شناسه مطلب صحیفه
نمایش نسخه چاپی

Speech [Hoping to implement the early Islam; the Islamic army at the service of the people]

Qum
Hoping to implement the early Islam; the Islamic army at the service of the people
The commanders and non-commissioned officers of the Tabriz garrisons
جلد ۸ صحیفه امام خمینی (ره)، از صفحه ۴۸۳ تا صفحه ۴۸۲
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Being alert to the internal and external conspiracies

I wish to thank you gentlemen for having come here to visit me and talk about your problems like brothers. I would like to tell all the garrisons, especially those of West Azerbaijan, of what strikes me at this sensitive time. All of you are aware of the critical situation. The regime has gone and will not return. The power of the aliens has been curtailed and they, too, will not return, God willing. Nevertheless, there some persons among all the strata of the people who are deriving benefits- illegal benefits- whether they be in the offices, the army or other places. They are now thinking of reinstating the regime if they can- but cannot- in the same way that it used to be; or, failing which, of weakening this Islamic movement. As the Islamic movement does not allow anybody to derive illegitimate benefits but only legitimate ones, and as they wish to obtain illegitimate benefits, these rotten roots are present for this reason in all segments of the people. Therefore, now that we have reached this stage, we have to be very vigilant from now on. We have to be careful and not allow these plots being hatched within the country and abroad to develop; you have to destroy them now itself. You must also pay attention, firstly to faith and secondly, to unity of expression. That is, faith is the foremost of everything followed by unity of expression. Just as you saw, faith in God and unity of expression enabled you to sweep aside the superpowers and derive them out. All the countries whether the Muslim governments- except a few of them- or the superpowers were the supporters of Muhammad Rida; all of them. They used to send me messages, especially from America, asking that he should remain. Even he himself had devised a way to remain: all the power should rest in us and he should reign. However, I knew that he was lying. Nevertheless, these powers could not keep him (on the throne), the reason being that a faith had been engendered in the people who considered martyrdom a victory. A nation that considers martyrdom as victory for itself, and seeks martyrdom, cannot be answered with tanks and cannons; and which did not happen so.

In the hope of implementing the early Islam

A sort of slackness is noticeable among the people now. It has arisen because they considered themselves triumphant, and because they feel so, they have become somewhat slack, their attention is now diverted to personal matters:" I have no house; my salary is low; I want a rank;" such words were not there while the Revolution was in progress. Now that it has reached the point where the enemy has been defeated, it is natural as in every revolution- after the adversary has been defeated and victory gained- for the people to revert to their own former state and become engrossed in the things that concern them: housing, salary, illness and the like. Such issues arise. We are now midway; we have not reached the end of the road. We voted for the" Islamic Republic", and Iran now is officially an Islamic republic All the countries have recognized Iran as an Islamic republic in essence. The trouble we took, the victims our nation gave, the hardships and suffering it bore was for the realization of Islam. We do not want the Islamic Republic merely in name in that we voted for it and have nothing more to do with it! We want Islam as it was in the beginning; it is our ardent wish to implement Islam just as it was at the time of its advent. We want to implement it just as it was at the time of the Messenger (s). This requires total diligence on the part of all the ranks of the people. All of us bear a heavy responsibility now. I, who am a seminarian in Qum, and you gentlemen in the sensitive centers, bear a responsibility. That is, things have reached a stage that, in case we become sluggish it is possible for these roots to gain strength and multiply, and to join forces and create disturbances. Even if they do not succeed in gaining victory, they can foment unrest and create trouble for our country. In the event of our becoming apathetic, it is possible for them to cement their relations with one another and create difficulties for you and us, at least.

The popularity of the populist army

Each one of us must now carry out his duty. I, who am a seminarian, should discharge my theological duty, and you, who are in the army, should fulfill your military duty. I should tell you that the condition of the armies at the advent of Islam was such that the congregational prayer leader was the army chief. That is, when the army chief was appointed for a particular mission, he would also be appointed as the leader of the congregational prayers. When Malik al-Ashtar «1» used to be sent somewhere, the same Malik al-Ashtar would be the army commander as well as the governor of that place. In addition, he would be the leader of the (daily) congregational prayers as well as that of the Friday prayers. This was because the system of the army in Islam was different from that of the armies of the other regimes. As you can see, we are sitting here together in a friendly environment, is this better or an environment of dread in that we feel afraid whenever anyone of you enters the place? Does this environment, which is one of friendliness and kindness, create a greater sense of tranquility in you, or one in which people run away whenever you arrive on the scene? When the army becomes Islamic, the chief of the army should be such a person as for others to follow his example. The army personnel should be such that whenever they enter a place where people have gathered, they should be warmly welcomed and have flowers showered on them, as happened recently. Is it better that the people shower the soldiers with flowers or run away from them? It is better for you, for us and for all.

