His holiness Imam Khomeini paid a particular attention to Ramadan in the extent that he would cancel all his routine meetings and purely would dedicate himself just to prayer and the recitation of the Holy Quran. He said “the very Ramadan –and the observance of its special rites- is considered as a full time job”. He would not recite, read or even listen to the poetry during this month and would just drastically change his daily life schedule according to the requirements of this month. The whole month of Ramadan for him was an appreciated opportunity to give prayer, recite the holy Quran and to perform the “Mostahabat” or the recommended rites particularly designed for the days and nights of this very blessed month of Ramadan.
Imam Khomeini would spend the hours of this month to worship and meditate. He considered the prayer as a means of reaching to divine love and vividly said that in the road to love, one should not consider prayer as a means of being rewarded by paradise.
Most relatives and friends of Imam describe that from his very early years of young hood the Night Prayer and observance of nightly “Vigil” or “Tajahud” was a fixed, unchangeable and important part of his schedule. Some remember that at times in the dark of nights when they would very silently and slowly enter Imam’s room, they would witness his truly indescribable, humble and prostration and supplication for Allah.
A member of Imam Khomeini’s office describes that “it had been for fifty years that Imam had managed to wake for the "Night Salat” continuously every night even at nights when he was ill or in prison or in exile and even on bed at the “Heart Hospital”.
Imam paid a particular attention to supererogatory prayers or “The Navafel”, he would never forget that. It's been said that even in very hard bearing climate of summer time in Najaf Imam would always observe his prayers and fasting of Ramadan, though he was in his old ages he would not break his fasting unless he was done with his prayers plus “The Navafel”. He would spend the nights with prayer until the dawn then he would take a short rest after his dawn prayer before being ready for his daily schedule. Zahra Mustafavi says: "Imam’s prayers at night and his weeping and lament at the heart of the night was so that one would unexpectedly burst in cry."
One of the teachers in Qom describes: Once I was spending the night over at Haj Mustafa’s-Imam Khomeini’s son. He did not have a separate house for himself and shared a house with his father Imam Khomeini, after midnight I waked of a weeping and a crying sound. I got worried and said to myself maybe something bad has happened, I waked Haj Mustafa and asked him to go check on the event, he sat in his bed listened and said “worry not this is the sound of Imam’s night prayer and his weeping for God that you hear."
In the blessed month of Ramadan Imam’s nightly prayer and waking plan was done in a very special manner. One of the guards to Imam’s house says: "One night in the month of Ramadan I had to pass by Imam’s room late after midnight. While I was passing by I heard Imam’s prayers and what made me surprised was the sound of Imam’s sobbing, lamentation and cry. Imam’s prayer at night in that very humble manner was extraordinary at that time in the night."
The last month of Ramadan of Imam’s life, as the household of Imam say, was very different than the other years. In past Imam would grab a napkin to wipe his tears off his face while giving prayer at night but in that last month, Imam would also take a small towel to use it for drying his tears as well.