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CHAPTER TWO 2.0: Biography of Imam Khomeini 2.1: Birth and Parentage

Imam Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khomeini was born on 24th September, 19021into a family of strong religious traditions in Khomein, a small town some hundred kilometres to the southwest of Tehran. Both his grandfather and father were religious scholars of high repute. The former, Sayyid Ahmad, was known as al-Hindi because of a period he had spent in India, where a distant branch of the family is said to still exist. The latter, Ayatullah Mustafa, was murdered by bandits only five months after the birth of Imam Khomeini, so that his mother and an aunt were responsible for his early upbringing. At the age of sixteen, he lost both mother and aunt within the range of a single year, and the task of supervising his education fell to an elder brother, Sayyid Murtada (later known as Ayatullah Pasandideh). His family is Musawi Sayyids, who traced their descent from the Prophet through the line of the seventh Imam of the Shi’ah, Musa al-Kazim. They were originally from Neyshabur in north-eastern Iran. In the early eighteenth century, the family migrated to India and settled in the small town of Kintur near Lucknow in the Kingdom of Oudh whose rulers were Twelver Shi’i. Imam Khomeini’s grandfather was born in Kintur and was a contemporary and relative of the famous scholar Mir Hamid Husain Hindī Neyshaburī whose voluminous work- ‘Abaqāt al-Anwār is the pride of Indian Shi’ism. It is on record that the grandfather (Sayyid Ahmad) left India in about 1830 for a pilgrimage to the shrine city of Najaf where he met a notable landowner and merchant of Khomein. Accepting his invitation, Sayyid Ahmad went to Khomein to become its spiritual guide. There he married Sakinah, the daughter of the host. The couple had four children including Muṣṭafa who was born in1856. Mustafa (who later became Imam Khomeini’s father) studied in Najaf, under Mirza Hasan Shirazi, then returned in 1894 to Khomein where he became a prosperous clergyman with a family of six children, of whom Ruhullah was the youngest and the only one to be called Khomeini (of Khomein).2 Mustafa was murdered seven months after Ruhullah’s birth. Soon after, the country was engulfed by a series of anti-establishment protests, staged by the ulama, the bazaar merchants and the

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modern educated reformists, which led to the 1905-1906 Constitutional Movement. The Shah was forced to grant a western –style parliamentary constitution. However, he died the following year, to be succeeded by his anti-constitutionalist son. This turbulent period inevitably left its mark on the young Imam, though he enjoyed the love of Sahebah, his aunt, who had moved in with them to look after her brother’s children. Sahebah was strong-minded. Ruhullah’s life was dominated by her as well by his mother. They both died when he was sixteen.

2.2: Educational and Professional Training As a child, Imam Khomeini started to learn Arabic, Persian poetry and calligraphy at government school. Like other children, he was taught to memorize by heart the last few chapters of the Qur’an and a few phrases and words in Arabic about the Prophet and the Imams. As he grew older, he began to take his religious studies more seriously. Like any other child, his childhood is fraught with both challenges and prospects. The struggle between truth and falsehood, or seeing things in black and white, was imprinted in his mind. At fifteen, he started learning Arabic grammar with his brother Murtada, who had earlier studied some Arabic and theology in Isfahan. Of course, Imam Khomeini was studious, with a particular talent for writing and composition in Persian poetry. He learned a good deal of classical poetry with the emphasis on moral and ethical poetry such as the great classics of Sa’adi’s Golistan and Hafez’s Diwan; a fusion of lyricism and mysticism was also studied. There is hardly a major poet whom the Imam has not quoted in his later writings. A contemporary Iranian poet who had met Imam Khomeini in the early 1960s in Qum recalls: “We recited poetry for four hours. Every first line I recited from any poet, he recited the second.”3 Besides, he excelled in Persian calligraphy, having showed a keen interest in it. He acquired the expertise from a certain Shaykh Hamzah Mahallatī. It was a skill which he practiced even in his old age. Imam Khomeini was a product of central Iran, which has for centuries supplied Shi’i Islam with a steady stream of religious scholars and clerics and thus the Imam studied under Mahallati were very much a part of the tradition. As a result, to become a mujtahid was what the young Imam then longed for. The town of Khomein was no longer a fertile ground for his aspirations. The city of Najaf on the

