Speech [Rising for God's sake and the enforcement of justice]

First of all, I have something to say respectfully about the word that he uttered. And then: O God! Thou knowest that in this uprising we seek your pleasure and Thou knowest that we are sick and tired of injustice even if it is done to a single person and Thou knowest that we have risen up in order for justice to prevail and Thou knowest that we are sick and tired of, and abhor such oppressions and injustices.

I will review the issues that you gentlemen have written and will afterward take action accordingly.

And you should know that these individuals who committed injustice to you- and were told before this- Mr. Khalkhali «2» told me last night that" These were insurgents and, God willing, their leaders will be captured and face trial. And I will see to it that justice is done." And what you should know is that these individuals did not belong to the Islamic system and the Islamic Republic. Those who are related to Islam and to the Islamic Republic could not be murderers and do not commit injustice or tyranny. These belong to the insurgents and must be prosecuted, God willing. And I will take action, God willing, and about the village that you mentioned: Qarna- wherever it is- I will investigate. And I hope, God willing, this will be compensated for. And I will investigate that. These things must be investigated. Yes, by His willing, the Almighty God is their Guardian. And God willing, we hope that all these will be compensated for.

And I should also thank the gentlemen and it is an honor to see our youth, our gentlemen, our `ulama', wherever they are, rising up with an Islamic spirit, with a humanistic spirit in this movement. And we are faced with such figures that are committed to Islam and, as you stated, we all should act in the path of Islam, and martyrdom in the path of Islam is an honor for all of us. I pray to God, the Blessed and Exalted, for everyone's good health and glory.

Of course, we have traveled a part of the road but a greater part is still to be traversed. Everyone should help to cover this much that is left and to keep your unity. At present, we look like a passenger who is trapped in the middle of a destination with the highway robbers still around. Up these mountain passes you climb and these robbers are there, too. And we should, with the familiarity we have with the Islamic laws and our alertness along with the growth that has been achieved by our nation which I hope is not lost, travel through these passes and, God willing, reach the exquisite destination, which is Islam, the Islam that is void of injustice even for one person and not a regime or society in which all these things that this gentleman talks about have been practiced.

The Islamic justice is what we want to implement in this country. That is, the very Islam that is not willing even for a Jewish woman, who is under the protection of Islam, to be oppressed. The same Islam about which Imam `Ali (`a) so stated:" It is as much a blame for us to die as to see an enemy army come and take off the anklet rings of a dhimmi «3» Jewish woman. «4» This is the kind of Islam we are talking about: The Islam where there is no oppression whatsoever; the Islam where the highest and lowest subjects are equal before the law. The thing that rules in Islam is the divine law. The Noble Prophet also acted according to the same (law); so did his caliphs. And now it is incumbent upon us to act accordingly. It is the law that rules; a person is no ruler, even if that person is the very person of the Messenger of God or even a caliph of God's Prophet, it is not of any relevance.

Law exists in Islam; everyone is a follower of the law and that law is the law of God; it is a law that has been founded on the divine justice. It is a law that is the Qur'an, the Holy Qur'an and the tradition of the Noble Messenger. We are all followers of that (law) and we all should act equally according to that law. In the Islamic law, there is no difference between different individuals. In the Islamic law, there is no difference between different groups. Although the Noble Prophet was an Arab himself and has been conversing in Arabic, he states that no Arab has any nobility over any non-Arab and no non-Arab has any nobility over an Arab. Nobility lies in one's virtue. Nobility lies in one's following Islam; whoever follows Islam more seriously, he/ she is nobler, and he/ she who is less of a follower, is less noble even if he/ she is related to the Noble Messenger. The narration has it that Imam as-Sadiq (`a), «5» in the last days of his life, gathered around him a number of people from his family and thus stated to them:" Do not come forth on the Day of Judgment and say, for example, that" I was the son of Hadrat as-Sadiq, or I was his brother, or I was his wife. No, none of these will count; what will count are your deeds. You all should face God with your deeds." We all should face God with our deeds. There is no such thing as descent or lineage issue. These do not count in Islam. There is only one law in Islam and that is the divine law. The dominant ruling is one and that is the decree of God; everyone is enforcing the same decree. The Prophet is the enforcer of the decrees of God. The Imam is the enforcer of the decrees of God. The Islamic government is the enforcer of the decrees of God. Nothing emanates from the people themselves; they all enforce the decrees of God, the Blessed and Exalted. And I pray to God to make us successful in fulfilling what we request from the God, the Exalted, and what God has demanded from us, which is the service that we should render to all the components and all the members of the nation. May God give us the opportunity to do that job, God willing.