Speech [Roots of differences of values in the world]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Today, thank God, we are faced with two groups, both of whom are valuable; Group of teachers of the nation throughout the country- of course, a group of them- and also a group from the Red Crescent Society. The values in the world differ based on doctrines and based on opinions. With a study of the doctrines, which exist, in the world and the religions of the world, we can understand that values differ in religions and also the ideas differ. If you overlook the monotheist and Divine doctrines and refer and study the materialist doctrines and the ideas behind materialism, you will notice that these two doctrines are opposite to one another and different from one another. The monotheist and divine doctrine have one set of things; one set of topics while the materialist doctrines, whether materialism of Communism or materialism of capitalism and finally all the doctrine other than the divine doctrine have different set of values.

In this very country of ours, during the evil" Taghouti" regime and the evil" Taghout" you shall observe what values they imbibed and the nation that had incorporated their shades within itself, What the values were. During their time at a time when there were no cars and so forth, the values of horse-drawn carriages were based on the number of horses. The more the number of horses, eight horses or sometimes more and on the number of attendants and those that would gather round the human being or inhuman being that would be seated in the carriage. This value was prevalent both among the intellectual strata of that time as well as the writers of that time and also the poets and orators and the artists of that era; the value was that whoever had a bigger number of horses and a bigger number of attendants, had a higher value. The strata, which would call itself" the aristocrats and elites" would value itself on the number of servants they had and how many villages it possessed and how many horses they had and how many dogs and hounds they owned. Among the capitalists also, the value was the amount of capital and on the accumulated capital and pouring their wealth in banks and trading houses by whatever means available. When you would look at the masses among the men and women of both strata, the value revolved around clothing and the manner of dressing up and tailoring and cosmetics. Whoever would wear better clothes and was more chic in style of clothing, he had greater value among the people. Any woman that would apply make-up like the Europeans and dressed like them; this woman would have more value among the women folk- however, among the majority. All the values pertained to materialist affairs.

When horses, donkeys, dogs, hounds, and the likes of these become the criteria of human value, then the source of that value would have a higher value than the human being possesses. If the horse is the source of value of a person, then that horse has greater value than a human being does because it is what has given value to the person. If carpets and rugs and items of luxury and make-up and hairstyle and importing fashion from abroad increase the value of a human being, then their value is greater than his because they are the source of the value. A person has no value of himself; his value is based on the animal husbandry; the cows have higher value than the human being himself; his value depends on the carriages he owns and the number of carpets- his value is based on such things. Based on logic, if the source of affluence is a thing because of which the person gains value, then that source of affluence has a greater value.

It is narrated that a mystic entered the home of a wealthy individual, a king or a commander, and saw that the gathering was provided with every comfort- everything was available. Meanwhile, he wanted to spit out. He looked around and spat on the face of the king. The king protested that why he had done so. To which he replied that he looked everywhere and could not find a dirtier face than his. If you look at the other side; if he looks at the second aspect of the universe and there he sees those who evaluate themselves based on these issues; he shall see that out there, the face of such persons has undergone a transformation. It is to such an extent that it is no longer a human face; it is the face of another being. If he is a dog-lover and gives all his heart for dogs, his face will be of a dog.

The question of manifestation of deeds and manifestation of morality and so forth is a subject that is recognized among the experts and researchers. It has also been mentioned in our narratives that the tongue of a person, which slanders lengthens to the distance between Mecca and Median apparently and on the Day of Resurrection walk across this tongue. This is the result of slandering. A person whose tongue stretches from this city to that city and he defames people and reveals their secrets, this tongue extends to the same extent that it would stretch in this world in the afterworld also. There also it will lengthen and the on Resurrection Day- according to this narrative- people will walk across it. When the value of a human being is based on these matters, the spiritualities will no longer be of any value. Do you think that among the stratum that place value on these matters, the value that the Prophets attach is of absolutely any worth for them? Do not believe it that they consider them values. They may say so but they do not believe it. If they believed, they would pursue those values. Now that they do not believe and do not pursue those values makes is obvious that they are not convinced. Value in the words of the Prophets and the words of the saints of God and at the top of them the glorious Qur'an and the honorable Prophet of Islam- peace is upon his soul- is value for knowledge and piety. The yardstick is these two qualities, knowledge and piety together. Knowledge alone is not of value or it has low value; piety alone has no value or has a low value.

