To get an idea of the Imam's simple living and his belief that extreme care must
be taken in spending the Bait-ul-Maal (Muslim treasury), it is enough to note
that, it was according to his view and emphasis that in article 142 of the
constitution of the Islamic Republic, the supreme Court is obligated to
investigate the assets of the leader and upper layer of responsible authorities
of the Islamic Order, before and after their incumbency or assignment, to insure
that, no unlawful increases have been made. Imam Khomeini was the first person
to submit a list of his meagre assets to the state supreme Court.
Immediately after the Imam's ascension, his son, in a letter that was printed in
the newspapers, asked the Judiciary Power to investigate the assets of the Imam
again in accordance with the Constitutional law.
The result of the investigation was published in a statement dated July 2 1989
by the Supreme Court. This statement revealed that during the lapse of time, not
only nothing had been added to the Imam's assets, rather, a land lot that was
inherited from his father was given to the indigent people of the place during
his life and by his order.
The only immovable asset of Imam Khomeini is his old house in Qum, which, since
his deportation in 1964, it has actually been and is available to the objectives
of the Movement and used as a centre for gatherings by student-clergies and
public referrals and it actually lacks the appellation of personal property. The
said list of assets which was prepared in 1979 and at the time of the Imam's
ascension, after lawful control, revealed no addition, but reduction.
It was mentioned that the deceased had no personal assets except some books. The
few rudimentary utensils necessary for simple living that was in the house,
belonged to his wife. The two second hand rugs were not personal property and
ought to go to the needy Seyyeds. Personal cash was zero; if any thing there
was, it was religious alms belonging to the people left with the Reference
Authority for religious expenses, and the heirs could not touch such funds. And
so the remaining assets of a man who had spent about 90 years of his life in
utter popularity, included eye-glasses, finger-nail clippers, beads, the Qur'an,
prayer-mat, turban, clergymen's clothes and some religious books.
Those were the list of all the assets of a man who not only was the leader of an
oil-rich country with tens of millions of population, rather, he ruled over the
hearts of many more millions, the people who, when he issued mobilization order,
lined up as candidates for martyrdom. These were the people who, upon hearing of
the Imam's heart illness lined up at the hospital entrance ready to offer their
hearts to him. The secret of so much popularity may be searched for, only in his
faith, asceticism and truthfulness.
Source: The Narrative of Awakening, Hamid Ansari (pgs. 251-253)
A Visit to Imam Khomeini's House
This was a dream come true: a rare privilege to be in the Imam's home. After
many requests, we were informed one night that a visit had been set for the
following morning: no one could sleep because of the excitement.
The next morning, it was snowing; the streets were blocked, and we had to wait
for the snow to be cleared in order to reach the Imam's house. In front of the
house were a large number of people queuing in the freezing weather, just to see
him. When we entered Jamran Husseiniyah I realized what it was to be a Muslim
woman. I have never had such a feeling before, even in my own country.
People had come from different countries, among them were press representatives,
wives of martyrs, and many other people. Some were crying and shouting 'Allahu
Akbar', their eyes fixed at the door, through which the Imam was expected to
come. Suddenly the Imam appeared. People cried in excitement, shouted, more this
time, 'Allahu Akbar. Down with America, Israel and Saddam'. The Imam sat down
quietly and beside him sat his son Ahmed. I was barely one meter away from where
the Imam sat, so I could see him very clearly. His whole face showed complete
composure and an inner peace. Looking at his serene countenance, I felt as
though he were living in another world; only his eye revealed the fact that he
was present in our midst.
Visiting the Imam's house was another surprise for us. The main door is a simple
iron door, leading to a yard about six meters long. It has three rooms, inside
each of which you will find a mattress and a cushion, and a simple sofa used by
the Imam for sitting and sleeping on. The kitchen is under the stairs. There is
a small room for him alone for studying, praying, reading and listening to the
news; it is furnished with a chair, a small table, and some book shelves.
