Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution, stressed the need of applying ethical and moral approaches in all fields of life including political and social arenas.
From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, morality cannot be restricted to some recommendations and decrees.
Rather, it is anchored in profound philosophical, theosophical and anthropological principles and precepts.
In this sense, man can be needless of many types of knowledge; yet, he cannot consider himself needless of ethics since this knowledge is the capital asset of felicities in both worlds.
Imam’s view on morality is a philosophical one. It is in this sense that he keenly scrutinizes moral vices and virtues, discusses them wisely, and enumerates the benefits and harms of this and that item.
One of the famous sayings by the holy prophet of Islam were a manifestation of such kind of ethics which he made known as the purpose of his mission
In fact, he has a remarkably profound belief in religious morality and uncovers vices and virtues from the heart of the narrations from the honorable prophet of Islam and his Infallible successors; nevertheless, he does not content himself with the tradition of quoting, but perfectly utilizes intellect in analyzing these narrations] and in elucidating moral concepts.
This mode of striking a balance between the intellect [‘aql] and narration [naql], which has been acceptable to the great Shī‘ah scholars, is very manifest and conspicuous in the moral discourses of the Imam. Anyone who assiduously scrutinizes the ethical and gnostic works of the Imām can deduce his system of ethics.
The truth of the matter is that he has based his code of ethics and mystical-moral understandings on theoretical principles, which he does not specify so much. In the same manner that he juxtaposes the fragments of a riddle with one another, so also the researcher must carefully find these principles and place them together.
Imam Khomeini’s ethical theories are deeply rooted in a long-standing tradition and founded on the great gnostic and ethical heritage of the Muslim mystics and teachers of ethics.
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