In a narrative, quoted from the Prophet of God that," Two persons broke my back: the man of learning who is unafraid of being disgraced and the man of piety who is ignorant." «1» The ignorant person that does not know of the humanitarian-Islamic precepts shall always act in a manner that is contrary to the way of the Prophets however pious he may be. The man of learning that has no piety and is unbridled poses a far greater danger to Islam than anyone else. The value is for knowledge and piety. They accept everything from the men of piety. In the words of the Qur'an, knowledge has been highly acclaimed but with piety beside it. Knowledge alone is useless for a human being unless, it is based on the laws of nature and piety, too, without knowledge does not reach a person to achieve perfection.

You gentlemen and others wherever they are and are involved in this noble profession of imparting learning to our nation and this oppressed nation that was deprived of everything during the previous regime while they would continually talk about glory and civilization and their nation was inundated in ignorance. You that today have endeavored to impart literacy to the people must take note that the worth of your task has been upheld by the glorious Qur'an. However, alongside this teaching, there should also be development; there should also be a call to piety. There should not be education alone; there should also be training. A human being is in need of knowledge as well as education and training until the end of his life. There is no person who can do without knowledge and who can do without education and training. It is not correct if some persons think that the time for their learning is past then. Learning does not have a specific period; knowledge does not have a specific time. As has been narrated that knowledge is to be attained from the cradle to the grave «2» it is better for a person to learn a single word at the time of death rather than to die an ignorant. It should not be such that you teach them- and God willing, you will be successful- and fail to train them; do not be neglectful of this aspect. A human being is in need of knowing; he is in need of training; he needs them until the end of his life. Blend knowledge with training; these are two wings with which a human being can reach up to God. Call upon the people to observe piety. In the same way that you teach them, invite them to piety. The sentences that you want to teach them should be sentences that exhort them to piety; calls upon them to observe the moral teachings.and the dictators also because they lacked piety and also did not have knowledge and were the worse. From the small child that wants to become literate at your side to the old man and old women that come to you holding a walking stick impart knowledge with total patience because it is necessary to have patience with this stratum of people. Teach them with total patience and tolerance and while teaching also strengthen that other wing which is piety. It means that the sentences you choose in order to teach them should be sentences in which piety has also been emphasized.

What you are seeing in the Friday Congregation prayers, which are the biggest of congregations- it was stressed by Islam- and thank God, today in Iran the biggest congregational prayers take place. In the Friday sermons, it is emphasized to urge people to be pious. This is because of the importance of piety. Following the mention of monotheism, salutations to the honorable Prophet of Islam and his appointed trustees and you mention their names, alongside you should urge them to observe piety. The Friday prayer leaders should not make passing references to piety; they must regard this to be one of the important subjects. If the nation becomes pious, it shall be able to safeguard itself against all afflictions, which occur in the world. God willing, the Friday prayer leaders pay more attention to inviting the people to piety. You must acquaint the people with that thing which the Prophets arrived on the scene. All the Prophets came to teach moral behavior; «3» the Prophets came in order to teach piety and train human beings. Now these Friday prayer leaders have taken over this noble occupation of the Prophets, which was the Friday prayer, and recitation of the mandatory prayers in the rest of the places. They should endeavor to train the people in piety; invite them to piety. Mention of piety and stating the history of piety is not enough in the Friday prayer; they must call upon the people to become pious and urge them to piety. They must give importance to this divine commandment for which the Prophets arrived and you teachers must give importance to the subject of piety. The students also must give importance to it. The university professors and professors of the seminaries must also give special importance to this aspect that if knowledge is isolated from piety- even if it is knowledge of monotheism, even if it is knowledge of religions- it has no value in that world. If the loss from unaccompanied knowledge on nations and on Islam would not have been greater than its benefits- which it is- then it must be mentioned that an impious person can destroy a country, destroy human beings and the person who is more learned can corrupt the people better. Thus, together with this education, there should also be education of piety. If there are children, teach the children piety to the extent that they can absorb; and likewise the adolescents. The adolescents should not be under the impression that they no longer need or the time is past; the time does pass. It is better for a person in all circumstances to know something than not to know. In any case, this occupation is extremely noble and its responsibility is also very heavy. God willing, you be successful.