The foreign press correspondents were surprised when they saw the house of the
leader of the Ummah. They were even more surprised when they saw the Imam's food
which was composed of a boiled potato, an orange, and a small chunk of bread.
They asked the Imam's wife: 'Where do you sleep?' She answered simply, 'Just
where we sit.'
The wife of the Imam described his life. 'He sleeps from 9 pm until 2 am when he
wakes up for the night prayers. He continues his nawafel prayers until the Adhan
for fajr prayers. He completes his fajr prayer and then waits till sunrise, when
he goes to have his breakfast with his family, his wife, two daughters (one of
them lost her husband who was martyred at the war front), his son 'Ahmed and his
grandsons. He always eats with them and never alone. After that he goes to his
room to listen to the news and read the newspapers.'
'At 10 am he receives the officials, members of the government and others till
zuhr prayers. Then he usually takes a short rest before lunch and then walks for
an hour after that. Some time in the day he spends time with his family.'
'From the time we were married he has never ordered me to get him something. If
he needs anything, he says so indirectly. For example, if he needs a shirt, he
says: "Do we have a shirt in the house?" Then I understand that he needs a
shirt, and I get it for him.'
'He insists on preparing things for himself: he prepares his food, his tea, and
washes the cups and puts them back in the right place. If there is anything
wrong he fixes it himself.'
'One day he was meeting some leaders. He saw that the light was on in the next
room. He went into the room, himself put the light out and came back to his
place. People were astonished at what he had done.'
'Once he was separating a sheet of two-ply tissue paper. When someone asked him
to use both of them, he replied, "I only need one of them."'
'He prefers the simplest food, and does not eat from a variety of dishes at any
one meal. He eats only to survive. This is very important for him, and he is
very very organised'.
The Imam respects women very much. For example, when his grandsons come to visit
him, he asks them first of all to go and see their grandmother and kiss her
hand.
There are no servants in his house. The guests are served by the Imam's family,
usually his two daughters who won't allow their mother to get anything, since
they try to make her life as comfortable as they can.
At the Imam's house we really felt at home, as if we were among our own family,
where one feels safe and secure.
We felt very sad when we had to leave the Imam and his family who make you feel
that they are the living representatives of the teachings of the Qur'an.
By Khadejah, participant in a conference on "Women and the Islamic
Revolution"
Imam Khomeini on Islamic Unity
"Today, world peace is such that all countries are under the political
influence of the superpowers; they observe a control everywhere and have schemes
for defeating every group. The most important of these is sowing discord among
brothers.
Muslims should be awake, Muslims should be alert that if a dispute takes place
among Sunni and Shi'ite brothers, it is harmful to all of us, it is harmful to
all Muslims. Those who want to sow discord are neither Sunni nor Shi'ite, they
are agents of the superpowers and work for them.
Those who attempt to cause discord among our Sunni and Shi'ite brothers are
people who conspire for the enemies of Islam and want the enemies of Islam to
triumph over Muslims. They are the supporters of America and some are supporters
of the Soviet Union.
I hope that through considering this Islamic precept - that all Muslims are
brothers - all Islamic countries will triumph against the superpowers and
succeed in actualizing all Islamic ordinances.
Muslims are brothers and will not be segregated by the pseudo-propaganda
sponsored by corrupt elements. The source of this matter - that Shi'ites should
be on one side and Sunni on the other - is on the one hand ignorance and on the
other hand propaganda of the foreigners.
If Islamic brotherhood comes to the fore among Islamic countries, such will
become a great power which none of the global powers will be able to cope with.
Shi'ites and Sunnis brothers should avoid every kind of dispute. Today, discord
among us will only benefit those who follow neither Shi'ia nor Hanafi. They
neither want this nor that to exist, and know the way to sow dispute between you
and us. We must pay attention that we are all Muslims and we all believe in the
Qur'an; we all belive in Tawheed and must work to serve the Qur'an and Tawheed."
