to enjoy more.”
4m:34s
1537
From where should we start to reach our goal | Agha Alireza Panahiyan |...
Religiosity starts from this point.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram:...
Religiosity starts from this point.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
We want to reach the goal that God has created us for. What should we do? From where should we start?
One starting point is choosing your goal well. Moving forward, having the insight to have a program to move forward and having enthusiasm to reach the destination, are very dependent on our seeing the goal. Whenever you see your heart feels cold, whenever you see you don’t have that needed speed and eagerness, whenever you see you can’t find the way and don’t know what you should do, know that your connection with your goal has become weak.
For each deed you should have the intention of getting close to God. When you say, “To get close to God,” you’re saying your goal. Mention your goal, then take action. Mention your goal, then take action. Doing good deeds and worshiping without mentioning the goal is useless. Interestingly you must keep repeating this. If you prayed but didn’t have the intention of getting close to God, you have to pray again. It was useless.
Having a goal is this important! This doesn’t mean just saying you believe and then thinking that now you’re a believer. You should keep remembering this goal and being concerned with it for each act. You should take action because of it. You want to chat with your friend or you want to rest. You want to get up at dawn. You want to go to work tomorrow. You should say it. You should repeat it in your heart. “I’m doing these for that goal.” You should repeat this.
How many actions do you do every day? Can you count the actions you do in your day? “I go to work.” Before going to work, you do one hundred other things too. One is that you get dressed. Let’s talk about getting dressed. We don’t count it as an activity. What is your intention for wearing these clothes? “I’m just wearing clothes. I can’t go without clothes! I have to wear clothes.” “Why are you wearing these clothes?” “I’ve bought them to wear them!” A tradition says that if you wear clothes to attract people’s attention, God won’t look at you as long as you’re wearing those clothes. “But this was the most normal act. This was my everyday coat!” What was your intention today for wearing this normal, everyday coat?”
This is how religion trains us. Religiosity starts from this point. “A person wears clothes to attract people’s attention. Do I have to look ugly? Should I wear a sack?!” No, but why do you want to attract people’s attention? Because of God or because of yourself? “Just forget it! You look at my intentions in too much detail!” It’s fine if you look proper to others. It’s good that you bought good clothes. Whether your clothes are normal, average or good, say, “God, I want to look good because of You.”
[One says,] “But I don’t remember to do this!” If you don’t pay attention to this, you won’t move toward your goal! You’ll also lose the opportunities you have. Then you will wonder why you don’t move forward. It’s because you’re not in a hurry and don’t feel a pressing need. Because of God! After putting on your clothes, won’t you say goodbye before you go out? Why do you want to say goodbye? “But we always say goodbye! Can I just make the intention that from now on whenever I say goodbye it’s for the sake of God?”
Why do you want to take a step toward your goal just once? You don’t want to put effort to move toward your goal again? You’ve become tired of your goal!? Is this repetition bothering you? One time forever? Maybe you want a computer to do it for you?! So you don’t want to become close to God at all. Go live your life.
A person who has a strong connection with his goal will remember it each time. Now that God has made it so simple and you can move toward God with your simple deeds, why don’t you do it? You’re announcing to others, “People, I know God. This God is boring for you to want to remember Him all the time. So don’t come toward Him. My life is boring too. Don’t make your life boring.” Is this what you want to announce? You haven’t gone toward God yourself and now you want to prevent others as well?
One should pay attention to his goal very much. And one should have a constant connection with his goal. Whenever you see your heart feels cold, whenever you see you don’t have that needed speed and eagerness, whenever you see you can’t find the way and don’t know what you should do, know that your connection with your goal has weakened. A person who has a strong connection with his goal will remember it each time.
For all your deeds, you should have the intention of getting close to God. “Getting close to God” means saying our goal. Doing good deeds and worshiping without mentioning the goal is useless. Religiosity starts from this point.
6m:23s
2521
Journeying with God | Agha Ali Reza Panahiyan | Farsi Sub English
Get up at dawn and confess your faults to God.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram:...
Get up at dawn and confess your faults to God.
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
With all God’s power in designing and managing, He doesn’t have anything to do other than taking us on a journey! You just need to know and declare your faults to God at dawn [when praying]. Sit in the car for the rest of the day and God will take you.
If you pay attention to your faults for a while, it will become easy for you. You’ll see the enjoyable results and won’t fear seeing your faults. Then you’ll see more of your faults. And you’ll see God hasn’t asked you for anything other than for you to see your faults. Get up at dawn, review your faults [before God] and see how He will manage your life till night. God won’t let you make mistakes. He will allow you to do some deeds to uplift yourself. He’ll take you to the paths where less bad events will happen for you. Your life will be fun.
Have you seen how some people join tours that take them around? The tours ask people to join their group and they charge them too. People easily pay for such things and ask these tours to take them around. [They say,] “We don’t know which parts of this city are fun to see.” Tour leaders say, “I’ll take you around.” They stop at different places and explain for them. [In the same way,] Almighty God makes a person’s life like going on a picnic. You only need to know and declare your faults [to God] at dawn. Sit in the car for the rest of the day and God will take you. He says, “I have planned this for you today.” You yourself will start to realize what’s going on.
