It is certain that God’s purpose of the legislation is the realization of justice among people; as He has said: ﴿لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ﴾; “Indeed, We sent Our Messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance so that people rise for justice”, while the sovereignty of oppressors undoubtedly prevents the realization of justice among people, and therefore, legislating obeying and maintaining their sovereignty defeats God’s purpose of the legislation, and it is considered a contradiction in His legislation, which is impossible; as He has said: ﴿أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا﴾; “Do they not ponder on the Quran?! If it had been from anyone other than God, they would surely have found in it many variations”. [Return to Islam, p. 69]
It is clear that the sovereignty of oppressors, even though it does not require their followers to oppose the intellect and the religion, at least requires their own opposition to the intellect and the religion, and therefore, maintaining their sovereignty, even though it is without obeying them in cases that they oppose the intellect and the religion, means maintaining their opposition to the intellect and the religion, which is considered as providing help to it and consequently opposing the intellect and the religion; as God Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ﴾; “And do not help one another in sins and transgressions”. [Return to Islam, pp. 69 and 70]
It is evident that believing in the obligation of obeying oppressive rulers and maintaining them is one of the most ominous prevalent beliefs among Muslims, which has led to the weakening of Islam, the fall of Islamic civilization, and the spread of the impediments to cognition among Muslims; because oppressive rulers for many centuries, by abusing this baseless belief promoted by fools affiliated to them, have changed the beliefs and rulings of Islam one after another in their own favor, and formalized an understanding of it that is in accordance with their desires, and in the meantime, the Ahl al-Hadith have always been at their service like puppet hirelings. [Return to Islam, pp. 70 and 71]
Even now, some survivors of those who consider themselves Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah have made oppressive rulers dominate Islamic lands, and consider obeying and protecting them one of their Islamic obligations; to the extent that in every Islamic land, a tyrant dictator is ruling and spending Muslims’ wealth, lives and honor on his greed, while none of them dares to oppose him or recognizes the right to confront him; to the extent that the most tyrannical and corrupt governments are in Islamic lands, and oppression that exists among Muslims does not exist among disbelievers! [Return to Islam, p. 72]
Manifest disbelief is denying God or His Prophet or the Day of judgment or the essentials such as prayer and fasting, and disbelief of one who acknowledges these things is not manifest, even though it can be deduced. Therefore, rising up against a Muslim ruler under the pretext that he has committed manifest disbelief is not justified; rather, the only permit to rise up against him is his oppression on Muslims. [Return to Islam, p. 72]
Look at the lives of those who passed away and take lesson from their end; those who forgot the days of God and denied His blessings, so the sword of misery fell on their necks, and the arrow of destruction landed on their chests, then they perished as if they had never been in the world! Now you have dwelt in their lands, and built houses over their ruins, so do not take their paths, nor follow their traditions, otherwise what befell them will befall you, then you will become a lesson to those who will come after you, as they have become a lesson to you. [Letter six]
Inform me of flowers of the earth, can they grow when there are weeds and thorn bushes among them?! Likewise, you cannot grow as long as you are afflicted with passions and attachments; for they will weaken your strength and waste your time... As milk is not poured into contaminated vessels, knowledge is not put in corrupt hearts, and as gems are not thrown in the trash can, wisdom in not put in impure chests; so that those who have removed evil thoughts from their hearts gain knowledge, and those who have driven doubts out of their chests gain wisdom, and those who have evil thoughts and doubts remain in ignorance and neglect. [Letter six]
Listen to my words to find knowledge, and ponder on it to gain wisdom; for I train you with them, as a gardener grows fruit trees, in order to make you a sufficient group for the Caliph of God on the earth. Indeed, you were created for the Hereafter and not for the world; so work for the Hereafter and do not get attached to the world. You are like a sailor on the sea whose ship was wrecked in a storm; he then hung on to a board and landed on an unknown island. When he regained consciousness and walked across it, he realized that the island is uninhabited, and there are predators and little water and food on it. Tell me about him, does he get attached to this island and start building mansions, as if he will stay there forever, or does he become content with finding a shelter and start building a ship and collect provisions in order to save himself?! [Letter six]
