Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mostafavi, known as Imam Khomeini (ra), is the leader of the Islamic Revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was born in Khomein on September 24, 1902, a day which coincides with the birthday anniversary of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (s). His father, Sayyed Mostafa, was martyred by two khans in that area. After that, he was taken care of by his mother and aunt. Along with his relatives, Ruhollah used to go to the rulers to demand the trial of the murderers of his father, and in this way, he got to know many of the oppressions of the Qajar rule and tyrannical families. Later on, he went to school where he studied Persian literature, arithmetic, religious sciences, Qur’an and calligraphy. During this time, he learned the most from his older brother, Sayyed Mortaza. He was fifteen years old when he lost his aunt and then his mother Hajar due to cholera. Four years later, he went to Soltanabad (now Arak) to study religious sciences. With the arrival of Ayatollah Shaykh Abdolkarim Haeri in Qom, who ran the Islamic Seminary of Arak, he also went to Qom. Ayatollah Haeri founded the Islamic Seminary of Qom in 1922 and hence this city became the centre of Islamic sciences in Iran. In Qom, the young Ruhollah continued to learn various sciences such as interpretation of the Qur’an, philosophy, jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy, etc. from the best teachers, and little by little, he also started teachings. His most important teachers were Haj Shaykh Abdolkarim Haeri-Yazdi, Mirza Mohammad-Ali Adib-Tehrani, Sayyed Mohammad-Taqi Khansari, Sayyed Abolhasan Rafiei-Qazvini and Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad-Ali Shahabadi.
In 1929, he married Qods Iran (Khadijeh) Saqafi, the daughter of one of the clerics of Tehran. They had two sons and five daughters. Twelve years after entering Qom, in 1934, he reached the position of ijtihad. One of his most important teaching sessions in that period was the ethics in which many students, people and marketers used to participate for many years. These classes resulted in writing the book “Arba’in Hadith” which is a summary of his moral discussions in that class. In addition, he used to teach philosophy, mysticism as well as jurisprudence and the principle of jurisprudence for high-level seminarians.
The lack of a prominent cleric who enjoys both an academic and socially high position in seminaries to be able to assume the position of leadership, manage the seminary and become the religious authority of the people led many to turn to Ayatollah Haj Sayyed Hoseyn Boroujerdi asking him to stay in Qom and be the marja’ (source of emulation). This action shaped the general orientation of the seminary thereby protecting it against intellectual confusion and disagreements over the leadership.
Haj Agha Ruhollah was recognized as one of the prominent scholars in the seminary during the period of the comprehensive authority of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, and several times as the representative of the maraje’ (sources of emulation). went to meet with Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi to convey the views of Shi’ah scholars on important social and political issues.
Haj Agha Ruhollah disagreed with Ayatollah Boroujerdi and other scholars of that period on some political issues, but he always sided with Ayatollah Boroujerdi’s leadership and never said a word or took any action against his views. Haj Agha Ruhollah started teaching at the most advanced level of studies in the seminary during the same period.
With the demise of Ayatollah Boroujerdi on March 30, 1961, the number of mujtahids and religious authorities that people chose to follow in their religious affairs increased. At first Ayatollah Khomeini (ra) refused to accept repeated offers to publish his Risalah al-Amaliyah (Treatise on the Practical Laws of Islam), but finally, he agreed on the condition that the religious taxes and endowments people pay would not be used for doing so. Therefore, a group of His students printed and distributed the book.
Ayatollah Khomeini’s popularity gradually increased, especially after the events of the early 1960s. Ayatollah Khomeini (ra), who due to opposing the government’s actions was exiled first to Turkey, and then to Iraq, continued teaching and writing religious and mystical books. His classes in Najaf were one of the busiest. After fourteen years of forced stay abroad, Ayatollah Khomeini (ra) was forced to leave Iraq in October 1978 and went to France. Then on February 1, 1979, he returned to Iran and after ten days the Islamic Revolution took place on February 11, 1979. A month later, he went to Qom and in 1980 because of a heart problem, he returned to Tehran and stayed there until 1989 when he passed away. Grand Ayatollah Khomeini (ra) has written several Islamic books, among which we can mention Sharh-e Do’a-ye Sahar, Misbah al-Hidayah ila al-Khilafah wa al-Wilayah, Arba’in Hadith, Sirr al-Salat, Adab al-Salat, and Kashf al-Asrar.
