Speech [The importance of education and training and Priority of training over education]

I find it necessary to say a few words about being a teacher and training a teacher, to you gentlemen who have come here from various regions. The world is a school and the prophets and saints are its teachers. And God the Blessed and Exalted, is their Trainer. He has taught and trained the prophets and sent them to teach and train mankind. The high-ranking prophets were appointed for the whole of mankind, and were assigned the task of teaching and traing it. Their own Teacher and Trainer is the Exalted Lord. After receiving divine instruction and training, they were given the mission of educating and training human beings. As for the Apostle of God (s), the Qur'an says: He it is who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite into them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the Scripture and Wisdom, though heretofore they were indeed in error manifest «1». The purpose of the prophetic mission is stated in this noble verse: It is the Blessed and Exalted God who has sent a messenger amidst the uneducated, and the illiterate ones and those who are lacking the divine training and education, so that he may recite God's verse to them, and by reciting God's verses and imparting the training that he himself had received in the process of his divine education, edify them and teach them the Book and wisdom. There are many points in this verse concerning the importance of training a teacher and that of education and training per se." He it is who" has done this. It seems to be an important point in that the Qur'an states that" He it is who has sent" him (the Prophet) amidst the people. The (people of the) whole world are ignorant; even those that have seemingly acquired some education, and outwardly possess knowledge of industry and are also familiar with certain issues. But all of them are ignorant where the training they receive from God through the prophets is concerned. Their confused state is manifest.

The only way for training and educating people is the revelation. The trainer of the world is the Lord of the worlds. The only way is that shown by the Exalted One, the only refinement is that which the people acquire through divine training given to them by the prophets, and the only knowledge is that given to mankind through the agency of the prophets. It is the knowledge that takes man to the height of his own perfection. This is what has been stated in another verse: Allah is the Protecting Friend of those who believe. He bringeth them out of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness. «2» There are two categories of people: One category consists of believers who have received training from the prophets, because of which they are no longer in darkness. They are rid of their difficulties and their unenlightened state. They have entered into light because of the prophets' teachings. They have attained absolute perfection. This verse shows the distinguishing feature of a believer and the criteria of faith. It separates those who lay claim to faith from those who are believers. Believers are those who follow the prophets' teachings who were, in turn, trained by the divine teachings. Because of this training, such people are purged of all their shortcomings, are rid of all the things that lead them astray from the (right) path and are led from darkness into light. This is the distinguishing feature of a believer. Whoever has migrated to absolute light from darkness because of the teachings of the prophets is a believer. Those who lay claim to faith are many, while the faithful ones are few. God is not the Guardian of the infidels who are against the believers. It is taghout. Taghout leads the infidels from light into every kind of darkness. This is the criterion according to this noble verse. These are the criteria governing believers and infidels. A true believer so follows the prophets' and imbibes their teachings as be able to move from darkness and enter into light. His Guardian and Teacher is the Blessed and Exalted Lord. The prophets are the trainers acting on behalf of God. That is, they have been trained by God and have come to train all of us; all mankind. If we allow ourselves to be exposed to the training they gave, to benefit by the knowledge that they brought for mankind and take advantage of the teachings they imparted, we will be on the straight path and be guided towards light.

