Qur’anic Spirituality in Imam Khomeini’s Life
Following is Professor Sachedina's paper in full:
Imam Khomeini emerged as the "pole” (qutb) of the Shi’ite community at the most critical period in modern history of Muslim peoples, leaving behind his legacy to the Muslims around the world: "Heed to the message of the Qur’an! Don’t let the Book of God complain against Muslims that they did not read it the way it was supposed to be read!”
Spirituality in the Qur’an is intertwined with moral vision of Islam calling upon humanity to witness God by standing for justice and against the evil that exists among the powerful and arrogant sectors of humanity. This invitation to witnessing the divine is essentially preparing human beings for an active participation in creating the ideal polity where people can live in peace and in cooperation with one another in all matters affecting a good life on earth. Imam Khomeini, who was dedicated to the Qur’an as revealed truth from God, shows throughout his lived life his total dedication to spirituality-cum-morality. From the beginning of his career -- both as a student and teacher of Islamic sciences, Imam Khomeini committed himself to a life of simplicity, of spiritual discipline to discover and understand the essential aspect of his life, namely, his struggle against those who abuse God’s trust by falsely assuming the responsibility of working towards a just and equitable society while failing to uphold justice and corruption-free everyday life. He took up the challenge of standing true to the Prophet’s mission of actively engaging the world to reform it and advance it towards a better future.
In order to fully appreciate how Imam Khomeini embodied the teachings of the Qur’anic spirituality throughout his life we need to explore in some details modern spirituality and indicate how Imam Khomeini’s spirituality provides a clear, objective ways of evaluating claims of spiritual ecstasy that have become commonplace today. More importantly, Imam Khomeini was fully aware of the abuses of the Qur’an, both in history and in contemporary Muslim societies. He was a regular reader of the collection of Imam ‘Ali’s speeches compiled in the Nahj al-Balagha. In one of his speeches, Imam ‘Ali b. AbiTalib had severely criticized and warned Muslims the way they had abandoned practicing the teachings of the Qur’an and swayed away from its spirit by making Qur’an as a source of external decoration through its beautiful recitation and its calligraphic embellishment while ignoring its internalization through its practice. It is accurate to assert that Imam Khomeini exemplified the active spirituality of Imam ‘Ali, whose entire life, like that of the Prophet Muhammad, was molded in accord with the Qur’an.
In addition to these two important sources of spirituality, namely, the Qur’an and the Nahj al-Balagha, Imam Khomeini was brought up in the love and devotion – wilaya – of the Ahlul-Bayt. His life reflected like a mirror the reality of the wilaya that informed his total existence and directed it to do what he achieved in his life as he became the source of spiritual transformation of all the followers of the Ahlul-Bayt. No one can deny the impact the wilaya of Imam ‘Ali had on the life commitments of the late Imam. This author can assert without any hesitation that without that wilayaof Imam ‘Ali, Imam Khomeini would not have launched the revolution and guaranteed its taking roots in Iranian people at the time when the whole world was against such an outlook for reformation and change in the Muslim world. No one believed that a religious leader with the moral vision provided by the wilaya of Ahlul-Bayt could usher such a major change in the modern history of the world. The year 1978-79 will remain a critical landmark in the awakening of the spirituality that humanity needs today: the active spirituality that is morally committed to bring about internal changes in human life and the total transformation of the external connections that all humans seek to live in prosperity. Let us then begin with understanding the spirituality founded upon the love and devotion to the Ahlul-bayt, the wilaya.
