The Greatest Jihad:Combat With The Self
By Imam Ruhallah al-Musawi al-Khomeini
Publisher's Preface
The ordinary man normally has a one dimensional personality,but great people who are truly liberated,such as the prophets and friends of Allah,have personalities of several aspects.
Sometimes it is difficult or even impossible for an ordinary person's intellect to grasp how these various dimensions can be encompassed in the existence of such great people.
As an outstanding religions figure,Imam Khomeini may be included among such great personalities.
In addition to his leadership abilities,political insight and far sightedness,he now also may be considered to be a distinguished teacher of Islamic ethics.
For various reasons,this aspect of his personality has not become very well known.
The book which is before you are composed of some of his lectures on morals,which were delivered prior to the victory of the Islamic Revolution during the period of his exile in Najaf.
He invites all,and especially the students of divinity,to refinement of the soul,asceticism and piety.
Since English speaking Muslims have expressed interest in studying this work,the Islamic Thought Foundation has undertaken its publication,and Dr.
Muhammad Legenhausen has accepted the responsibility for its translation.
Prior to this,another of Imam Khomeini's works,A Jug of Love,was also published by this Foundation.
It is worthy of mention that the Islamic Thought Foundation is a charitable organization which is independently funded and administered for the purpose of printing and publishing beneficial works in various languages.
Accordingly,more than sixty works by outstanding Islamic figures have been published thus far.
We pray that God may grant our dear readers with the success of benefiting as much as possible from the contents of this work.
The following is a translation of Jihad al-Akbar,ya Mobarezeh ba Nafs,a transcription of lectures by Imam Khomeini given at the Shi'ite seminary in Najaf on various occasions during the period of Imam's residence there )4691 -8791( ,selected and transcribed by Seyyed Hamid Ruhani,published under the above mentioned title by the Institute for the Compilation and Publication of the Works of Imam Khomeini,first edition:Khordad 2731 )May June 3991( ,01,000 copies printed,printed by:Linotron Company Entesharat Ilmi va Farhangi.
This translation was supported by the Directorate of Research of the Baqir al-'Ulum Institute,Qom,and was undertaken to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the passing away of Imam Khomeini,June 4,4991.
Translator's Introduction
In New York City on West Broadway there is a bookstore affiliated with a Turkish Sufi order.
In the summer of 3991 I purchased a few books there,and one of the other customers,a black man wearing a small white cap began talking with me.
After exchanging salaams,and after I told him that I was working in Iran,he asked me whether I had ever seen a book by Imam Khomeini called Jihad al Akbar.
I told him that although I was not familiar with the work,I thought that it had been translated by Hamid Algar,and included in his collection of translations of Imam's speeches,Islam and Revolution )Mizan Press( .
He was not familiar with that work,but insisted that the Muslims in America had a real need for translations of Imam's works,and he was particularly interested in Jihad al-Akbar.
When I went home,I found that a couple pages of the speeches of Imam which were given in Najaf and later collected under the title Jihad al-Akbar had been translated by Prof Algar.
The following autumn,when I returned to Iran,I found that Jihad al-Akbar had recently been republished as a small booklet.
Remembering the American Muslim I met in the Sufi Bookstore,I decided to make a complete translation of it.
Since I lacked the competence in Farsi for such an undertaking,I solicited the assistance of Azim Sarvdalir,with whom I was studying Farsi and doing other translations at Bunyad Baqir al-'Ulum in Qom.
Mr.
Sarvdalir was happy to take up the project,which,with the encouragement of the Bunyad,was completed the following June;al-hamdu li-Allah!
This is a work in morals,in Farsi and Arabic,akhlaq.
It is not a philosophical work,but a moral exhortation directed toward the seminary students of Najaf,and toward the institution of the seminary,or hawzah 'ilmi,as well.
The work reveals the moral sensitivity of Imam Khomeini,his paternal anxiety regarding the seminarians and his dedication to the institution of the seminary.
Upon reading this work one will discover that along with revolutionary fervor and condemnation of foreign imperialism there can be found a mystic's taste for spiritual devotions.
The waters of 'irfan )gnosis(run deep in the thought of Imam Khomeini and nourish his moral outlook.
This work is a testimony to the truth of Shahid Mutahhari's remark that 'irfan and ethics are both concerned with the improvement of character,but from different perspectives.
