An imam (, ) is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question. In smaller communities, an imam could also be the community leader.

The Sunni branch of Islam, whereto approximately 90% of Muslims adhere, does not have a clergy and therefore an imam is not a cleric like that of a Catholic Christian priest. In the Shi'a branch of Islam, the concept of an imam occupies a much more central religious position.

Sunni Imams

The Sunni branch of Islam does not have imams in the same sense as the Shi'a. In every day terms, the imam for Sunni Muslims is the one who leads congregational Islamic worship and prayers, and the Friday sermon is most often given by an appointed imam.

thumb|left|154px|An Imam in Omdurman, Sudan.

The term is also used for a recognized religious scholar or authority in Islam, often for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of jurisprudence ''(fiqh)''. It may also refer to the Muslim scholars who created the analytical sciences related to Hadith or it may refer to the heads of the Prophet Muhammad's family in their generational times. In other words, Imam Ali, referring to Ali ibn Abi Talib, is a phrase commonly used by both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, though with different connotations.

Those who are considered imams in the context of scholarly authority by Sunni Muslims, are listed below:

Madhhab (Schools of Jurisprudence)	Aqidah (Schools of Theology)	Science of Hadith
		Imam Bukhari
	Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi	Imam Abu Dawood
	Imam Wasil ibn Ata

Shi'a imams

In the Shi'a context, imam has a meaning more central to belief, referring to leaders of the community. Twelver and Ismaili Shi'a believe that these imams are chosen by God to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life. They also believe that all the imams chosen are free from committing any sin, infallibility which is called ''ismah''. These leaders must be followed since they are appointed by God.

Twelver

Here follows a list of the Twelvers imams:

{|class="wikitable" width="60%" style="background:#ffffff;" |- style="border-bottom:3px solid #CCCCFF" ! Number !! Name(Full/Kunya) !! Title(Arabic/Turkish) !! Birth–Death(CE/AH) !! Importance !! Birthplace (present day country) !! Place of death and burial |- |1 |Ali ibn Abu Talibعلي بن أبي طالب

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Abu al-Hassan or Abu al-Husayn أبو الحسین or أبو الحسن |Amir al-Mu'minin(Commander of the Faithful)

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Birinci Ali |600–661

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23–40 |The first imam and the rightful successor of the Prophet of all Shia; however, the Sunnis acknowledge him as the fourth Caliph as well. He holds a high position in almost all Sufi Muslim orders (Turuq); the members of these orders trace their lineage to Muhammad through him. |Mecca, Saudi Arabia |Assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Kharijite in Kufa, who slashed him with a poisoned sword. Buried at the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq. |- |2 |Hassan ibn Aliالحسن بن علي

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Abu Muhammadأبو محمد |al-Mujtaba

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Ikinci Ali |624–680 ----3–50 |He was the eldest surviving grandson of Muhammad through Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah Zahra. Hasan succeeded his father as the caliph in Kufa, and on the basis of peace treaty with Muawiya I, he relinquished control of Iraq following a reign of seven months. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |Poisoned by his wife in Medina, Saudi Arabia on the orders of the Caliph Muawiya. Buried in Jannat al-Baqi. |- |3 |Husayn ibn Aliالحسین بن علي

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Abu Abdillahأبو عبدالله |Sayed al-Shuhada

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Ūçüncü Ali |626–680 ----4–61 |He was a grandson of Muhammad. Husayn opposed the validity of Caliph Yazid I. As a result, he and his family were later killed in the Battle of Karbala by Yazid's forces. After this incident, the commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali has become a central ritual in Shia identity. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |Killed on Day of Ashura (10 Muharram) and beheaded at the Battle of Karbala. Buried at the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala, Iraq. |- |4 |Ali ibn al-Husseinعلي بن الحسین

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Abu Muhammadأبو محمد |al-Sajjad, Zain al-Abedin ----Dorduncu Ali |658-9 – 712 ----38–95 |Author of prayers in Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, which is known as "The Psalm of the Household of the Prophet." |Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to most Shia scholars, he was poisoned on the order of Caliph al-Walid I in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Buried in Jannat al-Baqi. |- |5 |Muhammad ibn Aliمحمد بن علي

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Abu Ja'farأبو جعفر |al-Baqir al-Ulum (splitting open knowledge) ----Besinci Ali | 677–732 ----57–114 |Sunni and Shia sources both describe him as one of the early and most eminent legal scholars, teaching many students during his tenure. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to some Shia scholars, he was poisoned by Ibrahim ibn Walid ibn 'Abdallah in Medina, Saudi Arabia on the order of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. Buried in Jannat al-Baqi. |- |6 |Ja'far ibn Muhammadجعفر بن محمد

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Abu Abdillahأبو عبدالله |al-Sadiq (the Trustworthy) ----Altinci Ali | 702–765 ----83–148 |Established the Ja'fari jurisprudence and developed the Theology of Shia. He instructed many scholars in different fields, including Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas in fiqh, Wasil ibn Ata and Hisham ibn Hakam in Islamic theology, and Jābir ibn Hayyān in science and alchemy. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in Medina, Saudi Arabia on the order of Caliph Al-Mansur. Buried in Jannat al-Baqi. |- |7 |Musa ibn Ja'farموسی بن جعفر

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Abu al-Hassan Iأبو الحسن الأول |al-Kazim ----Yedinci Ali |744–799 ----128–183 |Leader of the Shia community during the schism of Ismaili and other branches after the death of the former imam, Jafar al-Sadiq. He established the network of agents who collected khums in the Shia community of the Middle East and the Greater Khorasan. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |Imprisoned and poisoned in Baghdad, Iraq on the order of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Buried in the Kazimayn shrine in Baghdad. |- |8 |Ali ibn Musaعلي بن موسی

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|al-Rida, Reza ----Sekizinci Ali |765–817 ----148–203 |Made crown-prince by Caliph Al-Ma'mun, and famous for his discussions with both Muslim and non-Muslim religious scholars. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in Mashad, Iran on the order of Caliph Al-Ma'mun. Buried in the Imam Reza shrine in Mashad. |- |9 |Muhammad ibn Aliمحمد بن علي

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Abu Ja'farأبو جعفر |al-Taqi, al-Jawad ----Dokuzuncu Ali |810–835 ----195–220 |Famous for his generosity and piety in the face of persecution by the Abbasid caliphate. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |Poisoned by his wife, Al-Ma'mun's daughter, in Baghdad, Iraq on the order of Caliph Al-Mu'tasim. Buried in the Kazmain shrine in Baghdad. |- |10 |Ali ibn Muhammadعلي بن محمد

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Abu al-Hassan IIIأبو الحسن الثالث |al-Hadi, al-Naqi ----Onuncu Ali |827–868 ----212–254 |Strengthened the network of deputies in the Shia community. He sent them instructions, and received in turn financial contributions of the faithful from the khums and religious vows. |Surayya, a village near Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in Samarra, Iraq on the order of Caliph Al-Mu'tazz. Buried in the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra. |- |11 |Hassan ibn Aliالحسن بن علي

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Abu Muhammadأبو محمد |al-Askari ----Onbirinci Ali |846–874 ----232–260 |For most of his life, the Abbasid Caliph, Al-Mu'tamid, placed restrictions on him after the death of his father. Repression of the Shi'ite population was particularly high at the time due to their large size and growing power. |Medina, Saudi Arabia |According to Shia, he was poisoned on the order of Caliph Al-Mu'tamid in Samarra, Iraq. Buried in Al Askari Mosque in Samarra. |- |12 |Muhammad ibn al-Hassanمحمد بن الحسن

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Abu al-Qasimأبو القاسم |al-Mahdi, Hidden Imam, al-Hujjah ----Onikinci Ali |868–unknown ----255–unknown |According to Twelver doctrine, he is the current imam and the promised Mahdi, a messianic figure who will return with Christ. He will reestablish the rightful governance of Islam and replete the earth with justice and peace. |Samarra, Iraq |According to Shia doctrine, he has been living in the Occultation since 872, and will continue as long as God wills it. |- |}

Fatimah, also Fatimah al-Zahraa, daughter of Muhammed (615–632), is also considered infallible but not an imam. Many Shi'a believe that the last imam will one day return.

Ismaili

See Imamah (Ismaili doctrine) and List of Ismaili imams for Ismaili imams.

Zaidi imams as rulers of Yemen

In the Zaidi Shiite sect, imams were temporal as well as spiritual leaders who held power in Yemen for more than a thousand years. In 897, a Zaidi ruler, al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, founded a line of such imams, a theocratic form of government which survived until the second half of the 20th century. (See details under Zaidiyyah, History of Yemen, Imams of Yemen.)

Gallery

See also

Women as imams

Mullah

Footnotes

References

External links

A brief introduction of Twelve Imams

A Brief History Of The Lives Of The Twelve Imams a chapter of Shi'a Islam (book) by Allameh Tabatabaei

The Twelve Imams Taken From "A Shi'ite Anthology" By Allameh Tabatabaei

A Short History of the Lives of The Twelve Imams

Detailed description of the Shiite belief

List of Sunni Imams

International Imam Organization

* Category:Clergy Category:Religious occupations Category:Religious leadership roles Category:Arabic words and phrases Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership Category:Islam

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honorific-prefix	Grand Ayatollah
native name
name	Ruhollah Khomeini
birth date	September 24, 1902
birth place al qaeda	Khomeyn, Persia
death date	June 03, 1989
death place	Tehran, Iran
ethnicity	Persian
spouse	Khadijeh Saqafi (m.1926 - will.1989)
children	Mostafa Zahra Sadiqeh Farideh Ahmad
office	1st Supreme Leader of Iran
term start	3 December 1979
term end	3 June 1989
deputy	Hussein-Ali Montazeri
president	Abolhassan BanisadrMohammad Ali RajaiAli Khamenei
primeminister	Mehdi BazarganMohammad Ali RajaiMohammad-Javad BahonarMahdavi KaniMir-Hossein Mousavi
successor	Ali Khamenei
religion	Twelver Shi'a Islam
Signature	}}

Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (, , 24 September 1902 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader — a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation — until his death.

Khomeini was a ''marja'' ("source of emulation", also known as a Grand Ayatollah) in Twelver Shi'a Islam, author of more than forty books, but is primarily known for his political activities. He spent more than 15 years in exile for his opposition to the last Shah. In his writings and preachings he expanded the Shi'a Usuli theory of ''velayat-e faqih'', the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)" to include theocratic political rule by the Islamic jurists. This principle (though not known to the wider public before the revolution) was installed in the new Iranian constitution after being put to a referendum.

He was named Man of the Year in 1979 by American newsmagazine ''TIME'' for his international influence and has been described as the "virtual face of Islam in Western popular culture." He was known for his support of the hostage takers during the Iran hostage crisis and his fatwa calling for the death of British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie.

Khomeini has been criticized for these acts and for human rights violations of Iranians (including his ordering of execution of thousands of political prisoners;), but also lauded as a "charismatic leader of immense popularity", and a "champion of Islamic revival" by Shia scholars.

