Another common type of imitation is following the sayings and actions of scholars; because most of Muslims consider the sayings and actions of scholars as the religion, and do not know any difference between them, whereas the religion is certainly not the sayings and actions of scholars, rather it is the sayings and actions of God Almighty, and there is no correlation between them, and their compatibility with each other is not certain; as incompatibility of many sayings and actions of scholars with the religion is evident. [Return to Islam, p. 57]
Many Muslims, especially in countries such as Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, believe that it is obligatory for every Muslim to pick a marja’ in order to imitate him, and think that taking action without doing so is false and unacceptable, while the reason of most of them for this belief is the fatwa of their scholars on it, and this means imitating them based on imitation, which is a false and meaningless cycle. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
Imitation is contrary to the natural principle, and therefore is indispensable for a reason, and its reason cannot be based on itself; so there is no choice but to practice ijtihad in imitation, while they are often imitators in their imitation; because they do not know any reason for it from the religion or the intellect, except for an illusion that has been created for some of them, which is that imitating scholars is from this aspect that the intellectuals refer to the expert, while this illusion is far from reality; because in the opinion of the intellectuals, the expert vary depending on subjects about which they are referred to, and in their opinion, an expert in the religion is one referring to whom brings about certainty for them, such as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, not one referring to whom just leads to conjecture, such as mujtahids. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
To be fair, absolute obedience to someone who may willingly or unwillingly command against the commandment of God and the Prophet is not rational nor can it be obligatory, and this is one the clear and essential issues in Islam; to the extent that it is not unlikely that one who believes in it is a stupid and considered as a minor like children; especially considering that absolute obedience to a non-infallible person and giving him the authorities of an infallible person are usually the sources of various fitnahs and great corruptions such as political tyranny, and this is sufficient to avoid them. [Return to Islam, p. 61]
Imitating scholars does not suffice in any way, and ijtihad is obligatory for all Muslims; of course, if ijtihad means certain cognition of the beliefs and rulings of Islam; because if it means conjectural cognition of them, even by relying on ahad narrations and illusions such as consensus, it is not much different from imitation and therefore does not suffice; because the reason that imitation does not suffice is that relying on uncertainties in the beliefs and rulings of the religion does not suffice, and this reason is common between imitation and ijtihad which is based on uncertainties, and consequently, ijtihad which is based on uncertainties does not suffice, even though it is better than imitation; rather, whatever is necessary for certain cognition of the beliefs and rulings of the religion is obligatory for all Muslims. [Return to Islam, p. 62]
Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it, but you have despaired of His mercy and neglected His Mahdi, and therefore, you have entrusted the government which He has wanted for His Mahdi to those for whom He has not wanted a government! It seems the government is the inheritance of your fathers that you take it from whomever you want and give it to whomever you want, and it seems it does not belong to God who has said: ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ﴾; “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”, and He has given it to Ibrahim and made a covenant with the just from among his descendants, and said: ﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا ۖ قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ﴾; “And when God tested Ibrahim with some words, then he fulfilled them, He said: I am going to appoint you as an Imam for people, he said: And also my descendants? He said: My covenant does not reach the oppressors”, and the just from among his descendants are those whom God has willed to remove all impurity from them and to purify them completely, and they are in the Book of God the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family[3], and it is hereby understood that Mahdi of God is from the household of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and whoever chooses a ruler other than him has gone far astray. [Letter fourteen]
It is surprising that people in every era have pledged allegiance to someone and made the covenant of guardianship with someone but have not known that no one can accomplish it and do it justice, except for the one whom God has guided and enabled to do so!... Do people not have eyes to see that their rulers are all oppressors and do not do justice?! Or do they not have ears to hear that their politicians are all liars and do not tell the truth?! Or do they not have intelligence to find out that their leaders all mislead and do not lead?! So how long will this pus-filled wound be opened, and how long will this madness continue?! Beware, O people! Tell me! How long should you, like dead drunks, stagger from the right to the left and from the left to the right until you finally understand that the right and the left are the same for you, and there is no justice in either of them?! Tell me! How many other governments should you test, and how much other obedience should you pay the price for until you finally find out that no government but the government of God will bring you to justice, and no obedience but the obedience to His Caliph will free you from oppression?! Is this thousands of years of experience not enough?! Are these heavy prices not enough?! Did you not hear Nimrods and Pharaohs? Did you not bear Khosrows and Caesars?! Did you not see caliphs and kings?! Did you not test republics and Islamics?! So have you not yet learned your lesson?! [Letter fourteen]
