Lifestyle of Imam Khomeini
To get an idea of the Imam's simple living and his belief that extreme care must be taken in spending the Baitul-mall (muslim treasury), it is enough to note that, it was according to his view and emphasis that in article 142 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic, the supreme Court is obligated to investigate the assets of the leader and upper layer of responsible authorities of the Islamic Order, before and after their incumbency or assignment, to insure that, no unlawful increases have been made. Imam Khomeini was the first person to submit a list of his meagre assets to the state supreme Court.
Immediately after the Imam's ascension, his son, in a letter that was printed in the newspapers, asked the Judiciary Power to investigate the assets of the Imam again in accordance with the Constitutional law.
The result of the investigation was published in a statement dated July 2 1989 by the Supreme Court. This statement revealed that during the lapse of time, not only nothing had been added to the Imam's assets, rather, a land lot that was inherited from his father was given to the indigent people of the place during his life and by his order.
The only immovable asset of Imam Khomeini is his old house in Qum, which, since his deportation in 1964, it has actually been and is available to the objectives of the movement and used as a centre for gatherings by student-clergies and public referrals and it actually lacks the appellation of personal property. The said list of assets which was prepared in 1979 and at the time of the Imam's ascension, after lawful control, revealed no addition, but reduction.
It was mentioned that the deceased had no personal assets except some books. The few rudimentary utensils necessary for simple living that was in the house, belonged to his wife. The two second hand rugs were not personal property and ought to go to the needy Seyyeds. Personal cash was zero; if any thing there was, it was religeous alms belonging to the people left with the Reference Authority for religious expenses, and the heirs could not touch such funds. And so the remaining assets of a man who had spent about 90 years of his life in utter popularity, included eye-glasses, finger-nail clippers, beads, the Qur'an, prayer-mat, turban, clergymen's clothes and some religeous books.
Those were the list of all the assets of a man who not only was the leader of an oil-rich country with tens of millions of population, rather, he ruled over the hearts of many more millions, the people who, when he issued mobilization order, lined up as candidates for martyrdom. These were the people who, upon hearing of the Imam's heart illness lined up at the hospital entrance ready to offer their hearts to him. The secret of so much popularity may be searched for, only in his faith, asceticism and truthfulness.