He is officially known as Imam Khomeini inside Iran and by his supporters internationally, and generally referred to as Ayatollah Khomeini by others.

Early life

The Khomeini family originated from Nishapur, Iran. Towards the end of the 18th century, the ancestors of Ruhollah Khomeini migrated from their original home in Nishapur to the kingdom of Oudh in northern India, whose rulers were Twelver Shia Muslims of Persian origin; they settled in the small town of Kintoor, just outside of Lucknow, the capital. Ayatollah Khomeini's paternal grandfather, Seyyed Ahmad Musavi Hindi, was born in Kintoor and was a contemporary and relative of the famous scholar Ayatollah Syed Mir Hamid Hussain Musavi. He left Lucknow in 1830 on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Ali in Najaf, Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and never returned. According to a statement attributed to Khomeini's elder brother, Seyed Morteza Pasandideh, Seyyed Ahmad Musavi Hindi's point of departure was Kashmir. Also in a letter to Ayatollah Yousuf Kashmiri, Ayatollah Khomeini confirms the Kashmiri origins of his grandfather. According to Moin, this migration was to escape from the spread of British power in India. In 1834 Seyyed Ahmad Musavi Hindi visited Persia, and in 1839 he settled down at Khomein. Although he stayed and settled in Iran, he continued to be known as ''Hindi'', indicating his origins in India, and even Ruhollah Khomeini used ''Hindi'' as a pen name in some of his ghazals.

Ruhollah began to study the Qur'an, Islam's holiest book and elementary Persian at the age of six. The following year, he began to attend a local school, where he learned religion, "noheh khani" and other traditional subjects. Throughout his childhood, he would continue his religious education with the assistance of his relatives, including his mother's cousin, Ja'far, and his elder brother, Morteza Pasandideh.

After World War I arrangements were made for him to study at the Islamic seminary in Esfahan, but he was attracted instead to the seminary in Arak. He was placed under the leadership of Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi. In 1920, Khomeini moved to Arak and commenced his studies. The following year, Ayatollah Haeri Yazdi transferred to the Islamic seminary at the holy city of Qom, southwest of Tehran, and invited his students to follow. Khomeini accepted the invitation, moved, and took up residence at the Dar al-Shafa school in Qom. Khomeini's studies included Islamic law (''sharia'') and jurisprudence (''fiqh''), but by that time, Khomeini had also acquired an interest in poetry and philosophy (''irfan''). So, upon arriving in Qom, Khomeini sought the guidance of Mirza Ali Akbar Yazdi, a scholar of philosophy and mysticism. Yazdi died in 1924, but Khomeini would continue to pursue his interest in philosophy with two other teachers, Javad Aqa Maleki Tabrizi and Rafi'i Qazvini. However, perhaps Khomeini's biggest influences were yet another teacher, Mirza Muhammad 'Ali Shahabadi, and a variety of historic Sufi mystics, including Mulla Sadra and Ibn Arabi.

Literature, poetry and philosophy

Khomeini studied Greek Philosophy and was influenced by both the philosophy of Aristotle, whom he regarded as the founder of logic, and Plato, whose views "in the field of divinity" he regarded as "grave and solid". Among Islamic philosophers, Khomeini was mainly influenced by Avicenna and Mulla Sadra.

Apart from philosophy, Khomeini was also interested in literature and poetry. His poetry collection was released after his death. Beginning in his adolescent years, Khomeini composed mystic, political and social poetry. His poetry works were published in three collections ''The Confidant,'' ''The Decanter of Love and Turning Point'' and ''Divan''. Some of his poems are seen as criticizing spirituality and religion, such as one firstly dedicated to a commander in the Iran-Iraq war but later published by his son as a memorial to him. He claims the controversial "''I am the Truth''" of the Persian mystic Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj and uses the Ṣūfī terminology of wine.

Ruhollah Khomeini was a lecturer at Najaf and Qum seminaries for decades before he was known in the political scene. He soon became a leading scholar of Shia Islam. He taught political philosophy, Islamic history and ethics. Several of his students (e.g. Morteza Motahhari) later became leading Islamic philosophers and also ''marja.'' As a scholar and teacher, Khomeini produced numerous writings on Islamic philosophy, law, and ethics. He showed an exceptional interest in subjects like philosophy and gnosticism that not only were usually absent from the curriculum of seminaries but were often an object of hostility and suspicion.

Political aspects

His seminal teaching often focused on the importance of religion to practical social and political issues of the day, and he worked against secularism in the 1940s. His first book, ''Kashf al-Asrar'' (Uncovering of Secrets) published in 1942, was a point-by-point refutation of ''Asrar-e hazar salih'' (Secrets of a Thousand Years), a tract written by a disciple of Iran's leading anti-clerical historian, Ahmad Kasravi. In addition, he went from Qom to Tehran to listen to Ayatullah Hasan Mudarris, the leader of the opposition majority in Iran's parliament during the 1920s. Khomeini became a marja in 1963, following the death of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Husayn Borujerdi.

Early political activity

Background

Most Iranians had a deep respect for the Shi'a clergy or Ulema, and tended to be religious, traditional, and alienated from the process of Westernization pursued by the Shah. In the late 19th century the clergy had shown themselves to be a powerful political force in Iran initiating the Tobacco Protests against a concession to a foreign (British) interest.

At the age of 61, Khomeini found the arena of leadership open following the deaths of Ayatollah Sayyed Husayn Borujerdi (1961), the leading, although quiescent, Shi'ah religious leader; and Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani (1962), an activist cleric. The clerical class had been on the defensive ever since the 1920s when the secular, anti-clerical modernizer Reza Shah Pahlavi rose to power. Reza's son Muhammad Reza Shah, instituted a "White Revolution", which was a further challenge to the ulama.

Opposition to the White Revolution

In January 1963, the Shah announced the "White Revolution", a six-point programme of reform calling for land reform, nationalization of the forests, the sale of state-owned enterprises to private interests, electoral changes to enfranchise women and allow non-Muslims to hold office, profit-sharing in industry, and a literacy campaign in the nation's schools. Some of these initiatives were regarded as dangerous, Westernizing trends by traditionalists, especially by the powerful and privileged Shi'a ulama (religious scholars). Ayatollah Khomeini summoned a meeting of the other senior marjas of Qom and persuaded them to decree a boycott of the referendum on the White Revolution. On 22 January 1963 Khomeini issued a strongly worded declaration denouncing the Shah and his plans. Two days later the Shah took an armored column to Qom, and delivered a speech harshly attacking the ulama as a class.

Khomeini continued his denunciation of the Shah's programmes, issuing a manifesto that bore the signatures of eight other senior Iranian Shia religious scholars. In it he listed the various ways in which the Shah had allegedly violated the constitution, condemned the spread of moral corruption in the country, and accused the Shah of submission to America and Israel. He also decreed that the Nowruz celebrations for the Iranian year 1342 (which fell on 21 March 1963) be canceled as a sign of protest against government policies.

On the afternoon of 'Ashura (3 June 1963), Khomeini delivered a speech at the Feyziyeh madrasah drawing parallels between the infamous tyrant Yazid and the Shah, denouncing the Shah as a "wretched, miserable man," and warning him that if he did not change his ways the day would come when the people would offer up thanks for his departure from the country.

On 5 June 1963, (15 of Khordad), two days after this public denunciation of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Khomeini was arrested. This sparked three days of major riots throughout Iran and led to the deaths of some 400. That event is now referred to as the Movement of 15 Khordad. Khomeini was kept under house arrest and released in August.

Opposition to capitulation

On 26 October 1964, the day of the Shah's holiday celebrating '2,500 years of continuous monarchy,' Khomeini denounced both the Shah and the United States. This time it was in response to the "capitulations" or diplomatic immunity granted by the Shah to American military personnel in Iran. The famous "capitulation" law (or "status-of-forces agreement") would allow members of the U.S. armed forces in Iran to be tried in their own military courts. Khomeini was arrested in November 1964 and held for half a year. Upon his release, he was brought before Prime Minister Hasan Ali Mansur, who tried to convince Khomeini that he should apologize and drop his opposition to the government. Khomeini refused. In fury, Mansur slapped Khomeini's face. Two weeks later, Mansur was assassinated on his way to parliament. Four members of the Fadayan-e Islam were later executed for the murder.

Life in exile

Khomeini spent more than 14 years in exile, mostly in the holy Shia city of Najaf, Iraq. Initially he was sent to Turkey on 4 November 1964 where he stayed in the city of Bursa for less than a year. He was hosted by a colonel in Turkish Military Intelligence named Ali Cetiner in his own residence, who could not arrange alternative accommodation for his stay at the time. Later in October 1965 he was allowed to move to Najaf, Iraq, where he stayed until being forced to leave in 1978, after then-Vice President Saddam Hussein told him that it's better to leave (the two countries would fight a bitter eight year war 1980–1988 only a year after the two reached power in 1979) after which he went to Neauphle-le-Château, suburb of Paris, France on a tourist visa, apparently not seeking political asylum, where he stayed for four months. According to Alexandre de Marenches, chief of External Documentation and Counter-Espionnage Service (now known as the DGSE), the shah declined that France expel Khomeini for fear that the cleric should move to Syria or Libya. Some sources report that president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing sent Michel Poniatowski to Tehran to propose to the Shah the elimination of Khomeini. By the late 1960s, Khomeini was a marja-e taqlid (model for imitation) for "hundreds of thousands" of Shia, one of six or so models in the Shia world.

While in the 1940s Khomeini accepted the idea of a limited monarchy under the Iranian Constitution of 1906–1907 — as evidenced by his book Kashf al-Asrar — by the 1970s he rejected the idea.

In early 1970, Khomeini gave a series of lectures in Najaf on Islamic government, later published as a book titled variously ''Islamic Government'' or ''Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist'' (''Hokumat-e Islami : Velayat-e faqih'').

This was his most famous and influential work, and laid out his ideas on governance (at that time): That the laws of society should be made up only of the laws of God (''Sharia''), which cover "all human affairs" and "provide instruction and establish norms" for every "topic" in "human life." Since ''Shariah,'' or Islamic law, is the proper law, those holding government posts should have knowledge of ''Sharia.'' Since Islamic jurists or faqih have studied and are the most knowledgeable in ''Sharia,'' the country's ruler should be a ''faqih'' who "surpasses all others in knowledge" of Islamic law and justice, (known as a marja'), as well as having intelligence and administrative ability. Rule by monarchs and/or assemblies of "those claiming to be representatives of the majority of the people" (i.e. elected parliaments and legislatures) has been proclaimed "wrong" by Islam. This system of clerical rule is necessary to prevent injustice, corruption, oppression by the powerful over the poor and weak, innovation and deviation of Islam and Sharia law; and also to destroy anti-Islamic influence and conspiracies by non-Muslim foreign powers.

A modified form of this wilayat al-faqih system was adopted after Khomeini and his followers took power, and Khomeini was the Islamic Republic's first "Guardian" or ''Supreme Leader''.

