Thirdly: Claiming Prophethood

The fatuitous ideas of Tasawuf and the fantasies of philosophy engendered the emergence of eerie views and outright disbelief from him; for Khomeini has sketched four levels for the seeker:

The first journey ends at the stage of Fana’, absorption/annihilation. In it is the concealed secret and extra concealed secret. In this stage Extremities come forth from him due to which he is deemed a disbeliever. Then if divine patronage saves him he will profess slavery (being a servant) after having expressed divinity,[1] as he alleges.

The second journey according to him ends with his Wilayah (authority) becoming complete. Therein his essence, attributes and actions become absorbed/annihilated in the being of the ultimate truth, his attributes and his actions. In this journey absorption with absorption, which is the most secretive stage, take place, and the process of Wilayah comes to an end.[2]

As for the third journey, therein he attains Sahw, complete realisation, and subsists by the enablement of Allah. He travels in the realms of Jabarut, divine realm, Malakut, angelic realm, and Nasut, human realm. He also obtains a share of prophethood, but not the prophethood of legislation. At this stage the third journey ends and he starts the fourth journey.[3]

And in the fourth journey he becomes a prophet who is endowed with the prophethood of legislation.[4]

Hence the various stages of the journey according to him are: Fana’ (absorption/annihilation of the self), Wilayah wherein occurs absorption within the absorption, prophethood without legislation and complete prophethood.

These stages entail that Nubuwwah is obtainable through spiritual exercises, and the physical exertion practices prescribed by the Gnostics. They find their origins in ancient gnostic philosophy. Hence al Qadi ‘Ayad states:

ونكفر من ادعى النبوة لنفسه، أو جوز اكتسابها والبلوغ بصفاء القلب إلى مرتبتها كالفلاسفة وغلاة الصوفية

We excommunicate anyone who claims Nubuwwah for himself or considers it possible to reach its station by virtue of the cleanliness of the heart like the philosophers and the extremist Gnostics.[5]

Hence the aforementioned statements of Khomeini entail blatant disbelief, open heresy, the denial of Nubuwwah and the Ambiya’ and leaving the fold of Islam. Apparently he claims that he has passed all these ‘stages’… He has furthermore mentioned in his book al Hukumah al Islamiyyah that a Shia Jurist is equal in rank with Musa and ‘Isa.[6]

It is also important to remember that the station of Imamah according to them is higher than the station of Nubuwwah, as has passed already[7] and will be presented from the statements of Khomeini himself. And despite this Khomeini is not known in Iran but by the title of ‘Imam’, i.e. by a station which is higher than the position of Nubuwwah according to them.[8]

Murtada Kutbi[9] and Jan Leon[10] therefore say that the majority of the Iranian population does not consider Ruh Allah al Khomeini merely an Ayatollah, but rather an Imam, a title which was rarely accorded to any in the history of Islam.[11]

One of the Iranian officials, known as Fakhr al Hijazi, further emphasised this by asserting that Khomeini is greater than the prophets Musa and Harun. Owing to this he earned the delight of Khomeini who subsequently appointed him as the deputy of Tehran and the head of Mu’assasah al Mustad’afin, the institution for the poor, the biggest money institution in the country.[12]

Similarly, we also find Muhammad Jawwad Mughniyah hinting that Khomeini is superior to the Nabi of Allah Musa ‘alayh al Salam. He says:

وقال السيد المعلم (يعني الخميني) ص 111 من الحكومة الإسلامية: لماذا الخوف؟ فليكن حبسا أونفيا أو قتلا فإن أولياء الله يشرون أنفسهم ابتغاء مرضاة الله.

And the master teacher (i.e. Khomeini) has said on p. 111 of his book al Hukumah al Islamiyyah, “Why fear? Let it be imprisonment, exile or murder, for the friends of Allah have sold their souls for the pleasure of Allah.”

Then commenting upon this statement of Khomeini he says:

وليست هذه الكلمات مجرد سورة من سورات الغضب كما فعل موسى (ع) حين ألقى الألواح ( التوراة) وأخذ برأس أخيه يجره، بل تنبي أيضا على العلم والمنطق الصارم دون أن تلقحه نار العاطفة

These words are not merely an outburst from the outbursts of anger like in the case of Musa ‘alayh al Salam when he through the tablets (the Torah) and grabbed the head of his brother pulling him. Rather they smack off knowledge and sound reasoning which do not emerge from inflamed emotions.[13]

These are the exact words of Mughniyah. They suggest that Khomeini is more perfect than the Nabi of Allah, Musa ‘alayh al Salam, and that the doings of Khomeini are based upon knowledge and reason and that of Musa ‘alayh al Salam upon emotion and anger.

