Manifestation of the Friend

With the People

part 19

He considered non-observance of regulations to be a sin

The Imam believed in strictly following the regulations and had a lot of respect for the laws. He considered observance of the laws to be a religious duty meaning that even for traffic rules, he considered it to be a sin if for example, a car passed ‘no entry’ zone or if a person exceeded the prescribed speed limits during driving. Because this was against the regulations, the Imam considered it to be a sin.

I won’t eat of this meat

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Imam was that he would observe the laws and social rules of the society even of non-Islamic states. In particular, when in Paris, the brethren collected money to buy a sheep and slaughtered it behind the courtyard where the Imam would hold mandatory prayers on the occasion of the night of ‘‘Ashura, and prepared food from it and sent a portion to the Imam’s house.

I got up to recite my prayers

One of the physicians of Qom narrated that when the news was broadcast that the Imam had suffered a heart attack, he went to his bedside and checked his blood pressure. His blood pressure was 5 which was dangerously low from the medical point of view. He performed the primary medical checks and after about two hours his condition improved. However, as a rule, the Imam could not and must not engage in any movement but he prepared to move and got up from his bed. The physician asked him why he had got up from the bed to which he replied: “For prayers”‌. Then he told the Imam that just as the Imam was a competent religious authority, similarly, he was a medical authority and thus according to his medical verdict his movement was forbidden and that the Imam must recite his prayers while lying on the bed. The Imam then took his words very seriously and acted according to his instructions.

Act according to regulations with him

When the letter came from the ground forces that I had no responsibility to discharge in the west of the country, I replied that I had been sent by the Supreme Defense Council and shall return to Tehran on their orders and not

on the orders of Bani Sadr (former president) and until they had not sent me orders, I would remain there. I was not aware that this response reflected some sort of revolt from the military point of view. Bani Sadr took my reply

to the Imam and the Imam who did not know me had said to Bani Sadr that, “Act according to the regulations with him.”‌ Thus when the congregation prayer leaders had gone to the Imam and told the Imam that I was hardworking individual whom Bani Sadr had discharged from his job and confiscated his military rank from him and although the individuals that had gone to meet the Imam were prominent and senior officials, yet the Imam had declared decisively that, “Such and such person has revolted.”‌ Of course this did not mean that the Imam had accepted their words; but the Imam believed strongly in performance of duty and observance of the law.

Observance of the regulations of the Islamic government

As one of the civil servants who was in the Imam office for years I can say with assurance that in the realm of personal life of the Imam there was no disobedience of regulations of the Islamic government. For example, the bills and receipts pertaining to water, electricity, telephone and taxes would be paid on the spot.

What time should she come?

Once when Mr. Ansari was invited to visit the frontline in the South so that he carried the message of love and peace of the Imam for the fighters of Islam, at night when we met him in the public relations department of the Karbala Operations command quarters, he put his hand in his pocket and took out a newspaper cutting and told me that: “This is the handwriting of the Imam which I present to you.”‌ The Imam had addressed him in his beautiful handwriting in the margin of the newspaper page stating that, “The wife of the late martyr Beheshti wants an appointment. What time should she come?”‌ Mr. Ansari would say that the Imam respected the rules and regulations of his own office and household to such an extent that although it was his own time, yet he asks about the programming from others so that the programs of the office did not clash.

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Manifestation of the Friend: With the People (part 18)

Manifestation of the Friend: With the People (part 17)