It’s like you’re sitting in a personal trailer, not in a bus with forty other people. I mean a recreational vehicle that’s like a complete house. It’s a nice house. Imagine if someone is there who explains for you, “I want to take you to these places today. I saw that you have that certain problem and this herb is good for you. So I’m taking you to the farm where they have it. Also, I see you need this certain kind of exercise. So I’ll take you to a mountain for climbing, and this will help heal your leg pain. You also have that other problem, and there is a place for mineral water on our way.” “How beautiful you design everything for me!”
God doesn’t have anything to do other than this! With all God’s power in designing and managing,
He doesn’t have anything to do other than taking us on a journey! [In the Qur’an] when God wants to say He’s giving the worst punishment to a person, He says, “I abandoned him.” The Holy Prophet of Islam would constantly pray, “O God, don’t ever leave me on my own for even the blink of an eye.” Don’t leave me on my own. Plan for me. Take me on a picnic. Take me like a tour leader who takes people around and shows things to them.
How does this come about? I swear this is the result of a person getting up at dawn and seeing and knowing his faults. With all God’s power in designing and managing, He doesn’t have anything to do other than taking us on a journey! Get up at dawn, review your faults [before God]
and see how He will manage your life till night.
4m:0s
1445
See God’s kindness toward His servants | Agha Ali Reza Panahiyan |...
“Can anything else be a response to a favor but a favor?” [Qur’an 55:60]
See God’s kindness toward His servants | Agha AliReza Panahiyan...
“Can anything else be a response to a favor but a favor?” [Qur’an 55:60]
See God’s kindness toward His servants | Agha AliReza Panahiyan
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
==============================
We are not supposed to abandon any of our needs, and besides our needs, any of our interests. We are supposed to increase ourselves each moment. We are not supposed to forget ourselves. Forgetting oneself is in fact a divine punishment. “Those who forget about God, He will make them forget themselves.” [Qur’an 59:19] Since they forgot God, God does something that they forget themselves too. When you look at a sinner, you see that he has forgotten himself, what benefits him and his enjoyments.
Each sin means you have forgotten and abandoned your own interests, enjoyments, likings and entertainments. Seeking benefits is not bad, but which kinds of benefits? Your small benefits or the great, lasting benefits? In fact, doing any good action is a kind of being self-seeking! But it’s a good way of being self-seeking and not bad. When is self-seeking bad? If you want your own benefits and others to sacrifice for you, this is wrong.
When is self-seeking good? It’s when you seek your own benefits by sacrificing for others. In the end, you’re seeking good for yourself! By sacrificing for others, you’re seeking good for yourself. This is a correct way of being self-seeking. [You may ask,] “I thought if I forget myself and my benefits, God will reward me. Now you’re telling me to be self-seeking?! Why should God love me if I am self-seeking?” If I want to give you a nice answer, I’ll tell you, “You don’t understand. You don’t understand that God loves us more than our mothers do.”
When we are self-seeking and are successful, the first one who rewards us is God Himself. When a child gets accepted for entering the university, his mother sheds tears of joy. “Mother, you haven’t been accepted. He’s been accepted.” She says, “Yes, he’s my child. He’s dear to me. His success is my success.” “Mother, you won’t be given anything. He’ll leave. She/he will get married and leave.” She answers, “That’s my child! I love to see his/her success.”
How does one get close to God? When you seek benefits for yourself, since God loves you very much, He gets happy and rewards you with Heaven. “Good job!” “Why do You reward me with Heaven? This was to my own benefit!” Shall I tell you the answer for you to be greatly affected by God’s intense magnanimity and affection?
God says, “I have created a creature by the name of ‘human being,’ and you have respected him. So I thank you. You have done Me a favor.” Where in the Qur’an does it say, “You have done Me a favor and I want to thank you”? Tell me the verse in the Qur’an.
It’s truly effective. “I’ve done You a favor?!” “Yes.” “Can anything else be a response to a favor but a favor?” [Qur’an 55:60] “You’ve done Me a favor, and I want to do you a favor.” “God, I’ve done You a favor?!” “Yes, you didn’t waste what I created. You did Me a favor as much as you could, and I will do you a favor as much as I can. You were able to do Me a favor this much. How much am I able to do you a favor? I’ll give you Heaven for an eternity.”
Each sin means you have forgotten and abandoned your own interests, enjoyments, likings and entertainments. When you seek benefits for yourself, since God loves you very much, He gets happy and rewards you with Heaven. “Good job!”
4m:22s
1323
[III] Five Habits of Spiritual Wayfarers I Sheikh Azhar Nasser I EnglishI
- Being biologically alive is different than being spiritual alive
- Prophet Muhammed says: if it was not for your excessive speech you could...
- Being biologically alive is different than being spiritual alive
- Prophet Muhammed says: if it was not for your excessive speech you could have seen what i see (how i view the world)
- 5 Habits one can develop to be more spiritual:
1. Don\'t talk unless it is necessary
2. Don\'t eat beyond what is needed
3. Don\'t sleep more than necessary
4. Reflecting regularly
5. Remembering Allah constantly
- Allah says that his believers are the ones who ponder over his creations (3:191)
MP3: https://f001.backblazeb2.com/file/Jaffari/Fatemiyyah/1439/3_Fatimiyyah_SheikhAzharNasser2018-02-17_21-36-02.mp3
Recited By: Sheikh Azhar Nasser
Date: February 17, 2018
0m:0s
1153