Another aspect of Ayatollah Khomeini’s life, through which he became known as Imam Khomeini (ra), was his serious presence in the political arena. From the time when he was teaching ethics in Qom, he used to address political issues within the class such that regime forces during Reza Khan’s reign had no choice but to close his class in Feyziyeh School. At that time, Imam Khomeini (ra) was carefully observing the political developments of the society and even travelled to Tehran several times to attend the sessions of the National Assembly and observe the legislative process and discussions. Imam Khomeini’s first political work is a note dating back to 1944 which is kept in the Vaziri Library in Yazd. On that note we read:
“Selfishness and abandonment of rising for God’s sake has made us this wretched, and has caused the whole world to overwhelm us and has brought Muslim countries under foreign influence… Today is the day when the spiritual divine zephyr is blowing and it is the best time to rise for the reformation; if you miss the chance and do not rise for God’s sake and restore the religious rites, a bunch of lustful vagabonds will prevail over you tomorrow and exploit all your faith and honour to their own vain ends.”
Before the demise of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, Imam Khomeini (ra) had made comments on issues such as the establishment of the Israeli regime, the formation of the Constituent Assembly to amend the constitution and the expansion of the authority of the Shah, but given that most of the scholars of the seminaries kept away from politics and an there was no influential personality like Ayatollah Boroujerdi to be at the centre of the leadership and the management of the seminaries, Imam Khomeini (ra) seriously engaged in politics and was able to encourage many seminarians to do the same.
Imam Khomeini’s attention to the administrational affairs of the country and the relations between Iran and other countries impeded to a large extent the efforts made by the Pahlavi regime to de-Islamize and implement Western patterns. Imam Khomeini’s remarks regarding the State and Provincial Associations Bill, the Shah’s desired referendum in the White Revolution and finally the Capitulation law in Iran, all of which were followed by major political and social events such as the June 5, 1963 Event, forced the regime to send him into exile in Turkey on November 4, 1964. His arrest, imprisonment and special observation had not prevented him from pursuing anti-Shah activities. Although the Shah regime sought to sentence him to death for acting against national security, the gathering of prominent scholars of Qom and Mashhad in Tehran in support of him and recognizing his religious authority, prevented the regime from doing so. After Imam Khomeini (ra) went into exile, the regime was able to suppress the opposition by arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning opponents and critics.
Imam Khomeini’s place of exile was changed from Turkey to Iraq in October 1965 and he settled in Najaf city. Afterwards, he started teaching at Najaf Seminary and at the same time resumed his political activities as well. As the first action, one month later, he delivered a speech calling on the heads of Islamic countries and Islamic scholars to fulfill their main duties, that is to say, to preserve and protect Islam and defend Muslims. Also, he invited the Muslim people towards unity. In April 1967, in an open letter to Amir-Abbas Hoveyda, the Prime Minister of the Shah regime, while protesting his exile, Imam Khomeini (ra) addressed various issues including the poverty and destitution of the nation, the bankruptcy of the merchants, and the country’s backwardness, and urged him and the Shah to comply with the Islamic principles and rules. Furthermore, he warned that otherwise, Muslim scholars, youth, intellectuals and guilds will do what their duty requires.
The regime officials’ imprudence and indifference to his warnings and their ceaseless efforts to suppress the intellectual and political movements of the opposition, led Imam Khomeini (ra) towards pursuing the fights against the Shah’s regime in a more determined way.
The best characteristic of Imam Khomeini (ra) compared to other contemporary scholars is his special attention to the formation of a government based on Islamic rules. Before him, only a few scholars had purposed a kind of incomprehensive theory for establishing an Islamic government. However, these views were never implemented, and even they did not spread among people. However, addressing the idea of establishing the Islamic government under the direct supervision of the “Wali al-Faqih [Guardian Jurist],” which is referred to as “Wilayah al-Faqih [Guardianship of the Jurisprudent],” began by Imam Khomeini (ra) during his teaching classes in Najaf Seminary in 1969. Later on, these lessons and discussions turned into a book entitled “Hokumat-e Eslami [Islamic Government],” secretly reached Iran and were distributed among people. With this action, the orientation of struggles against the regime, which was mainly controlled by the leftist groups, changed in favour of the religious forces especially given the fact that the communists, by following the model of government in the Soviet Union, were pointing out the intellectual and political vacuum among the Muslim fighters who lacked the model of governance.
Imam Khomeini (ra) also while taking into account the existing situation and the prevailing atmosphere in Iran, especially after Jimmy Carter became the president of the United States in 1977, who proclaimed defending human rights and sought to make changes in the political atmosphere of Iran, increased his activities against the regime.
