RNA – The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, in a Ramadan meeting on Wednesday with President Hassan Rouhani and his administration’s officials, elucidated several points from Nahj al-Balaghah, the collection of the first Shi’a imam’s missives and speeches.
Citing remarks from Imam Ali about how to deal with sedition, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Imam Ali recommends that under conditions of sedition, where it will become very difficult for people to distinguish right from wrong, we have to act such that nothing will be in the interest of sedition.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution noted: “Under conditions of sedition, like the issue of the [calendar] year 1388 [post-election riots], words, silence, action and even viewpoints should not boost sedition.”
Ayatollah Khamenei added: “Of course some people may have no inclination for adopting firm and explicit position against sedition due to their own special views, but one should not be exploited in favor of sedition either.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution cited another point from Nahj al-Balaghah regarding exploitation of an official post for accumulating wealth and special advantages, saying: “Holding such a view vis-à-vis responsibility, which is in fact a sort of trust, will belittle and humiliate human being.”
On this issue, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the recent issue of inflated salaries received by some officials, saying: “The issue of astronomic salaries is, in fact, an infringement upon values, but everyone must know that this issue is one of exceptions and most organs’ directors are clean-handed people, but even this few number is still very inappropriate and must be dealt with.”
Referring to President Rouhani’s order to First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri to follow up on the issue, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “This issue must not be a matter of time. It must be seriously pursued and the public must be kept abreast of its result.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “According to information I’ve received, most directors of organs have received reasonable pays and inflated salaries are related to a few number of directors, and even these few cases must be deal with firmly.”
In the concluding part of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei again cited Imam Ali’s wise pieces of advice in Nahj al-Balaghah, saying: “One must always watch out for his tongue because many problems of mankind stem from the tongue.”
“The problems emanating from the failure to watch out for the tongue may sometimes have only personal aspects, but in some cases it also gives rise to social problems. One has to be careful on this issue,” the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said.
Prior to Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech, President Rouhani presented a report about the most important measures and activities of his administration.
At the end of this meeting, evening prayers were led by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution. Then the guests broke their fast along with Ayatollah Khamenei.
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