In ethical works one finds a description of virtues and vices and moral prescriptions and proscriptions,while in 'irfani works one finds a description of a process through which the soul moves toward Allah and acquires virtues corresponding to the divine attributes along the way.
The way of moral reform advocated by Imam Khomeini is a process of spiritual development in which the adept learns to conquer and then loose interest in his worldly desires and become totally devoted to God.
This process is described as a journey toward Allah,a journey which holds a central place in 'irfan,which may be considered the kernel of Islam.
This journey is described in different ways and from a variety of viewpoints in the poetry of the Sufis,in the transcendent philosophy of Mulla Sadra,and in the poetry and teachings of Imam Khomeini,as well.
Although the present work consists of speeches delivered to the students at Najaf,the moral advice given is particularly pertinent for all Muslims in the contemporary situation of discord and confusion.
Imam Khomeini advises the seminarians to abandon their quarreling,which only serves as an opportunity for mischief on the part of the enemies of Islam.
In the Islamic world today,we also observe that the opponents of the Islamic movement take advantage of disputes among Muslims.
Imam reminds the students that they do not possess sufficient wealth and power to make these things worth fighting over even according to the standards of materialism.
Parallel remarks are appropriate for the Muslim world as a whole,given the poverty and powerlessness which characterize the vast masses of the Islamic ummah.
Imam sanctions the students that they should take heed of the fact that the major purpose of the prophets and the Imams has been spiritual progress and moral improvement,and that the students must not content themselves with learning a few terms of Islamic jurisprudence.
The same warning should be heeded by contemporary Muslims.
We must not content ourselves with a handful of slogans and the performance of a few rituals,but must take steps for spiritual and moral growth.
Not merely in the seminary of Najaf,but wherever and to whom ever Islam is taught,this teaching must not confine itself to a rehearsal of basic beliefs and necessary practices,but must be accompanied by the moral and spiritual teachings which were the primary focus of the prophets and the Imams,Peace be upon all of them.
The present work may be read from a number of different perspectives.
It may be read in order to gain insight into the thought of the founder of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
It may be read in order to become familiar with the sort of problems which existed in Najaf at the time the lectures were delivered.
It can be read as an example of the type of moral preaching which could be expected from the among the best of Shi'ite moral teachers of this age.
It is a work which can be read in order to learn something about history,sociology or anthropology,and in all of these areas valuable lessons are to be learned.
But more important than any of these is the moral lessons to be drawn for the Islamic community in general.
Let us not content ourselves with ritual duties while ignoring the need for moral reform.
Let us appoint moral guides in all of our Islamic educational institutions,so that Islamic education may become more truly a training in submission to Allah,and let us draw upon the example as well as the teachings of the prophets and the Imams so that we may learn to seek to commence the journey of the believer toward Allah,in sha' Allah!
The remainder of this introduction consists of a few biographical remarks with particular reference to the moral and spiritual training of Imam Khomeini,may he rest in peace.
Ruhallah Musawi Khomeini,was born in 2091 in the town of Khomayn,which is about half way between Tehran and the southwestern city of Ahwaz.
Ruhallah's father and grandfather were religious scholars in Khomayn.
His father,Ayatollah Mustafa,is said to have been murdered by bandits when Ruhallah was less than six months old.
His mother,Hajar,was the daughter of the religious scholar Aqa Mirza Ahmad Mujtahed Khuansari.
The boy was raised by his mother and an aunt,both of whom died of cholera when he was six.
His education was then supervised by his older brother,Ayatollah Pasandida.
At nineteen,Ruhallah travelled northwest from Khomayn to the city of Arak,where he became a student of Sheikh Abd al-Karim Ha'eri,a leading religious scholar of his day.
The following year,Sheikh Ha'eri and his student Ruhallah moved to Qom,where the Sheikh reorganized and revitalized the entire institution of religious education in that city,which was already famous as a center of learning.
Ruhallah studied in Qom until the death of Sheikh Ha'eri,in 6391,after which he began teaching theology,ethics,philosophy and mysticism.
It was during his first fourteen years in Qom that Ayatollah Khomeini became familiar with the intertwined traditions of philosophy and mysticism which flourished during Iran's Safawid period )61th and 71th centuries(and which continue to exert an enormous influence on contemporary Shi'ite thought.
