I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Why we oppose the Shah's regime
We have been opposing the Shah's government for many years and still some people pretend not to understand and cover their ears! We recognized him for what he was from the start: a creature who brings disaster upon the nation of Iran daily and who spills the blood of our youth. Opposition to him has existed since the beginning (of his rule) and it has increased gradually, as his crimes increased so too did the opposition, until finally we arrived at the stage where we saw that he had destroyed everything we had: he had given our national resources away lock, stock and barrel; he had prevented all our active forces from progressing; he had kept our educational system in a retarded condition; he had ruined everything.
Now that the nation's opposition has reached its peak, and everyone (in the country) has risen up against him, he has become insane and no one can imagine what his situation and that of his government is at the present time he has brought in a group of soldiers and has formed a government. A number of criminals have formed the government and they are all like him! He has put them to rule over our country and during the first twenty-four hours of the month of Muharram, the number of people killed is said by some to be very high. I do not have precise information as yet, but two sources have put the figure of those killed at twenty thousand! I do not know what will happen next. I cannot believe that this is really the number of people killed, but up until now information to this effect has reached here from two sources; of course lower figures have also been given. «1» What crime had been committed? What had this nation done other than to utter valid words saying:" We want a just government; we want a government that will use our country's resources for the country itself"?
Islamic government means cessation of plundering and stealing
We are saying repeatedly that we want an Islamic government and the gentlemen think that an Islamic government comes from the other side of the world! It is something that no one can even imagine! We say that a thief should be removed and a righteous person put in his stead. Is this so very important? Yes, it is. Islam has laid down conditions for government: it should be just; it should be trustworthy and reassuring. A just government should be brought to power, one that abides by Islamic laws. We are calling for an Islamic government so that such things as have been happening will not happen again, so that such a creature as he will not be able to take the whole of the nation's possessions in his own hands.
Over these past fifty years, they (the Shah and his father) have destroyed everything this country had. The Americans brought him (the Shah) to power and he is in their hands, so everything that Iran has, whether active human resources, subterranean wealth or the wealth which lies above the ground, should either be destroyed or should go into their (the Americans') or his family's pockets. Now that sums of money amounting to many billions have already been taken out of Iran- a list was brought to us and we have seen the names, you too have probably seen this list «2»- they have recently decided that after all this stealing and destruction enough is enough and they should not take any more! Just what are they not to take out of the country? They have already taken everything! «3» The Shah, his courtiers and the rest of his gang, these traitors have taken what they could. Such great sums they have taken, ranging from eight hundred million dollars each to two hundred, three hundred or five hundred million dollars. A very long list was brought here, and I too saw which people have taken what. They range from military people to courtiers and from ministers to members of the security organization, all of those who form his entourage and who have plundered this nation, placed the money in the bank and who now, upon seeing that there is the possibility that they will be stopped from doing this, are transferring the money abroad.
People should stop the plunderers from escaping
The people of Iran should not let these people leave the country; they should grab them by their throats and take this money from them. This money is the property of the nation which has gone into their pockets. Even if the Shah were to step down, they should grab him by the throat and take back from him whatever he has stolen. They should make him pay the penalty for the crimes he has committed, they should retaliate. So many people have been killed, and now" His Imperial Majesty" has repented! This is his" repentance". A few days ago he came before the nation and in order to deceive the people, he apologized to the great `ulama' and said he had made mistakes which he would not repeat. Some people pretend to have been taken in by this, but it's not as if they don't understand, they are either being very magnanimous about it or they have interests to protect and so they say:" Well, he has repented; what more do you want?" This man who says he won't err again and he won't repeat his past actions is the same man whose actions against the nation we have witnessed over the past twenty-four hours and who continues to act against this nation. I don't have precise details at the moment, but you can be sure that they are keeping themselves busy. Now, whenever a call comes in from Iran, or the gentlemen here ring, the news is that killings are occurring in different places: in the provinces, in the cities, in the streets of Tehran, killings are rife. Many of the Iranian cities are presently in a state of chaos. These commandos and kolis, and others like them, who are in point of fact agents of the security organization, have been brought into the cities to wreak havoc. Indeed, he has now realized that he must leave the country and so he is acting out his threat to turn Iran into a heap of rubble before he leaves! «4»
