An haifi Ruhollah Mousavi ga Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Musavi da Hajieh Agha Khanum, wanda ake kira Hajar, a garin Khomein, kimanin kilomita 300 kudu da babban birnin Tehran, Iran, mai yiwuwa a ranar 17 ga Mayu, 1900 ko 24 ga Satumba, 1902. Shi Seyyed ne daga dangi masu addini waɗanda zuriyar Annabi Muhammadu ne, ta hanyar Imam na bakwai, (Imam Mousa Kazem). Kakansa na wajen uba shine Seyyed Ahmad Musavi, wanda matarsa ta uku, Sakineh, ta haifi Mostafa a 1856. Kakan Imam Khomeini na wajen uwa shine Mirza Ahmad Mojtahed-e Khonsari, babban malami a tsakiyar Iran wanda Fatawarsa ta haramta amfani da Taba don adawa da ikon mallakar da Shah ya baiwa wani kamfanin Birtaniya, ya haifar da soke yarjejeniyar.\n\nAn kashe mahaifin Imam Khomeini lokacin yana dan wata biyar, nne ya raine shi. Daga baya, lokacin yana dan shekara 15, mahaifiyarsa da gwaggwansa suka rasu a shekara guda. Yana dan shekara shida ya fara karatun Alkur'ani, littafin mai tsarki na Musulunci. Ya sami karatunsa na farko a gida da kuma makarantar gida, karkashin kulawar Mullah Abdul-Qassem da Sheikh Jaffar, kuma yana karkashin kulawar babban yayansa, Ayatollah Pasandideh, har sai da ya kai shekaru 18. An yi shirye-shirye don ya yi karatu a makarantar hauza ta Musulunci a Esfahan, amma ya fi sha'awar makarantar hauza a Arak, wacce ta shahara wajen hazakar ilimi karkashin jagorancin Ayatollah Sheikh Abdol-Karim Haeri-Yazdi (shi kansa dalibin wasu manyan malamai na Najaf da Karbala a Iraki).\n\nA 1921, Imam Khomeini ya fara karatunsa a Arak. A shekara ta gaba, Ayatollah Haeri-Yazdi ya mayar da makarantar hauza ta Musulunci zuwa birnin Qom mai tsarki, kuma ya gayyaci dalibansa su bi shi. Imam Khomeini ya karbi gayyatar, ya koma, ya zauna a makarantar Dar al-Shafa a Qom kafin a kore shi zuwa birnin Najaf mai tsarki a Iraki. Bayan kammala karatu, ya koyar da fikihu (Sharia), falsafar Musulunci da sufanci (Irfan) na shekaru da yawa kuma ya rubuta littattafai da yawa kan waɗannan batutuwa.\n\nDuk da cewa a wannan lokaci na ilimi na rayuwarsa Imam Khomeini bai kasance mai aikin siyasa ba, yanayin karatunsa, koyarwarsa, da rubuce-rubucensa sun nuna cewa ya yi imani sosai tun daga farko kan gwagwarmayar siyasa ta malamai. Abubuwa uku suna goyon bayan wannan ra'ayi. Na farko, sha'awarsa ga karatun Musulunci ya wuce iyakokin batutuwan gargajiya na shari'ar Musulunci (Sharia), fikihu (Fiqh), da ka'idoji (Usul) da makamantansu. Yana da sha'awar falsafa da ɗabi'a sosai. Na biyu, koyarwarsa ta fi mayar da hankali kan dacewar addini ga batutuwan zamantakewa da siyasa na yau da kullun. Na uku, shi ne malamin Iran na farko da ya yi ƙoƙarin karyata ra'ayin rashin addini a shekarun 1940. Littafinsa sananne yanzu, Kashf-e Asrar (Gano Asirai) shine karyatawa daki-daki na Asrar-e Hezar Saleh (Asiran Shekaru Dubu), wata takarda da wani almajirin babban masanin tarihin Iran mai adawa da malamai, Ahmad Kasravi ya rubuta. Haka kuma ya tafi daga Qom zuwa Tehran don sauraron Ayatollah Hassan Modarres — jagoran 'yan adawa masu rinjaye a majalisar Iran a shekarun 1920.\n\nImam Khomeini ya zama Marja a 1963, bayan rasuwar Babban Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi.