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other hand would have ideal choice, but the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and its replacement in Iraq by a British mandate had led to political turmoil. Moreover, he was not yet sufficiently educated to go to Najaf. Consequently, the city of Isfahan, a centre of Shi’ite learning for several centuries, was the nearest important city to Khomein; the Imam decided to go there. Once in Isfahan, he heard of Shaykh Abdulkarim Khayri-Yazdi, a leading cleric who had left Karbala to avoid the political turmoil which had prompted most of the leading clergy to declare their opposition to British rule in Iraq. Khayrī-Yazdī was living in the nearby town of Sultanabad or Arak. For a student whose dream was Najaf this was an exciting opportunity. The young Imam was barely seventeen when he left for Arak. In Arak, Khayri-Yazdi trained a generation of leading clerics in a seminary endowed by Hajj-Aqa Muhsin Arakī (d.1907), one of the foremost anti-constitutionalist clerics. As a beginner in the circle of learning, Imam Khomeini studied Arabic Grammar, specifically a treatise written by the Egyptian scholar named Jalalud-Din As-Sayuti. Determined as he was to learn, Imam Khomeini took lessons in Mathematics, Astronomy, Rhetoric (ma’ani wa bayan), Jurisprudence and Its Principles (usul-ul-fiqh), Arabic literature (’Adab), Spiritual sciences and Gnosticism (tasawwuf wa ‘irfan), and of course ethics, logic and philosophy (both Islamic and Western), prosody and rhyme (‘arud and qawafi), amongst others. Expectedly, all these sciences were received from the best of hands (scholars and juriconsults) of his time. Thus his tutelage under Mirza Muhammad Tehrani, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Yathribi Kashani, Mirza Ali-Akbar Hakami, Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Ansari, Hajj Sayyid Abulhasan Rafi’i Qazwini, Ayatollah Hajj Mirza Jawad Maliki-Tabrizi and Ayatollah Aqa Mirza Muhammad Ali-Shahabadi to mention a few. With these crops of experts, Imam Khomeini was able to imprint his impact on his immediate environment and beyond, thus reciprocating these expertise and skills acquired into the psyche of others under him. He notably excelled in a wide variety of subjects, but especially ethics and in spiritual philosophy known in Iran as ‘Irfan. At the age of twenty-seven, he wrote a treatise in Arabic on these subjects, Misba ’l-Hidayah, which was well received by his teachers, mentors and patrons. In fact, many of Imam Khomeini’s important associates who came to be well known during the Revolution years, especially Ayatollah Muntazeri recalls that they were first attracted to him by his proficiency in ethics and philosophy and that the classes he taught on them twice a week in Faiziyyah Seminary,4 Qum were frequently attended by hundreds of people.

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2.3: Socio-Political Perceptions, Thoughts and Activities Having given the current fame of Imam Khomeini as a revolutionary leader who has achieved a rare degree of success in the purely socio-political spheres, it may appear surprising that he first gained fame as a writer and teacher concerned with devotional and even mystical matters. For Imam Khomeini, however, spirituality and mysticism have never implied social withdrawal or political quietism, but rather the building-up of a pool of energy and synergy that find its natural expression on the socio-political planes. The life of the Imam was therefore a clear indication that the Revolution wrought by Islam necessarily begins in the moral and spiritual. The classes he taught at Qum in the 1930s bore witness to this; topics of an ethical and spiritual nature were constantly interwoven with evocations of the problems of the day and exhortations to his listeners to devote themselves to solving them as part of their religious duty. It is apposite to mention here that the early years of Imam Khomeini’s activity in Qum coincided with the establishment of the Pahlavi state by Rida Khan. It was Rida Khan who transformed the Iranian monarchy into a dictatorship of the modern totalitarian kind and made his chief internal aim the elimination of Islam as a political, social, and cultural religion. Efforts directed towards this objective were visibly witnessed by the Imam in Qum, and reports reached him regularly from other cities such as Mashhad, Isfahan and Tabriz. What he saw and heard in those years left a deep impression on him; the repressive measures directed against the religious institution in later years by the second and last of the Pahlavi shahs, Muhammad Rida, were to him a natural and direct continuation of what he had experienced in the period of Riḍa Shah; the father and the son were of a piece. Consequently, Imam Khomeini’s first public statement of a political nature came in a book published in 1941, Kashf ’l-Asrar. The book is essentially a detailed and systematic critique of an anti-religious tract, but also contains numerous passages that are overtly political and vehement on the excesses of the Pahlavi rule. In the year 1937, Khayri-Yazdi, passed on and the seminary was temporarily headed by a triumvirate of the cleric’s closest senior associates. These were Ayatullahs Sadri, Hujjat and Khawansari. Soon, however, a single leader succeeded to the role of Khayri-Yazdi, in person of Ayatullah Burujerdi, Imam Khomeini was active in promoting the candidacy of Burujerdi, whom he expected to utilize the potentialities of the position of supreme religious authority in order to combat the Pahlavi rule. He therefore remained close to Burujerdi until his death in 1962, but other influences prevailed on Burujerdi;

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history regards him as a religious leader of great piety and administrative ability, but almost totally inactive in political matters. After the death of Burujerdi, no single successor to his position emerged. The Imam was reluctant to allow his name to be canvassed, but he ultimately yielded to the urgings of close associates that a collection of his rulings on matters of religious practice be published, thus implicitly declaring his availability as leader and authority. It was not, however, primarily through technical procedures such as this that the prominence of the Imam spread first within Qum, and then throughout the country. Of greater importance was his willingness to confront the Shah’s regime at a time when few dared to do so. For example, he was alone among the major religious scholars of Qum in extending support publicly to the students at the religious institution who were campaigning against the opening of liquor stores in the city. Soon his attention was drawn to matters of greater significance. The first step came in October 1962, when the Shah promulgated a law abolishing the requirements that candidates for election to local assemblies be Muslims and males. Imam Khomeini, joined by other clerics elsewhere in the country, protested vigorously against the measure; it was ultimately repealed. The measure itself was not intrinsically important, because elections to local assemblies were invariably corrupt and their functions were purely formal. But the campaign against it provided a point of departure for more comprehensive agitation against the regime as well as an opportunity to build a coalition of religious scholars that might be mobilized for more fundamental aims in the future. The next step was taken in 1963, when the Shah began to promulgate a series of measures for reshaping the political, social and economic life of Iran that were collectively designated the “White Revolution”. The appearance of popular approval was obtained by a fraudulent referendum held on 26th January, 1963. However, the measure in question were correctly perceived by the United States and designed to bring about augmentation of the shah’s power and wealth, as well as intensification of the United States dominance, which had been instituted with the CIA coup d’état against Prime Minister Muhammad Musaddiq in August 1953. Imam Khomeini moved immediately to denounce the fraudulent “revolution” and to expose the motives that underlay it, preaching a series of sermons from Faiziyyah Seminary in Qum that had a nationwide impact. The Shah’s regime responded by sending paratroopers to attack Faiziyyah Seminary on 22nd March, 1963. A number of students were killed and the Seminary was ransacked. Far from intimidating Imam Khomeini, this event marked the beginning of a new period of determined struggle that was

