Because of the nature of their contents, these sayings have influenced nearly every branch of Shi'ite learning as well as the daily life of the community. Shi'ite jurisprudence (fiqh) bases itself directly upon this corpus in addition to the Holy Quran. Shi'ite theology (kalam) would be incomprehensible without a knowledge of these sayings. Shi'ite Quranic commentaries draw heavily upon them.
Alipokuwa na umri wa miaka 16, mama na shangazi yake walifariki dunia; na kaka yake, Sayyid Murtaza (mashuhuri kwa jina la Ayatullah* Pasandide) ndiye akawa na jukumu la kusimamia masomo yake. Ayatullah Pasandide alimfundisha Khomeini lugha ya Kiarabu, mantiki* na masomo mengine ya kimsingi.