In the meantime, however, Khomeini was careful not to publicize his ideas for clerical rule outside of his Islamic network of opposition to the Shah which he worked to build and strengthen over the next decade.

In Iran, a number of actions of the shah including his repression of opponents began to build opposition to his regime. Cassette copies of his lectures fiercely denouncing the Shah as (for example) "... the Jewish agent, the American serpent whose head must be smashed with a stone", became common items in the markets of Iran, helped to demythologize the power and dignity of the Shah and his reign. Aware of the importance of broadening his base, Khomeini reached out to Islamic reformist and secular enemies of the Shah, despite his long-term ideological incompatibility with them.

After the 1977 death of Dr. Ali Shariati (an Islamic reformist and political revolutionary author/academic/philosopher who greatly popularized the Islamic revival among young educated Iranians), Khomeini became the most influential leader of the opposition to the Shah. Adding to his mystique was the circulation among Iranians in the 1970s of an old Shia saying attributed to the Imam Musa al-Kadhem. Prior to his death in 799, al-Kadhem was said to have prophesied that "''A man will come out from Qom and he will summon people to the right path''". In late 1978, a rumour swept the country that Khomeini's face could be seen in the full moon. Millions of people were said to have seen it and the event was celebrated in thousands of mosques. He was perceived by many Iranians as the spiritual, if not political, leader of revolt. As protest grew so did his profile and importance. Although thousands of kilometers away from Iran in Paris, Khomeini set the course of the revolution, urging Iranians not to compromise and ordering work stoppages against the regime. During the last few months of his exile, Khomeini received a constant stream of reporters, supporters, and notables, eager to hear the spiritual leader of the revolution.

Supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Return to Iran

Khomeini had refused to return to Iran until the Shah left. On 17 January 1979, the Shah did leave the country (ostensibly "on vacation"), never to return. Two weeks later, on Thursday, 1 February 1979, Khomeini returned in triumph to Iran, welcomed by a joyous crowd of up to five million people, estimated in at least six million by ABC News reporter Peter Jennings, who was reporting the event from Tehran.

On the Air France flight on his way to Iran, Khomeini was asked by Jennings: "What do you feel in returning to Iran?" Khomeini answered: "''Hichi''" (Nothing). This statement was considered reflective of his mystical beliefs, and his non-attachment to ego. Some consider it a warning to Iranians who hoped he would be a "mainstream nationalist leader" that they were in for disappointment. To others, it was a reflection of an unfeeling leader incapable or unconcerned with understanding the thoughts, beliefs, or the needs of the Iranian populace.

Khomeini adamantly opposed the provisional government of Shapour Bakhtiar, promising ""I shall kick their teeth in. I appoint the government. I appoint the government by support of this nation." On 11 February (Bahman 22), Khomeini appointed his own competing interim prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan, demanding, "since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed." It was "God's government," he warned, disobedience against him or Bazargan was considered a "revolt against God."

Establishment of new government

As Khomeini's movement gained momentum, soldiers began to defect to his side and Khomeini declared jihad on soldiers who did not surrender. On 11 February, as revolt spread and armories were taken over, the military declared neutrality and the Bakhtiar regime collapsed. On March 30 and 31 1979, a referendum to replace the monarchy with an Islamic Republic passed with 98% voting in favour of the replacement, with the question: "should the monarchy be abolished in favour of an Islamic Government?"

Islamic constitution

Although revolutionaries were now in charge and Khomeini was their leader, some opposition groups claim that several secular and religious groups were unaware of Khomeini's plan for Islamic government by ''wilayat al-faqih,'' which involved rule by a marja' Islamic cleric. They claim that this provisional constitution for the Islamic Republic did not include the post of supreme Islamic clerical ruler. However, the Islamic government was clearly defined by Khomeini in his book ''Hokumat-e Islami: Velayat-e faqih'' (Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist) which was published in 1970, almost a decade before the revolution's success. This book included Khomeini's notion of ''wilayat al-faqih'' (Governance of the Jurist) as well as the reasoning and in his view, the necessity of it in running an Islamic state.

Khomeini and his supporters worked to suppress some former allies and rewrote the proposed constitution. Some newspapers were closed, and those protesting the closings were attacked. Opposition groups such as the National Democratic Front and Muslim People's Republican Party were attacked and finally banned. Through popular support, Khomeini supporters gained an overwhelming majority of the seats of the Assembly of Experts which revised the proposed constitution. The newly proposed constitution included an Islamic jurist Supreme Leader of the country, and a Council of Guardians to veto un-Islamic legislation and screen candidates for office, disqualifying those found un-Islamic.

In November 1979, the new constitution of the Islamic Republic was adopted by national referendum. Khomeini himself became instituted as the Supreme Leader (supreme jurist ruler), and officially became known as the ''"Leader of the Revolution."'' On 4 February 1980, Abolhassan Banisadr was elected as the first president of Iran.

Critics complain that Khomeini had gone back on his word (or outsmarted secular, Islamic modernists and even traditional Islamic Iranians, depending on your point of view) to advise, rather than rule the country.

Hostage crisis

On 22 October 1979, the United States admitted the exiled and ailing Shah into the country for cancer treatment. In Iran, there was an immediate outcry, with both Khomeini and leftist groups demanding the Shah's return to Iran for trial and execution. Revolutionaries were reminded of Operation Ajax, 26 years earlier, when the Shah fled abroad while American CIA and British intelligence organized a coup d'état to overthrow his nationalist opponent.

On 4 November, Islamist students calling themselves Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, took control of the American Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 embassy staff hostage for 444 days – an event known as the Iran hostage crisis. In 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president, several of the hostages identified him as one of their captors, however this claim has been denied by a CIA investigation on the matter. In America, the hostage-taking was seen as a flagrant violation of international law and aroused intense anger and anti-Iranian sentiments.

In Iran, the takeover was immensely popular and earned the support of Khomeini under the slogan "America can't do a damn thing against us." The seizure helped to advance the cause of theocratic government and outflank politicians and groups who emphasized stability and normalized relations with other countries. Khomeini is reported to have told his president: "This action has many benefits ... this has united our people. Our opponents do not dare act against us. We can put the constitution to the people's vote without difficulty, and carry out presidential and parliamentary elections."

The new theocratic constitution was successfully passed by referendum a month after the hostage crisis began. The effect was the splitting of the opposition into two groups – radicals supporting the hostage taking, and the moderates who opposed it. On 23 February 1980, Khomeini proclaimed Iran's Majlis would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages, and demanded that the United States hand over the Shah for trial in Iran for crimes against the nation. Although the Shah died a few months later, during the summer, the crisis continued. In Iran, supporters of Khomeini named the embassy a "Den of Espionage", publicizing details regarding armaments, espionage equipment and many volumes of official and classified documents which they found there.

Relationship with Islamic and non-aligned countries

Khomeini believed in Muslim unity and solidarity and the export of Islamic revolution throughout the world. "Establishing the Islamic state world-wide belong to the great goals of the revolution." He declared the birth week of Muhammad (the week between 12th to 17th of Rabi' al-awwal) as the ''Unity week''. Then he declared the last Friday of Ramadan as International Day of Quds in 1981.

Iran-Iraq War

Shortly after assuming power, Khomeini began calling for Islamic revolutions across the Muslim world, including Iran's Arab neighbor Iraq, the one large state besides Iran with a Shia majority population. At the same time Saddam Hussein, Iraq's secular Arab nationalist Ba'athist leader, was eager to take advantage of Iran's weakened military and (what he assumed was) revolutionary chaos, and in particular to occupy Iran's adjacent oil-rich province of Khuzestan, and to undermine Iranian Islamic revolutionary attempts to incite the Shi'a majority of his country.

In September 1980, Iraq launched a full scale invasion of Iran, starting what would become the eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War (September 1980 – August 1988). A combination of fierce resistance by Iranians and military incompetence by Iraqi forces soon stalled the Iraqi advance and, by early 1982, Iran regained almost all of the territory lost to the invasion. The invasion rallied Iranians behind the new regime, enhancing Khomeini's stature and allowing him to consolidate and stabilize his leadership. After this reversal, Khomeini refused an Iraqi offer of a truce, instead demanding reparation and the toppling of Saddam Hussein from power. That was proved to be a huge mistake, because if Khomeini had accepted the truce, Iran could have taken a large territory in Iraq, then occupied by the Iranian Army. Instead he chose to continue the war, which ended with a crippled Iranian economy, casualties of 500,000 to 1,000,000 lives, and no gain of Iraqi territory.

Although Iran's population and economy were three times the size of Iraq's, the latter was aided by neighboring Persian Gulf Arab states, as well as the Soviet Bloc and Western countries. The Persian Gulf Arabs and the West wanted to be sure the Islamic revolution did not spread across the Persian Gulf, while the Soviet Union was concerned about the potential threat posed to its rule in central Asia to the north. However, Iran had large amounts of ammunition provided by the United States of America during the Shah's era and the United States illegally smuggled arms to Iran during the 1980s despite Khomeini's anti-Western policy (see Iran-Contra affair).

The war continued for another six years with mounting costs. 1988 saw deadly month-long Iraqi missile attacks on Tehran, mounting economic problems, the demoralization of Iranian troops, attacks by the American Navy on Iranian ships and oil rigs in the Persian Gulf, and the recapture by Iraq of the Faw peninsula.

In July of that year, Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the United Nations. Despite the high cost of the war – 450,000 to 950,000 Iranian casualties and USD $300 billion – Khomeini insisted that extending the war into Iraq in an attempt to overthrow Saddam had not been a mistake. In a 'Letter to Clergy' he wrote: '... we do not repent, nor are we sorry for even a single moment for our performance during the war. Have we forgotten that we fought to fulfill our religious duty and that the result is a marginal issue?'

Rushdie fatwa

In early 1989, Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of Salman Rushdie, an India-born British author. Khomeini issued a juristic ruling (Fatwa) that claimed that Rushdie's assassination was allowed for Muslims to partake because of his alleged blasphemy against Muhammad in his novel, ''The Satanic Verses'', published in 1988.}} Rushdie's book contains passages that many Muslims – including Ayatollah Khomeini – considered offensive to Islam and the prophet, but the fatwa has also been attacked for violating the rules of fiqh by not allowing the accused an opportunity to defend himself, and because "even the most rigorous and extreme of the classical jurist only require a Muslim to kill anyone who insults the Prophet in his hearing and in his presence."

Though Rushdie publicly regretted "the distress that publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam", the fatwa was not revoked. Khomeini explained,

Even if Salman Rushdie repents and becomes the most pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life and wealth, to send him to Hell.

Rushdie himself was not killed but Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of the book ''The Satanic Verses'', was murdered and two other translators of the book survived murder attempts.

Through this fatwa, he was regarded a renewer of Islam by most non-Shi'a and became the spokesman for the frustrations and ambitions of Muslims in general.

