(Persian: کشف الأسرار, "Unveiling of Secrets") is a pivotal book written in 1943 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This work represents his first major political statement and offers profound insights into his early ideology regarding the relationship between Islam, the clergy, and the state.
A bad or un-Islamic government must be replaced by a just order overseen by those who know divine law best. What to Look For in a Digital Copy (PDF) kashf ul asrar khomeini pdf
To understand the book, one must understand the era. In the early 1940s, Iran was under the occupation of Allied forces (Britain and the Soviet Union). Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founder of the dynasty, had been forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The political chaos allowed for a surge in secularism and anti-clerical sentiment. What to Look For in a Digital Copy
The book is divided into several chapters, covering topics such as the nature of God, prophethood, Imamate, and Islamic governance. Khomeini presents a nuanced and in-depth analysis of these subjects, drawing on a wide range of sources, including the Quran, hadiths, and the works of prominent Islamic scholars. The political chaos allowed for a surge in
The book is organized into six chapters that mirror the criticisms it aims to refute:
Kashf al-Asrar was written in 1943, shortly after the abdication of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. During Reza Shah's reign, Iran underwent rapid secularization, forcing Western dress, banning traditional Islamic veiling (Hijab), and heavily restricting the power of the Shia clerical establishment ( Ulema ).