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directed not only against the errors and excesses of the regime, but against its very existence. The attack on the Seminary had an almost symbolic value, exemplifying as it did both the hostility of the regime to Islam and Islamic institutions and the ruthless, barbaric manner in which it expressed that hostility. Throughout the spring of 1963, Imam Khomeini continued to denounce the Shah’s regime. He concentrated his attacks on its tyrannical nature, its subordination to the United States, and its expanding collaboration with Israel. The confrontation reached a new peak in June with the onset of Muharram, the first month in the Muslim calendar when the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet (s) is commemorated and aspirations to emulate his example, by struggling against contemporary manifestation of tyranny, are awakened. On the tenth day of the month, Imam Khomeini delivered a historic speech in Qum, repeating his denunciations of the Shah’s regime and warning the Shah not to behave in such a way that the people would rejoice when he should ultimately be forced to leave the country. Two days later, he was arrested at his residence and taken to confinement in Tehran. The arrest of the Imam brought popular disgust with the Shah’s regime to a climax, and a major uprising shook the throne. In Qum, Tehran, Shiraz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Kashan, and other cities, unarmed demonstrators confronted the Shah’s US-trained and equipped army, which upon the command to shoot to kill, slaughtered not less than 15,000 people in the space of a few days. The date on which this uprising began, 15th Khurdad,5 according to the solar calendar used in Iran, marked a turning point in the modern history of Iran. It established the Imam as national leader and spokesperson for popular aspirations, provided the struggle against the Shah and his foreign patrons with a coherent ideological basis in Islam, and thus introduced a period of mass political activity under the guidance of the religious leadership instead of the secular parties that had been discredited, with the overthrow of Musaddiq. In all of these ways, uprising of 15th Khurdad foreshadowed the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979. The uprising was suppressed, but the general public and the religious leaders refused to tolerate the imprisonment of the Imam. Agitation persisted throughout the country, and numerous religious leaders converged on Tehran to press for Imam Khomeini’s release. It finally came on 6th April, 1964 accompanied by a statement in the government –controlled press that the Imam had agreed to refrain from political activity as a condition for his release. This was

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immediately refuted by the Imam, who resumed his denunciation of the regime with undiminished vigour. After learning that the Iranian rubber-stamps Majlis (Parliament) had agreed to this measure, Imam Khomeini spent a sleepless night, and the next day, 27th October, 1964 he furiously denounced this open violation of Iranian sovereignty and independence. It had by now become apparent to the Shah and his foreign overlords that the Imam could not be intimidated into silence, and it was decided to exile him, in the vain hope of destroying his influence. Accordingly, on 4th November, 1964; Imam Khomeini was arrested again and sent into exile in Turkey, accompanied by agents of the Shah’s secret police. After a brief stay in Ankara, the Imam was obliged to take up residence in Bursa, a city in the west of Turkey. Continual pressure was brought on the Shah’s regime to permit Imam Khomeini to leave Turkey for a more favourable place of exile, Najaf, one of the Shi’ite shrine cities of Iraq. In October 1965, consent was given, and the Imam proceeded to Najaf, which was to be his home for thirteen years. In agreeing to this move, the Shah’s regime had been motivated not only by the desire to free itself from popular pressure, but also by the assumption that the Imam would be overshadowed in Najaf by the religious authorities resident there. This assumption proved impotent and unrealistic. Imam Khomeini established himself as a major religious presence in Najaf. More importantly, he maintained his influence and popularity in Iran. He issued periodic proclamations concerning developments in Iran that were smuggled into the country and clandestinely circulated at great risk. In addition, his messages addressed to the Muslim world at large were distributed several times in Mecca during pilgrimage season of the year. In Najaf itself, he received visits during the long years of his exile from a number of important Iranian and other Muslim personalities. Therefore, the name and person of the Imam and the cause that he embodied were never forgotten in Iran. His example inspired a number of religious scholars and groups, which continued to build on the foundation laid in 1963 and 1964, and unnoticed by most foreign observers, an Islamic movement of unparalleled breadth and profundity came into being. It was then entirely natural that Imam Khomeini should swiftly emerge as the leader of the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979. Notwithstanding his physical absence from the country, he was conspicuously present in the hearts of his countrymen and infinitely more in tune with their aspirations than politicians who had suffered neither exile nor incarceration or imprisonment. On 23rd November, 1977; the elder son of the Imam, Hajj Mustafa, died suddenly in Najaf, assassinated by the Shah’s US-instituted security police,

