The 14th day of Khordad in the Iranian calendar marks the anniversary of the demise of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Moussavi Khomeini, better known as Imam Khomeini.
In early May, the Headquarters for Commemorating Imam Khomeini (RA) invited all groups of Iranians to participate in ceremonies marking the anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s passing away.
In a statement, the headquarters urged individuals, institutions, organizations, political parties, academics, thinkers, scholars, athletes, and people from all walks of life to attend the programs on the sad occasion.
It also said that with the easing of the coronavirus pandemic, the headquarters is well-prepared to hold the programs more magnificently throughout the country this year.
 

Brief biography of the prominent figure

Rouhullah Khomeini was born on the 24th of September 1902. His father was Agha Mustafa Mujtahid Kamareh’i. Rouhullah was the grandson of Seyyed Ahmad and the great-grandson of Deen Ali Shah.
Rouhullah lost his father when he was four months old.

After learning Qur’an at home Rouhullah went to school at the age of seven. He started to take lessons from Mullah Abul Qasim. He then went to Sheikh Ja’far’s Maktabkhaneh.

Imam Khomeini’s early life coincided with many events in Iran. In Khomein unjust rulers were in charge and the country was unsafe. Life was very difficult for people and with the coming of World War II matters became even worse. Diseases broke out, poverty spread and there were severe droughts.

When Hajj Abdul Karim Ha’eri Yazdi entered Arak he established a School of Theology, which quickly caught up with Isfahan’s Theology School and which at the time was the best in the country. Therefore, Rouhullah decided to join this newly established Theology School and so went to Arak, which is 60 kilometers away from Khomein. There, Imam Khomeini studied for one year under the guidance of the great scholars, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Borojerdi and Agha Sheikh Golpayegani.

Imam Khomeini did not stay long in Arak because Haj Sheikh Abdul Karim Ha’erri Yazdi left Arak for good and went to stay in Qom. Four months after the departure of Abdul Karim, Imam Khomeini also went to Qom and settled down there.

Under Sheikh Ha’erri’s supervision, he specialized in particular areas of Islamic studies.
 

Marital life

Imam Khomeini got married at the age of 27. He married the daughter of Mirza Mohammad Thaqafi in 1929. Thaqafi was one of the scholars of Tehran. Imam Khomeini had seven children. Two sons and five daughters, his son’s names were Mustafa and Ahmad. His daughter’s names were Seddiqa-Khanoom, Farideh, Fahimeh, Sa’eedeh, and Latifeh. His last two daughters died during their childhood.
 

Imam’s areas of focus

In 1928 Imam Khomeini started to write many books that can be divided into seven different fields namely philosophy and mysticism, theology,  principles of jurisprudence,  ethics,
commentary on the Quran, literature, and poetry, as well as politics and leadership.

This week, the latest software designed for books written by Imam Khomeini (RA) was unveiled in Tehran.

He is regarded as the iconic leader of the Iranian nation in the 1970s against the centuries-old monarchical tyranny. He engineered Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution which led to the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran.

Like in previous years, Muslims have stormed to the Imam’s mausoleum, south of Tehran, to renew allegiance to his ideals.  The late leader is also commemorated by Muslims in varied countries as he inspired many other revolutions all across the world.

Imam Khomeini passed away on June 3, 1989, at the age of 87.

Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour