Ayatollah Khomeini

He married Khadijeh Saqafi in 1929. The couple was blessed with five children, including Mostafa, Zahra, Sadiqeh, Farideh and Ahmad.

He breathed his last on June 3, 1989, after suffering from illness. His death was mourned by Iranians all over the country who flocked in large numbers to pay their last homage to the Supreme Leader. A large mausoleum complex has been built at the place of his burial.

Born as Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini to Sayed Moustafa Hindi and Hajieh Agha Khanum in the village of Khomeyn, Markazi Province, young Khomeini was raised primarily by his mother, as his father was murdered when he was just five months old.

Lively and vivacious, he not only excelled in sports, but performed remarkably well in academics as well. He attended a religious school where he learned excerpts from Quran and soon became famous for memorising religious and classical poetry

Under the guidance of Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi, he pursued his further studies, first travelling to Arak and then following Yazdi to the city of Qom. It was there that he studied Islamic law and jurisprudence in addition to philosophy, literature and poetry.

Upon becoming a leading scholar of Shia Islam, he took up the profile of a teacher - teaching political philosophy, Islamic history and ethics. It was during his time as a teacher that he came up with several works on Islamic philosophy, law, and ethics.

Following the death of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Husayn Borujerdi in 1961, he became a Marja-e-Taqlid (one to be imitated). Unlike his predecessors, he believed in the importance of application of religion in the practical, social and political issues of the day. He was also an arch-anti-secularist.

In 1962, he protested against the westernization pursued by the Shah, who launched the White Revolution in Iran. He organized the ulama of religious scholars and together with them, strongly opposed Shah and his plans, thus boycotting the White Revolution.

For his defamatory speech against the Shah in which he accused the latter for moral corruption and submission of Iran to America and revolutionary actions, he was imprisoned in June 1963.

Following his imprisonment, riots broke out in Iran as people rallied for his release. The event is recalled as Movement of 15 Khordad. Upon his release in 1964, he returned to Qom.

He continued to attack Shah’s close ties with America and Israel. Though the government did try to convince him to drop down the movement, he refuted and instead continued attacking, which resulted in his arrest and deportment.