Manifestation of the Friend

Role Model of Strength and Patience

part 6

Peace of Mind

Haj Mustafa’s arrest, deep concern of others, peacefulness of the Imam On June 11, 1969, the head of the secret police of Saddam and the governor-general of Najaf paid a visit to the Imam and mentioned that they had been commissioned by the Command Council of revolution to send Haj Mustafa to Baghdad (for the crime of paying a visit and offering sympathy on behalf of the Imam to the late Ayatollah Hakim after his return from Baghdad) and they sought his permission for taking him to Baghdad. The Imam replied: “If taking Mustafa to Baghdad is dependent on my permission, I will never grant such permission; but if you have a mission to arrest him then I leave it up to you.”‌ When at eight o’clock in the morning Haj Mustafa along with some security officials of Iraq was taken to Baghdad, in keeping with his daily program, the Imam held his teaching classes and in the midst of sorrow, apprehension and distress of those present at his teaching session, he resorted to teaching the complex theological subjects with a world of peacefulness and assurance while pursuing his routine of leading prayers, holding meeting as well as his other daily programs in a normal manner!

Absolute calm at the time of utmost suffering

In the year 1968, I succeeded in meeting the Imam once in Najaf. In those years, going to the residence of the Imam in Najaf from under the watchful eyes of the hellish secret police ‘Savak’ of the evil ‘Taghut’ regime would not remain concealed and go unnoticed. For this reason, very few people would go to his house on a regular basis. At that time, the Imam lived in that extremely humble house in Najaf with a few of his friends and his revered household. On the day when I went to the Imam’s residence, about three or four people had come to pay him a visit even though it was the annual Iranian New Year holidays and a relatively large number of Iranians would travel to Iraq. In the year 1969 meaning precisely the years that the evil “Taghut”‌ regime was either holding the 2500-year celebrations of the monarchy as a sign of consolidation of the evil “taghut”‌ regime in the land of Iran or was making preparations for it, what do you think the face of the Imam revealed? Did it show defeat, weakness or anxiety? It showed none of them. The Imam would speak and approach issues with such a confident and composed face that he would make the visitor and the audiences feel more hopeful of the future.

One could not hear the effects of excitability in the tone of the Imam’s voice

Ayatollah Khomeini accepted to meet with the special correspondent of the ‘Le Monde’ daily at his place of exile in Najaf (Iraq). With a thin face and a calm voice, Ayatollah Khomeini spoke with us for about two hours. Even when he was mentioning and repeating the subject that Iran must release itself from the evil of the Shah and also when he would refer to the martyrdom of his son, there was neither any sign of excitement in his voice nor any noticeable movement in the lines on his face. His attitude, his power of control and his strength of character was prudent. Instead of stressing on words,  faith  and  convictions  to  communicate  with  his  audience,  the Ayatollah would do so by his gaze””a gaze that was always penetrating. However, when the subject would become sensitive and reach to a major objective, it would become sharp and intolerable.

Imam was the only person who was calm

Because of security reasons, the migration of the Imam from Iraq in the year 1978 must remain a secret and thus we went through hard days there. On the final night when an exclusive group of companions of the Imam needed to travel with him, I was extremely nervous and could not sleep. I got up and sat on the bed. I saw that the Imam, who in those hours would normally wake up to recite the optional midnight prayers, was also sitting on his bed. When he saw that I was awake, he calmly told me to go to sleep. At dawn when the Imam intended to begin his journey, all the members of household had a peculiar condition and no one could be heard to breathe as if no one was inside the house. The only person who was extremely calm was the Imam. He said goodbye to us and departed with my brother.

Source:

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

Other Links:

Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 1)

Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 2)