مهدی توکلی

Objective: The aim of this study is to explain the function of ethical and spiritual values across three critical stages of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, emergence, continuity, and advancement, based on the intellectual framework of the two leaders of the Revolution (Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei). Accordingly, the research seeks to answer the key question: ‘What role do these values play in guiding the Revolution’s transition from its formative phase toward civilizational development?’ Method: Adopting a qualitative approach and employing a descriptive–analytical method, this study analyzes the content of official documents, writings, and speeches of Imam Khomeini and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, aiming to provide a deep, internal, and religion-based understanding of the phenomenon. Results: The findings demonstrate that ethics and spirituality have functioned not merely as initial catalysts for revolutionary mobilization, but as foundational pillars for sustaining the political legitimacy of the Islamic system and as a robust barrier against secularization. Maintaining social equilibrium and enabling the Revolution to move beyond mere survival toward the realm of civilizational and cultural growth in the future is entirely contingent upon the continuity and institutionalization of this epistemic foundation. Conclusion: The final analysis indicates that the identity of the Islamic Revolution is defined through a triadic interconnection of ethics, spirituality, and politics. Consequently, the realization of any future-oriented strategy, the reproduction of soft power, and the achievement of the New Islamic Civilization are existentially dependent on the institutionalization of the same moral–spiritual foundation that constituted the Revolution’s point of departure. Without it, civilizational development would be unattainable.