We live in a time that the ornaments of the world have increased, and fitnah and chaos have spread. People have forgotten God, and He has forgotten them as well. In such a disastrous time, only those whom the world has not changed can change the world... When people are busy with the world, you get busy with the Hereafter to surpass them. Do not grieve over the world; for the world does not grieve over you. Let it be a pasture for those who do not believe in the signs of God, nor do they know any difference between humanity and animality. They are for it and it is for them. They are like a child who plays on the beach and builds himself structures from the sand and thinks that they will last, but suddenly a wave comes and destroys them all; so the child falls into sorrow and looks at the sands with regret that how much he has suffered in vain! [Letter six]
Where are my true helpers? Where are those who, like Christ, left the world behind and were freed from any attachment to it? Where are those who were companions of death and saw God in front of them? They wept out of fear of fire, as if they were bereaved parents! They looked around the sky as if they saw the Angels throughout it! They worshiped God and avoided worshiping taghut. They obeyed their leader and competed with each other to help him. It was as if they were steel boards or soaring mountains! When they attacked the enemy in their ranks, it was as if they launched tornadoes and sandstorms. They watched their behavior and knew the proper time for any word. They were adorned with good morals and pure from evil morals. They were unknown on the earth and well known in the sky. Dust sat on them, and their faces were pale. They were like honey beehives during the nights! They spend the nights in performing the prayer, asking for forgiveness and reciting the Quran, and spend the days in gaining knowledge, jihad and serving people. They were neither exhausted nor hesitant. May God have mercy on them. They spent their time and left, and now you are left for us. So make the effort to be good successors to them, and follow their footsteps, and know that you will not see the Faraj unless you are like this. [Letter six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “God is the light of the skies and the earth”, so he said: He is their Guide, and the light of God is His guidance, and it is “in houses that God has permitted to be raised up and His name to be mentioned therein”, and they are the houses of the Prophets, “in them, morning and evening, He is praised by men that no business or occupation makes them neglect the remembrance of God”, and they are the households of the Prophets, do you not see that He says they praise Him morning and evening in them? So they are their family, and God’s guidance does not leave the houses of the Prophets until the Day of Judgment arrives, then seek it from the household of the Prophet, and do not seek it from others, for you will go astray! [Passage 29 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: In the midst of this era, in this time that the sun of the religion is hidden behind dark clouds, God has servants that He is always in their hearts. They light a lamp in the eyes of people from the light of vigilance, and remind people of the days of God, and inform them of the exemplary fate of those who passed away. They are like guides in horrible and unmarked desserts. They give good tidings to those who joined the truth, and warn those who turned to falsehood. Yes, in the corners of this vast earth, there are people for God who have chosen the remembrance of God over the attachments of the world, and trading does not keep them from performing the prayer at its initial time. They spend day and night worshipping God, and convey His warnings to the heedless. They invite others toward justice, and practice it themselves before them. They have abandoned the world, and joined people of Heaven. It is as if they have left this world, and migrated to the Hereafter, or are still in the world and have seen what is behind the veil. It is as if they know about the hidden conditions of people of Barzakh, and spent some time in it. It is as if the Day of Judgment has shown them its horrible face, or the blazing fire of Hell has engulfed them. It is as if they see secrets that others do not see, and hear things that people do not hear. [Saying eleven]
Translation of the saying: If you find them and see their high position that how they have opened their book of deeds and are prepared for judgment; they contemplate how many big and small works they were commanded and failed to do, and how many works they were forbidden to do but did! They feel the weight of their sins and are unable to bear them, and have been brought to their knees, weeping and writhing as if in pain. How many nights they are unable to sleep and sit in a dark and lonely corner, hugging their knees and thinking! Sometimes they stand up for the prayer, and sometimes they prostrate, and sometimes they stare at the sky with eyes overflowing with tears, as if they are looking for something among its stars. If the veil is lifted from before your eyes, you will see the Angels have descended upon and surrounded them, and the doors of the sky have opened to them, and Heavens full of blessings have been prepared for them. [Saying eleven]