When he arrived in Qom,Imam Khomeini began to receive private instruction in ethics with Hajj Mirza Jawad Maleki Tabrizi,the author of a book entitled,The Secrets of Prayer )Asrar al-Salat( .
Imam Khomeini also wrote a book on this topic,called The Secret of Prayer:Prayers of the Gnostics or Ascension of the Wayfarers )Sirr al-Salat:Salat al-'Arefin ya Mi'raj al-Salikin( .
His instruction under Mirza Jawad continued until the death of the teacher,in 5291.
Imam Khomeini also studied the mystic tradition from Hajj Mirza Abu al-Hassan Rafi'i Qazvini,who was in Qom from 3291 until 7291.
Qazvini is known for his commentary on a supplication which is recited daily in the pre-dawn hours during the month of Ramadan.
Later,Imam Khomeini would also write a commentary on this prayer.
Finally,and perhaps most importantly among his spiritual guides,there was Aqa Mirza Muhammad Ali Shahabadi,the author of Spray from the Seas )Rashahat al-Bahar( ,who was in Qom from 8291 to 5391.
In the mystic tradition of which Shahabadi was a part,the phrase 'spray from the sea' may be taken as a symbol for inspiration from God.
It was with Shahabadi that Imam Khomeini is reported to have studied the Fusus al-Hikam )Bezels of Wisdom(of Ibn al-'Arabi ) d 0421(and the important commentary on that work by Qaysari ) d 0531(.
In 9291,Imam Khomeini married,and a year later his first son,Mustafa,was born.
Over the course of the years,two other sons and four daughters were born.
Mustafa would grow up to be killed in Iraq by agents of the Shah.
The youngest son,Seyyid Ahmad,would become a secretary to his father,and afterward,a political leader in his own right.
Recalling his years as a student in Qom,Imam Khomeini himself has publicly commented on the hostility toward mysticism and philosophy which was to be found in certain quarters in Qom,feelings which are still harbored by some members of the clergy.
The story is often repeated that when Imam had begun teaching philosophy in Qom and his first son was a small child,some seminarians felt it necessary to perform a ritual cleansing of a cup from which the child had drunk water because of his impurity as the son of a teacher of philosophy!Imam reports that his teacher,Shahabadi,sought to oppose this hostility by making people familiar with the doctrines of the mystics so they could see for themselves that there was nothing inimical to Islam in the teachings of the gnostics:
Once a group of merchants came to see the late Shahabadi )may God have mercy on him( ,and he began to speak to them on the same mystical topics that he taught to everyone.
I asked him whether it was appropriate to speak to them of such matters and he replied:"Let them be exposed just once to these heretical teachings!I too now find it incorrect to divide people into categories and pronounce some incapable of understanding these matters".
One of the most dramatic efforts of Imam Khomeini to bring mysticism to the people occurred after the Islamic Revolution with his Lectures on Surat al-Fatiha from which the above report has been quoted.
After the Revolution,there were televised lessons on the interpretation of the Qur'an by Ayatollah Taleqani.
When Ayatollah Taleqani died on September 01,9791,about a half year after the victory of the revolution,the televised commentary on the Qur'an was taken up by a younger scholar.
Imam Khomeini suggested that a more senior authority might be sought for the program.
After consulting among themselves,those responsible for the broadcast decided to request that Imam himself provide the commentary.
Imam responded that if the cameras could be brought to his residence he would comply with the request.
The result was the Lectures on Surat al-Fatiha,a stunning mystical interpretation of the opening verses of the Qur'an,in which one of the dominant themes was the claim that the whole world is a name of God.
In these lectures Imam also contends that the philosophers of Islam,the mystics and the poets have used different terminologies to express the same insights,and he urges his viewers not to reject what is taught by members of these groups until they understand what is being expressed,even if the language used raises suspicions of heterodoxy.
Thus,Imam's preaching in this area was very much a plea for tolerance.
Imam Khomeini's emphasis on tolerance was not limited to mysticism and poetry.
Imam Khomeini's teacher in Islamic jurisprudence,Sheikh Ha'eri,was succeeded in Qom by Ayatollah Borujerdi,who came to be recognized as the supreme authority on the subject.
After the death of Ayatollah Borujerdi,in 1691,Imam Khomeini came to be recognized as one of several supreme experts in Islamic jurisprudence,a marja-e taqlid.
In this role,Imam Khomeini issued a number of decrees which were looked upon with suspicion by more conservative clerics.