Musa ‘alayh al Salam is greater and nobler then can be compared with the most pious of people. How can Khomeini then be better than him and mentioned alongside him when drawing a comparison? But this is sadly the reasoning of the extremists and fanatics whose hearts are empty of the respect of Ambiya’ of Allah and His Messenger; their extremism regarding their Imams has emptied their hearts from the grand status of prophethood and those who were chosen by Allah to assume it.

It is also reported that Khomeini added his name in the call of Adhan and placed it before the Shahadatan (the two professions of faith). Pr. Musa al Musawi[14] says:

أدخل الخميني اسمه في أذان الصلوات، وقدم اسمه حتى على اسم النبي الكريم، فأذان الصلوات في إيران بعد استلام الخميني للحكم، وفي كل جوامعها كما يلي: الله أكبر، الله أكبر، خميني رهبر، أي إن الخميني هو القائد، ثم أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله

Khomeini added his name of the Adhan of the Salahs and placed his name even before the name of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Hence, after Khomeini came into power, the Adhan of the Salahs in Iran and in all its central mosques is as follows: Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, Khomeini Rehbar, i.e. al Khomeini is the commander, and that is followed by Ashhadu Ann Muhammad Rasul Allah.[15]

(The aforementioned author has not made mention of testimony that there is no deity besides Allah, probably it is a mistake from his side).

In conclusion, if their scholar Ibn Babawayh, who belongs to the fourth century, considers the addition Ashhadu Ann ‘Aliyyan Waliullah (I testify that ‘Ali is the friend of Allah) to be a fabrication of the Mufawwidah,[16] upon who may the curse of Allah descend,[17] you will realise to what extent the contemporaries have parted from the way of the ancients. You will also realise that all the differences between the contemporaries and the extremists have become obliterated thereby resulting in them having no limits whatsoever at which they stop in making their dogma steep further in fanaticism and heresy.

NEXT⇒ Fourthly: Extremism in Shia Belief

[1] Misbah al Hidayah p. 148.

[2] Ibid. 148, 149.

[3] Ibid. 149.

[4] Ibid. (same page).

[5] Al Shifa’ 2/1070-1071.

[6] Al Hukumah al Islamiyyah p. 95.

[7] Refer to: http://mahajjah.com/section-three-4-the-concept-of-imamah-according-to-the-shia-and-its-inception/#section-the-position-of-imamah-according-to-them

[8] Because the term ‘Imam’ according to the Shia is very different from its understanding according to the Ahlus Sunnah, the attention of the Ahlus Sunnah is not drawn to the problematic implications thereof when it is used by the Shia.

[9] The lecturer on Social sciences in the University of Tehran.

[10] A French Journalist.

[11] Al Mujtama’ wa al Din ‘ind al Imam al Khumaini, p. 216.

[12] Musa al Musawi: al Thawrah al Ba’isah p. 147.

[13] Al Khumaini wa al Dawlah al Islamiyyah p. 107.

[14] He is the grandson of their scholar Abu al Hassan al Musawi al Asfahani and is a teacher who holds a doctorate from the University of Tehran and the University of Paris. He has served in various universities in the faculties of theology and economics.

[15] Al Thawrah al Ba’isah p. 162-163; see also: ‘Abdul Jabbar al ‘Umar: al Khumaini Bayn al Din wa al Dawlah p. 6.

[16] The Mufawwidah: an extremist Shia sect who believed that Allah created Muhammad and handed the creation or the universe and its administration of the universe to him. He in turn handed the administration thereof to ‘Ali and he is thus the second administrator. (See: Maqalat al Islamiyyin 1/88; al Farq bayn al Firaq p. 251; I’tiqadat Firaq al Muslimin wa al Mushrikin p. 90; al Khutat of al Muqrizi: 2/351; and from the books of the Shia refer to the following: al Mufid: Tashih al I’tiqad p. 64-65; Bihar al Anwar 25/345.

[17] See: Man la Yahduruhu al Faqih 1/188-189.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents