Khomeini And The Imamah

The dogma of Imamah is a pillar of the Shia faith and Khomeini has raised it to the status of the shahadatayn that the dying person should be reminded to recite. He says:

ويستحب تلقينه الشهادتين والاقرار بالائمة الاثنى عشر

It is preferable to remind the dying person to recite the shahadatayn and to acknowledge the Twelve Imams.

Khomeini has focused on clarifying this belief in his book al Hukumah al Islamiyyah. He says:

نحن نعتقد بالولاية ونعتقد أن يعين النبي خليفة من بعده وقد فعل .. ولو لم يفعل لم يبلغ رسالته

We believe in the Wilayah and we believe that the Prophet appoints a vicegerent as was done. And if he had not done so, he would have been guilty of not fulfilling his mission of conveying his message.

He also states:

قد كلمة الله وحيا أن يبلغ ما أنزل اليه فيمن يخلفه في الناس ويحكم. هذا الأمر فقد اتبع ما أمر به وعين أمير المؤمنين عليا للخلافة

Allah commanded him through revelation that he should convey that which has been revealed to him regarding whom he would appoint over the people and take the position of leadership in this matter. He followed what he had been commanded to do and appointed Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali as his khalifah.

He further calls to the dissemination of this belief saying:

عرفوا الولاية للناس کا هي قولوا لهم انا نعتقد بالولاية وبأن الرسول استخلف بأمر الله

Make people aware of the Wilayah as it stands. Tell them that we believe in the Wilayah and that the Prophet has appointed a successor by the command of Allah.[1]

Together with this he believes that the struggle in establishing a Shia state forms part of believing in the Wilayah, rather one is dependent on the other. He says:

النضال من أجل تشكيل الحكومة توأم الايمان بالولاية

The struggle in establishing the government is dependent on believing in the Wilayah.[2]

NEXT⇒ Khomeini And Extremisms Regarding The Imams

[1] Al Hukumah al Islamiyyah, pg. 20.

[2] Al Hukumah al Islaminyyah, pg. 20.