The Imam had a lot of love and affection for his wife such that from his point of view the wife was on one side of the equation and their children on the other side. This fondness was accompanied with exceptional respect. I remember once when the lady had gone on a trip, His Holiness was in extremely low spirits and when he would sulk we would jokingly remind him that if madam was around he would be laughing whereas when she was not around he felt depressed and sulky. Anyway, however hard we tried to tease him we did not succeed in cheering him up. Finally I said: “How fortunate your lady is that you love her so much” to which the Imam replied:”How fortunate am I to have such a wife. Nobody has been more self-sacrificing in life than the lady.”
Name of the narrator: Zahra Eshraqi, special issue of the ‘Etelaat’ daily dated June 02, 1990
Title of the Book: Impressions and Memoirs about Imam Khomeini's Practical Behaviour, vol. 1, chapter one, page 74