Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Bahjat

Imam Khomeini used to pay special attention to Ayatollah Bahjat, as is evident from the following incidents.

Ayatollah Masoudi says, "During the four or five years when I was serving Imam Khomeini, I remember that the Imam said to me two or three times: We will go to the house of Ayatollah Bahjat tomorrow, so be prepared for it. The next day, we went to the house of the sheikh and sat in the first room, which was then carpeted with the same carpet that has always been there. Imam Khomeini asked me to go out. I went out of the house whilst Imam stayed behind talking to Ayatollah Bahjat for about half an hour. He then came out of the house and we returned together. As for the subject of their discussion, I have no knowledge of it – only God knows.”

Ayatollah Bahjat would say to me: Ask Sayyid Khomeini to slaughter two sheep tomorrow morning at such an hour seeking nearness to God Almighty. I would go to Imam Khomeini and tell him so.

"Sometimes during the days of revolution (the years 1963 and 1964), Ayatollah Bahjat would say to me: Ask Sayyid Khomeini to slaughter two sheep tomorrow morning at such an hour seeking nearness to God Almighty. I would go to Imam Khomeini and tell him so, and Imam would say, ‘Ask the butcher to slaughter two sheep on our account, and I shall pay him later.’ Once Ayatollah Bahjat said to me, ‘Tell Imam Khomeini to slaughter three sheep.’ Imam then ordered three sheep to be slaughtered. All these matters used to go on between the Imam and Ayatollah Bahjat; we would be witnessing them outwardly, whilst having no knowledge of what they implied.”

The relationship between Ayatollah Bahjat and Imam Khomeini was very strong.

"When Imam was residing in Jamaran, Ayatollah Bahjat once said to me, 'I have a small letter that I would like you to deliver to Imam.' I took the letter from him, put it in an envelope, and delivered it to the Imam. The relationship between Ayatollah Bahjat and Imam Khomeini was very strong."

"Once the Assembly of Experts were honored to visit the late Imam. They asked him for instructions on ethical issues, so the Imam referred them to the Grand Ayatollah Bahjat. They said to him, 'But he does not accept anyone.' The Imam said, ‘Keep insisting till he accepts’.” 

Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi says the following in this regard elsewhere, "The late Sayyid Mustafa (may God be pleased with him) says about his late father Imam Khomeini, may God bless his soul that when the Imam saw the simplicity of Ayatollah Bahjat’s life, he took a sum of money from Sayyid Burujardi (with whom he had a strong tie) in order to give it to Ayatollah Bahjat, but the sheikh refused to accept this sum. On the other hand, the Imam did not see any benefit in returning this sum to Sayyid Burujardi; therefore, he had to think of a way to tackle this issue. He therefore said to Ayatollah Bahjat, 'I give you a grant from my own money, and forgive me for not returning this sum.' Thus Ayatollah Bahjat accepted the sum as a grant from the Imam's own money’.”

Ayatollah Misbah says the following referring to the special attention that the late Imam would give to Ayatollah Bahjat, "Once the Assembly of Experts were honored to visit the late Imam. They asked him for instructions on ethical issues, so the Imam referred them to the Grand Ayatollah Bahjat. They said to him, 'But he does not accept anyone.' The Imam said, ‘Keep insisting till he accepts’.”