Beware, O cruel kings and emirs who shed the blood of the innocent to gain and maintain domination! Beware, O hypocritical jurists and mullahs who unrightfully consider yourselves to be appointed by God and guardians of Muslims of the world! Beware, O greedy politicians who vie to take over the government! Beware, O deceitful political parties who seek nothing but power! Beware, O criminal cults and groups who strive to achieve superiority on the earth! Leave these troubled people alone and go away from between them and their owner! Are thousands of years of oppression and corruption not enough?! Is a history of humiliation and poverty not enough?! Are you not tired of all these evil doings and giving rise to fitnahs?! Then when will you end this childish game?! Then when will you stop these repetitive methods?! [Letter fourteen]
O people! Is it not time for you to return to your origin?! Is it not time for you to remember the covenant of God with your father Adam?! Is it not time for you to give the trust back to its owner and return the government to the one who deserves it?! Do you still have hope in these colorful governments? Do you still think that if Amr comes to power instead of Zayd, things will go right?! How many Amrs came to power instead of Zayds, but things did not go right; because things will go right by something else, but you are unaware! Then how long will you sit in the hope of this and that and raise the flags of this and that high?! How long will you humiliate yourselves and kiss the hands of this and that?! How long will false promises deceive you and vain desires play you?! How long will you, like donkeys in a mill, spin around an axis and have the illusion of making progress?! [Letter fourteen]
How is it that for thousands of years you have backed every imperfect animal up but have not given your hands to the perfect man?! How is it that for thousands of years you have sucked every moisture and left the sweet sea?! How is it that for thousands of years you have run after every mirage but have not taken a step toward delectable water?! Will you not come to your senses and return to the origin?! Will not you wake up from sleep, and will this nightmare not end?! Will you not come out of the darkness, and will this dark night not have dawn?! Will you not sober up from drunkenness, and will this confusion not go away from your heads?!... I see as if you were suckled from the breast of ignorance and raised on the lap of oppression, and your flesh and blood are unfamiliar to me! [Letter fourteen]
Translation of the saying: There are houses in there made of golden bricks and decorated with silver sheets, with green emerald doors, solid bronze windows, and transparent crystal glasses. In their rooms and around the rivers and in the orchards and under the fruitful trees, there are beds made of oak and walnut, and engraved with beautiful patterns, and on those beds are carpets made of pure silk, and on those carpets are mattresses made of green velvet, and on those mattresses are cushions made of blue silk fabric, and on each bed a table is set, on which there are fruits of the four season fruits, such as apples, grapes, bananas, pears, figs, pomegranates, plums, oranges, peaches, and fruits that do not exist in the world, colorful fragrant delicious foods, plates made of crystal, bowls made of gold, and spoons made of silver, and at each table is a beautiful lady who desires her husband, while she has worn dresses made of blue chiffon and white silk, adorned herself with jewels, and perfumed herself with incense. The hair of these ladies is as dark as the darkness of the night, their faces are as bright as the brightness of the sun, and their bodies are as delicate as spring blossoms, and the hair of some of them is golden and some others maroon; they have black, blue, green eyes, thin lips, and long eyebrows, unimaginable in beauty; they hold silver cups of wine and honey juice to offer to their husband, while they surpass each other to accompany him and compete to attract his attention. [Saying twenty one]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I came to Mansoor while he was in a mosque, then I heard him say: O people! Indeed, God has appointed Mahdi as your guardian, so take him as the guardian, and do not take guardians other than him, little you heed to advice! At this time, a squint-eyed man stood up from among people and said: Has God created Mahdi?! He said: Yes, and indeed, he eats and walks in the markets! The man said: Have you seen him with your own eyes?! Then Mansoor fell silent and did not answer him until the man repeated his question three times; at this time, he said: I do not invite you toward someone I have not seen! The man said: Then why does he not come out toward us so that we follow him?! He said: He is afraid! The man said: Of what?! He said: Of being killed- and he pointed at his throat! [Passage 1 from Saying twenty two]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I was waiting for Mansoor in front of his house, so I heard him talk to some men in the house and say: Indeed, Mahdi is afraid of not being obeyed, and if his feet become firm for him, indeed, he will establish the Book of God and the truth perfectly! Beware, I swear to God, there is no good but in the Book of God and His Caliph on the earth, and nothing but the two! (Narrator) said: at this time, it crossed my mind that how does he dare to say this while Mahdi is absent?! Then it did not take long that he came out of the house toward me and said: O fellow! Since hiding from people, Mahdi has been the most deserving for (ruling over) them! –Three times. [Passage 2 from Saying twenty two]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: people have been commanded to know Mahdi and refer to him and submit to him, so if they perform