Manifestation of the Friend

Subtle Spirit

part 5

I never saw a person as clean as him

The Imam liked to make-up his face; that his face was always clean. Really one must take a lesson from the Imam as he was so clean.

He was so tidy that I never saw a person like him. I never saw a tiny stain on his shirt even once. I never noticed it.

You seldom found a person as hygienic as the Imam

The Imam always frequently took a bath and also changed clothes frequently. Perhaps he would wear a robe and its undergarments for years and years so that everyone would raise their voice in protest and say that why was he wearing a single robe so often. However, this single robe was so clean and washed that you could seldom find a person of his hygiene in Qom.

He would choose the best of perfumes

The Imam was a perfect example of simple living, contentment and thrift in making  use  of  the  available  living  facilities;  but  always  his  living environment, office and place of worship and sleep was filled with the enchanting odor of extremely fragrant perfumes and he strongly believed in cleanliness, hygiene and using the best of perfumes. When friends of the Imam from near and afar would gift him various kinds of local and foreign perfumes, it was only in this area that the Imam with his great taste and love of beauty would choose the best of them.

I would like to eat every morsel with a different spoon

Although the Imam did not eat anything substantial, however believe it or not, he had three or four table spoons and he himself often said that “I desire very much to eat every morsel with a different spoon. I do not like to put the same spoon into my mouth again and again. So that no bit of food dropped on his clothing, he would first spread a napkin and then place a sheet of plastic  covering  over  it.  He  was  extremely  particular  with  regard  to cleanliness.

He gestured to the nurse

In these last days of the life of the Imam when I went to visit him at the hospital, his clothes were sprinkled with alcohol. There were two yellow stains on his shirt. I saw him gesticulate to the nurse about the stains on his shirt and asked him to change his shirt immediately.

He never forgot to exercise and to indulge in healthy recreation

Perhaps among our sources of emulation and distinguished theologians, this feature of the Imam is also unique which is that from his early adolescence meaning about eighty years ago, he was absolutely concerned about his health. The usual method of the clergymen is that they are not too preoccupied with physical exercise and healthy recreation. However, Imam Khomeini or Aqa Ruhollah Khomeini of eighty years ago would never forget ””whether in Khomein before the age of twenty and whether in Qom until the age of twenty-five””to exercise and to indulge in healthy recreation in order to strengthen his body and spirit. He not only mentioned this in private, rather he did not feel ashamed if others would also know.

Source:

The Book "Manifestation of the Friend: A collection of memoirs about Imam Khomeini (R.A)"

Other Links:

Manifestation of the Friend: Subtle Spirit (part 6)

Manifestation of the Friend: Subtle Spirit (part 7)