Was Imam Khomeini Kashmiri?
The shortest answer to this—No, neither Imam Khomeini nor his ancestors were Kashmiri.
However, Imam’s ancestors stayed in India for a period as “temporary migrants,” with most of their lives spent in Kashmir, and only the last part in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Imam Ali’s 19th generation descendant, Syed Shahabuddin, was sent to Kashmir from Iran by his uncle and father-in-law, Mir Sayyid ‘Ali Hamdani, a great mystic of the time, to promote the message of Islam in 766 Hijri.
The family lived in Kashmir for a long time, but they briefly moved out due to group clashes that left many scholars dead.
They migrated from Kashmir and settled in Calcutta, where Syed Ahmad, the grandfather of Imam Khomeini, was born, and some say he was born in Kintoor near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Syed Ahmad eventually settled in Iran, where he married and had children.
He continued to be known by the title “Hindi,” honouring his ancestors buried in Kashmir.
On about 1830, he permanently left India, initially on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Ali (A) in Najaf, Iraq, to escape colonial rule and this journey was carried out with the Nawab of Awadh (possibly he was in Kintoor, Awadh at that time).
In Iraq, he met Yusuf Khan Kamareh’i, who invited him to join him in Khomein, Iran. Syed Ahmad entered Khomein before 1825, during the reign of Mozzafar al-Deen Shah Qajar.
He entered Iran in 1834, bought a house in Khomeini, and purchased more land in and around Khomein.
In 1862, Syed Mustafa, the father of Imam Khomeini, was born in Iran. In 1902, Imam Khomeini was born in Khomein.
When a French journalist in an interview asked Ayatollah Khomeini where he would go if the French government revoked his asylum, he had said, “I would prefer going to Kashmir as I have received an invitation from Aga Syed Yusuf during my time of exile in Iraq,” as mentioned in a book Tajalliyat written by Aga Syed Baqir of Budgam.
Imam Khomeini’s lineage briefly passed through Kashmir-India, but his family’s roots and identity are firmly Iranian Musawi Sadat origin.
The family tree:
Imam Ruhullah Khomeini (born in Iran:1902) ← Mustafa (born in Iran: 1862) ← Ahmad (Born in India: Last member who left India: Kashmir or Uttar Pradesh-Awadh Kintoor of India) ← Mir Gulzar Ali ← Ghulam ← Mir Bahadur ← Mir Darya ← Mir Gohar ← Mir Abdun Nabi ← Mohd ← Mohd Sadiq ← Abdul Hakim ← Abdul Rasul ← Hamza ← Ziauddin ← Mahmud ← Daniyal ← Mina ← Kabir ud deen ← Shams ud deen ← Jamal ud deen ← Shahabuddin (First one who entered Kashmir) ← Azeez ud deen ← Abu Talib ← Muhammad (Imamzadeh Mahruq of Neishapur) ← Hamza ← Ali ← Ja’far ← Muhammad ← Imamzadeh Abu Talib ← Ali ← Imamzadeh Qasim al Arabi ← Imamzadeh Hamza (A) ← Imam Musa Kazim (A) ← Imam Sadiq (A) ← Imam Baqir (A) ← Imam Sajjad (A) ← Imam Husayn (A) ← Imam Ali (A), Sayyidah Fatima (S) ← Prophet Muhammad (S).
There were almost 975 scholars in this lineage, a majority of them (the migrants in Kashmir) are buried in Kashmir. They hold a revered position among Kashmiris.
They brought relics of Ahlulbayt in India, including the handwritten Quran of Imam Musa Kazim (A), which is still preserved in Kashmir.