Following the Doyen of the Martyrs «5» in fighting oppression
Be that as it may, those of us who are here now should reform and make ourselves ready. If a nation wishes to stand up for a valid cause, it should learn from history. It should make use of Islamic history and learn from what has taken place in Islamic history for there is a lesson to be learnt in this for us all. With only a small number of followers, the Doyen of the Martyrs set off and confronted Yazid. «6» For Yazid's government was a tyrannical government. It was a powerful government which claimed to espouse Islam, and indeed Yazid was even of the same family as Imam Husayn. «7» However, even though Yazid claimed to espouse Islam and he saw his government as an Islamic one and himself the successor to the Messenger of God, the point was that he was an oppressor who had taken control of the affairs of the country illegally. This is why Hadrat Abou `Abdillah, upon whom be peace, rose up against him with only a small number of followers. For he knew it was his duty to reject his rule and to bring an end to something evil. If an oppressive ruler gains dominance over the people the `ulama' of that nation and the scientists of that nation should voice their disapproval, they should prohibit evil. The Doyen of the Martyrs knew that it was logically impossible for his handful of supporters- who it is said had originally numbered four thousand but on the eve of the battle that number had dwindled to only a few, to seventy-two people- to defeat Yazid's army. Yet even though he knew this, still he saw it as his duty to stand up to this power and be killed, so that the situation could be changed, and through his sacrifice and that of his followers this power could be disgraced and held up as an example to deter. He realized that it was his duty, his divine duty, to rise up and oppose the unjust government which had taken control of the destiny of the country, to express his disagreement and his disapproval whatever may happen. Consequently, although on the basis of any calculation it was obvious that such a small number could not confront all those people, nevertheless it was a duty that had to be carried out.
This is a lesson for us all, that although few in number, we must still express our disapproval; for someone has come along and has grasped the reins of Islamic rule in Iran, and a position which should be occupied by the Commander of the Faithful, he occupies, a position which Imam Husayn should occupy, he occupies, and according to him, he is ruling legitimately and espouses Islam! Yazid did the same! So did Mu`awiyah. They prayed at the congregational prayer, they even led the prayers.
We should express our disapproval of someone who has usurped the throne of Islam, who has usurped the government of Islam and who wants to have absolute control over the resources of the Muslims; if he were not a traitor he would still be a usurper, for he has usurped his position. This position belongs to someone who meets the conditions which Islam has set for the person who should be in charge of the affairs of Muslims. Even if he hadn't given our oil away, ruined our pasturelands and our farming, even if he hadn't destroyed the educational system in Iran and the Iranian army, even if he hadn't disrupted the Iranian economy and the country in every respect, he would still be a usurper who needed to be censured and told that he should not rule. As it is, he has done all of these things, he has taken Iran to rack and ruin in every respect.
The Doyen of the Martyrs, upon whom be peace, acted upon his divine duty, in victory or defeat he had performed his religious duty, and this was at the heart of the matter. The point is that it is the duty of all the people to voice their disapproval of someone who is destroying the reputation of Islam and the Muslims, who has taken control of the affairs of the Muslims, has handed over control of the Muslims' lands to the unbelievers, has handed the Iranian army over to the charge of American advisers, who puts the wealth of Iran into the pockets of this and that country and who has ruined the educational system in Iran. Iran has become a case in point. Such a person who sits on the throne upon which someone like Imam Husayn, upon whom be peace, should sit, needs to be censured. It is incumbent upon all the people to do this and tell him to step down from this throne. Everyone is duty bound to do this.
Necessity to move along with the torrent of the nation
Now that the Iranian nation has risen and is standing up to him, it is incumbent upon us all, upon all the `ulama', the maraji`, «8» the merchants and tradesmen, the intellectuals and the political parties to go with the flow of this flood until this rubbish has been swept away. If someone colludes with the regime in this affair, shows weakness and relaxes in his efforts, then whoever he may be, he will be a traitor who will have betrayed the Muslims and Islam. If someone utters so much as a word of co-operation with this man, he will be a traitor, he will have betrayed Islam for he (the Shah) is a person who is betraying Islam, who is destroying the dignity of Islam, who has given away our resources and has impoverished the nation.