the prayer and fast, but do not set the basis on referring to Mahdi, they become polytheists by this! Then he fell silent until I stood up to leave, then he called to me: O fellow! Indeed, this saying is true that whoever hears these words of mine but does not respond to it, God will throw him into fire with his nose, whoever he is! [Passage 8 from Saying twenty two]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: The intellect is the returning point of cognition, and any cognition that does not return to the intellect is ignorance upon another ignorance. I said: There are some people with us who averse to the intellect! He said: And is anyone but a madman averse to the intellect?! I said: They say the returning point of cognition is the Book and the Sunnah! He said: And are the Book and the Sunnah known by anything other than the intellect?! The intellect is the root of cognition, the Book and Sunnah are its trunk, and the Caliphs on the earth are its branches; so whoever abandons the intellect has cut off the root of cognition, whoever abandons the Book and the Sunnah has cut off its trunk, and whoever abandons the Caliphs on the earth has cut off its branches, and they all are deprived of its crop and fruit. [Saying twenty five]
Each lesson is about a belief or a jurisprudential or moral issue, and consists of three chapters:
• The first chapter is the statement of some verses of the Quran that are related to the issue, and contains invaluable interpretations which we have extracted from the enlightening sayings of His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, and explain the meaning of the verses in a way that heals hearts and brings people out of darkness into light.
• The second chapter is the statement of some authentic Hadiths from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which are related to the issue, along with mentioning their witnesses and follow-ups, and contains precise points and useful explanations from His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, clarifying the meanings of the Hadiths, the condition of the narrators, and the opinions of scholars.
• The third chapter is the statement of some authentic Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, which are related to the issue, along with mentioning their witnesses and follow-ups, and contains things similar to those of the second chapter. [Lesson one, introduction]
The rule in the opinion of His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, is the authority of mutawatir narrations and lack of authority of ahad narrations. In his opinion, a mutawatir narration is what has been narrated by more than four men at each level, provided that they are not related and do not differ on the meaning, and what they have narrated should not conflict with the Book of God or the proved Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, or the sound intellect. Also, what have been narrated by four men at each level is considered mutawatir, provided that they are just, in addition to the previous three conditions, and this is what makes it necessary to examine the condition of the narrators whenever their number does not exceed four. However, His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, examines their condition whenever they are less or more than this number in terms of obligation; because most Muslims believe in the authority of ahad narrations from a trustworthy or a truthful person, and perhaps they do not consider what has been narrated by five men as mutawatir. Therefore, His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, selects what their trustworthy or truthful narrators have narrated in order to be a proof for them, may they be guided. [Lesson one, introduction]
But his condition for selecting Hadiths, after the compatibility of their meaning with the Book of God and the proved Sunnah of the Prophet and the sound intellect, is that their narrators should be famous for trustworthiness or truthfulness among their companions excluding their opponents; as he has stated it in the explanation of the condition of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi, and said: “The criterion is the condition of the person among his companions (meaning the people of his sect); because they are more aware of his condition, and the opinion of other people is not proof when it contradicts the opinion of his companions; because they are farther away from him, and they may say bad things about him because they do not like his sect, and the witness to it is the action of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, when he said to the Jews: ‘What kind of a man is Abdullah ibn Salam among you?’, so they said: ‘He is our noble man and the son of our noble man and our master and the son of our master and our scholar and the son of our scholar’, so he accepted their words about him; because they were his companions. Then he informed them that he had converted to Islam, so they started to talk bad about him and said: ‘He is our worst man and the son of our worst man’, but he did not accept their words about him after they opposed him because of his sect, and if the words of opponents in the sect are accepted, nothing will be left of the Hadith; because every group says bad things about another group; as you can see the Shias do not care about what the Sunnis narrate except for that which they use as a proof against them, and you see the Sunnis do not look at what the Shias narrate except with astonishment and mockery, and both have gone astray from the middle path, but we, without being fanatical about any of the sects, accept anything that Muslims narrate in accordance with the Book of God, as long as they are famous among their companions for truthfulness”. [Lesson one, introduction]