Translation of the saying: O people! Know that no treasure is of use to you more than knowledge, and people are one of the three: one who knows, one who seeks to know, and one who is no one. O people! Do not immerse yourselves in your lives, and do not remain unaware of what is happening in your world and your Hereafter. Unawareness is nowadays a great sin. Incline toward the Quran and act on it. Know the Sunnah of the Prophet and his household and follow it. Use your intellects and assess the words of these people –and he pointed toward the scholars and elders of the village; if you found them in accordance with your intellects and in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah, accept it, otherwise throw them into the wall, and I shall bear its sin. Do not consider anyone worthy of obedience except for God and His Caliphs on the earth; for the Jews went astray because they obeyed their scholars and elders; as it has been said in the Quran: ﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾; “They considered their scholars and monks as lords apart from God”. Imitation withers the root of the intellect and leaves no room for thinking. [Saying fourteen]
Translation of the saying: Do not be prejudiced toward your old beliefs and misconceptions, for such a prejudice is a gate from the gates of Hell. The best of you is one who has more knowledge, not one who performs the prayer and fast more. Faith and righteous deed are joined together like these two fingers of mine –and he joined the middle and index fingers together-, and neither of them will benefit you without the other. Faith is correct beliefs, and one who does not have correct beliefs will not gain salvation, even if he is one of the most devout worshipers. So put your beliefs in the balance of the intellect, and present them to the Quran and the Sunnah, lest you go astray. Do not fall in love with the world, nor sell your Hereafter for it. Whoever has sold his Hereafter for this world has made a loss-making deal and gone bankrupt. Do not follow your desires, for there is no end to desires, rather listen to the call of conscience, for it will not bring about regret. My last word to you is, know the Imam of your time; because whoever does not know the Imam of his time does not known his religion, and there is no good in such a person [By “the Imam of the time”, he means the one whom God has appointed as the Imam for people of this time, and he is Mahdi, peace be upon him]. [Saying fourteen]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: The Imam is called “the Caliph of God on earth” from this aspect that God has placed him on earth and he leads by the command of God, and this is a correct attribution, like the words of those who say: “The soul of God” and “the House of God” and “the earth of God”, and its application to Adam peace be upon him has been mentioned in the narration of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and its application to Mahdi in the narration of “al-Rāyāt” is proved, But the ignorant people think that it is not a correct attribution and the ignorance of some of them has reached a point where they have considered the narration of al-Rāyāt to be correct except for the part that mentions “the Caliph of God Mahdi”, and the most ignorant of them have exaggerated so much in opposing this attribution that have considered the one who says it as a sinner; with this reasoning that only a person can have a caliph who disappears or dies, but God does not disappear and does not die, and (with this reasoning that) someone said to Abu Bakr: “O caliph of God” then Abu Bakr said: “I am not the caliph of God”, whereas this speech is a great ignorance; because attribution of Caliph to God is the attribution of ownership and respect; like the word of God who has said: “My soul” and “My House” and “My earth”, and whoever does not understand this is far from knowledge, like the distance of the west from the east, and Abu Bakr forbade its application to himself because he was not the Caliph of God; because God had not appointed him, but people had appointed him, ... and whoever has such a state should not be called “the Caliph of God”, ... as it has been narrated that a man called ‘Umar ibn Abd al-‘Aziz and said: “O caliph of God on earth”! So ‘Umar said to him: “Come on! ... when you entrusted me with the reins of your affairs, you called me Amir al-Mu’minin, so if you call me Amir al-Mu’minin, I will answer as well, but I am not the Caliph of God on earth, rather the Caliph of God on the earth is Prophet Dāwud peace be upon him and the likes of him”, ... and the Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, has called Mahdi “the Caliph of God” because God has appointed him as a Caliph on earth, and he leads by the command of God like Dāwud peace be upon him... [Lesson one, p. 22]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from Sa’d ibn Abdullah, from Muhammad ibn Isā, from Safwān ibn Yahyā, from ibn Muskān, from Hasan ibn Ziyād, from Abu Abdullah — meaning Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq — peace be upon him that said: People are not ordered and the earth does not get reformed except by the Imam.