The following is the full text of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to the 29th National Prayer Conference in Tehran which was read out on Thursday morning.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, and upon his Pure Progeny, particularly the remaining Vestige of God on earth
Conducting this auspicious conference after it had been suspended for two years is a source of joy, and God willing, it will also bring blessings. Any intellectual, practical effort to show the value of prayer and to honor this blessed religious obligation is a step toward illuminating people’s hearts and will bring warmth to their lives.
The remembrance of God, which prayer is the perfect manifestation of, frees the heart and soul, and it also enriches society. Vital connections in a happy, prosperous society, such as friendship, forgiveness, kindness, empathy, sympathy, helpfulness, benevolence, and the like are strengthened by the propagation and establishment of prayers. The rows [of worshippers] in the group prayers create the interconnected rows of social activities. The warm, enthusiastic centers in the mosques nurture the associations for cooperation in society. When prayer is performed while keeping God’s presence in mind, it illuminates all areas of a person’s life, and it enriches the world and the hereafter of both the individual and society.
A person who prays – whoever or wherever he or she may be – benefits from prayers according to his or her individual capacity, but at the same time, teenagers and young people are ahead of other people in this regard. The benefit they gain from a prayer that is recited with attention and humility is more than others. The heart of a young person is more prepared for reaching the stage of “Falah [prosperity],” which the call to prayer encourages us to hasten toward.
Parents, teachers, professors, counselors, and advisors must keep in mind this relationship that exists between prayer and the youth. They also need to understand the responsibility they must fulfill in this regard.
Schools, universities – especially the universities for training teachers – television and radio stations, and other cultural institutions are among the main audiences who must “establish the [obligatory] prayer.”
I ask the Almighty God to grant everyone success.
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