Spirituality as the Core of Religious Experience:
"Spirituality” (Arabic ma‘nawiya>t and ru>h}a>ni>ya) remains to be explored in classical Islamic religious literature for its purport when expounding a religious experience connected with some ineffable, subjective state of a believer. Scholarly community, until recently, has assumed that one can speak about "spirituality” across traditions expecting to find congenial, if not wholly similar, psychological condition that can be ascribed to some spiritually advanced followers of any tradition with mystical inclinations. In Islamic tradition, which has been aptly described as inclined to "orthopraxy” because of its emphasis on "correct” ritual practice, the term spirituality takes a back seat in its manifestation of external religiosity. It has been difficult, if not impossible, to speak about spirituality in Islamic rituals. In recent works on Shi>‘ite mystical tradition of ‘irfa>n (gnosis)a new term has been coined to translate the Western studies of mysticism and spirituality, namely, ‘irfa>n-i ‘ayni> (‘objective’ knowledge of spiritual truths reputedly possessed by those in advanced stages of mysticism). The distinction between ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ mystical experience seems to have been necessitated to catalogue the ineffable ‘spirituality’ that floats like a generic religiosity across world religions. This commonly understood religiosity also denies religiously anchored spirituality its legitimate place in institutionalized religions like Islam. Since Islam emphasizes ritual practices and evaluates externally performed rites, their association to what is generally understood as spirituality is lacking. This article demonstrates the need to explore different ways in which spirituality is expressed in, for instance, the Shi>‘ite tradition based on its peculiar doctrine of wila>ya (love, devotion, dedication) of the Imams from the descendants of Fa>t}ima and ‘Ali>, the Prophet’s daughter and son-in-law. Although this love of the family of the Prophet – ahl al-bayt – also constitutes Sunni popular piety, it is in Shi>‘ite tradition that it is afforded a creedal status as the continuation of the prophethood (nubuwwa) and regarded as part of the faith statement. The Shi>‘iteshaha>da (statement of faith) includes an additional declaration which states: "I testify that ‘Ali is the friend (wali>) of God.” This is known as a statement of us}u>l al-i>ma>n (fundamental doctrines of faith), whereas Unity of God, Prophethood of Muh}ammad, and the Day of Judgment, shared with all other Muslims are identified as us}u>l al-isla>m (fundamental doctrines of Islam).
Sources of Wila>ya of the Imams among Ahl al-Bayt:
Islamic spirituality finds its essential expression in the Qur’an when it deals with divine-human relations. "I am closer to you than your jugular vein” underscores the proximity with which God has blessed humanity. This proximity (taqarrub) is emphasized in all the canonical religious practices that require an intention of "drawing close to God” (qurbatanila-lla>h). "Drawing close” is one of the principle goals of Islamic spirituality which implies some kind of subjectivity. Each believer is supposed to endeavor with his/her total existence (jihad bi al-nafs) to find instructions that lead a worshipper to carry out the acts of obeisance to God. Without such dedication to carry out the bidding of one’s Master (mawla>) it is impossible to attain the higher stations of spirituality. To overcome human proclivity to claim spiritual stations when these might not be demonstratable, Islamic scriptures (the Qur’an and the Sunna) laid down some ground rules so that the claims to being spiritual could attain some objectivity. The thrust of the Qur’anic spirituality founded upon sincere faith in God is as a rule accompanied by a call to act morally (s}a>lih}a>t). As a universal process of personal development to higher spiritual stations the Qur’an made spirituality dependent upon morality. Such a connection between ima>n and ‘amalsa>lih} was supposed to forestall false claims to subjective spirituality by requiring a person to demonstrate the truthfulness of being spiritual by engaging in moral action. Islamic tradition, like other Abrahamic religions, maintained nearness to God as the sole criterion to assess spirituality that was organically tied to morality. In connecting faith and action as sole criterion of moving on path to spiritual perfection leading to the love of God, the Qur’an sought to require following the footsteps (ittiba>‘) of the Prophet: "Say (o Muh}ammad), ‘If you love God, follow me, and God will love you, and forgive you your sins; God is All-forgiving and All-compassionate.’” (Q. 3:31) "Following the footstep” became the spirituality that was founded upon paradigm-tracing of the exemplary successors of the Prophet – the Imams. This is the core of the doctrine of wila>ya. In exploring the spiritual dimensions of faith in the charismatic leadership of the Imam we need to delve into the contents of the doctrine at two levels: wala>ya(devotion and dedication) and wila>ya (guidance and guardianship).