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the SAVAK. The Imam bore this blow stoically, but the tragedy inflamed the public in Iran. Massive social corruption and economic dislocation as well as continuing political repression had already aroused universal discontent in Iran, and when the regime aimed its next blow against Imam Khomeini, discontent overflowed into rebellion, and rebellion, in turn, matured into a full-blown Revolution. By 8th January, 1978, barely a week after President Jimmy Carter had been in Tehran lauding the Shah as a wise and an astute statesman beloved of his people, the government-controlled press printed an article supplied by the Ministry of Court attacking Imam Khomeini as an agent of foreign powers. The public reaction was an immediate outrage. The following day in Qum, demonstrations broke out that were suppressed with heavy loss of life. This was the first of a series of demonstrations that progressively unfurled across the country, until in the end barely a single region remained untouched by revolutionary fervour. Throughout the spring and summer of 1978, Imam Khomeini issued a series of promulgations and directives, congratulating the people on their steadfastness and resilience, and encouraging them to persist until the attainment of the final objective- overthrow of the monarchy and institution of an Islamic Republic is achieved. The centrality of the Imam in revolutionary movement was obvious from the beginning. His name was constantly repeated in the slogans that were devised and chanted in the demonstrations; his portrait served as a revolutionary banner; and his return from exile to supervise the installation of an Islamic government was insistently demanded. Acting under another of its erroneous assumptions, the Shah regime requested the Ba’athist government in Iraq in September, 1978; to expel the Imam from its territory, in the hope of depriving him of his base of operations and robbing the Revolution of its leadership. Imam Khomeini had never enjoyed cordial relations with the various governments that had ruled Iraq since his arrival there in 1965, and he now informed the Ba’athist that he would be happy to leave Iraq for a country that was not subject to the Shah’s dictates. Syria and Algeria were considered as possible destinations, but in the end, as Imam Khomeini testifies himself, no Muslim country offered him refuge with the assurance of his being able to continue his activity freely. So he went to France, taking up residence at the hamlet of Neauphle-le-Chateau near Paris in early October 1978. The move to France proved beneficial. Paradoxically, communication with Iran was easier from France than it had been from Iraq. The declarations and directives that were now being issued with increasing frequency were telephoned directly to Tehran, for further dissemination to a number of

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centres in the provinces. A never-ending stream of Iranians, from Europe and the United States as well as Iran came to visit and pay homage to the Imam, and to consult with him. The world’s media also descended on the modest residence of the Imam at Neauphle-le-Chateau, and his words began to reach a global audience. The month of Muharram that coincided with December, 1978 witnessed vast and repeated demonstrations in Tehran and other Iranian cities, demanding the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic Republic under leadership of Imam Khomeini. Despite the savagery the Shah had employed, including the slaughter of thousands of unarmed demonstrators, the torture and abuse of detainees and massacres of the wounded on their hospital beds, and despite the unstinting support he had received from the United States and other foreign powers, the corrupt and murderous rule of the Shah was approaching its end. His masters decided it was politic for him to leave, and when preparation had been made for the installation of a surrogate administration under Shahpur Bakhtiari, the Shah left Iran for the last time on 6th January, 1979. The outburst of joy that followed his -departure was a fulfillment of the prophecy Imam Khomeini had made sixteen years earlier. Once the Shah left Iran, Imam Khomeini prepared to return to his homeland. When he did, on 1st February, 1979, he was met with a tumultuous welcome. Thus, with his renewed presence in Iran, the fate of the Bakhtiari’s government was sealed. After a final outburst of savagery on 10th and 11th February respectively of the same year, the old regime collapsed in disgrace, and the Islamic Republic of Iran 6 was born. In the two eventful years that have elapsed since the triumph of the Revolution, Imam Khomeini has continued to play an indispensable role in consolidating its gains and guiding the destiny of the nation. In a formal sense, his role has been defined by Articles 107 to 112 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran,7 which incorporate the key political principle for the “Guardianship of the Jurist”-Wilayat-ul-Faqih. In a more general sense, however, he has continued to provide the Revolution with its very substance, acting as its highest instance of authority and legitimacy. Countless addresses to different groups of citizens that come to visit him, as well as public speeches to wider audiences on particular significant occasions, have confirmed the Imam as the teacher and guide of the Islamic Revolution. Throughout this long and remarkable career, Imam Khomeini has manifested a unique set of characteristics: spirituality and erudition, asceticism and self-

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discipline, sobriety and determination, political genius and leadership, compassion for the poor and the deprived, and a relentless hatred for oppression and imperialism.

