Manifestation of the Friend
Role Model of Strength and Patience
part 8
A peace that exuded peace
On the night when the Nojeh Coup d’etat occurred, Mr. Khamenei and Mr. Hashimi went to meet with the Imam and suggested to him that it was better that he shifted to another location. The Imam stated: “I will not take a single step out from here.” He was counseled that his life was in danger but he replied “No, I am not in danger, you may leave and defend yourselves as well as the radio and television broadcasting station. Ask them to place equipment here so that it is ready in case I want to relay a message.” According to reports received, an attack on the Imam’s residence was imminent on that same night. Thus Mr. Khamenei again reiterated saying that it was possible that he might not be alive until tomorrow to relay a message. With a suggestive smile the Imam stated: “Rest assured that nothing will happen to me and you be concerned about your own safety and I will not go anywhere from here.” On that not only did he not step out of his residence, rather, he amazingly boosted the morale of all and the two gentlemen took leave of the Imam with a peace of mind.
The Imam projected peace to all
After the tragedy of the 7th Tir (June 28) incident, all the authorities were apprehensive about the outcome of the Revolution because a group of the topmost ranking officials of the state were martyred on a single night and included the highest ranking judiciary official, the late martyr Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti and the rest of the high-ranking officials of the country. The next morning, the late martyrs Rajaei and Bahonar along with a group of ministers came to meet with the Imam but all of them were despondent. When they returned after their meeting with the Imam, Mr. Rajaei said: “The Imam comforted all of us with a few words.” He stated: “There are many incidents that occur in the world; and with martyrdom of a group of great men, the objective must not be neglected.” After their meeting with the Imam, they regained their composure and peace of mind and thus returned to their respective offices right from there.
Peace and spiritual strength of the Imam in the 7th of Tir (June 28) bombing incident
One day after the 7th of Tir (June 28) bombing incident I together with Martyr Rajaei, Mr. Musawi Ardabili and Mr. Hashimi Rafsanjani paid a courtesy call on the Imam. On the way the conversation revolved around how this horrendous incident be explained to the Imam so that it did not cause any problems for the Imam who had suffered a heart attack earlier. It was decided that Mr. Hashimi should speak with the Imam on behalf of all of us. When we went into the presence of the Imam, we sat down for a while and the meeting observed a meaningful silence. The Imam also understood it; but instead of Mr. Hashimi doing the speaking, the Imam himself spoke and then mentioned an incident to us stating that many years ago, cholera had spread in a region and many people had lost their lives to this deadly disease such that a large number of corpses were arranged at the side of one another such that people would be horrified when they saw these corpses to the extent that out of fear of getting infected people were dying. This continued until a powerful clergyman addressed the people and asked the people why they were as terrorized as people were dying together because their end had come and that they should not be afraid otherwise all of them would die out of fear of this cholera!
After narrating this story the Imam stated: “Yes, in last night’s incident also people had died en masse when their end had come and these martyrs had died together so that there was nothing to get terrorized at. The Imam possessed such a spiritual strength that all those who were received by him approached the incident with unsurpassed courage.
Next he stated: “Mr. Ardabili should continue with the task delegated to late martyr Beheshti and I will also issue the letter of authority to him.” He stated to Mr. Hashimi that the parliament must be kept running in whatever form that it existed then such that on the next day, the members of parliament who were severely wounded were brought to the parliament on hospital beds and serum drips so that the legislative assembly could function with the required minimum of members.
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 4)
Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 5)