TheWilāyaof the Imams from theAhl al-Bayt:
In the context of this article and in light of Imam Khomeini’s essential connection to the Qur’anic spirituality, wilāya must be understood as intrinsically related to the moral-spiritual vision of divine guidance to perfect human existence on earth. Imam Khomeini, like many leading exegetes of the divine revelation, understood the Qur’anic wilāya as a fundamental attribute of God’s purposeful creation. It functions as the faculty of God’s authority that endows humanity with the ability to assume divine deputyship (khilafa/imama) and work towards the perfection of their existence in the universe. This perfection is comprehensive, in that public life evokes the moral dimension of God’s guidance and is regarded as an inevitable projection of the individual spiritual struggle to further God’s purposes on earth. Personal devotion to God through religious praxis or spiritual contemplation implies the responsibility of furthering the realization of a perfect social order that embodies all the manifestations of religious faith in the material and spiritual life of humankind. The spiritual-moral striving for one’s own welfare and that of society derives from the fact that, according to the Qur’an, humankind boldly assumed "the trust” (amāna) that God offered "unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And the human being assumed it. Lo! He has proved a tyrant and a fool” (Q. 33:72). This trust, which God offered to all creatures and which only human beings assumed, includes divine love (another meaning of wilāya) and ensures the ability and authority of human beings to become God’s vicegerent (Ṭūsī, 1957, 8:368; Ṭabarsī 1966, 8:373-74; Zamakhsharī, 1966, 3:276-77). Only humans were not afraid to bear the burden of wilāya, and accept the consequences of being described as "tyrant” and "ignorant,” because only they can gain perfection by acquiring the opposite attributes of being "just” and "knowledgeable.” "Tyranny” and "ignorance” are the primary counterpoises of human responsibility in accepting the trust of wilāya, since they are concerned with God’s providential purpose in allowing an imperfect humanity to accept this responsibility. The acceptance of this heavy burden of trust in the form of wilāya enables human beings to develop the ability to assess their own moral performance and align this understanding with God’s love through the spirituality of the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s family), who embody al-wilāya al-ilāhīyya (divine sovereignty). Moreover, trust in divine sovereignty gives humankind superiority over all other creatures in the world, because it enables them to put society in order in accordance with their unique comprehension of what it means to love God and submit to God’s will.
As Imam Khomeini shows in his mystical interpretation of the Qur’anic passages, the spiritual and moral development that is implicit in the love of God is most challenging in the face of a basic human weaknesses indicated by the Qur’an: ‘Surely the human being was created fretful, when evil visits him, and impatient, and when good visits him, grudging” (Q. 70:19-20). This weakness reveals a basic tension that must be resolved if human beings are to attain the purpose for which they are created. On the one hand, human beings are created with the cognition and volition to accept or reject God’s guidance; on the other hand, divine purposes cannot be advanced without requiring humanity to follow a certain plan of action. It is in the context of this tension that the Qur’an establishes the wilāya of the Prophet by clearly requiring humanity to follow the Prophet as an authoritative precedent (‘uswaḥasana) for divine love and the path of spiritual perfection. This precedent is concerned with the whole life of the Muslim community, with the result that the Qur’an equates spirituality with the total awareness of God as it confirmed in the Prophet’s nature: "a Messenger from among [the common people], to recite God’s signs to them and purify them, and to teach them the Book and the wisdom” (Q. 67:2). The question of divinely guided and appointed leadership in the execution of the divine plan, under the aegis of al-wilāya al-ilāhīyya, as taught by Imam Khomeini, thus assumes a central position in the Shī‘ī belief system. In this system, the Prophet, as the active representative of the transcendent God on earth, is seen as possessing al-wilāya al-ilāhīyya. If the ultimate objective of the Islamic revelation is to guide humanity to develop an intimate connection with the divine will through love and obedience of the Prophet, then this "closeness” (taqarrub), as portrayed by the Qur’an, is dependent on the continuation of the Prophetic precedent from among the Ahl al-Bayt as the rightful successors to the prophet’s spiritual-moral authority, and the authority of the learned scholars as spokesperson for the will of the last Imam al-Mahdi.
In the Shī‘ī understanding of the Qur’anic injunction in which the concept of wilāya occurs, the perspective sketched out above on the continuation of the Prophet’s paradigmatic precedent for human beings assumes a pivotal position. The relevance of wilāya to the question of spiritual development can be deduced from those sections of Qur’anic exegesis that deal with passages on wilāya. These passages establish the wilāya of God, the Prophet, and "those who believe” (Q. 5:55). According to the Shī‘ī exegetes, the reference to the wilāya of "those who believe” refers specifically to the Imams, whose wilāya is established through their designation by the Prophet (Ṭūsī 1957, 3/561; Kulaynī, 1972, 2/402, Ḥadīth 77; Ṭabaṭabāī 1972, 6/1ff.; Mūsāwī, 1963, 180). By contrast, Sunni scholars have interpreted these passages as referring only to the spiritual station of the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law ‘Alī b. AbīṬālib, and the specific term walī from which wilāya is derived denotes "befriending” ‘Alī but not the acceptance of his wilāya in the form of the Imamate (al-īmāma) (Ṭabarī, 1954, 6/186ff; Zamakhsharī, 1966, 1/623-24; Bayḍawī, 1939, 3/565 also alludes to this).
