ABOUT THE AUTHOR in the Book
GENERAL CONCEPTS OF ISLAM IN THE QURAN
AYATULLAH AL UZMA SEYYED ALI KHAMENEI
Ayatullah al Uzma Seyyid Ali Khamenei was born on
15th July of 1939, of a religious family in the holy city of Mashhad. His father,
Hujjatuleslam Hajj Seyyid Jawad Khamenei was one of the virtuous Ulema [ religious
scholars ] of Mashhad, and his mother was the daughter of Hujjatuleslam Seyyid Hashim
Najafabadi. Upon completion of his preliminary studies he entered the Nawwab Seminaty to
bursue his theological studies under the auspices of such mentors as Ayatullah Milani and
Ayatullah Hajj Sheikh Hashim Qazvini. In 1958 he proceeded on a pilgrimage to the holy
city of Najaf and in 1959 he went to Qum and became the student of Ayatullah al Uzma
Burujerdi, ImamKhomeini and Ayatullah Haeri. He was in the forefront in the Uprising of
the 5th june 1963 [15th of Khurdad, 1342] against the des pised pahlavi regime alongside
Imam Khomeini;s message to Ayatullah Milani concerning the Ashura massacre of 1963. He
then established a secret organization founded on Islamic Ideology and Shi’ism. When
this organization was discovered, many of the leading Ulema were arrested and thrown into
prisons but Ayatullah Khamenei and some others managed to flee. In 1965 he returned to
Mashhad. He had always been threatened there by the SAVAK and security agents of the
Shah. Nevertheless, he continued teaching Fiqh [Islamic Jurisprudence] and Usul
[principles] to
theological students. His lessons of Nahjal-Balaghah and interpretation of the Qua’an
attracted many people, especially the youth. Ayatullah Khamenei, throughout the
revolutionary struggle , was in the vanguard of the Islamic movement. Between 1965 and
1979 he was imprisoned six times and each time he was kept in solitary confinement . In
1976 , upon release he expanded his activities making speeches all over the country while
he preached Islam among the youth. In 1978, he and some other committed sehalays
established the scholars; Association. The next year he was exiled to Iranshahr and then
to Jiroft but even after his release he was Kept under SAVAK’s close watch. Ayatullah
Khamenei has written and translated several books like {The future of Islamic world
}which
was banned by the SAVAK in 1967 .{Muslims in the Indian Liberation Movement }, {A Critique
on Western Civilization } a translation , { Imam Hassan;s [A] Reconciliation } a
translation ,{The General Concepts of Islam in the holy Qur;an }, {The Depths of Daily
prayer } {A Correct Understanding of Islam }, {Imam Sadiq;s [a.s] life },{Lessons from
Nahjul-Balaghah },{Collection of lectures on Imamate} and {Our position } which he wrote
in collaboration with the martyr Aytullah Beheshti ,Martyr Dr. Bahonar and Hojjatuleslam
Hashemi Rafsanjani . Ayatullah Khamenei at the culmination of the great Islamic
Revolution, upon the recommendation of Ayatullah Mutahhari , was appointed a member of the
Revolutionary Council . After the victory of the Revolution and the establishment of the
Islamic Republic, he held numerous key posts such as: Representative of the Revolutionary
Council in the Defense Ministry, Commander of the Guards Corps of the Islamic Revolution,
Imam’s Representative in the Supreme Defense Council , deputy of the people of Tehran
in the Islamic Consultative Assembly [ Majlis ], the leader of the Friday Congregational
prayers and the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran .
Ayatullah Khamenei was elected unanimously as the Secretary General of
the Islamic Republican party following the martyrdom of Dr. Bahonar. During the
Iraji-imposed war, as the new President of the Islamic republic of Iran with other members
of the Supreme Defense Council , he played a Significant role in organizing the Armed
Forces . With his presence of the fronts he raised the morale of our Islamic
combatants.
On 27th June, 1981 as a result of the explosion of a bomb planted inside a tape recorder
by Munafigeen, he lost (the function of) his right hand while delivering a speech in the
Abuzar Masjid in Tehran. The Great leader of the Islamic Revolution , Imam Khomeini
repeatedly asked after his welfare as he recovered in the hospital . After his recovery he
stressed that his second life was a gift from Allah which had been bestowed on him to
serve Islam and the Muslims. He was elected as the president of the Islamic Republic of
Iran for the second term on 20 th August, 1985, with a massive vote.
Following the sad demise of the Great Leader of the Islamic Revolution
and the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini he was elected the Leader
of the Islamic Revolution by a large majority of the votes of the Assembly of Experts on
4th June, 1989.
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