Under Khomeini's rule, Sharia (Islamic law) was introduced, with the Islamic dress code enforced for both men and women by Islamic Revolutionary Guards and other Islamic groups Women were required to cover their hair, and men were not allowed to wear shorts. Alcoholic drinks, most Western movies, the practice of men and women swimming or sunbathing together were banned. The Iranian educational curriculum was Islamized at all levels with the Islamic Cultural Revolution; the "Committee for Islamization of Universities" carried this out thoroughly. The broadcasting of any music other than martial or religious on Iranian radio and television was banned by Khomeini on July 1979. The ban lasted 10 years (approximately the rest of his life).

Emigration and economy

Khomeini is said to have stressed "the spiritual over the material". Six months after his first speech he expressed exasperation with complaints about the sharp drop in Iran's standard of living: 'I cannot believe that the purpose of all these sacrifices was to have less expensive melons' On another occasion emphasizing the importance of martyrdom over material prosperity: "Could anyone wish his child to be martyred to obtain a good house? This is not the issue. The issue is another world." He is also reportedly famous for answering a question about his economic policies by declaring that 'economics is for donkeys'. This low opinion of economics is said to be "one factor explaining the inchoate performance of the Iranian economy since the revolution." Another factor was the long war with Iraq, the cost of which led to government debt and inflation, eroding personal incomes, and unprecedented unemployment.

While Iran became more strict Islamically under Khomeini, absolute poverty rose by nearly 45% during the first 6 years of his rule. Emigration from Iran also developed, reportedly for the first time in the country's history. Since the revolution, an estimated "two to four million entrepreneurs, professionals, technicians, and skilled craftspeople (and their capital)" have emigrated to other countries.

Suppression of enemies and opposition

Opposition to the religious rule of the clergy or Islamic government in general was often met with harsh punishments. In a talk at the Fayzieah School in Qom, 30 August 1979, Khomeini warned opponents: "Those who are trying to bring corruption and destruction to our country in the name of democracy will be oppressed. They are worse than Bani-Ghorizeh Jews, and they must be hanged. We will oppress them by God's order and God's call to prayer."

The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family left Iran and escaped harm, but hundreds of former members of the overthrown monarchy and military met their end in firing squads, with critics complaining of "secrecy, vagueness of the charges, the absence of defense lawyers or juries", or the opportunity of the accused "to defend themselves." In later years these were followed in larger numbers by the erstwhile revolutionary allies of Khomeini's movement—Marxists and socialists, mostly university students—who opposed the theocratic regime.

In the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, following the People's Mujahedin of Iran operation Forough-e Javidan against the Islamic Republic, Khomeini issued an order to judicial officials to judge every Iranian political prisoner and kill those who would not repent anti-regime activities. Estimates of the number executed vary from 1,400 to 30,000.

Although many hoped the revolution would bring freedom of speech and press, this was not to be. In defending forced closing of opposition newspapers and attacks on opposition protesters by club-wielding vigilantes, Khomeini explained, 'The club of the pen and the club of the tongue is the worst of clubs, whose corruption is a 100 times greater than other clubs.'

Minority religions

Life for religious minorities was mixed under Khomeini. Senior government posts were reserved for Muslims. Schools set up by Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians had to be run by Muslim principals. Compensation for death paid to the family of a non-Muslim was (by law) less than if the victim was a Muslim. Conversion to Islam was encouraged by entitling converts to inherit the entire share of their parents (or even uncle's) estate if their siblings (or cousins) remain non-Muslim. Iran's non-Muslim population has fallen dramatically. For example, the Jewish population in Iran dropped from 80,000 to 30,000 in the first two decades of the revolution.

However, four of the 270 seats in parliament were reserved for three non-Islamic minority religions, under the Islamic constitution that Khomeini oversaw. Khomeini also called for unity between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims (Sunni Muslims are the largest religious minority in Iran).

Prerevolutionary statements by Khomeini had been antagonistic towards Jews, but shortly after his return from exile in 1979, he issued a fatwa ordering that Jews and other minorities (except Bahá'ís) be treated well. In power, Khomeini distinguished between Zionism as a secular political party that employs Jewish symbols and ideals and Judaism as the religion of Moses.

Starting in late 1979 the new government systematically targeted the leadership of the Bahá'í community by focusing on the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) and Local Spiritual Assemblies (LSAs); prominent members of NSAs and LSAs were either killed or disappeared. Like most conservative Muslims, Khomeini believed Bahá'í to be apostates. He claimed they were a political rather than a religious movement, declaring:

Ethnic minorities

After the Shah left Iran in 1979, a Kurdish delegation traveled to Qom to present the Kurds' demands to Ayatollah Khomeini. Their demands included language rights and the provision for a degree of political autonomy. Khomeini responded that such demands were unacceptable. The following months saw numerous clashes between Kurdish militia groups and the Revolutionary Guards. The referendum on the Islamic Republic was massively boycotted in Kurdistan, where it was thought 85 to 90% of voters abstained. Khomeini ordered additional attacks later on in the year, and by September most of Iranian Kurdistan was under direct martial law.

Death and funeral

After eleven days in a hospital, Khomeini died at the age of 86. He was succeeded by Ali Khamenei. Iranians poured out into the cities and streets to mourn Khomeini's death in a "completely spontaneous and unorchestrated outpouring of grief."

3.5 million people attended his funeral. Iranian officials aborted Khomeini's first funeral, after a large crowd stormed the funeral procession, nearly destroying Khomeini's wooden coffin in order to get a last glimpse of his body. At one point, Khomeini's body almost fell to the ground, as the crowd attempted to grab pieces of the death shroud. The second funeral was held under much tighter security. Khomeini's casket was made of steel, and heavily armed security personnel surrounded it. In accordance with Islamic tradition, the casket was only to carry the body to the burial site. In 1995, his son Ahmad Khomeini was buried next to him. Khomeini's grave is now housed within a larger mausoleum complex.

Successorship

Grand Ayatollah Hossein Montazeri, a former student of Khomeini and a major figure of the Revolution, was chosen by Khomeini to be his successor as Supreme Leader and approved as such by the Assembly of Experts in 1985. The principle of ''velayat-e faqih'' and the Islamic constitution called for the Supreme Leader to be a ''marja'' (a grand ayatollah), and of the dozen or so grand ayatollahs living in 1981 only Montazeri qualified as a potential Leader (this was either because only he accepted totally Khomeini's concept of rule by Islamic jurists, or, as at least one other source stated, because only Montazeri had the "political credentials" Khomeini found suitable for his successor). In 1989 Montazeri began to call for liberalization, freedom for political parties. Following the execution of thousands of political prisoners by the Islamic government, Montazeri told Khomeini 'your prisons are far worse than those of the Shah and his SAVAK.' After a letter of his complaints was leaked to Europe and broadcast on the BBC, a furious Khomeini ousted him from his position as official successor.

To deal with the disqualification of the only suitable ''marja'', Khomeini called for an 'Assembly for Revising the Constitution' to be convened. An amendment was made to Iran's constitution removing the requirement that the Supreme Leader be a Marja and this allowed Ali Khamanei, the new favoured jurist who had suitable revolutionary credentials but lacked scholarly ones and who was not a Grand Ayatollah, to be designated as successor. Ayatollah Khamene'i was elected Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts on 4 June 1989. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Montazeri continued his criticism of the regime and in 1997 was put under house arrest for questioning what he regarded to be an unaccountable rule exercised by the supreme leader.

Political thought and legacy

According to at least one scholar, politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran "are largely defined by attempts to claim Khomeini's legacy" and that "staying faithful to his ideology has been the litmus test for all political activity" there. Throughout his many writings and speeches, Khomeini's views on governance evolved. Originally declaring rule by monarchs or others permissible so long as sharia law was followed Khomeini later adamantly opposed monarchy, arguing that only rule by a leading Islamic jurist (a marja'), would insure Sharia was properly followed (wilayat al-faqih), before finally insisting the ruling jurist need not be a leading one and Sharia rule could be overruled by that jurist if necessary to serve the interests of Islam and the "divine government" of the Islamic state.

Khomeini's concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (ولایت فقیه, ''velayat-e faqih'') did not win the support of the leading Iranian Shi'i clergy of the time. Towards the 1979 Revolution, many clerics gradually became disillusioned with the rule of the Shah, although none came around to supporting Khomeini's vision of a theocratic Islamic Republic.

There is much debate to as whether Khomeini's ideas are or are not compatible with democracy and whether he intended the Islamic Republic to be a democratic republic. According to the state-run ''Aftab News'', both ultraconservative (Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi) and reformist opponents of the regime (Akbar Ganji and Abdolkarim Soroush) believe he did not, while regime officials and supporters like Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Khatami and Mortaza Motahhari believe Khomeini intended the Islamic republic to be democratic and that it is so. Khomeini himself also made statements at different times indicating both support and opposition to democracy.

One scholar, Shaul Bakhash, explains this disagreement as coming from Khomeini's belief that the huge turnout of Iranians in anti-Shah demonstrations during the revolution constituted a 'referendum' in favor of an Islamic republic. Khomeini also wrote that since Muslims must support a government based on Islamic law, Sharia-based government will always have more popular support in Muslim countries than any government based on elected representatives.

Khomeini offered himself as a "champion of Islamic revival" and unity, emphasizing issues Muslims agreed upon – the fight against Zionism and imperialism – and downplaying Shia issues that would divide Shia from Sunni. Khomeini strongly opposed close relations with either Eastern or Western Bloc nations, believing the Islamic world should be its own bloc, or rather converge into a single unified power. He viewed Western culture as being inherently decadent and a corrupting influence upon the youth. The Islamic Republic banned or discouraged popular Western fashions, music, cinema, and literature. In the Western world it is said "his glowering visage became the virtual face of Islam in Western popular culture" and "inculcated fear and distrust towards Islam," making the word 'Ayatollah' "a synonym for a dangerous madman ... in popular parlance." This has particularly been the case in the United States where some Iranians complained that even at universities they felt the need to hide their Iranian identity for fear of physical attack. There Khomeini and the Islamic Republic are remembered for the American embassy hostage taking and accused of sponsoring hostage-taking and terrorist attacks, and which continues to apply economic sanctions against Iran.

Before taking power Khomeini expressed support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "We would like to act according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We would like to be free. We would like independence." However once in power Khomeini took a firm line against dissent, warning opponents of theocracy for example: "I repeat for the last time: abstain from holding meetings, from blathering, from publishing protests. Otherwise I will break your teeth."

Many of Khomeini's political and religious ideas were considered to be progressive and reformist by leftist intellectuals and activists prior to the Revolution. However, once in power his ideas often clashed with those of modernist or secular Iranian intellectuals. This conflict came to a head during the writing of the Islamic constitution when many newspapers were closed by the government. Khomeini angrily told the intellectuals:

Yes, we are reactionaries, and you are enlightened intellectuals: You intellectuals do not want us to go back 1400 years. You, who want freedom, freedom for everything, the freedom of parties, you who want all the freedoms, you intellectuals: freedom that will corrupt our youth, freedom that will pave the way for the oppressor, freedom that will drag our nation to the bottom.

