Summarized and Translated by Mohammad Salami
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, has Lebanese origins, the first episode of the documentary about the first 50 years of the Imam’s life revealed.
The episode presented a detailed research about Imam Khamenei’s pedigree since Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), showing how his ancestry’s general nature is religious, theological and political, which provided him with the personal capabilities needed to be a leader.
Researching a person’s lineage does not aim at knowing the names of his ancestors, but at highlighting their achievements which convey to him the inner energy and refines his personality, according to the documentary.
Imam Khamenei is the 38th grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his ancestors belong to Quraysh tribe in the Arab peninsula, the documentary added.
The forefathers of Imam Khamenei moved to Persia because it was a safe haven which protected them from the persecution of Imam Khamenei, according to the documentary that added the 12 Shia Imams used to order their followers, especially the clerics, to dwell in Iran.
The documentary pointed out that Imam Khamenei’s ancestors mainly lived in Arak city, adding that Mir Sayyed Mohammad Al-Madaeini (his 28th grandfather) moved from the Arab peninsula to Arak where he was a prominent religious leader around 1000 years ago before he was killed by the Abbasids.
According to the documentary, Sayyed Ahmad bin Sayyed Mohammad was Imam Khameni’s 27th grandfather who lived in Hazawe city before he was killed by the Abbasids as he was an influential cleric.
Imam Khamenei’s direct grandfather is Sayyed Hussein Tafrishi (1844-1907), according to the documentary which noted that Sayyed Tafrishi lived in Khameneh town near Tabriz where the locals are Azerbaijani and speak Turkish (which explains why Imam Khamenei speaks Turkish).
“Sayyed Tafrishi, who used to lead the prayers at a mosque in Tabriz, supported the constitutional revolution against the Qajar Shah, forcing him to change the ruling system from absolute royalty to constitutional royalty which allows establishing a democratically elected parliament.”
According to the documentary, Imam Khameni’s family rebelled against the Shah move of signing an agreement with the United Kingdom, granting the British side extensive powers in Iran.
“Sayyed Jawad Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s father, studied theology in the Iraqi city of Al-Najaf before he moved to the Iranian city of Mashhad in 1931 where the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali bin Moussa Al-Rida is.”
“Locals in Tabriz gave Sayyed Jawad the surname “Khameni” in reference to Khameneh town from which he came.”
“Imam Sayyed Ali Khameni was born in Mashhad in 1939 and kept there till the Islamic Revolution emerged victorious in 1979. His eminence used also to lead the prayers at Siddiqin Mosque in the city.”
The documentary mentioned that in 1925 Shah Rida Bahlawi dethroned the last Qajar Shah and seized power, banning Hijab and the male religious uniform.
“Sayyed Jawad Khamenei rebelled against the Shah and organized political congregations, which exposed him to an 8-year exile.”
Sayyed Jawad’s first wife, from whom he had three daughters, died when he was in his thirties; consequently, his eminence got married to the daughter of Ayatollah Al-Najaf Abadi Al-Mirdamadi, Khadija.
Ayatollah Abadi is almost the 3oth grandson of the 6th Shia Imam Jaafar Al-Sadek and one of the grandsons of Sayyed Ali Hussein Al-Karaki who descends from the town of Al-Karak in Lebanon’s Bekaa.
This means that Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei has been proved to have Lebanese origins, according to the documentary.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