Devastating the country in the name of "reform" and "nationalization"
You must realize that if he remains in power for a few more years, he will still be giving your oil to America in the manner that he is doing at present. What does he get in return for this oil? Nothing! He does not get anything that is of use to our country, rather he gets something which is actually harmful to the country: bases, which he builds for America! He has destroyed this resource, and the rest he has given away one after the other to this country and that. He has given the pasturelands to one group; the forests have gone to another in the name of nationalization; in one place he has drained off the waters and has put the fish into somebody else's hands; whatever we had he has handed over to others. Iran had an agrarian economy, but that too he destroyed. He destroyed it in the name of" land reforms." We no longer have farming in Iran; proper farming now is only carried out in certain places in Iran by Israelis in whose hands he has placed all the good land. It is even said that it is the Israelis who have come to Iran and are perpetrating these killings. «9» It is the Israelis who are doing this to repay him for the services that he has rendered them, in other words for giving them oil. He gives the Israelis oil to help them in their war against the Muslims and Iran! Now in return they send their commandos, who are well-experienced in the art of killing people, to Iran. These people dare not tell their own soldiers to kill the people, so they have asked the Israelis to send killers for them! Wherever you look, you see the crime and treason perpetrated by this man.
It is the religious duty of us all, all Muslims, all the `ulama', all the intellectuals, all the politicians, whoever, to oppose him. Whoever does not oppose him has gone against his religious duty and has acted dishonorably; we can no longer call him honorable; he is a vile, despicable person. Whoever helps the Shah, as Carter and his like are doing, is a traitor who is betraying a nation; for it is a nation which has stood up now and is calling for freedom, among other things, and this killing is what it gets in return. The nation is calling out that it doesn't want this criminal, so they have to use machine-guns to say:" No, you have to want him!" According to the law, the legal right to rule- and his rule is not legal- is granted by the nation, so now that the nation is saying" no" the bayonet has to be brought in to make the people say "yes"!
Taking religious leaders as role model in calamities and hardships
We must reform and ready ourselves, in other words we should look to what our elders, our leaders, did; what they did for Islam; what they did for the Muslims; and what they wanted to do. The Most Noble Messenger struggled for thirteen years in Mecca, he was imprisoned, persecuted, abused, bested by a thousand difficulties, yet he bore everything patiently, he persevered and invited the people (to Islam). Later, when he saw that he could no longer achieve anything by remaining there, he migrated to Medina where other people joined him and his followers. He was there for ten years, and in that time doing battle with those tyrants was his greatest concern. He confronted the powerful ones, the oppressors, those who wanted to plunder the people; those who wanted to steal the wealth of the people, until he had eliminated them to the extent that he could. He was patient and persevering.
When one looks at the history of those battles which the Muslims took part in at that time, one is amazed at how valiant they were even though small in number. An officer in one of the battles said that he needed only twenty-nine men to accompany him in an attack on the enemy's advance guard- that numbered sixty thousand- to show them what's what! The whole Roman army itself numbered eight hundred thousand. Those with him insisted that it couldn't be done with only thirty men, they discussed the matter among themselves until eventually the officer was prepared to allow sixty people to go. One person for every thousand went and the enemy was defeated! They took them by surprise and defeated them, because they had strength, there was a power within them, the power of faith in God.
You must find this faith in God to become strong. If our protector is God then we need have no fear, but if our aim is worldly gain then we should be very afraid. Do I seek worldly gain? Why should I sacrifice everything I have for this world? Those who have sacrificed their youth have lost nothing if they did it for God, for they have gained God's approval, and even more than that, they have found a superior kind of life. He who sacrifices his life, if he does it for God, if he relies on God, then he has lost nothing. If he does it for this world, however, then he has lost his life, it is over with, but not exactly, no, if he died for this world then he still has something to face in the afterlife.
There is no defeat to an uprising for the sake of God
Endeavor to act for God. Make your uprising one for God." Say, I do admonish you to do one thing, to rise up for God; it may be in pairs or it may be singly." «10» There is one admonition. God tells the Prophet to inform the people that He admonishes them to do one thing: to rise up for Him. Your uprising must be for God, not for acquiring a title, a position, money or whatever. No, this must not be the case. If the uprising is for God, if you turn to God as your protector, then the spirit will find a confidence that cannot be broken and you will attain a spiritual state because you have united with an everlasting power. He who starts moving out of obedience to the Divine Being is like a drop of water backed by the sea, an endless sea... We by ourselves are nothing, a mere drop, even smaller than a drop, but if we join that sea, that endless sea, then we will become just like that sea:" When thou threwest the spear, it was not thy act, but God's." «11» God told the Prophet that when he threw the spear, it was not he who had thrown it, but God himself, meaning the Prophet's hand was the hand of God. So when he threw the spear it was in actual fact God who had thrown it, because the Prophet had united with Him, he himself was no longer anything, everything was God. When everything is Him, then thou threwest, but it was not thy act. The Prophet threw the spear and yet he did not. Apparently he threw it, but it was God's act, not his. And God told the Prophet:" Those who swear fealty to you do no less than swear their fealty to God," «12» because they have united with an everlasting power; they have united with God; and now it is with His hand that they swear their allegiance.
