Marja' in the context of "Supreme Leader of Iran"

Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian cleric, politician, political theorist, and revolutionary who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran and served as its first supreme leader from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the main leader of the Iranian Revolution, which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and transformed Iran into a theocratic Islamic republic.

Born in Khomeyn, in what is now Iran's Markazi province, his father was murdered when Khomeini was two years old. He began studying the Quran and Arabic from a young age assisted by his relatives. Khomeini became a high ranking cleric in Twelver Shi'ism, an ayatollah, a marja' ("source of emulation"), a mujtahid or faqīh (an expert in fiqh), and author of more than 40 books. His opposition to the White Revolution resulted in his state-sponsored expulsion to Bursa in 1964. Nearly a year later, he moved to Najaf, where speeches he gave outlining his religiopolitical theory of Guardianship of the Jurist were compiled into Islamic Government.

A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 28 July 1989, alongside presidential elections. Approved by 97.6% of voters, it was the first and so far only time the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been amended. It made several changes to articles 5, 107, 109, 111, and added article 176. It eliminated the need for the Supreme Leader (rahbar) of the country to be a marja or chosen by popular acclaim, it eliminated the post of prime minister, and it created a Supreme National Security Council.

Ayatollah (UK: /ˌaɪəˈtɒlə/, also US: /ˌaɪəˈtoʊlə/; Arabic: آية الله, romanized: ʾāyatu llāh; Persian: آیت‌الله, romanized: âyatollâh [ɒːjjætˌolˈlɒːh]) is a title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century.

Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most distinguished marja' at-taqlid mujtahid, it suffered from "inflation" following the 1979 Iranian Revolution when it came to be used for "any established mujtahid". By 2015, it was further expanded to include any student who had passed their Mujtahid final exam, leading to "thousands" of Ayatollahs.

In Islam, khums (Arabic: خُمْس [xums]) is a tax on Muslims which obligates them to pay one-fifth (20%) of their acquired wealth from the spoils of war and, according to most Muslim jurists, other specified types of income, towards various designated beneficiaries. In Islamic legal terminology, "spoils of war" (al-ghanima) refers to property and wealth looted by the Muslim army after battling with non-Muslims or raiding them. Khums is the first Islamic tax, which was imposed in 2 AH/624 CE, after the Battle of Badr. It is separate from other Islamic taxes such as zakat and jizya. It is treated differently in Sunni and Shia Islam; key topics of debate include the types of wealth subject to khums, the methods of its collection and distribution, and the categories of recipients (asnāf).

Historically, one-fifth of the spoils of war (i.e., the khums) was placed at the disposal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who distributed it among himself, his close relatives, orphans, the needy and travelers (the remaining four-fifth of the spoils went to soldiers of the Muslim army who attacked the non-Muslims). After Muhammad's death, disagreement arose about how to use the share once given to Muhammad and whether to continue to give his close relatives a share of the khums. Over time, Sunni Muslims came to believe that khums should be paid to the ruler of the Islamic state for the general good of the Muslims, maintaining the Muslim army, and for distribution between the orphans, the needy, travelers, and, according to some jurists, the descendants of Muhammad. For the Shia, the khums must be paid to the Imam of the time, as the rightful heir of Muhammad, who then distributes it among the orphans, the needy, the travelers and other descendants of Muhammad. As Twelver Shi'is believe the Imam of the time is currently in Occultation (ghayba), they pay khums to senior religious scholars (mujtahids) of their choice, who are considered representatives of this Hidden Imam, and these jurists then divide the khums into two portions: one for distribution among the indigent descendants of Muhammad and the other for any activities that they believe will be agreeable to the Hidden Imam.