At the time of Imam Khomeini’s entrance in Iraq his followers tried their best to prepare a good and warm welcoming for him in different cities of Iraq and especially Najaf, and at the same time the major Marja’s who lived in Iraq cooperated well with them. But as time passed and the first days where gone, this fear rose that maybe the Shah’s plan to make the Imam secluded has been successful.
Hojatoleslam Amid Zanjani says about this issue: “… At first when Imam had arrived to Najaf, mostly people thought that the Shah’s plan to seclude Imam is working, especially that Imam didn’t do as other clerics do to introduce themselves and so this helped the theory of the Shah’s success. So a lot of Imam’s friends worried, and I remember myself worrying then.”
To change this situation Imam used his cleverness in making important decisions, and his friends and students helped him by giving him the latest news. Another important factor that helped Imam to change this situation was his beginning to teach in Najaf and then publishing Imam’s “Tahrir ul-Wasilah” in Arabic.
Beside all these acts, we’ll see what Ayatollah Moslim Malakuti has to say: “Imam had a little room out in the yard of his house, and every day at an appointed time he would’ve seated their while different professors and scholars came to him and the issued scientific discusses and Imam would’ve answered to them… Imam showed his greatness in science this way… these scientific discussions helped more to introduce his great character than his teachings… But in spiritual issues there has been two persons in Najaf that have had their own especial style for entering the holy shrine of Imam Ali (a.s.), the first one was the late Alameh Amini and the second one was Imam Khomeini and his unique way of entering Imam Ali (a.s.)’s holy shrine had made the people and students quite interested in him. Another issue that helped the Imam to improve his position in Najaf was his respect to the great Ayatollah’s of Najaf. Until Ayatollah Hakim lived he didn’t interfere in the issues of Najaf’s Hawzah and if anyone would’ve come to him he would’ve referred him to the great Ayatollah Hakim…”
Source: Oral History of life and Campaigns of Imam Khomeini in Najaf by Akbar Falahi, pages 81-82