2.4: Works, Legacies and Eventual Demise There are, of course, a number of works credited to Imam Khomeini considering his unwavering and undisputed efforts in the fields of religion and politics. He has penned a score of books on ethics, mysticism, jurisprudence, principles, politics and social issues, many of which have already been published. Unfortunately, a number of most valuable treatises of the Imam have been lost in the process of changing rented homes and by incessant raids by the Savak agents on his home and library. Imam Khomeini wrote in an elegant method. He observed traditional rules, the order of writing, summarization and avoidance of verbosity. The fluent prose, use of literary arts, charming compositions and innovations in the political and religious messages of the Imam, formed a basis for evolution in Iranian religious and political literature. Already, the effect of particular terminologies, nuances and registers used by the Imam have entered into the Farsi (Modern Persian) 8literary texts and lingos, even in the ordinary spoken language of the people. Some of Imam Khomeini’s works such as Fiqh (principles) and Irfan (mysticism) are in Arabic; others are in Farsi. In addition to his scientific works, the Imam has rewritten, in a beautiful style, a number of unpublished treatises by other learned scholars. In essence, books recently revised and reprinted by the Institute for Compilation and Publication of the Works of Imam Khomeini 9(henceforth referred to as ICPIKW), are superior to previous editions, from the point of view of introductions, explanatory footnotes, compendium of guide indices and caution in the accuracy of texts and presentation of sample pictures of manuscript pages. Also, in the past few years, some of the Imam’s works have undergone their first printing by the Institute. As should be expected, there are unpublished works which will be published in due course following their completion of footnotes, explanatory notes and related indices. Below are lists of the works of Imam Khomeini in chronological order. Obviously, each of these works deserves separate detailed introduction, but

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these have been deliberately left as another subject matter of further investigation or research, and indeed for others to improve upon.

1. Du‘a’s-Sahur. (Dawn Prayers)Arabic. 1928. Mystical, Philosophical and Dialectics.

2. Risalat Jalut (Argumentations of His Holiness Imam Rida, RA). 1929 and published in 1934.

3. Imam’s Marginal Commentary Notes on the Risalat Jalut. n.d., n.p. 4. Marginal Commentary on Fawa’id ar-Ridawiyyah. (Essence of Divine

Favours). n.p., n.d. 5. Junudu’l-‘Aqli wa’l-Jahl. (The Armies of Wisdom and Ignorance). n.p. 6. Misbahu’l-Hidayat ila-l-Khilafah wa’l-Wilayat. (Divine Guide to

Vicegerency and Guardianship). 1930 and published in 1993. 7. Marginal Commentary on Fusul al-Hikam. (Chapters on Wisdoms).

Arabic. 1936. 8. Marginal Commentary on Misbahu’l-Insi bayan ‘l-Ma’qul wa’l-

Mashhud. (Divine Light for Mankind between Perception and Reality), written in 1936.

9. Arba’in Hadith. (The Fourty Hadith). 1939 originally written in Farsi and later translated into Arabic by Sayyid Muhammad al-Garwiy. Published in 1993 by ICPIKW.

10. Sirru’s-Salat: Salatu’l-‘Arifin wa Mi’raju’s-Salikin. (Quintessential of Prayer and Mystical Secrets).1939 in Farsi and published in 1990 by ICPIKW.

11. Adabu’s- Salat. (Rules Guiding Observance of Ritual Prayers), 1942 written in Farsi and later published in 1993 by ICPIKW.

12. Risalat liqa’-llahi. (Epistle on Gnosticism and Mystical Matters). Published in 1991 by ICPIKW.

13. Asfar ‘l-‘Arba’in. (Treatise on Spiritual Philosophy in Fourty Segments). Classified amongst unlocated manuscripts of the Imam.

14. Kashfu’l-‘Asrar. (Exposure of Secrets). 1944. Qum: Azadi Publications, n.d. This work marks the springboard for Imam’s launching and writing of Wilayat-ul-Faqih.

15. Anwaru’l-Hidayat fi Ta’liqat ‘ala-li-Kifayat. (Divine Sparkles on Rational Principles of Jurisprudence). Arabic.1949.Published in 2 Volumes by ICPIKW in 1993.

16. Bada’iu d-Durur fi Qa’idat nafyi’d-Darar. (Treatise on Jurisprudential Issue of ‘No-Damage Rule’). Arabic.1949.Published in Qum, 1965 and later in 1993 by ICPIKW.

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17. Ar-Rasa’il al-Istishab. (Discourse on Jurisprudential Principles). Arabic. Completed its compilation in 1951 and printed in Qum, 1965.

18. Risalat fi Ta’adil wa’t- Tara’jih. (Treatise on Equity, Proof and Evidence). Arabic. Compiled in 1951 and printed in Qum, 1966.

19. Risalat al-Ijtihad wa’t- Taqlid. (Treatise on Imitation). Dated 1951. 20. Manahiju’l -wusul ila-l-mal-usul. (Treatise on Jurisprudential

Terminologies). Written in 1951, and subsequently published in 2 Volumes by ICPIKW.

21. Talab wa Iradah. (Treatise on Mysticism). Arabic. 1952 and published in Tehran, 1983 by Centre for Scientific and Cultural Publications.

22. Risalatu ‘an-t-Taqiyyah. (Divine Consciousness and Dissimulation). Arabic. Written in 1953 and later printed in Qum, 1965.

23. Risalatu fi Qa’idat man Malak. (Epistle on Jurisprudence of ‘Whosoever Controls’). Published in 1954, n.p.

24. Risalatu fi Ta’yin ‘l-Fajr fi ‘llayali’l-Maqmarah. (Jurisprudential Epistle on Determination of Moon Nights).Arabic, Qum, 1988.

