The Islamic Revolution: A Call to God
What Imam al-Khomeini led was not a revolution in the materialistic sense. It was an Islamic Revolution – its aim was Islamic, its methods were Islamic, its leadership was Islamic.
Almost half-a-century after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the Islamic Republic has become a key player in the international political arena.
Despite overwhelming political pressure and inhumane economic sanctions, the Islamic Republic continues to make great progress in science and technology. Its regional influence is at an all-time high, especially having gained allies from various countries that factor into the balance of power long considered under the hegemony of America. The Islamic Republic maintains an assertive presence in sports, education, and production in numerous fields.
However, the more important development achieved by the Islamic Republic since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is beyond these examples; it is ideological. This is often overlooked because the Islamic Revolution is typically mistaken as a customary coup d’etat. That is all the materialists see and teach others to see, so that all faith is lost should the slightest setback take place.
Meanwhile, the believer sees – behind the manifest image of public uproar and a change in governance – an unprecedented leap forward in the overall movement of Islam. After all, Islam has its interests and Muslims are expected to advance them.
That is how the Revolution was perceived by Imam Sayed Ruhollah al-Khomeini (ra), the leader of the Islamic Revolution, who was in every sense of the expression ‘a man of God’. His vision was nothing additional or less than the Islam of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and his infallible successors, upon them all be infinite blessings and salutations. He was an expert in Islamic law and jurisprudence. He was known for his piety and religiosity. His insightful knowledge of time and place made him an exceptionally competent leader.
For those unaware, these are the criteria for legitimate Islamic leadership. What Imam al-Khomeini led was not a revolution in the materialistic sense. It was not a call to rebellion or dissidence in the connotation often analyzed in secular academia. It was an Islamic Revolution – its aim was Islamic, its methods were Islamic, its leadership was Islamic, etc.
Nothing about the Islamic Revolution was detached from God and spirituality, or at odds with the credal and legal foundation of the Shi’i doctrine. Likewise, and contrary to the narrative that the West sponsors and some adherents to the thought of the Islamic Revolution have unfortunately adopted, the rise of Imam al-Khomeini was not against the longtime posture of the Shi’i jurists and religious authorities throughout history.
In fact, it was an evolved prototype of the postures taken by the jurists who preceded him. Imam al-Khomeini foresaw an opportunity that others did not: to rise against the illegitimate ruler and establish a government that operates on the basis of Islamic law. He emphasized that Islam is a religion of governance, as one sees by considering the various kinds of laws comprised in its legal system which cannot be implemented except by virtue of an Islamic political system.
He reminded the believing public that Islam has a vision for the individual and for society at large – and that bringing this vision into reality is the responsibility of the righteous leadership epitomized by the jurist who is the deputy of the infallible guardian. And it is the duty of ‘believers’ to make that righteous leader victorious. For decades, this Revolution has impacted believers in Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan, and beyond. The practical interpretation of Islam that calls to God in people’s everyday life and reclaims the lost purview of spirituality has reached believers across the world.
The attempts to secularize Islam have been significantly delayed, although that is a struggle that will most likely remain active for some time. But this religious and ideological immunity is what shows it is absolutely necessary to celebrate the commemoration of the Islamic Revolution because it is what guarantees the preservation of the pure and genuine Islamic order.
Today, a new interpretation of the Islamic Revolution is needed – one that does not view it through a merely political lens, but transcends the material and seeks the immaterial. It should be one that does not shy away from activating the Shi’i doctrine in analysis and commentary because the rhetoric of disbelievers should not serve as the standard for the rest of the world. The rhetoric of disbelievers separates reality from God and limits the scope of religious consciousness – and that is how ignorance and arrogance, the cornerstones of all falsity, open the way for oppressive authorities to take charge of believing societies. Imam al-Khomeini understood this, and he intended for the Islamic Revolution to be viewed as a development in the divine project for which everything was created.
This is how those who fathomed the Revolution for what it was viewed it. Sayed Mu’hammad Baqir al-Sadr described the victory of the Revolution as that which accomplished the objectives of the Prophets, upon them be blessings and salutations. That is not a political description. It is purely religious. It implies that Islam has returned from the margin to the heart of the page, to the bold of the text. It implies that the struggles of the Prophets and Imams to raise the banner of God in society and establish virtue and justice among the people have proven fruitful.
The Islamic Revolution was a call to God – the leadership that God accepts, the religious propagation that God accepts, the public demeanor that God accepts, etc. It is a call to rush to learn Islamic beliefs and legal rulings – not a call to populism and sports-like fanaticism. It is a call to spiritual awareness and religious cognizance – not a call to blind allegiance and empty radicalism. It is a call to wisdom in knowing the duty that commands rising against the tyrant or emigrating to the virtuous society where the religious movement is upright and established. It is a call to be where one must be – when they must be there.
What is unfolding today is a result of this righteous Revolution led by Imam al-Khomeini and kept alive – by the grace of God and the Imam of the time, may God hasten his reappearance – under the leadership of Imam Sayed ‘Ali al-Khamenei. What is unfolding is the death of the orders of falsity in politics, economics, education, culture, and more.
The ideological transformations taking place, the clarity of the global struggle between truth and falsity, and the surge in believers’ religious consciousness are a result of the Islamic Revolution. And the Revolution’s success will continue to radiate despite all suffering and misfortune – so long as it is a call to God, and so it shall remain, God-willing.