The wilāya of the Prophet and "those who believe” (i.e., in the context of Shī‘ism, the Imams) is dependent upon God’s will and permission (Tabaṭabāʼī, 1972, 6/12-14). That the divine "Trust” was interpreted as the wilāya of the rightful successors of the Prophet starting from ‘Alī is the point of the following tradition reported by the Shī‘ītraditionistKulaynī:
"Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq was asked by someone about the passage of the Qur’an that mentions the Trust (amāna) which God had offered to humankind. The Imam said: ‘This Trust is the wilāya of the Commander of the Faithful’ [‘Alī b. AbīṬālib]” (Kulaynī, 1972, 2/368, Ḥadīth 2).
This tradition implies that accepting or rejecting the "trust” of the wilāya of ‘Alī determines one’s spiritual standing in the community. In Shī‘ism, the Imams not only possess the wilāya to lead the community to its spiritual and moral perfection but they are also regarded as the sole legitimate authority who can provide authentic guidelines for attaining the spirituality intended by the Islamic revelation. Shī‘ī theologians unanimously maintain that this guide to Islamic spirituality has to be infallible (ma‘ṣūm), and becomes known to the public through an explicit designation (naṣṣ) on the part of one possessing al-wilāya al-ilāhīyya by being divinely appointed to that position (e.g., either the Prophethood or the Imamate). It is important to note here that Imam Khomeini’s scholarly stance in this connection was never meant compromise the absolute authority of the infallible Imams. On the contrary, as the Imam Khomeini argued, the authority of the scholarly community was dependent upon the will of the last Imam in occultation. And, the only legitimate way to ascertain that authority of the jurist was to ascertain the moral probity (‘adala) of the most qualified person in the Shi’ite community. Imam Khomeini never departed from the Qur’anic wilaya in his theory of the supreme authority of the Shi’ite jurist (wilayat al-faqih). In fact, his concern that grew out of the Qur’anic spirituality was to maintain that during the occultation of the last Imam, this spirituality was available in the leadership of the morally and academically most qualified jurist.
To be sure, in Shī‘ism, in the absence of the exercise of political authority by the Imams, more attention was given to the spiritual and moral leadership of the Imams and their pious and learned disciples. It is for this reason that in Shī‘ism it is almost impossible to comprehend the theory of political leadership without the study of the intellectual infrastructure that sustains and organizes the concept of religious leadership. Although the early scholarly community did not conceive of the Shī‘ī Imamate in two spheres, temporal and spiritual, with the former being postponed for the future when the messianic Imam al-Mahdī returns as God’s caliph, this division became obvious during the subsequent Imamate in the 9th and10th centuries. The belief in the messianic role of the last Imam al-Mahdī became the cornerstone of spirituality in Shī‘ism, creating a mystical orientation to connect with the Imam in occultation through intense observation of spiritual discipline and righteous behavior (Sachedina, 1980, 1988).
Although Sunni Muslims shared the Shī‘ī soteriological vision of the future caliph of God al-Mahdī, the tendency among Sunni scholars was to locate this vision of piety in the divinely ordained community under the guidance of divine law, the Sharī‘a. This was the fundamental difference between the Shī‘ī and Sunni understanding of salvation history. In the Shī‘ī view, priority was given to devotion to the person of the Imam as the successor to the Prophet and indirectly to his paradigmatic precedent as preserved in the juridical literature under wilayat al-faqih. In the Sunni understanding of salvation history, priority was given to the Prophetic precedent preserved by the early Muslim community in the Sunna in such a way that it overshadowed devotion to the person of the Prophet. At the popular level, however, even when the tendency among the Sunni scholars was to emphasize membership in the Sunni community as the correct expression of Islamic soteriology, Islamic salvation history retained the notion of the messianic Imam, al-Mahdī, the Caliph of God (cf. Wansbrough, 1978, pp.88ff.). However, with the reorientation of the Shī‘a toward a more politically quietist posture, wilāya in the form of love and loyalty became mostly a spiritual dedication to the Imams, with the consequence that out of all the different schools of Muslim thought, ImamiShī‘ism best retained the spirituality intended in the Qur’anic concept of al-wilāya al-ilāhīyya.