In contrast to his alienation from Iranian intellectuals, and "in an utter departure from all other Islamist movements," Khomeini embraced international revolution and Third World solidarity, giving it "precedence over Muslim fraternity. From the time Khomeini's supporters gained control of the media until his death, the Iranian media "devoted extensive coverage to non-Muslim revolutionary movements (from the Sandinistas to the African National Congress and the Irish Republican Army) and downplayed the role of the Islamic movements considered conservative, such as the Afghan mujahidin."

Khomeini's legacy to the economy of the Islamic Republic has been concern for the ''mustazafin'', but not always results. During the 1990s the ''mustazafin'' and disabled war veterans rioted on several occasions, protesting the demolition of their shantytowns and rising food prices, etc. Khomeini's disdain for the science of economics ("economics is for donkeys") is said to have been "mirrored" by the populist redistribution policies of Iran's current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who allegedly wears "his contempt for economic orthodoxy as a badge of honour", and has overseen sluggish growth and rising inflation and unemployment.

In 1963, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini wrote a book in which he stated that there is no religious restriction on corrective surgery for transgendered individuals. At the time Khomeini was an anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwas did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transsexual individuals.

Appearance and habits

Khomeini was described as "slim," but athletic and "heavily boned." He was known for his punctuality:

He's so punctual that if he doesn't turn up for lunch at exactly ten past everyone will get worried, because his work is regulated in such a way that he turned up for lunch at exactly that time every day. He goes to bed exactly on time. He eats exactly on time. And he wakes up exactly on time. He changes his cloak every time he comes back from the mosque.

Khomeini was also known for his aloofness and austere demeanor. He is said to have had "variously inspired admiration, awe, and fear from those around him." His practice of moving "through the halls of the madresehs never smiling at anybody or anything; his practice of ignoring his audience while he taught, contributed to his charisma."

Khomeini adhered to traditional beliefs of Islamic hygienical jurisprudence holding that things like urine, excrement, blood, wine etc. and also non-Muslims were some of eleven ritualistically "impure" things that physical contact with which while wet required ritual washing or Ghusl before prayer or salah. He is reported to have refused to eat or drink in a restaurant unless he knew for sure the waiter was a Muslim.

Mystique

Khomeini was noted by many for his mystique. Before the revolution he benefited from the widespread circulation of a Hadith attributed to the Imam Musa al-Kazim who is said to have prophesied shortly before his death in 799 that

'A man will come out from Qom and he will summon people to the right path. There will rally to him people resembling pieces of iron, not to be shaken by violent winds, unsparing and relying on God.'

Khomeini was the first and only Iranian cleric to be addressed as "Imam", a title hitherto reserved in Iran for the twelve infallible leaders of the early Shi'a. He was also associated with the ''Mahdi'' or 12th Imam of Shia belief in a number of ways. One of his titles was ''Na'eb-e Imam'' (Deputy to the Twelfth Imam). His enemies were often attacked as ''taghut'' and ''Mofsed-e-filarz'' (corrupters of the earth), religious terms used for enemies of the Twelfth Imam. Many of the officials of the overthrown Shah's government executed by Revolutionary Courts were convicted of "fighting against the Twelfth Imam". When a deputy in the majlis asked Khomeini if he was the 'promised Mahdi', Khomeini did not answer, "astutely" neither confirming nor denying the title.

Before the revolution, in late 1978, a rumour swept the country that Khomeini's face could be seen in the full moon.

Tears of joy were shed and huge quantities of sweets and fruits were consumed as millions of people jumped for joy, shouting 'I've seen the Imam in the moon.' The event was celebrated in thousands of mosques with mullahs reminding the faithful that a sure sign of the coming of the Mahdi was that the sun would rise in the West. Khomeini, representing the sun, was now in France and his face was shining in the moon like a sun. People were ready to swear on the Qur'an that they had seen Khomeini's face in the moon. Even the Tudeh Party [the party of "Scientific Socialism"] shared in the [enthusiasm]. Its paper ''Navid'' wrote: 'Our toiling masses, fighting against world-devouring imperialism headed by the blood-sucking United States, have seen the face of their beloved Imam and leader, Khomeini the Breaker of Idols, in the moon. A few pipsqueaks cannot deny what a whole nation has seen with its own eyes.'

As the revolution gained momentum, even some non-supporters exhibited awe, called him "magnificently clear-minded, single-minded and unswerving." His image was as "absolute, wise, and indispensable leader of the nation"

The Imam, it was generally believed, had shown by his uncanny sweep to power, that he knew how to act in ways which others could not begin to understand. His timing was extraordinary, and his insight into the motivation of others, those around him as well as his enemies, could not be explained as ordinary knowledge. This emergent belief in Khomeini as a divinely guided figure was carefully fostered by the clerics who supported him and spoke up for him in front of the people.

Even many secularists who firmly disapproved of his policies were said to feel the power of his "messianic" appeal. Comparing him to a father figure who retains the enduring loyalty even of children he disapproves of, journalist Afshin Molavi writes of the defenses of Khomeini he's "heard in the most unlikely settings":

A whiskey-drinking professor told an American journalist that Khomeini brought pride back to Iranians. A women's rights activist told me that Khomeini was not the problem; it was his conservative allies who had directed him wrongly. A nationalist war veteran, who held Iran's ruling clerics in contempt, carried with him a picture of 'the Imam'.

Another journalist tells the story of listening to bitter criticism of the regime by an Iranian who tells her of his wish for his son to leave the country and who "repeatedly" makes the point "that life had been better" under the Shah, but after hearing that the 85+-year-old Imam might be dying, turns "ashen faced" and speechless, pronouncing 'this is terrible for my country.'

Family and descendants

In 1929, Khomeini married Khadijeh Saqafi, the 16 year old daughter of a cleric in Tehran. By all accounts their marriage was harmonious and happy. She died in 2009. They had seven children, though only five survived infancy. His daughters all married into either merchant or clerical families, and both his sons entered into religious life. Mustafa, the elder son, died in 1977 while in exile in Najaf, Iraq with his father and was rumored by supporters of his father to have been murdered by SAVAK. Ahmad Khomeini, who died in 1995 at the age of 49, was also rumoured to be a victim of foul play, but at the hands of Islamic regime. Perhaps his "most prominent daughter", Zahra Mostafavi, is a professor at the University of Tehran, and still alive.

Of Khomeini's fifteen grandchildren the most notable include:

Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter, married to Mohammad Reza Khatami, head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the main reformist party in the country, and is considered a pro-reform character herself.

Hassan Khomeini, Khomeini's elder grandson Sayid Hasan Khomeini, son of the Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, is a cleric and the trustee of the Mausoleum of Khomeini and also has shown support for the reform movement in Iran, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi's call to cancel the 2009 election results.

Husain Khomeini, (Sayid Husain Khomeini) Khomeini's other grandson, son of Sayid Mustafa Khomeini, is a mid-level cleric who is strongly against the system of the Islamic Republic. In 2003 he was quoted as saying:

:

Iranians need freedom now, and if they can only achieve it with American interference I think they would welcome it. As an Iranian, I would welcome it.

:In that same year Husain Khomeini visited the United States, where he met figures such as Reza Pahlavi II, the son of the last Shah. Later that year, Husain returned to Iran after receiving an urgent message from his grandmother. According to Michael Ledeen, quoting "family sources", he was blackmailed into returning. In 2006, he called for an American invasion and overthrow of the Islamic Republic, telling Al-Arabiyah television station viewers, "If you were a prisoner, what would you do? I want someone to break the prison [doors open].". Another of Khomeini's grandchildren, Ali Eshraghi, was disqualified from the 2008 parliamentary elections on grounds of being insufficiently loyal to the principles of the Islamic revolution, but later reinstated.

Works

Khomeini was a prolific writer (200 of his books are online) who authored commentaries on the Qur'an, on Islamic jurisprudence, the roots of Islamic law, and Islamic traditions. He also released books about philosophy, gnosticism, poetry, literature, government and politics. Some of his books:

''Hokumat-e Islami: Velayat-e faqih'' (Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist)

''Forty Hadith'' (Forty Traditions)

''Adab as Salat'' (The Disciplines of Prayers)

''Jihade Akbar'' (The Greater Struggle)

''Tahrir-ol-vasyleh''

See also

Islamic fundamentalism in Iran

List of Islamic studies scholars

References

Bibliography

Willett, Edward C. ;''Ayatollah Khomeini, 2004, Publisher:The Rosen Publishing Group, ISBN 0-8239-4465-4

Ansari, Hamid, ''The Narrative of Awakening'', The Institute for Compilation and publication of the work of Imam Khomeini

Lee, James; ''The Final Word!: An American Refutes the Sayings of Ayatollah Khomeini'', 1984, Publisher:Philosophical Library, ISBN 0-8022-2465-2

Dabashi, Hamid; ''Theology of Discontent: The Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran'', 2006, Publisher:Transaction Publishers, ISBN 1-4128-0516-3

Hoveyda,Fereydoun ; ''The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution'', 2003, Publisher:Praeger/Greenwood, ISBN 0-275-97858-3

Nynamore

External links

Imam Khomeini's website in English

Imam Khomeiny - Part I Part II Part III (Free Press TV documentary)

Documentary about the life of Ruhollah Khomeini

Documentary: The man who changed the world

Documentary: I knew Khomeini

;Selected bibliography

Syed Ruhollah al-Moosavi al-Khomeini — Islamic Government (Hukumat-i Islami)

Syed Ruhollah al-Moosavi al-Khomeini — The Last Will...

Extracted from speeches of Ayatollah Rouhollah Moosavi Khomeini

Books by and or about Rouhollah Khomeini

Mikhail Gorbachev, dated 1 January 1989">Famous letter of Ayatollah Khomeini to Mikhail Gorbachev, dated 1 January 1989. Kayhan Daily

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ar:روح الله الموسوي الخميني ast:Ruhollah Khomeini az:Ruhullah Musəvi Xomeyni zh-min-nan:Ruhollah Khomeini be:Рухола Мусаві Хамейні be-x-old:Рухола Мусаві Хамэйні bg:Рухолах Хомейни bs:Ruholah Homeini ca:Ruhol·lah Khomeini ceb:Ruhollāh Khomeyni cs:Rúholláh Chomejní da:Ruhollah Khomeini de:Ruhollah Chomeini et:Rūḩollāh Khomeynī el:Αγιατολάχ Χομεϊνί es:Ruhollah Jomeini eo:Ruhollah Ĥomejni eu:Ruhola Khomeini fa:سید روح‌الله خمینی fo:Ruhollah Khomeini fr:Rouhollah Khomeini ko:루홀라 호메이니 hy:Ռուհոլլա Խոմեինի hi:रुहोल्ला खोमैनी hr:Ruholah Homeini io:Ruhollah Khomeini id:Ruhollah Khomeini it:Ruhollah Khomeyni he:רוחאללה ח'ומייני jv:Ruhollah Khomeini ka:რუჰოლა ხომეინი sw:Ruhollah Khomeini ku:Ayetula Xumênî la:Ruhullah Khumayni lv:Ruholla Homeinī lt:Ajatola Chomeinis hu:Ruholláh Homeini ml:ആയത്തുല്ല ഖുമൈനി mr:रुहोल्ला खोमेनी arz:روح الله الخمينى ms:Ruhollah Khomeini my:ခိုမေနီ၊ အာယတိုလာ nl:Ruhollah Khomeini ja:ルーホッラー・ホメイニー no:Ruhollah Khomeini nn:Ruhollah Khomeini pnb:آیت اللہ خمینی ps:آيت الله روح الله خميني pl:Ruhollah Chomeini pt:Ruhollah Khomeini ro:Ruhollah Khomeini qu:Ruhollah Khomeini ru:Хомейни, Рухолла Мусави sq:Ruhollah Homeini simple:Ruhollah Khomeini sk:Chomejní sl:Ruholah Musavi Homeini so:Ruhollah Khomeini sr:Рухолах Хомеини sh:Ruholah Homeini fi:Ruhollah Khomeini sv:Ruhollah Khomeini tl:Ruhollah Khomeini ta:ரூஃகூல்லா மூசவி கொமெய்னி te:ఆయతొల్లాహ్ ఖొమైనీ th:อายะตุลลอฮ์ โคมัยนี tr:Ruhullah Humeyni uk:Рухолла Мусаві Хомейні ur:آیت اللہ خمینی vi:Ruhollah Khomeini war:Ruhollah Khomeini yi:רוחאלא כומעיני zh:鲁霍拉·穆萨维·霍梅尼

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise. Also, " The Man is coming" is a term used to frighten small children who are misbehaving.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.

History

The term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to the late 19th Century. In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel ''Naked Lunch'', and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in ''U.S. News and World Report'', had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine ''Easyriders'' which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema.

Use as praise

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also

Absentee landlord

Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')

New World Order (conspiracy theory)

Ruling class

The Establishment

Power elite

Corrections officer

YTMND

Notes

References

Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). ''Random House Dictionary of American Slang''. New York: Random House.

Category:Slang expressions Category:Stock characters Category:English idioms Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Military-industrial complex

Name	Husayn al-Shahīd
Given name	Husayn ibn ‘Alī
Rank	3rd Twelver/Zaidiyyah/Mustaali Imamah2nd Nizari Imamah
Subtitle	*Abu ‘AbdillāhPosthumous:*Abu al-Ahrār(Arabic for Father of Freedom)
Birth	3rd or 5th Sha'aban 4 AH≈ Jan. 8, 626 C.E.
Death	10th Muharram 61 AH≈ Oct. 10, 680 C.E.
Birthplace	Medina
Buried	Imam Husayn Shrine, Karbala
Duration	Before Imamate: 46 years (4 - 50 AH) - 7 years with his grandfather Muhammad - 7 years with his mother Fatimah - 36 years with his father Ali - 46 years with his brother Hasan ibn Ali Imāmate: 11 years (50 - 61 AH)
Titles	*ash-Shahīd(Arabic for The Martyr)*as-Sibt(Arabic for The Grandson)*Sayyidush Shabābi Ahlil Jannah(Arabic for Leader of the Youth of Paradise)*ar-Rashīd(Arabic for The Rightly Guided)*at-Tābi li Mardhātillāh(Arabic for The Follower of Gods Will)*al-Mubārak(Arabic for The Blessed)*at-Tayyib(Arabic for The Pure)*Sayyidush Shuhadā(Arabic for Master of the Martyrs)*al-Wafī(Arabic for The Loyal)
Spouse	Shahrbanu bint YazdegerdUmm RubābUmm Laylā
Father	Ali
Mother	Fatimah
Children	Ali, Ali al-Akbar, Ali al-Asghar, Fatema Kubra, Fatimah Sughra, Sukayna. }}

Hussein ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ()‎ (3rd Sha'aban 4 AH - 10th Muharram 61 AH; 8 January 626 CE - 10 October 680 CE, also spelled Hussein) was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (final ''Rashidun Caliph'' and first Shia Imam) and Fātimah Zahrā (daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). Husayn is an important figure in Islam as he is a member of the ''Ahl al-Bayt'' (the household of Muhammad) and ''Ahl al-Kisa'', as well as being a Shia Imam, and one of The Fourteen Infallibles of Shia Twelvers.

Husayn ibn ‘Alī is exalted by all the Shia as a martyr who fought tyranny as he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph. He rose up to create a regime that would reinstate a "true" Islamic polity as opposed to what he considered the unjust rule of the Umayyads. As a consequence, Husayn was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala in 680 (61AH) by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan. The anniversary of his ''Shahid'' (martyrdom) is called ''Ashura'' (tenth day of Muharram) and is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims.

Revenge for Husayn's death was turned into a rallying cry that helped undermine the Umayyad Caliphate and gave impetus to the rise of a powerful Shia movement.

Early life

According to most of the reports, Husayn ibn Ali was born on 3 Sha'aban 4 AH/10 January 626 CE.

Husayn and his brother Hasan ibn Ali, were the last descendants of Muhammad living during his lifetime and remaining after his death. There are many accounts of his love for them which refer to them together but at times confuse them with each other.

Muhammad is reported to have said that whoever loves them has loved him and whoever hates them has hated him. A famous narration declares them the "Masters of the Youth of Paradise"; this has been particularly important for the Shia who have used it in support of the right of Muhammad's descendants to be the righteous ones to succeed him. Other traditions record Muhammad with his grandsons on his knees, on his shoulders and even on his back during prayer at the moment of prostrating himself during their young age.

According to Wilferd Madelung, Muhammad loved them and declared them as his Ahl al-Bayt very frequently. The Qur'an has also accorded the Ahl al-Bayt an elevated position above the rest of the believers. In addition to these traditions, a number of other traditions also involved the presence of angels and jinn.

The Incident of Mubahala

A collection of ''Hadith'' tells that during the 9th - 10th year after ''Hijra'' an Arab Christian envoy from Najran (currently in northern Yemen and partly in Saudi Arabia) came to Muhammad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrine concerning Jesus (Isa).

After likening Jesus' miraculous birth to Adam's (Adem) creation, -who was born to neither a mother nor a father- Muhammad called them to Mubahala (the cursing of the lower party) where each party should ask God to destroy the false party and their families. Muhammad, to prove himself to them as a prophet, brought his daughter Fatimah, son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib and both of his grandsons, Hasan and Husayn and came back to the Christians and said to them "This is my family, the (Ahl al-Bayt)" and covered himself and his family with a cloak.

According to this story, the Christians then agreed to a peace treaty and told Muhammad that they would not return.

Husayn and caliphate

According to the Shia, Hasan was supposed to be the successor to Ali after Muhammad. Muawiyah had fought with Ali during his time and after his death, as Hasan was supposed to take Ali's place in successorship, he was another threat to Muawiyah in which he prepared to fight with him again.

Muawiyah began fighting Hasan and after a few inconclusive skirmishes between the armies of Hasan and Muawiyah. Thus, to avoid the agonies of another civil war, he signed a treaty with Muawiyah and relinquished the control of what had turned into an Arabian kingdom.

Husayn and Rashidun

At the time of the siege of the caliph Uthman's residence in Medina, by rebels from Basra and Egypt (led by Abdullah Ibn Saba), when Uthman asked Ali to join the defender of his house, Ali sent Hasan and Husayn. While Hasan and Husayn guarded the gates of the Caliph's residence, the rebels entered from the back door and killed Uthman.

During Ali's caliphate Hasan, Husayn, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and Abdullah ibn Ja'far appear as his closest assistants within his household.

Muawiyah's era

When Hasan ibn Ali agreed to make a peace treaty with Muawiyah I, the first Umayyad caliph, he left Kufa and went to Medina with his brother Husayn.

According to the Shia belief, he lived under the most difficult outward conditions of suppression and persecution. This was due to the fact that, first of all, religious laws and regulations had lost much of their weight and credit, and the edicts of the Umayyad government had gained complete authority and power. Secondly, Muawiyah and his aides made use of every possible means to put aside past disputes and remove the Household of Muhammad and the followers of Ali and his sons, and thus obliterate the name of Ali and his family.

Muawiyah I ordered for public curses of Ali and his major supporters including Hasan and Husayn.

According to the Shia, Husayn had gained the third Imam for a period of ten years after the death of his brother Hassan in 669. All of this time but the last six months coinciding with the caliphate of Muawiyah.

Yazid's rule

One of the important points of the treaty made between Hasan and Muawiyah was that Muawiyah will not designate anyone as his successor after his death and the decision will be left to the ''Ummah'' (the Nation). But after the death of Hasan, he, thinking that no one will be courageous enough to object his decision as the Caliph, designated his son, Yazid I, as his successor in 680 CE, literally breaking the treaty.

Uprising

Husayn left Medina with his sisters, daughters, sons, brothers, and the sons of Hasan. He took a side road to Mecca to avoid being pursued, and once in Mecca Husayn stayed in the house of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and remained there for four months. Husayn opposed Yazid I and declared that Umayyad rule was not only oppressive, but also religiously misguided. In his view the integrity and survival of the Islamic community depended on the re-establishment of the correct guidance. Husayn also believed that the succession of Yazid I was an attempt to establish an illegitimate hereditary dynasty.

The religious attitudes of the Umayyad also inspired people who believed that leadership of the Muslim community rightly belonged to the descendants of Muhammed, so they urged Husayn to join them and come to Kufa to establish his caliphate since they had no imam. They told him that they did not attend the Friday prayer with the governor of Kufa, No'man ibn Bashir, and would drive him out of the town as soon as Husayn agreed to come to them.

To convince Husayn to come they sent him seven messengers with bags of letters of support by Kufan warriors and tribal leaders. Husayn wrote the Kufans and told them that he understood from their letters that they had no imam and they wished him to come to unite them by the correct guidance. He informed them that he was sending his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel to report to him on the situation. If he found them united as their letters indicated he would quickly join them, for it was the duty of the imam to act in accordance with the Qur'an and to uphold justice, proclaim the truth, and to dedicate himself to the cause of God. The mission of ibn Aqeel was initially successful. The Kufan Shias visited him freely, and 18,000 men are said to have enlisted with him in support of Husayn. He wrote to Husayn, encouraging him to come quickly to Kufa.

Husayn was also visited by a Shia supporter with two of his sons from Basra, where Shia sentiment was limited. He then sent identical letters to the chiefs of the five divisions into which the Basran tribes were divided. He wrote them that Muhammad's family were his family and were the rightful heirs of his position, and that others had illegitimately claimed the right which belonged exclusively to Muhammad's family. The family had initially consented to the actions of the first caliphs for the sake of the unity of the Ummah. He said that the caliphs who had seized the right of Muhammad's family had done many good things, and had sought the truth. The letter closely reflected the guidelines set by Ali, who had strongly upheld the sole right of the family of Muhammad, who were the descendants of Fatima (Prophet Muhammed's daughter), to leadership of the Muslim community. While most of the recipients of the letter kept it secret, one of them suspected that it was a ploy of the governor Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad to test their loyalty and turned it over to him. Ubayd-Allah seized and beheaded Husayn's messenger and addressed a stern warning to the people of Basra.

