Hawzah News Agency – On the first day of the auspicious month of Ramadan, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met with a number of the reciters of the Holy Quran. When speaking in this gathering, he described the month of Ramadan as being the month of a divine banquet and God’s infinite mercy. He explained that purifying one’s heart and reciting the Holy Quran with a fondness and contemplation to gain understanding are important factors in benefiting from this divine banquet.

Imam Khamenei stated that participating in God’s divine banquet requires effort and determination to accept the divine invitation. He said, “If we succeed in participating in this divine banquet, we will be served exceptionally well by having the opportunity to get closer to God. And nothing is better than this.”

Referring to the blessings and opportunities presented due to the religious deeds performed in this blessed month, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “These blessings are in fact a unique opportunity for getting close to God. Therefore, we should ask God humbly and beseechingly to help us grasp this opportunity and avoid sins.”

Citing verses from the Holy Qur’an, His Eminence stated that “Dhikr” (remembering) is one of the auspicious names of the Heavenly Book, and this is the opposite of “negligence,” which is truly a grave tragedy. He also added, “Continuous recitation of the Holy Qur’an and a feeling of fondness for it help us to establish a closer relationship with God.”

Imam Khamenei described the Holy Qur’an as the eternal miracle of the Last Prophet and stated, “In all periods of human history, the Qur’an has provided humanity with the necessary teachings in the vast scenes of individual, familial, spiritual and governmental aspects of life and all other aspects of life.”

He emphasized that learning, deliberation and gaining understanding are the secrets to benefiting from the deep, esoteric, lofty teachings of the Quran. He said, “The prerequisite to benefiting from these teachings is to purify one’s heart and soul, and this is much easier during one’s youthhood.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the abundance of outstanding, excellent reciters of the Qur’an in the country, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution associated this blessing with the Islamic Revolution and explained, “Today, our reciters recite the Holy Qur’an in a much better way and with a better quality than many of the other reciters in other countries, some of whom are even invited to Iran at times as teachers. This is an honorable reality.”

Imam Khamenei went on to say, “Of course, we should not think that this matter is over. We should continue to advance and remove the shortcomings. Whenever one thinks that the path has been traveled completely, this is the starting point for one’s decline. This is my advice to all activists including writers, poets and students in the seminaries.”

He described the recitation of the Qur’an as being a divine art, and he stressed that this art must be at the service of remembering God and inviting people to God. Furthermore, he stated, “Reciting the Qur’an must be carried out in such a way that the faith of the audience increases. Therefore, reciting the Qur’an should not be viewed as a mere art, and we must not allow minor details or some forms for boasting and showing off to overcome this matter of remembering God and inviting to Him.”

In speaking about “designing one’s recitation,” His Eminence said, “Designing one’s recitation means that you must choose an appropriate tone that influences the audience and encourages them to obey God’s words.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the activities involving the Qur’an in Iran as being “good, but not enough.” He put forward the following suggestion for expanding these activities, “Turning the Mosques in every neighborhood into Quranic centers, interacting with other Mosques in the same neighborhood and organizing Quranic meetings and competitions are the best ways to encourage teenagers and the youth to enter into Quranic activities and, in particular, to train people in memorizing the Qur’an.”

Imam Khamenei added, “The way to train 10 million memorizers of the Qur’an, as I mentioned a few years ago, is to involve young people in Quranic activities. Such projects can help this come about.”