Statements at the Meeting of the Organizers of the Congress Commemorating the Late Ayatollah Seyyed Mustafa Khomeini

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I sincerely thank the dear brothers who thought to keep the memory of this dear one alive and to honor him by describing the characteristics of this valuable and noble man; this is both respect for the Imam and respect for that personality.

The late Haj Agha Mustafa (may God’s mercy be upon him) truly shone in two instances. One was at the beginning of the movement - on the fifteenth of Khordad - and the other was at the onset of the public movement of the people; there, by rising and going into the holy courtyard of Hazrat Masoumeh, he actually guided that great movement with this action; and here [in 1977] as well, with his passing and the incident of his loss, he stirred the emotions and feelings of this ocean. In that first incident, of course, I was not in Qom at that time; I was in prison during those days; however, at that time, Haj Agha Mustafa (may God’s mercy be upon him) showed that in terms of character and essence, he was the second version of the Imam; he truly demonstrated this. In that strange incident and in the attack of the agents and the events in Tehran and Qom, he rose and went to the courtyard of Qom and sat there. Some of the fighters and brave young men of Qom, like the late Haj Mirza Abolqasem Vakili and others, gathered around him - as we later heard - and guided the people; on that day when Imam (may God’s mercy be upon him) had been arrested the night before; after Ashura. Well, it was a very significant act, a very important act. Later, he was arrested and taken away and spent some time in Qezel Qaleh prison. Well, in this recent incident, the mysterious loss of Haj Agha Mustafa truly stunned his friends; I mean, the admirers - like us in Mashhad - when we heard, we were really like people struck by lightning, we felt such a state; both for his loss, which was truly a dear and precious personality, and for what would happen to the Imam after losing this young man and this man. However, it was unimaginable that this incident, which was so heavy for friends, could create such a tumult and wave; and it did create it. Just as it was said that the Imam was one of the hidden divine graces, it truly was; and what greatness it requires for a father to view such a loss from this perspective, not from the perspective of a calamity, not from the perspective of a personal issue.

The late Haj Agha Mustafa was an outstanding human being. Of course, in the last years when he went first to Turkey and then to Najaf, well, we had not seen him anymore; we were informed of some of his conditions from afar; however, when he was in Qom and we were also in Qom, I knew him very well up close. Firstly, in terms of intellect and scientific ability, he was among the rare individuals; he truly had a superior talent and a sharp mind, which Mr. Rashad described, and it is completely correct. He had studied well; although he was also known for social gatherings - now we did not see him, but they said he would sometimes have gatherings in the courtyard for up to two hours at night - but later when he went home and engaged in study, he was ahead of all those who were his peers; he was more knowledgeable than all of them, and more understanding. Therefore, in terms of scientific and intellectual stature, he was such an outstanding person.

He was also courageous in scientific matters; he was a bold person. I do not forget his objections during the Imam's class; he would raise objections during the Imam's principles class; he would sit in the back and shout; it was a sight to behold, this interaction between father and son! He would object to the Imam; and when he wanted to raise an objection, he would sit a little higher - in a way that his face would be very visible, he was tall, he was prominent - he would shout. The Imam would shout during the class, many times he would raise his voice; especially those who pursued objections, the Imam would sometimes shout at them; and the Imam would also respond to this son [in a loud voice] and discussions would ensue. These are truly beautiful scenes; when one looks at the seminaries, when these traditions of the seminary fall into the hands of capable and outstanding individuals, this is how they emerge. Now, the Imam himself was a foundational and principle-making figure in principles; he did not wander around the words of others; the Imam himself established foundations; among the jurists and principled scholars who possess collective and comprehensive foundations, one is the great Imam; like some other great figures, like the late Akhound, like the late Naini and others; he was such a personality; he was not just a cleric who teaches principles and says anyone can object; but this young man would object. At the time I mention, Haj Agha Mustafa was perhaps 30, 31, or 32 years old, but he was like this. His scientific courage was great; in the books he wrote - the books that Mr. Sajadi (may God bless him) has worked hard on and collected many of his works - this is evident; it is completely clear.

The Imam has an important foundational principle called "legal addresses"; he considers religious addresses to be akin to legal addresses; it is a very important principle that affects several fundamental issues in principles; the Imam also thought about this principle and worked on it and articulated it in principles with many preliminaries. He articulated it in several places; among them in the main place, with many preliminaries - perhaps six or seven preliminaries - he articulates it; Haj Agha Mustafa engages with this principle. First, he defines it, and it has a place; truly this principle is a principle of definition; he provides a detailed definition of this principle, explaining how it is, it is an extraordinary thing - he is truly right, it is an extraordinary thought that the Imam [had] - then he begins to dispute; he mentions one by one the preliminaries that the Imam mentioned, and then he says, no, this preliminary was not necessary at all, it has no relation, and so on, he refutes it; [similarly] the next preliminary, the next preliminary! Of course, later he himself strengthens the principle, not that he refutes it - I mean, this foundational principle of the Imam is truly not refutable, although there are many opponents - in short, the late Haj Agha Mustafa was like this; in terms of science, he was both talented, had worked, and was scientifically courageous. I saw a writing of his - now I do not remember where it was and how many years ago - that when he went to the lessons of the famous scholars and teachers of Najaf, he mentioned objections to each of them on a significant issue; all of these were collected by the gentlemen; this is how he was. This is in terms of science and thought and so on.

In terms of practice, Haj Agha Mustafa was truly an outstanding human being; this is important. He was the son of someone like Imam Khomeini [may his soul be sanctified] - well, he was well-known in Qom; both before and during his marja'iyyah - but there was not a trace of aristocracy in Haj Agha Mustafa. During the days of Fatimiyyah, the Imam had a mourning session for several days; even at the Imam's house and in the Imam's mourning session, one would not see Haj Agha Mustafa coming to cling to the Imam; although he loved the Imam - which I will mention later; he was truly one of those sons who loved his father, he truly cherished the Imam - but around the Imam, he did not act in a way that showed aristocracy or anything like that. Later, when the struggles began in 1961, in the evenings and at night, there was a lot of coming and going at the Imam's house, and we always saw Haj Agha Mustafa sitting at the door; this person who was rarely seen there, from the time the struggle began in 1961 regarding the associations, the late Haj Agha Mustafa would attend there every day and sit; I mean, his demeanor was a combatant demeanor.

In terms of simplicity of lifestyle, in the true sense of the word, the late Haj Agha Mustafa was ascetic; in terms of clothing, behavior, food, and taking care of the family; he was truly a person who turned away from the world and was ascetic; this last period that we saw him; I do not have much information about the Najaf period. Until the period before the struggles, he had also developed a good spiritual inclination; he had some attentions, he was engaged in remembrance and presence and such matters. This is another aspect of him.

And another aspect of Haj Agha Mustafa was his courage; I mean, the fact that the Imam said he was the hope of the future of Islam was due to the comprehensiveness of this person; both in terms of science, and in terms of self-purification and self-awareness, and also in terms of courage - a jurist who wants to become the reference for people's affairs must have courage; he must be able to understand the issues of society; and where it is necessary to act, he must act - truly, Haj Agha Mustafa (may God’s mercy be upon him) was like this; in any case, he was a prominent personality.

You did a very good job by working on his works and thoughts. Of course, many of the works he did are half-finished; this interpretation and similar works are all fragmented and half-finished. Perhaps the most detailed of them is his principles; otherwise, he has discussions in jurisprudence and interpretation and even in strange sciences [in that interpretation], he even has strange sciences and such matters - in all of these, he has something to say. Working on his scientific comprehensiveness, in my opinion, is very good. I reviewed the list you prepared for the works that the articles are related to; it is a detailed list. And if you can have one or several documented and good articles for all of these, it would truly be good; it is worth it and has value. And of course, God Almighty made this man a means to show part of the personality of the Imam (may God’s mercy be upon him); the Imam, both in raising this young man who was able to nurture this son in this way, and in the endurance and patience he showed in his loss, truly demonstrated an identity that had not been recognized before and showed the greatness of the Imam. We hope, God willing, that God will elevate his ranks.

He - the late Haj Agha Mustafa - was extremely devoted to the Imam; extremely! I saw this in Qom myself; it also happened in Najaf that they came and told me; he was so sensitive about preserving the dignity of the Imam that if anyone made even a slight affront or blemish to the personality of the Imam, Haj Agha Mustafa would become restless in confronting and facing him and would show severe and intense reactions; I mentioned one example that I faced in Qom myself and was informed of closely, and another example was reported to us that had happened in Najaf.

In any case, may God elevate his ranks, may God elevate the ranks of the great Imam, and grant us the success to better recognize these great personalities and may He also grant you the success to pursue this work in the best possible way.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.