On the Occasion of the Martyrdom of Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani

Before beginning the discussion, I deem it necessary to spend a few minutes presenting some remarks regarding the martyrdom of the sincere and beloved commander of the resistance, Martyr Soleimani, as a duty I feel upon myself. Of course, many remarks have been made and messages and statements issued; however, if nothing is said, we would at the very least feel a sense of loss ourselves.

The reality of the matter is that the blood of this martyr has shown its effects in the world, in the Islamic world, and in Iran. For a person’s death to be accompanied by such effects—for their death to be this influential—is in itself a divine success; that it is both martyrdom and has such a broad scope of influence.

You saw, after all, how this manifested itself domestically: everyone from the general public, young and old, to academics, seminary scholars, sources of emulation (maraji’), scholars, prominent figures, and the Supreme Leader, all was affected by this matter and grieved from the bottom of their hearts.

It was as if a new environment was created domestically, where both the path must be clarified—the path of resistance, standing, and not retreating before the enemy—and unity and empathy must be forged. After all, this is a highly important effect. The greatest revenge against America is this very unity and empathy that has emerged in Iran, Iraq, and the Islamic world.

In recent days in Iraq, you observed this division and conflict even among the Shiites; yet it was as if this blood washed away all these conflicts and disputes in Iraq among the people and the Shiites. The sedition (fitnah) that the enemy was striving to create in Iraq through domestic conflict—clashes among the Shiites themselves, or between Shiites and Sunnis—was turned back toward themselves by this blood.

These are the realities of divine revenge against arrogance and the enemies of Islam and the Ahl al-Bayt; this is what has occurred. It was not certain that we could have created such harmony and empathy domestically, in Iraq, and in the Islamic resistance front—with this energy, power, and doubled motivation to continue the path—even by spending vast resources over days and months.

These are, in any case, effects that are perhaps paid less attention to, and if we consider the effect of the martyrdom of that great man to be these very results in the Islamic world, in the region, and in Iran, this is, in my view, highly important. This is what the enemies have always been incapable of understanding—that the blood of the martyr, the blood of the oppressed, has always taken hold of the oppressors throughout history. This was a divine promise, and now we witness its effects clearly.

In any case, some like this great martyr, their death and martyrdom become a source of such effects in the world, let alone for the martyr himself. Frankly, he was among the sublime and prominent examples of human beings who follow the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and was nurtured by the Imam. In any case, he was a person who lived with purity, lived unpretentiously, and concurrently encountered everyone with high moral character, humility, and modesty. Under these conditions, he was a rare gem.

Of course, this incident that occurred was a loss, but it was his own aspiration, and it would have been a pity had his life had any end other than this. All of this is the fruit of sincerity (ikhlas); indeed, whoever works sincerely for God, God also makes him beloved in this manner.

Sincerity is also not something that you and I can measure for others, determining who is sincere and who is not; everyone can best judge themselves as to what degree of sincerity they have in their actions and works.

What is narrated and said, and what we have seen and heard from religious teachings, is: Man kana lillahi kana Allahu lahu; “Whoever is for God, God is for him.” When God is for a person, everything of his is guaranteed. The deep affection of those who had neither seen him nor knew him well is the fruit of the sincerity he possessed. God, as the reward of that sincerity, placed his affection in the hearts of the people.

Sincerity is also not something where we say “let us strive to be sincere so that God places our affection in the hearts of the people”; this is a contradiction between the beginning and the end of the statement. For someone, in expectation of their affection falling into the hearts of the people, to say “I wish to act sincerely” is a contradiction; it is incompatible. Sincerity means wanting nothing from God, placing no partner with God, and not even seeking the affection of the people.

However, this is an ontological effect (athar al-wad’i): that whoever is for God and relinquishes their affairs to God, God brings about for them whatever He deems expedient. It is possible that in some place, the hostility of the people follows; a person who works sincerely for God is neither pleased by these affections nor grieved by hostilities and ungratefulness.

In any case, I wished to express a few words as a duty. We cannot pay his full due, but as a reminder for ourselves: in any case, Islam and the school of the Ahl al-Bayt can nurture such human beings in their embrace. Now, these who are nurtured through the intermediaries of the Ahl al-Bayt are like this; observe what the Ahl al-Bayt themselves are, observe what Imam Husayn (PBUH) and the Commander of the Faithful (PBUH) themselves are—they were nurtured in this embrace and attained such spiritual greatness.

It is highly important that, while a person exercises strict self-vigilance over their soul and life, they concurrently do not expect from others; that they do not judge others quickly, and that whatever flows on their tongue regarding others is governed by care.

We can consider him as one of the instances of: “Severe against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves” (Quran 48:29). He was fierce, robust, and steadfast against the enemy, and concurrently, he encountered friends and Muslims with different thoughts and preferences with affection and attraction—which is the very method and sirah of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) and the Ahl al-Bayt of infallibility and purity (peace be upon them).

In any case, we hope that God the Almighty associates him with His saints, and God willing, these effects—which have been realized right now and actively by the blessing of the blood of these martyrs and this beloved martyr—continue. Even if we attribute no other effect to it, these very effects that have currently arisen are highly important. Let us preserve these, and of course, divine revenge will certainly be on the way.

Ultimately, sooner or later, those who commit oppression and have committed oppression against Muslim nations will also, God willing, see the recompense of their actions. I hope that God grants us the success to perform, with sincerity, motivation, and diligence, these duties and tasks placed upon our shoulders along our path, and that we are, God willing, proud before the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) and his family, and can at least avoid being ashamed when standing before them. God willing, may God grant us all a good end.