Whether in Qom, Najaf, or Mashad, Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s visits paid to the grand Marjas have always been worth seeing and following up, owing to their lots of worthy speeches and a wealth of delicacies and memories of seminary students’ life and study.

His visit paid to Ayatollah Saanei who is among today’s Marjas, seminary scholars, and lecturers in society as well as one of the late Imam Khomeini’s companions throughout the years of struggle, took place at Ayatollah Saanei’s residence in Mashad; a visit welcomed by Ayatollah Saanei’s going to the street to receive Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani upon his arrival and then seeing him off in the same way as a token of hospitality.

Describing the late Imam’s movement as a unique one in the Islamic world, he called the Islamic Revolution “the proof of God” and said, “We should carry the torch Imam Khomeini lit for the Iranian Islamic society and prevent it from being extinguished, otherwise we will have committed an unforgivable sin.”
The head of the Expediency Discernment Council then described the 2013 presidential election as God’s favor to the Islamic Revolution, and, pointing to the disclosure of some of the deviated political circle’s actions and intentions, he added, “That which is said of and about them is not new to us and it is just that new levels and aspects of such actions and intentions have been revealed.”

Emphasizing God’s favors to the Iranian nation at different points and stages, he then pointed to his decision on his latest candidacy and to its consequent events and said, “God did not want the path trod in a territory like Iran by the late Imam as a religious Faqih to go astray and be deviated. All I had to do in the 2013 elections was a mere registration for candidacy, and you all witnessed its impact on the country and one of the benefits reaped which was the election of Mr. Rohani as the president, who is now actively, more energetically, and with a higher level of motivation engaged in the country’s affairs.”

“The Islamic Revolution has a divine origin,” he said and then added, “Even though the Islamic Revolution is a social establishment based on the teachings of the Holy Quran and is therefore protected by God, there are certain conditions for such a protection one of which is the people’s company and satisfaction.”
Recounting their shared memories of the times of struggle, he then went on to address Ayatollah Saanei saying, “At all stages of struggle and from the very beginning, you were always a companion to the late Imam, and I hope you will help safeguard Imam’s path and institutionalize it.”

Ayatollah Saanei, too, recounted the first time he had met Ayatollah Rafsanjani at the course of Suyuti in Qom Seminary, and said, “We would not forget that your relationship with the late Imam, as a student and master, was at such a level that whenever the other students wanted to ask Imam their questions, they would do so through you, and Imam would always respond with great openness.”
To describe Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s stance in the words and deeds of the late Imam, Ayatollah Saanei pointed to the time when Ayatollah Hashemi’s father had passed away and said, “When Imam Khomeini heard of that, he attended the funeral until the end, and performed the Mayyit Prayers (prayer for the dead) for him with his nice and impressive tone of voice, which I think Imam did not do for any other dead person.”
Analyzing the tough times of struggle and emphasizing that Mr. Hashemi had always been a loyal companion to the late Imam despite all punishments and imprisonments, Ayatollah Saanei added, “I have said this many times and I repeat that Imam Khomeini liked you, Mr. Hashemi, and the time he learned that you had survived that terrorist attack, he ordered for a sheep sacrifice to be offered.”

“Imam counted on your remarks when it came to scientific discussions and struggle issues and analyses, and so did his close fellows and companions during the times of struggle, counting you as a man from a gentle family, a pure and virtuous scholar, a pious man, a moral man of high integrity. All such companions of Imam know the reasons behind the attempts made by a few to assassinate such a character who was trusted by the late Imam,” Ayatollah Saanei added.

At the end, Ayatollah Saanei mentioned the mystical phrase “al Balā’i lil Vulā’i” [meaning that troubles and worries are trials for the ones favored by God], and pointing to all the hardship that Ayatollah Rafsanjani and his family have gone through at different times, he said, “I hope God the Almighty will provide the preliminaries for the resolution of people’s problems and removal of obstacles.”