Farkon siyasa na Imam Khomeini ya ƙunshi a farkon shekarun 1960. A shekarar 1963, ya ƙori juyin juya halin Fari da ƙaruwar tasirin Amurka da Isra'ila. Hutubarsa a Qom ta haifar da tawayen 15 Khordad (5 ga Yuni, 1963), bayan kama shi ya zama alamar adawa. A sake shi a 1964 a ƙarƙashin matsin lambar jama'a, amma da wuri aka yi masa gudun hijira.

A watan Oktoba 1964, aka yi Imam Khomeini gudun hijira, da farko zuwa Turkiyya sannan zuwa birnin mai tsarki Najaf a Iraki. Daga Najaf, ya ci gaba da bayanwa, rubuta, da jagorantar adawa da Shah. Jawabin 1971 da saƙonsa daga Faransa a 1979 sun ƙarfafa 'yan Iran. A ranar 1 ga Faburairu 1979, ya dawo Tehran cikin tarbar fatan nasara, wadda ta nuna rusawar sarkanci.

Bayan watanni da yawa na yajin aiki da zanga-zanga, sarautar Pahlavi ta faɗi a ranar 11 ga Fabrairu 1979. Imam Khomeini ya sa ido kan kafa Jamhuriyyar Musulunci da amincewa da sabon tsarin doka bisa ka'idar velayat-e faqih. A ranar 3 ga Disamba 1979, ya zama Babban Jagora. A lokacin yakin Iran da Iraki (1980–1988), ya ba da jagoranci maras kwaɗayi, kuma hangen nesa shi ya ƙafa manufofin cikin gida da wajen Iran na shekaru goma.

Daga cikin abubuwan da ya fi gaggawa wajen yi kuma suka fi dorewa shi ne bayyana, a watan Agusta 1979, cewa Jumma'a ta ƙarshe ta watan Ramadan mai tsarki za ta zama Ranar Quds ta Duniya — ranar da Musulmai a ko'ina cikin duniya za su taru don neman 'yantar da Falasdinu da adawa da mamayar Kudus. Wannan kira ana aiwatar da shi kowace shekara tun daga lokacin, har da daga Kungiyar Musulunci a Najeriya da sauran al'ummomi da yawa a fadin duniyar Musulunci.

Ya kuma bayar, a watan Nuwamba 1979, da wata fatawa ta musamman da ta haramta kerawa, adana, da amfani da makaman nukiliya, yana bayyana cewa irin wadannan makaman suna saba da shari'ar Musulunci — fatawa wadda ta ci gaba da jagorantar manhajar Iran har zuwa yau.

Imam Khomeini ya rasu a ranar 3 ga Yuni 1989, miliyoyin 'yan Iran sun halarci jana'izarsa — ɗaya daga cikin manyan taruka a tarihin zamani. Gādon ya wuce Iran ta hanyar ka'idar velayat-e faqih, goyon bayan marasa ƙarfi, adawa da cin zarafin yamma, da kafa Ranar Quds a matsayin ranar duniya ta adawa.

Ya ƙarfafa kungiyoyin Musulunci a duniya, har da Kungiyar Musulunci a Najeriya wadda Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky ya kafa, kuma an yi nazari kan salon jagorancin siyasarsa na malamai a faɗin duniyar Musulunci. A watan Fabrairu 1989, watanni kaɗan kafin rasuwarsa, ya bayar da wata sananniya fatawa da ta yanke hukuncin kisa ga marubucin Birtaniya-Hindu Salman Rushdie saboda littafinsa The Satanic Verses, wanda Musulmai suka ɗauka a matsayin zagi ga Annabi Muhammadu (tsirar da Allah ta tabbata a gare shi). Fatawar ta kasance wani abu na musamman a dangantaka tsakanin duniyar Musulunci da Yamma, kuma tana ci gaba da tsara muhawara ta duniya kan 'yancin faɗin albacin addini da tsayayyen addini da iyakokin tada hankali.

Imam Khomeini ya ci gaba da zama mutum mai muhimmanci a tattaunawar zamani kan addini, siyasa da adalcin zamantakewa — ana girmama shi da miliyoyin a matsayin mai tsara farfado da Musulunci na zamani kuma wanda ya kafa Jamhuriyyar Musulunci ta farko a zamaninmu.