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: We believe in this and invite toward this, and he said: The situation of people will always get worse until they return toward the Imam whom God has commanded them to obey. [Lesson one, p. 32]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from Sa’d, from Muhammad ibn Isā ibn Ubayd, from Muhammad ibn Sinān and Safwān ibn Yahyā and Abdullah ibn Mughayrah and Ali ibn al-Nu’mān all of them, from Abdullah ibn Muskān, from Abu Baseer, from Abu Abdullah — meaning Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq — peace be upon him that said: Indeed, God has not left the earth be unless there is a knowledgeable one therein who knows excess and defect, so that if the believers increased, he makes them return, and if they decreased, he completes for them, so he says: ‘Take it completely’, and if had not been like this, the affairs of the believers would have become doubtful for them, and the truth would have not been distinguished from falsehood.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: This is our speech that we say to people: Take the religion completely and purely, so that no defect be in it nor any excess with it, for its likeness is that of fire, if it increases it burns the food, and if it decreases it does not cook it. [Lesson one, p. 37]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through a deceased Imam; because His worship on it is establishment of the limits and enforcement of the laws and management of the properties and performing Jihad against His enemies, and these works need a living Imam. So if he dies or get killed, God replaces him with someone like him or better than him, according to His tradition regarding abrogating and making forgotten; as He has said: “Any sign which We abrogate or make it to be forgotten, We bring a sign better than it or like it. Have you not known that God is Capable in doing everything?” and Ja’far ibn Muhammad peace be upon them, referred to this speech of mine, in that which has been narrated from him, when he said to Isā ibn Abdullah: Know that O Isā, you will not be faithful until you know the abrogator from the abrogated, he said: May I be your sacrifice, what is to know the abrogator from the abrogated? He said: Is it not that you are with the Imam while you have made yourself obey him with goodwill, then he passes away and another Imam comes, then you make yourself obey him with goodwill? He said: Yes, he said: This is to know the abrogator from the abrogated, and it has been narrated that Mu’allā ibn Khunays asked him about a narration which has been received from the past Imams, so he said: Take it as long as it comes to you through a living Imam, then if it came to you through a living Imam, take his speech. [Lesson one, p. 42]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through an absent Imam; because he cannot establish the limits and collect the charities and enforce the laws and fight against the enemies in his absence, and if someone other than him carries them out, he will fail in many of them; because God would not guide him and would not bestow the success on him, and if he accomplishes something, it will not be accepted from him; because he has not accomplished it through the way God had commanded, whereas God has said: “Beneficence is not that you enter houses from behind them, but the benefactor is someone who acts upon piety, and enter houses through their doors, and fear God, may it be that you gain salvation”. [Lesson one, p. 42]
Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is the Imam of all Muslims and does not belong to a particular madhhab, but some Islamic madhhabs may have more knowledge about him. In fact, his relationship to Muslims is like that of Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, to them; all of them accept him as a Caliph, but some of them consider him as the fourth Caliph and some of them as the first Caliph. But there are less disagreements among them about Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him; because they all consider him to be the twelfth Caliph and appointed by God and His Prophet. They only disagree about the name of his father and the time of his birth, and this disagreement does not harm the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent; because the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent does not stem from the name of his father or the time of his birth, but from the necessity of his advent as the Caliph of God and His Prophet, whether the name of his father is Abdullah or Hasan, and whether he was born before or will be born later. [Question and Answer 26]
The manner of Imam Mahdi for introducing Islam to people of the world is the manner of his ancestor, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which is to invite them to one of the three:
1. Converting to true Islam and abandoning false religions
2. Submitting to rulings of the true Islam while remaining true to their religions
3. Fighting
Of course, it is clear that because of his perfect knowledge about what God has sent down by virtue of him being God’s Caliph on the earth, and his complete purity from all impurity by virtue of him being a member of the Ahl al-Bayt, he will invite with wisdom and good advice as long as he is an inviter, rule justly as long as he is a ruler, and observe all rulings of God regarding fighting, peace, the promise of security, prisoners and spoils as long as he fights, and will not oppress anyone in any of these three. [Question and Answer 67]