The suspicious death of Ayatollah Sayyed Mostafa Khomeini, the son of Imam Khomeini (ra), on October 23, 1977, caused people to pay more attention to Imam Khomeini’s messages and announcements. Later on, on January 7, 1978, publishing an insulting article against Imam Khomeini (ra) in the newspaper “Etela’at” by the Shah regime aroused the people’s anger. People’s demonstrations in protest against this article and their killing in Qom led to the occurrence of a serious uprising against the Shah. Also, the ceremony of the Arba’in [the fortieth day after the martyrdom] of the martyrs of Qom which was held in Tabriz turned violent and the participants were suppressed. The continuation of holding the Arba’in ceremony in other cities and the mass killing of people led to a widespread and general revolution in Iran. In this period, Imam Khomeini (ra), who presented his views with a focus on outlining the future perspective of the Islamic government by issuing announcements and delivering speeches and having interviews with famous magazines, was forced to leave Iraq due to the pressure the regime had exerted on the Iraqi government. First, he went to Kuwait, but the government refused to accept him. Then he was moved to France. In this country, due to the existence of communication devices and news networks, Imam Khomeini (ra) was able to lead the revolutionary people with better and more facilities, and during this time, he also held consultations with other prominent figures of the society to manage the country’s future affairs.
The Shah, who could not last long in Iran, left Iran forever on January 15, 1979, and this was despite the fact that four days before, the Council of Islamic Revolution had been established by Imam Khomeini (ra). Imam Khomeini (ra) returned to Iran on February 1, 1979, amidst an enthusiastic welcome from the people and in his speech before those gathered in Behesht-e Zahra announced his plans to establish a government. A few days later, on February 4, 1979, he declared the establishment of the provisional government of the Revolution. On February 4, 1979, when the royal system was completely destroyed in Iran, he took charge of the country’s affairs and appointed the executive officials of the government after consulting with the Revolutionary Council. On March 1, 1979, he went to Qom from where he would lead and supervise the affairs of the country. But due to a heart problem, he came back to Tehran and after partial recovery settled in a small house located in Jamaran. During nearly a year that Imam Khomeini (ra) was in Qom, a referendum was held on the question of accepting the Islamic Republic as the new form of government and constitution. Consequently, people voted in favour of replacing the monarchy with the Islamic Republic. Soon, the text of the draft of the constitution was written by his order, and the Assembly of Experts, elected by the people, began the work of reviewing and preparing the text of the constitution which finally was approved in December 1979 through an election.
Domestic separatist conspiracies, conflicts between groups and political parties, disagreements over how to run the country, the assassination of executive officials, failed military coup, the American military attack on Tabas that took place after the American Embassy in Tehran was seized by Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line and Iraq’s all-out war against Iran were the major problems the Islamic Republic in Iran faced. However, owing to the foresight and leadership of Imam Khomeini (ra), the country was freed from falling into the abyss of destruction and could overcome all those problems. After the establishment of the Islamic system, Imam Khomeini (ra) considered the people to be the most important pillar for the survival of the country believing that they should be aware of the governmental affairs. The interaction between Imam Khomeini (ra) and the people contributed to the country’s capability of getting through the most difficult stages of the Revolution. Although in this way many losses were inflicted on the nation and the country by the enemies, Imam Khomeini (ra) was able to break down many barriers on the path of government during his nearly eleven years of leadership in Iran, leaving a system for future generations which could deal with the biggest threat i.e., the eight-year War, and was at the beginning of the reconstruction period.
In the last years of his life, Imam Khomeini (ra) revised the theory of “Wilayah al-Faqih” to make it more effective and practical thereby paving the way for better management of the country’s affairs based on the “Wilayah al-Faqih,” In his political-divine will, which includes solutions and recommendations by which the country could realize noble Islamic goals, he provided precious advice for the officials and the people. Finally, Imam Khomeini (ra) passed away of cancer on June 3, 1989, at the age of 87 and Iran lost its unique leader who always treated his people with honesty, kindness and respect.
Imam Khomeini’s body was placed in the mosque of Tehran on the 5th of June so that people could bid farewell to their leader, and a day later, while millions of Iranian mourners attended his funeral, he was buried in Behesht-e Zahra.
The events of welcoming Imam Khomeini (ra) when he arrived in Tehran on February 1, 1979, and his funeral which was held on June 6, 1989, were unprecedented in the history of Iran.
As far as his moral characteristics are concerned, the following points could be mentioned:
He never disrespected anyone even when he was angry, always offered the best place in the room to his wife and did not start eating until she would come to the table. Imam Khomeini (ra) used to ask his family to observe morality and ethics and not to be arrogant.
He used to invite and encourage the children to observe their rituals including performing the prayer.
Imam Khomeini (ra) emphasized the role of the people in the management of society’s affairs in such a way that he reminded the officials not to do anything that they could not explain to the people because it is wrong. He used to say we (the officials) are deeply indebted to people and we should take the side of the people in difficult times.
Reference: The Encyclopedia of the Islamic Revolution.
Archive of The History of the Islamic Revolution
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