The issue of training is more important than that of education. In the noble verse in question, God speaks the education and training first. Afterwards He says:" Refine them". From this verse, it can be construed that purification of self and soul is more important than teaching the Book and Wisdom. The purpose of this prelude is that the Book and Wisdom be embedded in his inner being. If man becomes refined and gets trained under the training of the prophets,(`a) which they brought as a gift to mankind, then after his edification, the Book and Wisdom in their real sense will become imprinted within him and he will attain the pinnacle of perfection. Hence, the Qur'an mentions another verse: The likeness of those who are entrusted of those with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books «3» (which he does not understand, nor benefit by them). It wants to point out that knowledge in itself is of no use. Knowledge without training and refinement is useless knowledge. It is similar to an ass or a donkey carrying a load of books of whatever kind- books on monotheism, jurisprudence, anthropology or whatever- on its back. They cannot be of any use to the ass. It will not benefit by them. In the same way, the people who have a store of knowledge of all things- of all the industries, for example- and have all the specializations, but have not been trained and have not undergone refinement, will not benefit by that knowledge. In fact, it is harmful on many occasions. Many a time, the knowledge of the one who is a scholar and knows everything but has not been refined, purified nor received divine training, turns out to be the means of dragging humanity to destruction. How often had scholars brought mankind the gift of destruction. Such people are worse than the ignorant ones. And how often do the experts bring about death and destruction for human beings. They are worse than those that are illiterate. The harm they do is more. They are the same people about whom the Qur'an mentions as being" like a donkey." they are even worse than a donkey because they harm others. You who have embarked upon training teachers and whoever dose likewise, ought to know that the profession is a divine one. The Blessed and Exalted Lord is the Trainer of teachers who are the prophets. So, it is first and foremost a divine profession. Secondly, training and refining people takes precedence over education. Our schools, our teachers' training colleges, our universities and all the institutes of learning, whether of the Islamic sciences or the non-Islamic ones, can render service and bring the gift of prosperity to humanity in case their curriculum includes the nurturing and edification of the students. Man's prosperity and welfare results from leavening, faith and edification: Lo! Man is in a state of loss. «4» Man is basically an animal called" man." He is in a state of loss save one group. It consists of those who believe in the Blessed and Exalted God, who obey His commands and have performed acts of piety, one of the indications of which being: and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance. «5» They recommend truth and endurance (to one another). Otherwise, if one leaves this state of exclusivity that is," Save those who believe" he will be in a state of loss. He will sustain loss. Try to acquire training and refinement before getting educated. Try to have training along with studies and learning. In keeping with its status, training takes priority over education, the recitation of the (Qur'anic) verses and teaching the Book and Wisdom. You must train teachers. That is, teachers ought to be trained because, apart from having a knowledge of all the fields of learning that people need, that humanity needs- whether needed in this world or the hereafter- apart from this and preceding this there ought to be refinement and purification of the self. Otherwise, without refinement and self-purification, your training and education will not bring and benefits, even if they do not cause harm. In fact, harm could be done. All these scholars who have various specializations but lack that (necessary) training, are responsible for all the harm man suffers and all the losses that he sustains on this planet. If we possessed refinement and received Islamic training, if God, the Blessed and Exalted, and not taghout, had been our Guardian, all these imperfections and all these differences that exist around our country and the world would not have been there. The reason for all differences- except one difference that concerns the struggle between right and wrong- that arise is that we have not become trained or purified. Our greatest enemy lies within us." Your worst enemy" is your own inner being; that which exists deep in your own breast. Man is his own big enemy. If man is not trained and purified, he will drag himself to destruction and lead himself into darkness, ending up in the" great darkness" that is hell. We can get rid of all our difficulties by training ourselves. All the problems stem from our not being trained. We have not undergone divine training, nor have we placed ourselves under the banner of Islam. There is only ignorance or knowledge that is more harmful than ignorance to man. God the Blessed and Exalted has specified through the prophets, the substance of knowledge. And the actual fact is that" knowledge is light." Knowledge is a light that God implants in the hearts of people. The" light" bestowed on man is knowledge. But if a veil is cast on man, it is not knowledge. It is a veil." Knowledge is the greatest veil."

You who want to get trained or train teachers should place the priority of training over teaching at the head of all matters. These youths are intrinsically susceptible to every thing that they are exposed to. The soul of the young is a polished mirror that has not become detached from their own nature. This mirror takes in whatever there is in front of it. A teacher must invite the young ones to light, to virtue, to Islam, to moral conduct, to human values which must be worthy in the sight of the Lord. If a teacher dose all this, he will, then, take these children from darkness into light in the same way that the prophets take the people from darkness into light. It is just the same as the prophet's profession. But if, God forbid, a teacher or teachers are not in line with the straight divine path, then the crooked teachings that are inherent in the teachers themselves will be reflected in the polished mirrors that are the youths' souls. As a result, they will be lead astray or made to incline to East or West.

The Islamic Republic is in need of training and purification. All the classes of our nation and all the nations need training and self-purification. They need teachings received by mankind through the apostles of God. Merely claiming that our republic is Islamic is not acceptable. Our republic can only become Islamic and attain perfection when Almighty God rules in our nation and in our country. In other words, the government must be a divine one from its starting point to the end. The authorities at the helm of affairs must be divine. They ought to get rid of their base material instincts. They should not be conceited nor think about their own individuality, for they (in such a case) neither have their (selfish) selves, nor their individuality whatever there is, is from God. If man becomes divine and conceives that human beings are God's creatures and they should be treated in a way that pleases God, and if we wake up and understand that we are from God and will return to Him; Lo! We are Allah's and Lo! Unto Him we are returning «6» If we understand these two points about life that we from Him and that we are nothing and have nothing, and that whatever we have is from Him and that we will go back to Him; that we will be called to account and made to answer; if we come to realize these two points we will then behave with God's creatures in the way that pleases God and is according to His command. If these two words are displayed in all the governmental organizations, in all the Islamic bazaars, in all the roads and streets of Islamic countries and everywhere, and also in the factories and farms, schools, ministries the Consultative Majlis and councils, and if there is belief in these two words, if man perceives them and comes to believe in them; that is, if the realization enters his mind that we and everybody else are from God and that we will return unto Him, and also that all living things are from God and must be treated with divine justice and that all of us will return to the Blessed and Exalted God, and that we must behave with divine justice, then God the Blessed and Exalted will shower us with His abundant mercies, failing which He will mete out His justice to us without anybody being able to escape it.