It is not intellectually or religiously impossible for Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, to have a successor or messenger or child, based on the statement that he exists at the present time; because Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, based on the statement that he exists at the present time, is a human being like other people, and consequently, like any of them, he can delegate some of his works to someone else, or send a messenger, or take a wife to have a child with, however, considering that being a successor or messenger or child of someone is against the principle, the claimant must prove it with a valid religious reason, but it is clear that dreams or ahad narrations are not valid religious reasons; because there is nothing in the Quran and the Sunnah that indicates the permissibility of acting on a dream in order to accept the claims of people when they have no proof or the proof is against them, and it is not acceptable from a judge to adjudicate without a proof or against it, with the excuse that he has dreamed about it. Therefore, one cannot believe or act on something for which there is no proof from the intellect and the religion, with the reasoning that he saw something in a dream that indicates it, and this is explicitly stated in the Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them; as they have said: “Indeed, the religion of God is more firm than to be seen in dreams”. The only exception to that is what an infallible person sees; like what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw... and also what a fallible person sees but an infallible person interprets; like what Pharaoh saw, and Yusuf, peace be upon him, interpreted... Therefore, other dreams that people see or interpret have no validity and cause conjecture at most; as the issuance of ahad narrations is conjectural, so it is not permissible to act on them in what is related to the religion; because of the explicit of the words of God Almighty that has said: “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. Therefore, the claimants who now, by relying on dreams and interpreting some ahad narrations, consider themselves to be children, successors and messengers of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, claim something that cannot be religiously acknowledged. [Question and Answer 4]
The true ground preparers for the advent of Mahdi are a group of people from Khorasan, who have risen with the black flags in order to search for Mahdi and invite people toward him with a pure invitation, without any polytheism and Shubha, and their leader, Mansoor, is a righteous scholar who does not say anything undue about himself. He does not claim to be Mahdi nor his child nor his successor nor his messenger, but he practically invites people toward him, and actually prepares the ground for his advent, and Whoever God has wanted good for him will rush toward him, even though by crawling on snow. [Question and Answer 4 Appendices]
A very important rule that every Muslim must know and pay attention to is that conjecture has no authority in Islam. God Almighty has explicitly stated in the Quran: ﴿إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾ which means, “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”, and He has rebuked those who follow conjecture and said: ﴿إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ﴾ which means, “They follow nothing but conjecture and do nothing but guess”. This means that Muslims’ beliefs and actions must always be based on certainty, and those beliefs and actions that are based on conjecture, are not correct nor acceptable to God. This is while imitating others in beliefs and actions, in the sense of following their words and deeds without knowing their reasons, obviously does not lead to certainty, but leads to conjecture, and therefore, according to the explicit words of God Almighty in His Book, “[It] is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. But the proof of those who believe imitation in actions is permissible is that they consider actions to be different from beliefs, whereas this difference is not proved in Islam, and God’s words in the Quran are general and include both beliefs and actions. This means that every Muslim must learn his Islamic beliefs and actions, just as he learns reading, writing and other necessities of life, and must not accept or perform any belief and action unless with a certain reason, and the certain reasons in Islam, as explained by Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, in his book Return to Islam, are the verses of the Quran and mutawatir Hadiths and of course hearing from the Caliph of God on the earth. This is the pure and complete Islam which is not tainted by conjectures. [Question and Answer 1]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is just a Muslim scholar who has risen up with the purpose of making Mahdi, peace be upon him, appear and bringing him to power, and invites Muslims to pledge allegiance to him instead of pledging allegiance to others, and in this way, he prepares the ground for the establishment of the pure and perfect Islam in this world, and for this reason, it is obligatory for every Muslim to support him. However, if it has been made clear to you and to some other Muslims, for whatever reason, that in addition to this objective and evident character, he is also a promised person, supporting him is a fortiori obligatory for you; as supporting him is also obligatory for Muslims to whom this matter has not been made clear; because this Muslim scholar invites toward Mahdi, peace be upon him, and prepares the ground for his advent in a perceptible and evident manner, and this is sufficient for every Muslim to support him; as God Almighty has said: “And help one another in goodness and piety”. [Critique and Response 15]
