On the 4th of November 1963 Ahmad saw his father being arrested once again by the Shah’s officials. Imam Khomeini was busy praying when they came for him. The Imam asked his family to not object to his arrest and to be patient. The government officials speedily took the Imam to the first destination of his exile.
This exile marked the beginning of hardships for Imam Khomeini and his family. Sayyid Mustafa, the Imam’s eldest son, tried to carry out his father’s role in his absence and upheld all the fundamentals of the revolution. The Imam’s family also helped the people and looked out for their interests.
Imam and his son in exile in Turkey
It didn’t take long for the Imam’s brave son, Sayyid Mustafa, to also be arrested and sent to be with his father to Turkey and then Iraq. This gave government officials a false sense of hope and they thought they had finally beaten the movements against the regime. However they were unaware that it is God who is protecting these movements and is giving them strength.
This marked the start of Sayyid Ahmad’s connection with great scholars and Marja’s in Qom. Sayyid Ahmad’s presence in Qom, after his brother and father were exiled, was very important as it kept the movements against the Shah alive and this frightened the Shah and his allies.
After some time Imam Khomeini and his eldest son were moved from Turkey to Iraq and the Imam’s wife also went to Iraq to join her husband. Sayyid Ahmad was left alone and had a great responsibility on his shoulders; he had to keep the revolution alive.