Those who think that there must be only learning in the schools, that we have nothing to do with these matters and that they should (only) produce experts, are thinking simplistically. It is naive to think that a teacher who has inclined to East or West and who has received either eastern or western training ought to be appointed as a teacher for our children whose souls are like polished mirrors and accept mirrors and accept anything to which they are exposed. It is being naive to think that we should entrust our youths to a teacher who follows the East and will give our children that kind of an outlook, or follows the West and will westernize them. We are viewing the matter naively when we think that learning and specialization are the sole criteria. Even knowledge of divinity and monotheism are not the set standards, and neither that of jurisprudence and philosophy. No scientific knowledge constitutes the criterion. Only that learning is the standard and is conducive to humanity's welfare when it incorporates training that has been inculcated into human beings by a coach, by one who has had divine training. If such a thing is implemented in all our schools, whether those teaching the Islamic sciences or other sciences, and if there be no deviation but determination, it will not take long for our youths, in whom lies the country's hope for the future, to become reformed and be brought up without leaning towards East or West. All of them will take to the straight path. It would be naive of us to think that it is enough for us to have men of learning. There must be people with knowledge and training, or, at least, they must have knowledge but should not be perverted. Supposing that we want to propagate learning and to make use of the knowledge of the `ulama'. In that case, there should be knowledge but, at least, there should be no truck with the East and the West. It should not be that the teachers and trainers of our youth had received their training in Moscow or Washington. It would be naive of us to feel that all those who have specialized (in various fields) can behave in any way they like and that we must make use of them. We cannot make use of them if a specialist heals a visible illness of ours but causes us some inner illnesses; or causes a small malady of ours to turn into a big one. We should think of everything, This Ba`ath Party that you observe is the source of all our country's troubles and those of the Muslim country of Iraq. It has created more difficulties for Iraq than it has for us. These are the ones that have many specialists among them. Many of them are university graduates. They, however, did not have that training nor purification. Knowledge without purification leads to having regimes like the previous one and Saddam's. If we do not refine ourselves and if there be no refinement to accompany knowledge, our country will also be pushed into such situations and we, too, will become like Saddam. Your training and a teacher's training ought to be Islamic and humane. It should be directed towards the straight path. Moscow's training and Washington's are not acceptable to us.

In case we become trained- thank God that our people have undergone a change which is the prelude to getting trained finally- we will then treat everybody, even those who are against us, with humanity. You see that our army and pasdars are behaving humanely with these captives whom they have taken. But they should show even more kindness. I recommend to all those who may be holding the captives, to treat them politely and kindly. They are your guests. They do not have any weapons now. I hereby declare that whoever from this country lays down his arms and, just like all the others, becomes part of the nation, will be safe under the protection of Islam. But we are not so naive as to allow the ones who have weapons and a war (operations) room, into our country and give them jobs, make them teachers or appoint them in the ministries. Possessing a weapon is proof of treachery and of conspiring against the country. Islam punishes the traitors and gets rid of the conspirators. We are not the ones to refuse to accept those that repent and, laying down their arms, come to us. Whoever in the Iraqi army has drawn a weapon against us lays it aside and takes refuge in our Islamic country, will be welcomed like a dear guest. Whoever among these internal groups that had done mischief, and are still doing so, lays down his weapon, stops his mischief and rejoins the nation, will be welcomed back. But the ones that still bear weapons shall be considered as belonging to Saddam's army. These men, who are in the captivity of the Islamic country, have no weapons. They should be treated humanely and well. And this is being done. However, Iraq's propaganda machinery, that spreads lies every single day, is spreading falsehoods in this case as well. The Iraqis say that those (soldiers) who are not given good treatment and that they are subjected to this and that. But all this is lies. These captives are being treated in a humane, Islamic manner in our country. They are receiving good treatment and are being looked after. Anybody can come from anywhere in the world and see how they are being treated. There is a lot of malicious propaganda going on, of course. We, for our part, ought to refrain from doing anything that will be an excuse for false propaganda to be made.

We, the police, the Islamic guards, the military authorities, the gendarmerie and all government departments, wherever located, are all duty-bound to address and settle problems in the Islamic way. The country must be Islamic. I hereby declare that whoever ascribes a matter to me that is contrary to Islamic precepts has lied. Whoever says that I agree to even an inch of people's land being usurped and taken away from them in contravention of Islamic principles, or a single" Shahi" (the smallest unit of Iranian currency) confiscated from them without any Islamic basis, or a trial conducted against Islamic principles, or anybody whipped against the good of Islam, is telling lies. I am free of such things. I am disgusted with such people; and so is the Almighty Lord. I pray to the Blessed and Exalted God for the health and happiness of all human beings and our own nation and country. I also request Him to make you successful in training teachers; and in training them in the right manner so that our nation attains prosperity.

May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.