Although some Muslims from among people of knowledge consider him the promised person who will prepare the ground for the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, and believe that it is obvious in view of his intellectual, practical and outward characteristics, and there is no need for doubt and dispute in this regard, but he does not direct his concern to such a claim, and only strives to prepare the ground for the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, in a practical and realistic manner, and believes that the intellectual and religious necessity to accompany him in this regard is dependent on this practical and realistic preparation, not on his claim that he is the promised person; because there are many who claim that they are promised people, but there is not a single person who prepares the ground for his advent in a practical and realistic manner! Considering that claimants have no concern but to prove their claim, and do nothing but dispute about who they are and what their status and virtue are, while clearly, the stature of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is beyond such selfish acts, and he is busy with more important works than them, which is teaching the pure and perfect Islam to Muslims of the world and training a sufficient number of them in order to help Mahdi, peace be upon him; the works that if accomplished by him, the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, will be realized, even though no one considers him the promised person who will prepare the ground for it. [Critique and Response 10]
It is clear that whoever believes in the oneness of God in creation, legislation and sovereignty, and believes in His last Prophet, Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and does not deny any of the pillars of His religion such as the Book, the Angels, the Day of Judgment, the Qiblah, prayer, Zakat, fasting, Hajj and jihad, is a Muslim, even though he does not think like you about the rest of his beliefs and has a different interpretation. This is a well-known fact from the Book of God and the mutawatir Sunnah of His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the righteous predecessors were in agreement with it, to the extent that it may be considered one of the obvious facts of Islam, and its denier can be accused of ignorance and misguidance. Therefore, it is clear that “all Shias” are not considered disbelievers and polytheists; because most of them believe in the oneness of God, His last Prophet, and the pillars of His religion; so considering all of them as disbelievers and polytheists, even though due to some of their deviations and mistakes, is pure imperiousness and unfairness. [Critique and Response 11]
Interpreting the verse of purification as Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, and not interpreting it as the mothers of believers, is the interpretation of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which has been narrated from him by many of his companions, such as Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, Anas ibn Malik, Wathila ibn al-Asqa‘, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, Zayd ibn Arqam, Bara’ ibn Azib, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abu Huraira, Abu Hamra, Abu Barza, Umm Salamah, Aisha, Safiyya, and others, and it has been narrated that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said explicitly: “This verse was revealed concerning five persons: I, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain: ‘Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure’”, and that one of the wives of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “I said: O Messenger of God, am I not one of the Ahl al-Bayt? He said: You are upon good, you are one of the wives of the Messenger of God”, and in another narration: “I said: O Messenger of God, what about me? Then I swear to God, he did not say yes, and said: You are upon good”, and in another narration: “I said: O Messenger of God, am I not one of the Ahl al-Bayt? He said: You are one of the wives of the Messenger of God, and did not say: You are one of the Ahl al-Bayt”. Therefore, he made it clear that his wives are not from the members of his Ahl al-Bayt intended in the verse of purification. [Critique and Response 11]