25. Kitabu’t-Taharah. (Treatise on Cleanliness). Arabic, written in 4 Volumes in the years 1954-58, and subsequently published in Qum and Najaf.

26. ‘Urwaut’l-Wuthqah. (An Addendum on Tied-Rope on Jurisprudential Issues).Originally written by Ayatollah Tabatabai.Farsi.1956.

27. Makasibu’l-Muharramah.( Treatise on Interdicted Occupations and Related Issues). Arabic. 2 Volumes, written in between 1958-61.

28. Wasilat’l-n-Najat. (Means to Success).Addendum. n.p., n.d. 29. Risalat Najat’l-‘Ibad. (Treatise on Jurisprudential Decrees). Farsi. 3

Volumes. Printed in Qum, 1961. 30. Muntakhabu’l- Tawarikh. (Treatise on Inheritance). Farsi. An

Addendum on Ayatollah Khorasani original work published together in Qum, 1961.

31. Tawdihu’l-Masa’il. (A Treatise on Practical Clarification of Legal Issues). Farsi. Published by different publishers, before and after the Revolution.

32. Manaska ’l-Hajj. (Decrees on Performance of Hajj and Related Ceremonies). Published in 1991 by ICPIKW.

33. Tahriru’l-Wasilah. (Depicting Means to Freedom). Arabic. 2 Volumes. Published simultaneously in Najaf, Beirut, and Tehran.1964-65.

34. Kitabu’l-Ba’y. (Treatise on Business and Commercial Matters). Farsi. 5 Volumes, 1961-76. Najaf, Iraq.

35. Kitabu’l-Khalal fi ’s-Salat. (Treatise on Impediments Occurring in Ritual Prayers). Arabic. Qum, n.d.

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36. Wilayatu’l-Faqih/Vilayat-el-Faqih. (Guardianship of the Jurist) or simply Islamic Government. Arabic and Farsi. 1969 and later in several editions. It is the magnum opus of Imam Khomeini. It treats the inseparability of religion and politics. Latest edition published in 1993 by ICPIKW.

37. Jihadu’l-Akbar. (The Greater Jihad: Challenging the Ego). Recorded texts of the Imam on the necessity of purification of nafs ego. Published in 1993 by ICPIKW.

38. Tafsir Sura Hamd: Fatihu’l-Kitab. (Exegesis of the Opening Chapter in the Qur’an).Farsi. 1979. Printed by various publishers.

39. Istiftat. (Inquiries into Contemporaneous Religious Decrees). Presently in 2 Volumes. Published by the Society of Teachers of the Theological Assembly. Qum, 1993.

40. Diwanu ’l-Imam. (Poetic Compendia of Imam Khomeini). Farsi. Published in 1993 by ICPIKW. It has an addendum titled: Glossary of the Imam’s Compendium, which demystifies mystical expressions of the Imam.

41. Rasa’ilu’s-Sufiyyah. (Mystical Epistles). Farsi. Also published under the title: Divine Grace. Tehran: The Martyr’s Foundation and ICPIKW respectively, n.d.

42. Kawthar. (Bounteous Messages, Speeches, Interviews, Decrees and Letters). A Collection of Political and Social Works of the Imam. Farsi. 22 Volumes. Published in various forms under scores of titles.

43. Risalatu’l-Akhirah. (The Last Message: A Review of the Political-Divine Testament). Farsi. Expositions about the history of the writing of the Will (al-wasiyyah). The most recent edition is published by ICPIKW, n.d.

Like any other mortal, Imam Khomeini came, paid his dues, he saw and he conquered. He eventually passed on 3rd June, 1989 at the age of 86 and was interred at the Beshte- Zahra Cemetery, northern Tehran, amidst tens of thousand of admirers, supporters, students and disciples. May Allah have mercy on him and may He sanctify his secrets.

2.5: People’s Opinions about Him Different stratum of people comments on this exemplary sage and ideologue of the 20th century. Some viewed him as a great religious leader, an icon of an inestimable value, a zenith of Shi’itic values and traditions and an iconoclastic cleric who emerged to balance religion and politics in an equilibrium manner of a sort!

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For instance, Baqer Moin comments in his “Khomeini’s Search for Perfection: Theory and Reality”. “Ayatollah Khomeini is the first Islamic theologian to develop and put into practice his idea of an Islamic government in the modern world. As a political practitioner he continues to attract conflicting emotions. For many he is the dark side of Islam, the arch-Caliph of religious orthodoxy. For others he is the defender of the faith, the man who restored power and puritanism to Islam in the face of decadence, corruption and western hegemony. And for the militants who seek to challenge the established order in the name of Islam, Khomeini remains a model. Yet in Iran itself, where Khomeini led the first Islamic Revolution, what is emerging after more than decades of Islamic rule, are clear signs that Khomeini’s Islamic puritanism has lost its appeal. Furthermore, by promising that Islam is able to solve all worldly problems, Khomeini pushed Islam beyond its endurance and exposed its shortcomings. Inadvertently, he may have engineered what amounts to the beginning of the first Islamic reformation. Khomeini’s upbringing; his education as theologian, the clergy’s humiliation by the Pahlavis and the demise of Islam as a world power has all influenced his thinking. Khomeini’s world view is far more coloured by his mystical vision of the ‘Perfect Man’ and his missionary zeal seems to have been influenced by seeing himself as the ‘Perfector of Man’”.10 Nader Naderpour, a contemporary Iranian poet who had met Imam Khomeini in the early 1960s in Qum recalls: “We recited poetry for four hours. Every first line I recited from any poet, he recited the second.”11 Oliver Roy in his book, The Failure of Political Islam has this to say on the political sagacity and astuteness of the Imam thus: “The personality and character of the Imam as a progressive thinker and inspiring political leader, who led his nation through a peaceful revolution has indeed showcased him as a worthy leader. He sets an example of integrity and high ethical standards of political leadership. He thereby revived a modern and forward-looking interpretation of Islam that resonated with concerns and aspirations of the young generations.”12