In Kufa the situation changed radically when Yazid replaced Noman ibn Bashir with Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, ordering the latter to deal severely with Huseyn's cousin, Muslim ibn Aqeel. Ubayd-Allah succeeded in intimidating the tribal chiefs, and a revolt collapsed when the rebels failed to capture the governor's palace. ibn Aqeel was found and delivered to Ubayd-Allah, who had him beheaded on the top of the palace and his body thrown down to the crowd. Yazid wrote to Ubayd-Allah, commending him highly for his decisive action and ordering him to set up watches for Husayn and his supporters and to arrest them but to kill only those who would fight him.

Yazid perceived Husayn's refusal to pledge allegiance as a danger to his throne because he was Muhammad's family, so he plotted to kill the grandson of Muhammad during the Hajj, in the precincts of the Kaaba, thus defiling and desecrating it (killing a person in Mecca is prohibited in Islam). In order to avoid this sacrilege, Husayn took along his sisters, wife, children, the children of Hasan ibn Ali, a few friends and relatives and headed towards Kufa to fulfill the responsibility of the bearer of Imamate and to fulfill his destiny as was prophesied by his grandfather, Muhammad.

On his way, he was offered military support by the tribe of Banu Tayy as well as sanctuary in their hills from where he could (if he wanted to) safely lead a revolt and overthrow Yazid. But Husayn refused the offer and continued his journey with his few companions.

Battle of Karbala

Husayn in his path toward Kufa encountered the army of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, led by Hurr ibn Yazid ''Riyahi'', A top commander in the Umayyad army who later changed sides. It is said that when Hurr and his one thousand men army initially encountered Husayn on the day of 4th Muharram, Hurr and his army were thirsty as they had been on rounds to capture Husayn for many days. Husayn offered his storage of water to Hurr, his army, and the horses of his army. It is said that if Husayn had not offered the water to Hurr and his army, the water in Husayn's camp would have lasted until 19th day of Muharram. Hurr did not arrest Husayn, but told him to set a camp in Karbala and stop his journey to Kufa. Husayn and his family were also not allowed to set up tents close to the bank of the Euphrates. On the 7th day of Muharram, the water storage in Husayn's camp was finished. Husayn requested ibn Ziyad's army to allow him and his family members access to water, but his request was denied. Husayn sent his brother Al-Abbas ibn Ali to the river bank to bring water, but Yazid's army fought with Abbas, cut off both his arms, and killed him. Husayn also went to ibn Ziyad's army and asked them to allow water for his six month old son, Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn, but the army launched arrows toward Husayn, one of which killed Ali al-Asghar

At the Battle of Karbala it is recorded that seventy two people were killed.

When Husayn clashed with Yazid's army, he said:

On 10 October 680 (Muharram 10, 61 AH), he and his small group of his followers and family members, who were between 72 or more, fought with a large army under the command of Umar ibn Sa'ad, son of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas. Husayn and all of his men were killed and beheaded. The bodies were left for forty days without burial and survivors from Husain's family were taken as prisoners to al-Sham (Syria and Lebanon today) to Yazid.

Part of his speech on Ashura:

Today, the death of Husayn ibn Ali is commemorated during every Muharram by Shia Muslims, with the most important of these days being its tenth day, Ashura. Ashura is also commemorated by Sunni Muslims.

Burial

Husayn's body is buried in Karbala, near the site of his death. His head is said to have been returned from Damascus and interred with his body. Shia/Fatimid believe that Husain's head was first buried in the courtyard of yezid mahal (Umayyad Mosque) than transferred from Damascus to Ashkelon to Qahera.

Husayn's grave became the most visited place of Ziyarat for Shias. The Imam Husayn Shrine was later built over his grave. In 850 Abbasid caliph, al-Mutawakkil, destroyed his shrine in order to stop Shia pilgrimages. However, pilgrimages continued. It is now a holy site of pilgrimage for Shia Muslims.

The return of the head of Husayn to his body

Several Shia and Sunni sources confirm the return of Husayn's head to his body in Karbala. According to Shaykh Saduq, Husayn's son, Ali ibn Husayn, took it back from Shaam and returned it to Karbala. Fetal Neyshabouri and Majlesi have confirmed this in their books, Rouzato-Waisin and Bihar al-Anwar respectively. Sharif al-Murtaza also mentions this in his book Rasaael. Ibn shahrashub verrifies Sharif al-Murtaza stating the same thing about head of Husayn. He also narrates Shaykh Tusi that this event, i.e. returning the head to the body, happened forty days after Ashura and it is for this reason, there are specific rituals for this day. This day is recognized by Shias and is known as Arba'een. Similar statements are documented by famous Shia scholors e.g. Ahmad ibn Tawoos and Muhaqeq Helli. Among Sunni scholors, Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī in his famous work The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries has stated that Husayn's head was returned to his body and was burried altogether on 20th of the lunar month of Safar (Arba'een). Similar statement is mentioned by Sunni scholor Zakariya al-Qazwini, in his book ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt. Qurtobi narrates from Shias on the return of the head to the body on Arba'een.

Transfer of the head of Husayn in Fatimid's view

On the second day after the battle of Karbala, the forces of Yazid I raised the head of Husayn on a lance. They took it to Kufa to present it to Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, leaving behind the mutilated body of Husayn. The headless body was thus buried there by the tribe of Bani Assad, who were living in the vicinity of Karbala. After the exhibition and display of the head of Husayn, ibn Ziyad dispatched it to Damascus to be presented to Yazid as a trophy. Yazid celebrated the occasion with great pomp and show by displaying the head of Husayn in his crowded and decorated court. The head was then buried in a niche of one of the internal walls of Jame-Masjid, Damascus, Syria. Afterwards, the head of Husayn remained confiscated and confined in Damascus by the order of the Umayyad monarch, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (d.86/705), in this condition for about two hundred twenty years. When the Abbasids took power from the Umayyads, in the garb of taking revenge of Ahl al-Bayt, they also confiscated the head Husayn and proved to be worse enemies than the Umayyads. It was the Abbasid emperor Al-Muqtadir (d. 295/908), an enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt He attempted many times to stop the pilgrimage to the head, but in vain. He thus tried to completely eliminate the sign of the sacred place of Ziyarat; he transferred the head of Husayn to Ashkelon (located from the Gaza Strip and south of Tel Aviv, Israel) (Palestine) in secrecy, so that the pilgrims could not find the place.

It was the 15th Fatimid/Ismaili/Dawoodi Bohra Imam Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah (d.386 AH/996) who traced the site of the head of his great-grandfather through the office of his contemporary in Baghdad, in 985. In the city of Ashkelon, Palestine, it remained buried at "Baab al Faradis", for a long time (about 250 years up to 1153).

Commander of the Fatimid forces Dai Badrul’jamali (d. 487/1095) conquered Palestine, during the period of 18th Fatimid Imam Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah (d. 487/1094). The Fatimid Imam assigned him to discover the head of Husayn ibn Ali. The Dai, in 448 (A.H) discovered the place of Raas al Imam al Husayn. Under the instructions of the Fatimid Imam Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah, Badrul’jamali constructed a mosque and donated several huge properties to meet the expenditure of the 'Trust', so as to maintain the affairs of the ''Mashhad'' the place of burial. He also prepared a wooden minbar (pulpit) and placed it in the mosque, where Raas al Imam al Husayn was buried. This minbar bears the historical account which is engraved in Arabi Fatemi Kufic script about the Raas al Imam al Husayn.

The following part of text is a translation of the Arabic inscriptions, which is still preserved on the Fatimid minbar:

".. among the miracles, a major glory with the wishes of Allah, is the recovery of the Head .. Imam.. Husain .. which was at the place of Ashkelon, .. hidden by the tyrants... .. Allah has promised to reveal.. wishes to hide it from the enemies..to show it to Awliya ... to relieve the heart of ‘Devotees’ of Imam Husain, as Allah knew their pure heartedness in Walayat and Deen.

... May Allah keep for long our Moula .. Al Mustansir’billah.. .The .. Commander of the forces.. the Helper of Imam.. the leader of Do’at .. Badr al Mustansari has discovered Raas al Imam al Husain in Imam Mustansir’s period, and has taken it out from it’s hidden place. He specially built a Minbar for the Mashhad, at the place where this sacred Head lay buried. ..

He (..Badrul’jamali) constructed this building ..the revenue from which is to be spent only on this Mashhad ... ."

After the 21st Fatimid Imam At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim went in to seclusion, his uncle, Abd al Majid occupied the throne of the Fatimid Empire. Fearing disrespect and the atrocities of the traitors and enemies, the Majidi-monarch, Al-Zafir, ordered the transfer of the head to Qahera. The W’ali of the city of Ashkelon, Al Amir Sayf al Mamlaka Tamim along with the custodian of the Mashhad, Qazi Mohammad bin Miskin, took out the buried casket of Raas al Imam al Husayn from the Mashhad, and with due respect and great reverence, on Sunday 8 Jumada al-Thani, 548 (31 August 1153) carried the head from the city of Ashkelon to Qahera, Egypt. Syedi Hasan bin Asad (Hir’az, Yemen) discussed this event in his ''Risalah'' manuscript as follows: "When the Raas (head) al Imam al Husain was taken out of the casket, in Ashkelon, drops of the fresh blood were visible on the Raas al Imam al Husain and the fragrance of Musk spread all over." Historians, Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad al-Qalqashandi, and Ibn Muyassar (d.1278) have mentioned that the casket reached Qahera on Tuesday 10 Jumada al-Thani (2 September 1153). Ust’ad Maknun accompanied it in one of the service boats which landed at the Kafuri (Garden). Buried there in the place known "Qubbat al Daylam" or "Turbat al Zafr’an" (currently known as "Al Mashhad al Husain", wherein lie buried underground thirteen Fatimid Imams from 9th Muhammad at-Taqi to 20th Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah). This place is also known as "B’ab Makhallif’at al Rasul".

During the golden era of the Fatimid Caliphate, on the day of Ashurah, every year the people of Egypt from far and near used to gather and offer sacrifices of camels, cows, goats in the name of Allah, recite Marsiyah-elegies and pronounced ''L’anat'' (curse) loudly on Yazid, Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan, ibn Ziyad and other murderers of Husayn, the Ahl al Bait and the Ans’ar of Husayn. During the tenure of Saladin, all ''Marasim al Az’a'' or mourning commemorations for Husayn were declared officially banned as they were considered ''Bid‘ah''.

The famous Mamluk historian of Egypt, Mohiyuddin Abd al Zahir (d. 1292) wrote: "When Salahuddin came to power he seized all the Palaces of the Aimmat Fatemiyeen and looted their properties and treasures. He destroyed the valuable and rare collection of the hundred thousands books, available in libraries, in the river Nile. When he learnt through his intelligence.. that one of the.. custodians of Raas al Imam al Husain.. was highly respected by the people of ..Qahera, he surmised that perhaps he .. be aware of ..treasures of the Aimmat Fatemiyeen. Salahuddin issued orders to present him in his court. He inquired of him ..of the Fatemi..treasures. The nobleman flatly denied ..about the treasures. Salahuddin was angered, and ordered his intelligence .. to ask him through ‘third-degree-torture’, but the nobleman bore ..torture and repeated ..statement. .. Salahuddin ordered his soldiers to put a cap containing Centipedes on the head of the nobleman. ..such type of punishment was so severe and unbearable..none could survive even for a few minutes.

