One of Imam Ali’s (AS) recommendations to Kumeil Ibn Ziad ,one of his companions

O Kumeil, I swear to Allah that I do not flatter anybody (I do not make any concessions to anybody) to make him obey me. And I do not make empty promises to avoid their defiance. And I do not pretend to have any tendency towards the food of the Bedouin (I do not lead a simple life) to be the believers’ emir

(Tohfatul Oqul, p. 175)

In this part of his will, Imam Ali (AS) renounces the usual and ordinary methods that materialistic people use to obtain leadership and to consolidate and preserve it. Flattery is not always before the people who have power, wealth and high position. Sometimes a ruler flatters his subjects and those who serve him to make them obey him. "I do not give people false hopes and do not entertain them with empty promises to make them obey me, I do not pretend to have a tendency towards the food of the Bedouin, and I do not eat what they eat to attain leadership of the believers." It must be noted that this has been said by someone who ate the simplest food and chose to live in the most difficult conditions. Moreover, he used to say, "I do not engage myself in false pretences and hypocrisy." This is very important for us, and we must hold it up as a model to render our goals and intentions pure and divine and to make sure whatever we do is for Allah's sake

The world [material possessions] is passed from one person to another. Thus, you will be given what belongs to you, although you are weak. And you will suffer from what is against you in the world and you do not have the strength to protect yourself against it. And he who abandons his hopes of obtaining what has passed him by will put his body in peace. And the eyes of the one who is content with what Allah has determined for him will be brightened

Needs must be addressed to Allah and the [appropriate] medium. Thus, ask Allah to fulfill them through the [appropriate] medium. If somebody provides them [needs] for you, take them from Allah with patience

A pious man in the world is the one who is not overwhelmed by illegitimate things (haram) and who is not obsessed with Allah’s blessings so much so that he forgets to thank Him 

Tohfatul Oqul, p. 17

Part of the sermons of Imam Sajjad (AS):

A man told Imam Sajjad (AS), “I love you very much for the sake of Allah.” His Holiness dropped his head and said, “O Allah, I seek protection in You from being loved for Your sake while You Yourself hate me.” Then he told the man: “I love you for the thing for whose sake you love me

Part of the sermons of Imam Sajjad (AS):

O Adam’s descendant, you will stay in goodness as long as you listen to the advice of your inner voice, as long as you consider it as one your important priorities to hold yourself accountable for your own deeds, and as long as you use fear [of Allah] as your motto and abstinence as your clothing

Conditions of Leadership

The necessary conditions to be available in a leader are directly connected to the nature of the Islamic government. Disregarding the general conditions like wisdom and proper management, two basic conditions, i.e. justice and to know the law, should also be available.
Even after the demise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), when the bitter controversy about who would succeed him appeared, there was no theoretical dispute among Muslims over such an issue that his successor should be a knowledgeable and virtuous man. Mainly there were two controversial issues:
1- Since the Islamic government is a government of law, the person who governs should have a wide knowledge of law as it is referred to in traditions. It is necessary for the ruler as well as every one who takes charge of a post or occupies a job to acquire such knowledge; the only difference is that the leader should be the most knowledgeable. Our Infallible Imams (a.) had just used this same point – that the Imam (the religious leader) has to have superiority over others – to prove their imamate. Also, the queries that Shī‘ah scholars raise and criticize others fall within this very domain when they say: the caliph did not know the answer to a question about the Islamic Law or he did a certain act which was against the Islamic law, so he was not qualified for this office.(1)
Muslims consider justice and knowing the law as essential conditions and basic elements while other things are neither significant nor necessary. For example, to know how the angles are or what the characteristics of the Creator (Allah) are has nothing to do with the matter of leadership. Similarly, suppose someone knows everything about physics and has discovered all the natural forces or knows music well, he will neither be qualified to be a caliph nor be given priority – over those who are just and knowledgeable in Islamic law – to occupy the office of leader.
Therefore, what is really related to the caliphate – which was the matter of discussion and talk during the era of the Noble Prophet (s.) and our Infallible Imams (a.) and which is accepted by all Muslims – is that the ruler or the caliph should, firstly, know the Islamic law and, secondly, be just and perfect in both religious beliefs and morals. This fact is admitted by the reason as well because the Islamic government is a government of law and not a government of desires or a dictatorship.
If the leader is not acquainted with law, he will not be competent to govern people. Because if he follows [another person] in taqlīd, that will weaken his power; and if he does not, he cannot put the Islamic law into effect. The tradition that "the Islamic jurists rule over the kings" (الفقهاء حکام علی السلاطین) is undisputed.(2) If kings really follow Islam, they should follow the Islamic jurists and ask their opinion. In this way the jurists themselves will be the real rulers and, therefore, the power should officially be given to them and not to those who are compelled to follow jurists as they do not know the law.
2- A leader should be perfect in religious beliefs and morals, just and spiritually not polluted with sins. The individual who wants to take the responsibility for applying the Islamic penal code properly, to control the Muslims' assets and country's expenditures and wants Allah, the Exalted, to delegate him the administration of His servants’ affairs should not be a sinner because Allah, the Almighty, does not allow a tyrant to have such a power (لاینال عهدی الظالمین).(3)
Unless the ruler is just, he will not administer justice in providing Muslims with their rights, collecting and distributing taxes properly, and putting the penal code into effect. Such a ruler may also make his friends, supporters and relatives take control of people and spend Muslims’ assets in fulfilling his own personal whims and desires.(4)

Biography of Islamic Revolution Leader

Childhood

Ayatullah Haajj Sayyid Ali Khamenei is the son of the late Ayatullah Sayyid Jawad Husaini Khamenei. He was born in Mashhad on the 17th of July 1939, which coincides with the 28th of Safar 1358 Hijri Qamari (lunar year). He was the second son of his parents, born into the house of Sayyid Jawad who lived a very simple life, like many of the scholars of his time, and it was from him that the family learned to live in a humble manner.
Remembering his life in his father’s home Ayatullah Khamenei says:
"My father was a well known religious scholar who was very pious and a bit of a recluse. We had a difficult life. I remember that sometimes at night we didn’t have anything in the house for dinner. Nevertheless my mother would try to scrape something up and that dinner would be bread- and-raisins."

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