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Surprisingly, he said inter alia in the same source: “...His perspectives were not limited to the realm of the Islamic world alone but addressed humanity in many of his statements, as he felt that they faced common challenges and sufferings. His legacy provided inspiration for the down-trodden and oppressed; he identified with them as a religious leader and questioned the unjust world order that had undermined their existence for the benefit of a few.”13 Fazzur Rahman Siddiqe, a notable Islamic political analyst concurs: “Though he belonged to the Shi’a sect of Islam, his ideas spread like the wild fire and captured the intellectual horizons of the large section of the global intelligentsia. It was Ayatollah Khomeini led revolution, which not only brought about political change in Iran but also triggered powerful intellectual debate to effect seismic change in the existing political and Islamic religious discourse. Although he has disappeared from the scene but the “ism” propounded by him has enough potential to do recurring appearances time and again in the future. His philosophy deserves critical analysis for the sake of understanding the undercurrents of the political Islam.”14 Abrahamian Ervand illustrates a striking remark about the ideologue: “Khomeini’s political thought and his ideas on Islamic State passed through several phases like many ideologues of his contemporary. His political views were expressed in an eventful era under various socio- political conditions. He compiled his book Kashf-al-Asrar at the age of fourty-five. Therein he expressed his views on many of the sensitive issues like the role of ‘ulama (religious scholars) in the governance system. He consented for the first time, the roles of the monarchy, provided it accommodates ‘ulama’s legitimate space in the state affairs and also seeks their legitimate advice in the matters of running the state. He did not declare the rule of monarchy as illegitimate by its nature. But he categorically wrote in Kashf-al-Asrar that cooperation with unjust government was better than living with no government at all.”15 It may be apposite here to quote the perception and understanding of some Nigerian ‘ulama (religious clerics) about the Imam.

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For example, Shaykh Adam Al-lluri, (d.1992) the Rector of Markaz-the Arabic Training Centre, Agege, Lagos opines that the Imam’s fatwah (religious verdict) issued to terminate the life of the Indian born-British writer for writing a blasphemous book-’Ayat sh-Shaytaniyyah on the personality of the Prophet of Islam was too vehement at that instance, but that the Imam should have settled for his apprehension and get him tried. He noted that as: Qada’ al-ghiyabiyyah (Alibi or Trial in Absentia).He however commended his valour and courage to be amongst the few Islamic leaders that berated such act.16 Professor R.A.Raji, the then Chief Imam of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin lauded his unique qualities and exemplary leadership of the highest zenith, he called for a special janazah (prayer for the dead one) to repose his soul amongst the righteous ones with Allah.17 Shaykh Mustapha Zughlul, the Proprietor of Dar Da’wah wa’l-Irshad, Isolo, Lagos paid a glowing tribute to the Imam. He eloquently described him as the Biblical David who subdued Goliath to emancipate the Israelites. He noted his unwavering concern about the Palestinian people at the onslaught of the Jewish Zionism. He emphasized his allegiance which was neither to the East nor to the West (La Sharqiyyah wa la Gharbiyyah).18 In conclusion, Dr. Saheed Timehin, a University Don and Religious Preacher explain: “In spite of all that has been said, the Imam was a man after all. His concept of Wilayat-ul-Faqih is riddled with complexities and raised so many unanswered questions that reduced its appeal, even among those who held the leader of the Revolution in high esteem. Similarly his ideology tended to be xenophobic to the West. He promoted hatred for the West in several of his speeches through the use of labels such as “Great Satan or Great Devil”. This hatred was overblown to an extent that it embraced other Muslim nations who were allies to the West….The Imam was obviously not lacking in polemical prowess to establish the superiority of the Islamic ideology over Western ones….His actions might have been justifiable on some occasions, but not on all occasions. The ideology he taught and practiced were not so

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new, though his personal charisma, versatility creativity gave it a new vibrancy. His Wilayat-ul-Faqih (Rulership or Authority of the Jurist) is not too different from Plato’s idea of Philosopher King. The Islamic touch however made it enigmatic if not appealing. The exclusivist and isolationist positions of the Imam at times, had grave consequences. It was however consoling to note that toward the end of his glorious years on earth, he attempted a form of rapprochement with his own people, the Muslim world as well as other nations of the world.”19