Zayd ibn Arqam, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, Wathila, Umm Salamah and Safiyya have narrated that the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾; “Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure” was revealed separately in the house of Umm Salamah as an actuality-proposition, and was not revealed with the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى ۖ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾, which means: “And stay in your houses, do not flaunt your charms as in the former times of ignorance, perform prayer, pay zakat, and obey God and His Messenger”, and this indicates that they are two separate verses that were brought together in writing; considering that the order of writing the verses does not correlate with the order of their revelation. What strengthens this fact is the difference in pronouns in the two parts; because the pronoun in the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ...﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural feminine, but the pronoun in the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural masculine; as al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) has also pointed this out in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, when he said after mentioning the narrations: “What we narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, (that said) to Umm Salamah, indicates that the verse intends the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, peace be upon them, not other than them. So if one says: The Book of God indicates that the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, are the ones whom are intended in this verse; because before that in the same chapter He said: ‘O Prophet! say to your wives: If you’ to His words ‘as in the former times of ignorance’ then He said: ‘Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you’, our answer to him is: What has been stated in it up to before His words: ‘Indeed, God wants to’, addresses his wives, then God continued His words by addressing his Ahl (al-Bayt): ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’, and it addresses men, because He said in it: ‘to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you pure’, and this is how men are addressed, while what comes before that, uses the letter ‘N («ن»)’, and this is how women are addressed. So we understand that ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’ is an address to men whom He has willed to make them aware of His honor for them and His elevation in their dignity, if He made their women what He has described, for what has been stated in the verses before the one addressing them”, and it is not just al-Tahawi that has said so, but rather ibn Atiyyah (d. 542 AH) has attributed it to the majority, and said after pointing out the narrations: “One of the proofs of the majority is God’s words: «عَنْكُمُ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ» with the letter ‘M («م»)’, while if it had been exclusive to women, it would have been «عَنْكُنَّ»”. [Critique and Response 11]
Some people are those who understand the book, but they do not consider its content rightful because of its novelty and freshness and also its obvious difference compared with common and famous readings, at least in some cases. this method is not a right method either! Because everything except for the sacred essence of God is a creation, and has been created from a point in time forward, and this is not a reason for its nullity and invalidity! In fact, the old beliefs and deeds that people consider them good and are used to them, did not exist from the beginning and they are new compared to beliefs and deeds that were before them, and if we accept this method, it is clear there will remain no truth after! It is obvious that this habit is false and has a psychological and mental root and must be eliminated. The correct way that the Holy Quran praises, is to pay attention to all speeches, regardless of their time and location and speaker, and to follow the best word by relying on intellect as a criterion for cognition and avoid the impediments to cognition. [Article 4]
Another group are some scholars and celebrities who receive the news about the book, but because they consider themselves entirely knowledgeable and perfect and without need to ask and know, they may not refer to the book or may read the book but their pride does not allow them to bow down before its facts and to say something about it. Of course, these people have made a mistake in their calculations in several respects. Because on the one hand, accepting a wrongdoing and confessing to an ignorance not only does not bring down someone’s rank nor dignity, but rather it will bring them up. On the other hand, the real greatness is someone who is great before God, not before people, and the true prominent is someone who is prominent in the heaven, not on the earth! And only those are great before God and are prominent in His pure heaven who are afraid of Him and are pious, and see and listen to the truth and express it and follow it and invite toward it. But unfortunately, few people understand this great truth. Furthermore, eventually whether these so-called great people and celebrities want it or not, the truth traverses its path and reaches the point of destination and by that day, there will be nothing left for this group except for scandal! Hence, intellect commands that today they should think of tomorrow, and today they should step over their pride, so that tomorrow all their existence would not be stepped over! [Article 4]
