Participants in the 35th International Quran Competitions met with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei Thursday, April 26. In the ceremony, the distinguished scholars and individuals attending the competitions recited the holy Quran and filled the atmosphere of Imam Khomeini Husseiniya with the aroma of the divine word.
In the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei said the only way for the Muslm community to make progress and achieve bliss is to act according to the Quran, saying, “Practicing the Quran is in fact clinging to the Divine Rope and will stop Muslims from fall, deviation and ignominy in their personal, social and political lives.”
He stressed that disregard for the Quran and not carrying out its mandates will result in vulnerability, adding, “Unfortunately, Muslim countries are today plagued by the afflictions of underdevelopment and domination by infidels due to not practicing the Quran.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “Due to not seeking recourse to the Quran, Muslim countries have been afflicted by the ‘syndrome of disgrace’ and the US president [Donald Trump] saying with utter insolence that ‘some Arab countries wouldn’t last a week without us’ is the result of this illness.”
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the verses of the Quran, reiterating, “Quran tells us that Believers should stand up against infidels and bullies of the world like a strong bulwark or else they will be afflicted by disgrace, corruption, bloodshed and underdevelopment.”
He added, “Quran also tells us that Believers should be ‘united’ and have ‘Custodial Ties’ and have no relationship or link to the infidel front; however, today we see that some Muslim countries are in touch with the Zionist regime and the result of this refusal to carry out the mandate of the Quran is the current wars and crimes in the region.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “Look at the situation of the people of Yemen and the catastrophe that has befallen them and their weddings are turned into funerals or the situation of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. All of these are due to the fact that Trusteeship among Believers has been forgotten and the stipulations of the Quran are not implemented.”
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that practicing the Quran will result in esteem, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been standing up to the bullying of the Hegemony for 40 years and to the chagrin of the enemies who wanted to destroy this Establishment, its progress, capabilities and power has increased daily.”
He said the recitation and memorization of the Quran is a prelude to understanding and practicing it and urged the youth to adopt such a stance toward the Quran. He reiterated, “If the recitation and memorization of the Quran is the prelude to its implementation, the future of the world of Islam will certainly be better than its present and the US will not be able to lay down markers for countries and the Muslim community and threaten them.”
Prior to the remarks of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Hojatoleslam Ali Mohammadi, the head of Endowment and Charity Affairs Organization and the representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to the organization, provided a report on the Quranic competitions, saying, “The 35th International Quran Competitions were held with representatives from 84 countries and 370 Quranic figures, namely Quranic memorizers, reciters, judges, researchers and scholars.”