God, the Blessed and Exalted, says those who swear allegiance to the Prophet have sworn allegiance to God. One can swear allegiance to God with this very hand of the Prophet because this is no longer the Prophet's hand; it is the hand of God. Of course the position that the Prophet attained is one that is not within easy reach for you and I, but to work for God is feasible for us. Sometimes one sees nothing, only God; one does not make a move other than it being for God; one is not willing to do anything unless it is for God; one does not follow a course unless it is that of God's; the path is God's, not one's own; one is nothing, is insignificant; everything is God; one annihilates oneself and is replaced with an endless power. This is the case sometimes. This is the stage at which" when thou threwest the spear, it was not thy act, but God's." Sometimes a stage higher than this may also be achieved and sometimes this is not the case, but still the action is for God. You have risen up for God, your movement is for God; it is in order to establish God's laws. Your aim is not affluence, you are not opportunists after riches, this is not the case, rather you have seen that the religion of God is in danger, the servants of God upon whom God has bestowed His favor are in danger. God's servants are suffering under an oppressor and you have risen to save them, not to save your uncle or your cousin, but to save the servants of God.
Assisting the movement for the sake of God
The servants of God are now suffering, they are in danger; you can help them by propagating their cause here. You are able to do this. Give interviews, whichever one of you is able should give press interviews and tell the people over here about the situation in Iran. But your aim should be God; you should turn to God for support. Rise up for God. Even if you are only one person, if your uprising is for God, then it has value, it has divine value. Be it individually or in pairs-"... rise up for God; it may be in pairs or it may be singly." Unite yourself with that endless sea and make your actions divine actions. Pay attention to the laws of God the Blessed and Exalted. These uprisings are to bring into effect the laws of God. All these uprisings that are taking place, that have been taking place for years now, have been in order to bring God's laws into force in the world and to remove Satan's laws from this world. Satan's laws prevail in Iran and the people want the laws of God to prevail. Strive to bring the laws of God into effect within yourselves. Be devout, carry out the actions that God the Blessed and Exalted has told you to perform. Make yourself divine. A servant does not ask for the whys and wherefores, God says do it and I do it. The whys and wherefores are no concern of mine. Why is asked of some ordinary person when one does not know if he is correct or not and thus questions him. When you visit the doctor and he tells you to do something, you don't ask him why. When he prescribes medicine for you, you don't ask him why, even though he is only a doctor and a human being.
Self-training prelude to uprising
You must train yourselves so that you are able to rise up (for God). Train yourselves to obey God's laws; to obey His every command, when He says no, then let it be no; when He says yes, then let it be yes. When you can do this, then you will have reached a stage that man should reach. If when He says no, it is no, and when He says yes, it is yes, and one becomes the servant of the will of the Exalted Truth, obeying His every command, then one will have reached this `stage' of humanity. Many other stages also exist, but if one reaches this stage of humanity whereby one's actions are for God, then one will not suffer defeat, when the action is for God, defeat is not involved.
If, please God, the Iranians have risen for God, then they will not suffer defeat. In other words, even if this man were to continue with his oppression until the end and we were not successful in disarming him of this unjust weapon, this would still not be a source of anxiety for us, because we were obeying God, obedience was out of obedience to God, so even if we suffer defeat it will have been brought about through obedience to God. The Prophet suffered defeat in some of his battles, Hadrat Amir was defeated in his battle with Mu`awiyah, the Doyen of the Martyrs was killed, but it was out of obedience to God, it was for God, all of it was for Him and for this reason defeat did not come into it, they obeyed Him and that was that. Mu`awiyah and the others were eventually defeated and their rule destroyed, yet the path of the Prophet and the Imams has continued until the present day.
God willing, all of you will be successful and you will all help this movement for God the Exalted [The audience says" God willing"].