The people and the army supporting one another

These taghoutis that create an atmosphere of terror do so because they are traitors; because they fear the people. As they are afraid of the people, they create an atmosphere of terror lest the people demand justice. But the Islamic army does not fear the people as it has not been disloyal to them. It has been fair to them, has served them and is always ready to serve. As it is willing to serve them, it has never committed treachery. And the people themselves do not fear the army. While supporting the army, they are not afraid of it. It is like a brother supporting brother. Is it better for the nation to support you or turn its back on you and leave you isolated? And for you to accomplish your task by means of tank, cannon, bayonet and bloodshed? If this person ruled this place for thirty-odd years had extended his hand toward the nation while there was still time- he did extend his hand lately but it was improper- and had heeded the clergy's advice, if he had been concerned about the nation and had served it, would he have fallen? The nation would have supported him and he would not have fallen. Supposing any opposition to him had arisen at that time, the nation that staged an uprising with shout of" Death to the Shah," would have instantly come forward chanting," Long live the Shah." I had reminded him about this. «2» I remember the time when the Allies had poured into Iran from all sides and occupied it. The people were concerned for everything of theirs, but when they heard that the Allies had banished Rida Khan and that he had gone, they started rejoicing. I sent this man (ex-Shah) a message telling him not do anything that would make the people rejoice when he left; but he did not listen. We saw what the people did and how they rejoiced when he left.

The way of the Prophet of Islam

Sir, you have to behave in a way as to win the hearts of the people. In this lies the pleasure of God, your own comfort and the good of your country. It would be bad for the army to behave in a way as to make the people fear it and then turn their backs on it. The army must serve the nation and the country just as it was at the advent of Islam when the people did not fear the army of Islam, and were like friends and brothers unto one another.
The first head of Islam was also like this in that he would consult the people, just like two people consulting each other and like the two brothers who were sitting here. The Prophet of Islam would enter the mosque and sit down with his friends and companions around him. The gathering was such that someone entering there would not be able to identify which one of them was the Prophet. He would enquire to find out who the Prophet was. Such was the situation. Such was the Prophet's behavior toward society and the people. It was not so that on his arriving at some place, there would be a thousand formalities and then see where he should sit and review a parade and such things. There were no such things On the other hand, his power was such that he overcame Iran, that big empire of Iran, and also defeated that big Roman Empire. While their condition was very simple, there was compassion among them in accordance with Qur'anic precepts, and severity toward others (the enemies).

The army of Islam side by side with the masses and in confrontation with the enemies

Our army should also be like this. They should be like this unto one another; that is, the army and the nation. The army should consider the nation as its own family. It should behave with the people as they (the army personnel) would behave with their own brothers and children. In contrast, when non-Muslims and aliens want to attack you, you must be firm and implacable. It should not be so among you that you trouble the weak, and run away whenever a sound is heard somewhere. Well, when the Allied Forces came, we all heard the sarcastic remark being made at that time of" one not becoming two"! It was about the announcement made by the army of the time which used to make announcements. Announcement Number One was not followed by Announcement Number Two. As it is said, they (the Iranian army) resisted for three hours and then fled! I saw the deserters in Tehran itself. There was a hue and cry in Tehran that the soldiers were fleeing. All the high-ranking officers fled from Tehran toward Isfahan. Why? Because they did not have a national base; they did not have a base among the people. On the other hand, they did not have military power; they were not strong militarily. Rida Khan asked as to why they had fled so soon. They told him that all this was out of courtesy for him; otherwise that attack was the first attack itself which did not last three hours. They (Allied Forces) came from that side and we (Iranian Forces) fled from this side! The reason was that they were militarily weak; it was just talk (about the army's strength).

The army of Islam: steadfastness unto martyrdom

A powerful army resists the enemy until death, until martyrdom. The Islamic army considers martyrdom as life for itself. The one who considers martyrdom to be life, eternal life, for himself, stands up to the enemy to the last breath while seeking martyrdom. But the one who is attracted to these glamorous enticements and to materialism, and has no faith whatsoever in his heart, will, of course, run away somewhere in Tehran whenever there is sound from the enemy. It (the enemy) was on the (country's) border; they had still not come. But when the trouble started on the border, our army fled as we witnessed in Tehran, and went away. You must act upon that precept of the Qur'an that enjoins you to be friends among yourselves and with the nation, so that when you are among the people, they will accept you and have affection for you. The reason is that you are their supporters, and a person has love for those who support him. However, you must stand firm against an enemy and look upon martyrdom as a victory. This is how a soldier of Islam is, and you are now the soldiers of Islam. And I hope that your names will be registered in the book of the Imam of the Time (`a).
May God protect you, and may you be successful. I hope that the irrelevant things being said by some wicked persons in Tabriz and Azerbaijan will stop. I am your servant; I am everybody's servant and the clergy's servant. There are no such problems. The seditionists and those out
to create mischief are raising these issues; if not, two Muslims, two human beings cannot be opposed to each other.
We are here to serve you and all the strata of the nation. I am hopeful of our going to the very end with such service, and of all of us being in the service of Islam.
«۱»- Malik al-Ashtar: more fully, Malik ibn Harith from Nakha'a and famous as al-Ashtar, was among the prominent commanders of Imam `Ali's army and the governor appointed to Egypt by Imam `Ali. He accompanied the Imam in the Battles of Jamal and Siffin. On his way to Egypt, he was killed through the conspiracy of Mu`awiyah. For the text of the Imam's famous instructions to him before setting forth to Egypt, see Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter ۵۳, pp.۴۲۶-۴۴۵. A complete translation is contained in William C.Chittick, A Shi`ite Anthology (Albany, N.Y, ۱۹۸۰), pp. ۶۸-۸۲. «۲»- The speech delivered on the afternoon of `Ashoura Khordad ۱۳۴۲ AHS (۱۳۸۳ AH/ ۱۹۶۳).


امام خمینی (ره)؛ 23 خرداد 1358

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