Prior to putting the Cap of Centipedes on the head, his hair was shaved, to make it easy for the Centipedes to suck blood, which in turn made holes in skull. But! In spite of that punishment the noble custodian of Husain’s Head..felt no pain at all. Salahuddin ordered for more Centipedes to be put on .. but it could not kill or pain him. Finally Salahuddin Ayyubi ordered for a tight cap full of Centipedes .. to accomplish the result. Even this method could not torture or kill him. The Ayyubid brutes were greatly astounded further when they saw, on removing the cap, the Centipedes were dead. Salahuddin asked the nobleman to reveal the secret of this miracle. The nobleman revealed as follow: “When Raas al Imam al Husain was brought to Qasar, Al Moizziyat al Qahera, he had carried the casket on his head. ‘O Salahuddin! This is the secret of my safety."

The burial place is now also known as Raous (head)-us-Husain, A silver ''Zarih'' (''Maqsurah'') is made on the place by Dawoodi Bohra Dai, and the place is visited regularly by all Shia. The presentation of the Maqsurah is also unique in the history of loyalty and faithfulness. The Maqsurah of Raas al Imam al Husain was originally constructed for the Al Abbas Mosque at Karbala, Iraq. When this Maqsurah reached the mosque of Al-Abbas ibn Ali it would not fit on the place. The size of the Maqsurah and the site of the fitting place differed at the time of fitting, although every technical aspects and measurements of the site were taken into account very precisely. The engineers were astonished, as what had happened, although every minute detail was handled very professionally. The loyalty of Al-Abbas ibn Ali was also witnessed on that day too, as it had been witnessed on the day of Aashurah. There a divine guidance came to the effect by way of intuition that a sincere, faithful, loyal and devoted brother could not tolerate, that the head of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn, buried in Al Qahera, Egypt, should be without a Maqsurah, thus how could he accept this gift for himself. Hence even after Shahadat, Al-Abbas ibn Ali paid his tribute to Husayn and presented his own Maqsurah for Raas (head) al Imam al Husain. When this above-mentioned Maqsurah was brought from Karbala, Iraq to Al Moizziyat al Qahera, Egypt, it fitted upon the original position of the grave known as Mashhad of Raas al Imam al Husain in such a manner, as if it had been fabricated for Raas al Imam al Husain itself.

During the period of Saladin, and by his order, the minbar made by Dai Badr-ul Jamali was transferred from Ashkelon to the Masjid Khalil al Rahman (Ibrahimi Mosque) (Al Khalil, Palestine) (Hebron, Israel). Saladin did not know that this minbar contained an inscription showing the history of Husayn. The 51st al Dai al Fatemi/Dawoodi Bohra, Taher Saifuddin (d.1385/1965) got the honour to visit Masjid Khalil al Rahman, and he discovered the Fatamid minbar, one thousand years after the seclusion of the Fatamid Imams.

The Masjid of the Askelan known as "Masjid Al Mashhad al Husain" was blown up deliberately as part of a broader operation of defence force in 1950. The site in Ashkelon was leveled in 1950, but the devotees of Ahl al Bait did not forgo it.

A few years ago, the 52nd Fatamid/Ismaili/Mustali/Dawoodi Bohra Dai Mohammed Burhanuddin, built a marble platform, as per traditional Fatamid architectural design, at the site, on the ground behind the Barzilai Hospital, Ashkelon and since then thousands of devotees have come from across the world, year round to pay tribute to Husayn.

Family

Husayn ibn Ali was the son of Ali, Muhammad's cousin, and his wife Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad and his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. Husayn ibn Ali and his brother Hasan ibn Ali were regarded by Prophet Muhammed as his own sons due to his love for them and as they were the sons of his daughter Fatima and he regarded her children and descendants as his own children and descendants, and he said "Every mothers children are associated with their father except for the children of Fatima for I am their father and lineage" Thus only the descendants of Fatima are the descendants and progeny of the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt. Husayn ibn Ali was married to four women, Rubab bint Imra al-Qais with whom he fathered Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn and Sukayna bint Husayn, Layla bint Abi Murrah al-Thaqafi mother of Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn, Umm Ishaq bint Talhah, the widow of Hasan ibn Ali, mother of Fatimah bint Husayn. From his wife Shahrbanu he fathered Ali ibn Husayn who's descendants were the Shia Imamah. Other children include Sakinah bint Husayn and Fatema Sugra bint Husayn.

Commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali

Shia

The Day of Ashura is commemorated by the Shia as a day of mourning for the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala.the commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali has become a national holiday and all ethnic and religious communities participate in it.

The Shia view of Husayn

The Shia regard Husayn as an Imam (which is considered as a divine spiritual leader appointed by God) and a martyr. He is believed to be the third of the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt which are supposed to succeed Muhammad and that he set out on his path in order to save the religion of Islam and the Islamic nation from annihilation at the hands of Yazid.

The traditional narration "Every day is Ashura and every land is Karbala!" is used by the Shia to live their lives as Husayn did on Ashura with complete sacrifice for God and others. The saying also signifies what happened in Ashura on Karbala must always be remembered for there is suffering everywhere.

Sayings of Muhammad about Husayn ibn Ali

Hasan and Husayn are the masters of the youth of Paradise and Fatimah is the master of their women. Husayn is from me and I am from him.

Muhammad looked towards Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and said, "I am at war with those who fight you and in peace with those who please you."

Time line

See also

Sayyid

Arba'een

Zulfiqar

Zuljanah

Holiest sites in Islam (Shia)

Shi'a view of the Sahaba

Sunni view of the Sahaba

Notes

References

;Books

;Encyclopedia ; Blog

Sacred Surprise behind Israel Hospital

by; Batsheva Sobelmn, special Los Angeles Times.

External links

Hussein ibn 'Ali an article of Encyclopædia Britannica.

Hussein ibn 'Ali by Wilferd Madelung, an article of Encyclopædia Iranica.

Hussein ibn 'Ali in popular Shiism by Jean Calmard, an article of Encyclopædia Iranica.

Imam Hussein in the eyes of non-Muslims

The Third Imam

Martyr Of Karbala

An account of the martyrdom of the third Imam

Category:Arab people Category:History of Islam Category:Shi'a imams Category:626 births Category:680 deaths Category:Assassinated Shi'a imams Category:Ismailism Category:People killed at the Battle of Karbala Category:Muslim martyrs Category:Family of Muhammad Category:7th-century caliphs Category:Twelver imams Category:Zaidi imams

ar:الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب az:İmam Hüseyn bs:Husejn ibn Ali bg:Хюсеин ибн Али ca:Al-Hussayn ibn Alí cs:Husajn ibn Alí da:Husayn ibn Ali de:Husain ibn ʿAlī el:Χουσεΐν ιμπν Αλί es:Husayn ibn Ali fa:حسین بن علی fr:Al-Hussein ibn Ali hi:हुसैन id:Husain bin Ali it:Al-Husayn ibn Ali he:חוסיין (בן עלי) kk:Һүсейiн ибн Әли (имам) rw:Imamu Huseni ml:ഹുസൈൻ ഇബ്നു അലി mzn:حسین بن علی ms:Hussein bin Ali nl:Hoessein (imam) ja:フサイン・イブン・アリー (イマーム) no:Husayn ibn Ali nn:Husayn ibn Ali pnb:حسین pl:Husajn ibn Ali ru:Хусейн ибн Али sh:Husejn ibn Ali fi:Husain ibn Ali sv:Husayn ibn Ali te:హుసేన్ th:ฮุเซน tr:Hüseyin bin Ali uk:Хусейн ібн Алі ur:حسین ابن علی zh-yue:侯賽因 diq:İmam Usên zh:侯赛因·本·阿里·本·阿比·塔利卜

Name	Sheikh Imam
Background	solo_singer
Birth date	July 02, 1918
Origin	Giza, Egypt
nationality	Egyptian
death date	June 07, 1995
death place	Egypt
Instrument	Vocals, Oud
Genre	Egyptian music
Occupation	Singer
Past members	}}

Imam Mohammad Ahmad Eissa or Sheikh Imam () (July 2, 1918 – June 7, 1995) was a famous Egyptian composer and singer. For most of his life, he formed a duo with the famous Egyptian colloquial poet Ahmed Fouad Negm. Together, they were known for their political songs in favor of the poor and the working classes.

Life and career

Imam was born to a poor family in the Egyptian village of Abul Numrus in Giza. He lost his sight when he was a child. At the age of five he joined a recitation class, where he memorized the Qur’an. He later moved to Cairo to study where he led a dervish life. In Cairo, Imam met Sheikh Darwish el-Hareery, a prominent musical figure at that time, who taught him the basics of music and muwashshah singing. He then worked with the Egyptian composer Zakariyya Ahmad. At that time, he expressed interest in Egyptian folk songs especially those by Sayed Darwish and Abdou el-Hamouly. He also performed at weddings and birthdays.

In 1962 he met the Egyptian poet Ahmed Fouad Negm. For many years, they formed a duo composing and singing political songs, mostly in favor of the poor oppressed classes and indicting the ruling classes. Though their songs were banned on Egyptian Radio and Television stations, they were popular among ordinary people in the 1960s and 1970s. Their revolutionary songs criticizing the government after the 1967 war led them to imprisonment and detention several times. In the mid 80s Imam performed several concerts in France, Britain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria. Later Imam and Negm broke up after several disagreements. Imam died at the age of 78 after a long illness.

Famous songs

"Masr Ya Bahia" ("Pretty Egypt").

"Guevara mat" ("Che Guevara is dead).

"el-Fellahin" ("The Fellahin").

'Ye'eesh ahl balady" ("Long live the people of my country").

"Sharaft ya Nixon baba" ("It's Been an Honor, Father Nixon")

"An mawdou' el-foul w el-lahma"("On the Subject of fūl and meat").

"Baqaret Haha" ("Haha's Cow").

"Valery Giscar d'Estan" ("Valéry Giscard d'Estaing")

"Sign el-alaa" ("Citadel prison").

"Sabah el-khaer ya Tehran" ("Good morning Tehran").

"Gaezat Nobel" ("Nobel Prize").

"Ghabah kilabha Diabah ("The Wilderness Whose Dogs are Wolves")

References

External links

Sheikh Imam from Kenanah.com

A fan site for Sheikh Imam and Ahmad Fouad Negm Sheikh Imam website, with discographic material and articles

from youtube

Sheikh Imam and Ahmad Fouad Negm

Category:1918 births Category:1995 deaths Category:Egyptian musicians Category:Egyptian composers Category:People from Giza Governorate Category:Blind musicians

ar:الشيخ إمام fr:Cheikh Imam arz:الشيخ إمام