The Shī‘ī concept of the Imamate serves a similar function as the Sufi quṭb (spiritual axis). According to the Shī‘ī creed, ‘Alī and the eleven succeeding Imams from his progeny, received from God perfect knowledge to interpret the religion of Islam, and to orient the Muslim community towards God’s path. More importantly, the tradition of moral superiority and spiritually attuned guidance also continued through the Imamate. In order for the divinely ordained way of life to remain sanctified it must be maintained in its pristine form, which is accomplished by the endowment of infallibility by God to His Prophets and Messengers. The Shī‘a believe that the divine mission necessitates continuous stewardship and protection from human error. Therefore, the Imamate bears the divinely appointed duty of guiding the community by perfect example and knowledge of both the exoteric and the esoteric meaning of the Qur'an and the Shari’a. Thus, while prophecy concluded with the eternal and perfected revelation of Muḥammad, his unique spirituality, known as the Light of God (nūrAllāh), and infallible guidance continues through the Imamate. Accordingly, the Qur’an states: "There has come to you from God a light and a Book Manifest whereby God guides whosoever follows His good pleasure in the ways of peace and brings them forth from the shadows into the light by his leave; and he guides them to a straight path” (Q. 5:15). The Imamate conceived through the progeny of ‘Alī and Fāṭima represents a chain of continuation of the spiritual sovereignty of God’s Light— this is the light toward which the followers of the Imams gravitate.
The spiritual edifice of ImamiShī‘ism is built upon belief in the living link to wilāya, the twelfth Imam, Muḥammad al-Mahdī, who continues to guide his followers to attain perfection through personal spiritual development. This development, when attained, can also transform the experience of the Imam’s invisible existence into a physical vision (mushāhada). The following tradition captures the Shī‘ī spiritual experience during the occultation:
The fourth Imam, ‘AlīZayn al-‘Ābidīn, explained the period of occultation to AbūKhālid al-Kabūlī, who asked the Imam about the state of those who will experience the occultation (ghayba). The Imam responded: "The occultation for the Walī of God, the twelfth legatee of the Prophet and the Imams, will be prolonged [beyond the normal span of life]. O AbūKhālid, the people of that age who will be among the adherents of his Imamate and will be awaiting his emergence [as the Mahdī], will be the best of all the believers, because God will endow them with intuitive reason (al-‘uqūl), the ability to understand the depth of the matter (al-afhām), and knowledge of spiritual truths (al-ma‘rifa). As a consequence, the occultation to them will acquire the state of a vision (al-mushāhada). At that time God will make them like the warriors who fought with their swords in the presence of the Prophet of God. Indeed, these believers will truly be sincere and our true followers, calling people to God, privately and publicly.”
In other words, the believers in the Imamate of the twelfth walī will be the recipients of God’s special favor in experiencing the hidden universe of the Divine (Ṭabarsī 1979, 385). This phenomenon of developing the ability to witness the Hidden Imam as if he were present, as the Shī‘a believe, safeguards the spiritual source of divine communication and inspires the community to strive for the Hidden Imam’s vision and pray for his ultimate return as the awaited Messiah. According to the Qur’an, at no time do people of the world stumble in darkness without Divine guidance or grace: "O humankind, a proof has now come to you from your Lord; We have sent down to you a manifest light” (Q. 4:174). Although he is in an invisible existence, the guidance of the Imam like "the sun obscured by the cloud” is still felt by the community. The Shī‘ī community, like the planets that rotate around the sun, is drawn to the quṭb or Hidden Imam for direction and purpose. Shī‘ī pious literature has numerous accounts recounting the meeting of the pious with the Imam of the Age (IbnBābawayhi 1959, Vol. II, 108-156).
Conclusion:
The above exposition sets the context from which Imam Khomeini emerged as the "pole” (qutb) of the Shi’ite community at the most critical period in modern history of Muslim peoples. The revolution in 1978-79 abundantly shows that the courage and the steadfastness in Imam Khomeini’s mission to challenge the domination of foreign culture and imperialistic exploitation of Iranian modern society that needed the revival of spiritual-moral teachings of the Qur’an. Original Islam of the Prophet Muhammad, as the Imam demonstrated, was built upon taqwa, the central doctrine of the Qur’an which signified human spiritual-moral awareness, and, which was the divine gift and endowment given by God to all humans to guide them to establish justice on earth. The Qur’an taught unmistakably human responsibility to develop spiritual sensibilities to cultivate morality. This was the active spirituality conveyed in the word islam – active submission to God’s will. This is Imam Khomeini’s legacy to the Muslims around the world: "Heed to the message of the Qur’an! Don’t let the Book of God complain against Muslims that they did not read it the way it was supposed to be read!”
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