Some people also look at the book with their preconceptions. They have not yet seen and read it, they deny it and consider it invalid and label it a lot. They are those who have already taken their decisions and if they read the book, they read it not for understanding and guidance and promotion, but for defamation, denegation, making excuses and mockery, and they are not seeking wisdom and guidance. This group, only on that day of regret in which the eyes will be out of the pupils, will understand that how fast they made decision and were deceived by the devil and lost the field... A group of people are also so prejudiced such that as soon as they confront the slightest difference in the book with things and people whom they believe in, lose their control with no hesitance and cast aspersion, use invective language, insult and practice accusation. This group also will only understand the truth in the day that will be entered into the hellfire with their beloveds and idols. A fire that has been ignited by their blind prejudice and ignorant disgrace. That day is the day of a great regret, and from that day we must seek refuge toward God... Some people are also so much of imitators that they do not even drink water without the permission of their imitative authority and forerunner, let alone reading, understanding and obligation to a valuable book such as “Return to Islam”! They also close their eyes as soon as they encounter the book, and do whatever their imitative authority and forerunner states. They will also face a great regret in a hard day when their imitative authority and forerunner will not help them. [Article 4]
Some people also read this honorable book and find out its hierology, but in the turmoil of sedition, chaos, marginalization, demagogy and poisonous propagandas of the enemies of God are being deceived and pessimistic, and their hearts become darkened, and instead of the context they consider the margin, and ultimately get far away from the truth. Of course, there is no doubt that those sedition-makers who prevent from the path of God, first of all are in charge of that great sin and a painful torment awaits them. These demagogue, despite the openness of the gate of scholarly and logical critique, since they have no proof and logic, try to poison the environment. But anyway, the audience of this honorable book must know that the truthful movement of all Prophets and Guardians of God throughout history has been accompanied by poisoning, insulting, accusing, sedition-making of authoritarians, tyrants and dictators, and the enemies of God have always poisoned the environment in the worst manner, and prevented people from the path of God. Hence, this is not something new that has happened and the audience of this honorable book must consider its proofs and reasons freely and fairly, and regardless of the temporary emotions and false excitements, should find the truth and act in accordance with its requirements, Insha’Allah. [Article 4]
In fact, maybe by relying on the pure hierology “criterion and impediments to cognition” which his Excellency Allamah has explained in the honorable book “Return to Islam”, one can say that whenever someone adheres to the criterion of cognition and stays away from the impediments to cognition, will achieve the truth by the permission of God, and by the divine success, will be successful in performing its requirements. But the point here is that the book Return to Islam is the starting point. The book begins with epistemology and then teaches us the correct way of cognition, and then does not abandon us, but rather in the very same way that taught us that, shows us the truth of Islam and the true Islam. One may say that this honorable book provides a thorough and comprehensive knowledge for its reader that this knowledge (certainty) is an introduction for action. But it is important that this thorough and comprehensive knowledge has a brief knowledge in its introduction, and that is the knowledge of our ignorance. It means someone who presumes that he/she does not know something and it is possible that he/she is wrong, and also presumes that those whom he/she is in love with and respects and obeys, have been wrong, such a person finds the book and goes to a corner and with these mere possibilities and with fairness and without suspicion, reads it and will be guided by God’s will. We may bring an example to clarify this subject which is in fact an example from Quran. A doctor can treat and heal a patient by the permission of God, but cannot do the same for a dead person! His Excellency Allamah can guide those who are sick but alive with this honorable book by the permission of God. Someone whose heart is dead in the marsh of compound ignorance and the fear of non-God and ignorant prejudices and arrogance and blind imitation, cannot be brought to path of truth with any wisdom. As He has said: ﴿وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُورِ﴾. Therefore, it is necessary for me and people to seek refuge to God from these defects that will kill the wisdom and sicken the heart, and we should ask Him for guidance and progression, May it be with His compassion, people’s heart soften, and they return to His Caliph on earth and establish pure and complete Islam and universal justice on earth, and this is the cognition which the great scholar Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, has explained in his book and invites toward it . And praise be to God, the lord of the worlds. [Article 4]
