Imam Khomeini, Ethics and Politics

Preface

 
The thrust of the present volume is ethics and its relation to politics from the viewpoint of Imām Khomeinī, may his soul be sanctified. The discussions in this book are presented in three parts. The first part is a view on the ethical principles of Imām Khomeinī’s Islamic thought and his fundamental views on ethics. The second part is a deliberation on the relation between ethics and politics. The third part deals with ethical politics and ethical elements in politics.
 
Standing on the proposition that ethics has a special place in Imām Khomeinī’s way of thinking, the author of these lines has put forth his argument and has shown that the Imām was viewing politics as an extension of ethics and was treating it from the ethical aspect. He believed that politics with all its intricacies can and should be ethical. It is because ethics from his outlook is not confined to teachings and recommendations of a secondary nature and to individuals.

Rather, it is deemed as the bedrock of both individual and collective life as well as the fountainhead of felicity in both the worlds. Ethics is not a marginal issue as it is the basis for the movement and progress of society, encompassing all social manifestations. As such, politics cannot be considered as being detached from it. 
 
It is hoped that this book would be able to present a part of the Imām’s thoughts on social issues and serve as the prelude to more extensive and profound endeavors with respect to this matter.
 
Wallāhu walī at-tawfīq [And Allah is the Owner and Grantor of success].
 
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Sayyid Hasan Islāmī
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