Sayid Ruhullah Musawi Khomeini

Grand Ayatullah Sayid Ruhullah Musawi Khomeini (September 21, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was a senior Shi`i Muslim cleric, Islamic philosopher and marja (religious authority), and the political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader�the paramount political figure of the new Islamic Republic until his death.

Khomeini was a marja al-taqlid, ("source of imitation") and important spiritual leader to many Shia Muslims. He was also an innovative Islamic political theorist, most noted for his development of the theory of velayat-e faqih, the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)". He was named Time's Man of the Year in 1979 and also one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Ruhullah Musawi was born to Ayatullah Sayid Mustafa Musawi and Hajiyah Aga Khanam in the town of Khomein, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, on September 21, 1900[2] (The wrong date written in his identification card is May 17, 1900) He was a sayyid from a religious family that are claimed descendants of Muhammad, through the seventh Imam, Imam Muwsa Kaazim.[citation needed] His paternal grandfather, Sayid Ahmad Musawi Hindi, originally from the city of Nishabur, in the provice of Khorasan of Iran, spent many years in parts of India as a Shia religious leader , before returning to Iran. His next "mission" was in the central Iran and he settled in the city of Khomein. His third wife, Sakinah, gave birth to Mustafa in 1856. Khomeini's maternal grandfather was Mirza Ahmad Mujtahid-e Khunsari, a high-ranking cleric in central Iran. Following the grant of a monopoly to a British company, he banned the usage of tobacco by Muslims. The shah cancelled the concession. The event marked the beginning of the direct influence of the clergy in contemporary Iranian politics.