Notes and References 1. Details of Imam Khomeini’s biography and autobiography abound in a number of

autobiographies and biographies. See: H. Ansari. The Narrative of Reawakening: A Look at Imam Khomeini’s Ideal, Scientific and Political Biography (From Birth to Ascension). Tehran: ICPIKW. International Affairs Department. 2009, 376pp; H. Algar. Islam and Revolution. Berkeley: Al-Mizan Press, 1981, 181pp; B. Moin. “Khomeini’s Search for Perfection: Theory and Reality” in A. Rahnema (Ed.) Pioneers of Islamic Revival. London: Zed Books, 2005, pp. 64-97; T.M. Salisu. “Imam Ayatollah Khomeini: A Catalyst for Resurgence of Islam in Iran”. LASU Journal of Humanities, Vol.5. September, 2008, pp.133 and 140 respectively; F.R. Siddiqe. The Concept of Islamic State from the Time of the Four Caliphates till the 20th Century Post Ikhwan and Pre-Ikhwan. Beirut: DKI Publications, 2009, pp.197-208.

2. This is a common genealogical heritage prevalent amongst the Arabo-Persian societies. The culture demands that one’s tribe, clan, town, sect, doctrine or sometimes occupation/profession could be attached as a cognomen into one’s name as a distinct identification and or honour. For example, Al-Iluri, (from Ilorin); Al-Adabi (from Adab; literally, literature, but denoting a learned or refined personality), etc. So also Al-Khomeini (from the town of Khomein).

3. See: B. Moin’s interview with Nader Naderpour in London on 29th November, 1982 as documented in A. Rahnema, op. cit. p. 96.

4. Faiziyyah Madrasah is founded in Safavid times. It has acquired particular fame amongst the teaching institutions in Qum because of the role it had played in the Islamic movement. It was closed down in 1975 by the Shah regime, and was ceremoniously reopened after the triumph of the Revolution.

5. Article 17 of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: “The official calendar of the country takes its point of departure from the migration of the Prophet of Islam. Both the Solar and Lunar Islamic calendars are recognized, but government offices will function according to the Solar Calendar.”Therefore, the Iranian calendarium runs a solar hijri system, against the common and general lunar hijri that is

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available to the Islamic world. It equally has 12 months. Khurdad is the third month of the system, i.e. March in the Gregorian calendar. The list includes: Farvadin, Ordibehest, Khurdad, Tir, Mordad, Sharivar, Mehr, Obon, Ozar, Dey, Bahman, and Esfand in that order. See also: http://www.iranoline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/Constitution-2htm.

6. The name Iran was only adopted in 1935. It emanated from the Persian term-Aryanan; referring to a place occupied by people of Aryan. Hence, Eraniyan or Iraniyan; meaning the Iranians. Before then it used to be Kingdom of Persia. At the success of the 1979 Revolution, the official name was changed to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

7. These clauses are clearly enshrined in the newly adopted 1979 Constitution. For details see: Ministry of Islamic Guidance, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran: MIG., 1979. 1st Edition, 85pp.

8. The features, intricacy and dichotomy that transpire between the Classical and Modern Persian as well as the issue of nomenclature of the language being referred to as Persian or Farsi are succinctly documented in: S.O. Ajani. “The Adaptability and Utility of Arabic Alphabet into other Languages: Persian as a Case Study”. REFA: The National Journal of Contemporary Issues on Religions, Arts & Social Sciences, 6(2), Nov. 2008, pp. 94-110.

9. The writer was opportuned to visit the Institute during his cultural visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2009, courtesies of the Islamic Cultural Relations Organization, Tehran and the Iranian Cultural Consulate, Lagos. The warm reception displayed by my hosts are hereby acknowledged, especially Dr. Abbas Bakhtiari, Messrs Najmah Tehrani, Syed Mahmud Azimi, Navid Rassouli; the Nigerian Communities in Tehran and Zanbilabad, Qum- Hajia Bilqis Oluwakemi Solihu, Sheikh Dhikrullah Hanbali Ibitoye and Mallam Ismail Abdullah and their families.

10. See: B. Moin, op. cit., p.64. 11. See: ibid. p.67 for details. 12. O. Roy. The Failure of Political Islam. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994,

p. 65. See also: T.M. Salisu, op.cit. p.137. 13. O. Roy, ibid. p.80. See also: K. Siddique (Ed.) The Islamic Revolution: Achievements,

Obstacles and Goals. London: The Muslim Institute, 1980, pp. 10-27. 14. F.R. Siddiqe, op.cit. p.197. 15. A. Ervand. Khomeinism. London: University of California Press, 1993, p.54. See also:

F.R. Siddiqe, op.cit. pp. 199-200. 16. This is an oral statement retrieved from one of Sheikh Adam Al-lluri’s audio-

cassettes, specifically at the Friday Service that follows Imam Khomeini’s fatwah on Salman Rushdie.

17. This is a statement retrieved from the Chaplaincy Unit of the Office of the Chief Imam, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. No: IC/ 89/017/IK.

18. This assertion was corroborated by Imam Ma’ruf Shittu, an alumnus of Dar-ud-Da’wah wa’l-Irshad, and currently a lecturer in the Department of Arabic, Micheal Otedola College of Primary Education, Noforija-Epe, Lagos during an interview session held with him at his office.

19. S.O. Timehin. In Search of Peace. Lagos: Daru’l-Haq Islamic Heritage, 2010, p.84.