Following this same issue, is this Red Cross, «4» if the idea of the Red Cross is a humanitarian-Islamic one, and then this, too, is an issue that pursues that same piety; that pursues that same knowledge. It is knowledge and piety, which can give value to this Red Cross and this Red Crescent and what this Red Crescent is that, is here. Value is not because of the volume of work; value is because of the quality of work. When the quality of your work is good and its volume is also great, then the values are also very high. However, this job is a very valuable task; to work with the handicapped and the weak and with individuals that are in the warfronts and in the hospitals is worthy at the same time as it is difficult.

However, concerning what this person «5» said that according to international conventions, the personnel of the Red Crescent must have immunity, in places where they do not regard a value as human value, it is only words without meaning. You should not be under the impression that the Iraqi Ba`ath Party is keen to know what international conventions are; or those same people that have themselves established these so-called international societies. They do not regard as a value those issues that the Prophets would propagate. They do not regard faith as a human value. They regard human value to be in tyranny, bloodshed and worse than that. When they do not regard those issues as human value and from the beginning, their evil soul is corrupted in morality and in everything, you should no longer expect them to observe international conventions. Which convention do they observe? Did not those that created these human rights groups and such and such organization themselves observe these international conventions?

When those that shout so much about human rights come across the Ba`ath Party of Saddam that has killed so many people here and have rendered so many people homeless here and maimed so many, not only do they overlook, but they also justify them. They justify saying that well, you bombed such and such place in Iraq and they have retaliated! Iraq tells a lie to justify its own actions; every day they say that Basrah has been bombed! Where is this Basrah that they bombed? Where are the inhabitants of Basrah who were bombed or in the rest of the cities? Islam does not allow causing trouble to an innocent people in retribution for the sin of others. However, they say these things in order that when they drop a bomb or several bombs that kill a large number of people including women and innocent children, innocent young and old, they can say that they have done such a thing in retaliation for that!

You should not expect those that make such claims and say for instance that the Red Crescent or the Red Cross should have immunity in every place. You should not expect that it should also be such in deed; in practice it is not so. For them, values are not humanitarian values. It is the same with all matters, although I mentioned just some of them. You undertake a study on your own and see what the values were everywhere during the former regime. What was the value of poetry. What was the value of the intellectual. What did the intellectual regard as values at that time. What was the value of human beings at that time. Then you will know that there are two paths to the question: one, the path of the Prophets and the other the path of the devils; one path is that of the evil men and the other is the path of the Prophets. The path of the Prophets regards the values differently. It regards the human being to possess value and do not regard vale to be in animals, in inanimate objects or in possession of assets. They regard it in those things that are within him; in knowledge; in piety; they regard it in moral behavior, whereas this strata of the population of humanity regards all values to lie in things other than those that the Prophets preached.

God willing, you and we succeed in paying attention to the values of the Prophets; and, which we follow the Prophets and their teachings and to shun worldly values that are contrary to the teachings of the Prophets. We should want a world whose values are given by the Prophets; we should want a service that has been given value by piety and knowledge. I pray that God willing, all of you are successful.

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