Many of the religious scholars in both Sunni and Shi'ite legal schools have ruled that music and chess are forbidden activities.
Imam Khomeini ruled that some forms of music are permissible and that playing chess is not contrary to Islamic law.
As a result,interest in traditional Iranian music has thrived since the Revolution.
Imam Khomeini has also encouraged women to play an expanded role in society,to the chagrin of more conservative interpreters of Islamic law.
To Western observers it may seem paradoxical that the very same man who preached tolerance with respect to the perceived challenges to orthodoxy posed by philosophy,mysticism,poetry and music,should also have been so intolerant toward the proponents of Westernization,toward the form of Marxism propagated in the name of Islam by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran )PMOI( ,and toward those who,like Salman Rushdie,would insult the Prophet of Islam or his family.
The apparent contradiction is removed once it is recognized that Imam Khomeini did not value tolerance for its own sake,but for the sake of Islam.
Central to Imam Khomeini's understanding of Islam is gnosis,'irfan.
In Sunni Islam,the exoteric and esoteric dimensions of religion have been kept largely distinct,with the esoteric mostly confined to the Sufi orders.
In Shi'ite Islam,there has been a long tradition in which many of the practices and teachings of the Sufis have been integrated into the religious life and thought of an important segment of the official clergy.
This form of mysticism,or gnosis,draws upon the Sufi theory of Ibn al-Arabi,the philosophical mysticism of Sadr al-Din Shirazi ) d 0461(and Hadi Sabzawari ) d 8781( ,both of whom were Shi'ite clerics,and the poetic expression of mysticism by Molawi Jalal al-Din Rumi ) d 3721(and Hafez ) d 1931( .
The poetry is often set to music.
Because of political and religious repression,those involved in 'irfan often had to keep their teachings underground.
Imam Khomeini,in line with the sentiments his reports having been expressed by his teacher Shahabadi,sought to initiate a process through which 'irfan could become public.
This process was not to be a sudden revolution.
His own works on 'irfan were not very widely distributed during his lifetime,but a persistent emphasis on the mystical elements of Shi'ite thought were interspersed among the more popular political declarations,and may be found in The Greatest Jihad,as well.
The revolutionary Islamic movement led by Imam Khomeini may even be viewed as the exoteric dimension of the impetus to reveal Islamic mysticism to the public.
The Islamic revolution was a means to bring Islam into public life,from which it was being marginalized during the reign of the Shah.
The process of making Islam central to public life was also resisted by conservative religious groups,who saw in this movement a departure from tradition.
Imam Khomeini argued that the guardian jurist of Islamic law had the authority to modify the traditional understanding of the law in order to protect the Islamic order.
Conservatives would argue that any break from tradition could only bring deviation from Islamic order.
The kind of judgment required by Imam Khomeini's vision of Islamic government is one which goes beyond what is provided for in traditional discussions of Islamic jurisprudence.
It is a kind of wisdom,however,which can be expected of the 'perfect man',the insan kamil,the goal of personal development in the mystic tradition.
An example of the way in which his political awareness demanded a tolerance not found among more conservative clerics may be found in his attitudes toward Sunni Islam.
In traditional Shi'ite circles it would not be considered permissible for a Shi'ite to stand behind a Sunni prayer leader.
Imam Khomeini ruled that such prayer was valid,and even himself publicly participated in ritual prayer behind a Sunni cleric.
Thus,the flexibility and tolerance which characterize Imam Khomeini's thought do not stem from the libertarian element in Islamic thought,but from a commitment to a movement from the esoteric to the exoteric dimensions of Islamic life,a movement which demanded the implementation of Islamic law as well as the propagation of mystical ideas.
Imam Khomeini's attitudes toward mysticism and politics are especially well illustrated by his invitation to President Gorbachev to embrace Islam.
On January 3,8891,Imam Khomeini sent a delegation to Moscow led by Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli who presented Imam's letter of invitation to President Gorbachev.
In the letter,Imam congratulated Gorbachev for his admission of the failures of communism,and he suggested that the Soviet leader consider the alternative to communist ideology posed by Islam.
In order to acquaint the Russian leader with Islam,Imam Khomeini recommended the works of the philosophers Farabi and Ibn Sina )Avicenna( ,and the mystic,Ibn al-'Arabi.
