In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Sha`ban al-Mu`azzam 19,1385 AH
The respected and most learned Azari scholars residing at Qum Religious Seminary, may their graces last:
I do acknowledge with gratitude the receipt of the respected letter of the gentlemen, which conveys kind sympathy and religious sentiments. I wish to thank the seminary scholars in general and the Qum Religious Seminary in particular for the intolerable sufferings they have sustained. Whether joyous or gloomy, this life will expire and all of us will be called to the divine tribunal for judgment. It is therefore better for us to spend our short life to serve Islam and the Muslims so that we will have a white face at the court of the Almighty God and can be included among his true servants. As young scholars who will become the vanguards of the laws of Islam in the future, you have heavy responsibility to shoulder and from now on you must prepare yourselves to defend and serve Islam and the Muslims.
I pray to God, the Exalted, for the glory of Islam, the Muslims and the `ulama' of Islam, and for the dignity you, learned scholars, in this life and the next. May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini