By Fateme Torkashvand
The days of mid-Khordad (early June) mark both an end and a beginning for the Islamic Republic of Iran. It’s as though history is reborn on the 13th of Khordad (June 3) each year, only to bow its head in grief the next day — grieving like a man in sorrow — before rising again with the morning of June 5.
This rhythm of remembrance mirrors the narrative arc of Ruhollah, a new book by Hadi Hakimian and published by Shahrestan Adab Publishing House, which encapsulates the story of modern Iran within the span of these three fateful days.
Ruhollah offers a bold, revealing and uniquely rendered account of the life and times of the architect of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini — from his formative childhood years to the revolutionary movement he led against the Pahlavi dictatorship and its Western backers, which would reshape the political contours of the West Asia in ways the global powers never foresaw.
What sets Ruhollah apart from similar literary works is its comprehensive re-examination of every stage of Imam Khomeini’s life. While many accounts reduce his story to the years between 1963 and 1979 — from the uprising to the victory of the Islamic Revolution — this book challenges that narrow frame.
By focusing only on those 26 years, traditional narratives have created an incomplete portrait of a personality who played the most decisive role in one of the most transformative chapters in Iran’s modern history.
The central question the book raises is both simple and profound: What happened to the child, adolescent, and young man during the turbulent first half of the 20th century in Iran that shaped him into the 61-year-old cleric who bravely stood up and delivered a historic speech in Qom on June 3, 1963?
Imam Khomeini had already lived through monumental national crises — the Constitutional Revolution, the devastating famine caused by World War I, the fall of the Qajar dynasty, the rise and removal of Reza Shah by the British, the 1953 coup, and many other internal conflicts in which British, Russian, German, and American interests were deeply entangled.
Yet, most biographies focus solely on the later years of his life. Ruhollah, by contrast, defies this abnormal trend.
Through a dynamic structure of flashbacks and flash-forwards, it reconstructs a century of Iranian history through Imam Khomeini’s own lens.
It draws on a diverse array of sources — documents, letters, and memoirs — from figures across the ideological spectrum: Shahrokh Meskoub, Ahmad Kasravi, Louis Dreyfus, Ayatollah Boroujerdi, and Sheikh Morteza Haeri, among others. The result is a richly layered narrative grounded in both memory and historical facts.
The book’s strength and uniqueness lies not only in its innovative narrative method but in its inclusivity. It gives voice to a broad range of political and religious currents — leftists, nationalists, conservatives, and reformists — while keeping Imam Khomeini’s worldview and historical significance at its core.
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its exploration of the Qom seminary — the intellectual and spiritual environment in which Imam Khomeini’s worldview took shape. By mapping his relationships and contrasts with other influential spiritual figures of his time, the book reveals the unique traits that distinguished him from his contemporaries.
This task required the author to delve deep into the theological, mystical, and philosophical currents within the seminary. Imam Khomeini emerges not only as a revolutionary but as a rationalist steeped in the school of Mulla Sadra — a legendary scholar whose political divergence stemmed as much from philosophy and method as from ideology or ambition.
Yet for all its intellectual depth, Ruhollah never loses its narrative pulse. The book doesn’t aim to be a dry academic study but a compelling narrative that resonates with younger generations. It invites readers to walk alongside its subject, to question his decisions, and to connect emotionally with his journey — not merely to learn about him, but to understand and admire him.
The story of the book unfolds across ten riveting chapters. The first opens on the afternoon of June 3, 1963, with the historic Ashura sermon at the Feyziyeh Seminary in the holy city of Qom. The second returns to his early years in the town of Khomein, from his family lineage and the assassination of his father by local khans, to his own teenage defense of the town against foreign raiders.
Chapter three of the book explores his youth during the rise of Pahlavi dictator Reza Shah and the social transformations sweeping Iran at the time. It also examines Imam Khomeini’s unusual decision to study mathematics and astronomy alongside religious sciences.
The next chapter details the passing of Ayatollah Boroujerdi and Imam Khomeini’s growing confrontation with American meddling. Chapter five circles back to the 1963 uprising, partly narrated through a memory shared by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei about the first student protests in Qom.
Chapter six chronicles Prime Minister Asadollah Alam’s secularist policies and the violent suppression of clerical dissent under Imam Khomeini’s leadership. Chapter seven delves into the controversy over the capitulation laws, Imam Khomeini’s impassioned opposition, and his eventual exile.
The eighth chapter follows his years in exile — first in Turkey, then in Iraq — culminating in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that shook the world and paved way for the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Chapter nine focuses on the early 1980s, highlighting Imam Khomeini’s role in steering the country through internal crises.
The final chapter addresses his wartime leadership during the grueling years of economic sanctions, concluding with his funeral on June 5, 1989, at Behesht Zahra, which was the largest funeral for any world figure in modern history.
Fateme Torkashvand is a Tehran-based journalist specializing in cultural affairs.