Conservative clerics were incensed that Imam should choose to represent Islamic thought through the works of philosophers and a Sufi,instead of works of jurisprudence and traditional devotional literature.
President Gorbachev politely declined the invitation to convert,although he said that he would consider the importance of spiritual values in society.
Imam Khomeini appears to have been genuinely disappointed that the response was not affirmative,and when a Soviet delegate read Gorbachev's reply to Imam Khomeini in Tehran,Imam repeatedly interrupted with criticism of the views expressed in the letter.
Such unconventional diplomacy demonstrates Imam's commitment to Islamic mysticism and its propagation,despite criticism from the clergy which he championed.
It also provides an indication of the unusual way in which mysticism and politics were combined in the thinking of Imam Khomeini.
Imam wrote several works which treated mystical topics,or which treated topics in a way characteristic of the mystical tradition.
Their titles are suggestive:Commentary on the Supplication Before Dawn )Sharh al-Du'a al-'Sahar( ,The Lamp of Guidance to Vicegerency and Guardianship )Misbah al-Hidayat ala al-Khalifat wa al-wilayah( ,The Countenance of Allah )Liqa' Allah( ,The Secret of Prayer:Prayers of the Gnostics or Ascension of the Wayfarers )Sirr al-Salat:Salat al-'Arefin ya Mi'raj al-'Salikin( ,Annotation to the Commentary on 'The Bezels of Wisdom' )Ta'liqat ala Sharh al-Fusus al-Hikam( ,Annotation to the Commentary on 'The Lamp of Intimacy' )Ta'liqat ala Sharh al-'Misbah al-Uns( ,two books of commentaries and annotations to another commentary on a collection of reports regarding the Prophet and Imam's called Ras al-Jalut,Lectures on Surat al-'Fatiha,Marginalia to 'The Journeys' )Hashiyeh ala al-Asfar( ,Etiquette of Prayer )Adab al-Salat( ,Commentary on Forty Sayings of the Prophet and Imams )Chehel Hadith(.
After he became a marja-e taqlid,political events dominated the life of Imam Khomeini.
In 3691,the Shah's forces massacred thousands who protested against the dictatorship.
Imam Khomeini was arrested for his inflammatory speeches and was taken to Tehran.
Later he was released with the announcement that he had agreed to refrain from further political activity.
He denied that he had made any such agreement and was picked up again.
He was taken to an unknown destination by car.
When the car turned off the main highway,it is reported that Imam imagined that he would be assassinated in a remote quarter of the desert.
He felt his heart to see if it was racing,but found that it was calm.
He narrated that he was never afraid.
He was taken to a small airstrip where a plane waited to take him to exile in Turkey.
The following year his place of exile was changed to the shrine city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Imam Khomeini remained in Najaf for fourteen years,and it was during these years that the lectures collected under the title,Jihad al-Akbar were delivered.
In 8791,the Shah put pressure on the Baathist government in Iraq to expel Ayatollah Khomeini.
After being refused asylum at the airport in Kuwait,Imam commented that he would spend his life travelling from one airport to another,but that he would not be keep silence.
Finally,he was admitted to France,where he resided at Neauphle-le-Chateaux,outside Paris.
In February 9791,he returned triumphantly to Iran and the Islamic Republic was launched.
Imam Khomeini was revered for the simplicity of his lifestyle and for his rigorous attention to even supererogatory details of Islamic ritual.
He is said to have always faced Mecca when he performed his ablutions.
He preferred to purchase the least expensive shoes.
If he drank half a glass of water,he would put a piece of paper over it to keep the dust out and save the rest for later.
Some claim that he had a special relation with the twelfth Imam,the Mahdi,Peace be upon him,the awaited one who will defeat injustice prior to the final judgment.
Such claims are also a part of the mystical tradition of Shi'ite Islam.
The Greatest Jihad:Combat with the Self
Yet another year of our lives has passed.
You young people are advancing toward old age,and we old people toward death.
During this academic year you have become aware of the extent of your learning and study.
You know how much you have acquired and how high the edifice of your education has been raised.
However,with respect to the refinement of virtue,the acquisition of religious manners,divine learning and purification of the soul,what have you done?What positive steps have you taken?Have you had any thought of refinement or self-reformation?Have you had any program in this field?Unfortunately,I must submit that you have not done anything striking,and that with regard to the reformation and refinement of the self you have not taken any great steps.
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