The criterion in the opinion of His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, is Islam and the reputation of the narrator for trustworthiness or truthfulness among his companions, not his sect or what his opponents say to weaken him without an acceptable reason. Therefore, if the narrator is from the Sunnis, the criterion is his condition in the opinion of the Sunnis, and his condition in the opinion of the Shias has no validity, and if the narrator is from the Shias, the criterion is his condition in the opinion of the Shias, and his condition in the opinion of the Sunnis has no validity, and there is no difference between Shia and Sunni narrations whenever they are compatible with the three aforementioned principles and their narrators are famous for trustworthiness or truthfulness among their companions. This is why His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, selects Shia narrations as he selects Sunni narrations, and he does not leave anyone’s narration because of his sect as long as his sect does not oppose the essentials of the religion, in a way that indicates he is out of Islam; because in this case he is a hypocrite, and the hypocrite is not trustworthy in any field, even though all people consider him trustworthy. [Lesson one, introduction]
Translation: Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Saffār [Died in 290 AH] has narrated in the book of “Basā’ir al-Darajāt”, has said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Safwān, from ibn Muskān, from Hujr, from Humrān, from Abu Ja’far, meaning Muhammad ibn Ali al-Bāqir, peace be upon him that about the words of God Almighty: “And of those whom We have created are a group who lead toward the truth and act justly upon it”, said: They are the Imams.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: This narration is correct; because the mentioned description is suitable for the Imams; considering that the leadership of the people and performing justice among them upon the truth, are their works, ... and the verse signifies that the earth belongs does not remain empty from an Imam who guides toward and act justly upon the truth; as the intellectual people of the nation, old and new, have acknowledged it; such as al-Jubbā’I [Died in 303 AH] who has said: “This verse signifies that no era remains empty from someone who rises up for the truth and guides toward it” and (such as) al-Nahhās [Died in 338 AH] who has said: “God Almighty has stated through this verse that the world, in no era of eras, remains empty from someone who leads toward the truth” and (such as) al-Qurtubi [Died in 671 AH] who has said: “The verse signifies that God, in no era of eras, leaves the world be empty from an inviter who invites toward the truth” and (such as) al-Khāzin [Died in 741 AH] who has said: “The verse signifies that no time remains empty from someone who rises up for the truth and acts upon and guides toward it” and ibn al-Jawzi [Died in 597 AH] has said: “Undoubtedly God does not leave the earth empty from a someone who rises up for the truth who is collector between knowledge and action and knows the right of God Almighty and fears Him, and he is the axis of the world and whenever he dies, God appoints a successor for him, and he may not die until he sees the one who deserves to be his successor in any event, and the earth never remains empty of such a person, and he is like the Prophet among the nation”, ... and this is what we say, and it is a surprise that some people do not tolerate it from us, while they find it in the Book of God and many of their knowledgeable ones from old and new have said it! [Lesson one, p. 19]
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]
Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not consider Muslim scholars as maraji’ al-taqlid for Muslims, and believes that acting on their fatwas without knowing their reasons is not sufficient; as it is not sufficient if their reasons are conjectural either. Therefore, Muslims must request fatwas of Muslim scholars with their reasons, and Muslim scholars must inform them about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, and tell them, for example, “The reason for our such and such fatwa is such and such verse of the Quran, or such and such mutawatir Hadith, or the direct hearing from God’s Caliph on the earth”, and in this case Muslims can act on their fatwas; because this is not considered imitating them, rather it is acting on their certain reasons, and in fact acting on the Quran and the Sunnah. But if they do not inform Muslims about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, or the reasons for their fatwas are conjectural, such as fame, consensus, and wahid narrations, then it is not sufficient to act on their fatwas, and it is obligatory to search for the certain reasons, then take precaution if possible, and then stop until it becomes possible to access God’s Caliph on the earth, and of course, the preparation of the ground for the advent of God’s Caliph on the earth is as necessary as the preparation of the ground for reaching the Sacred Mosque for the one who is obligated to perform Hajj, and this is a fact that Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani calls out loudly, may those who have listening ears in the East and West of the world hear and accept it. [Question and Answer 7]
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 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]
There is no doubt that at the top of all the common desires and goals of the Islamic world, there is the establishment of global justice and the elimination of oppression and corruption on the earth through the formation of an independent and truthful Islamic government; a government that Islam has promised to Muslims since the early days, and undoubtedly, any other legitimate and correct desire will come true only in this way, and all Muslims of the world have such a desire, whether they know it or not. Meanwhile, what led many Muslims astray and caused them to deviate from the original path of Islam is this ominous and baseless illusion that they do not need the guidance of God to achieve this long-held and beautiful desire, and each group of them can follow whatever path they think is right and choose anyone they like to lead them toward this great goal! But we can clearly see the evil results of such an ominous illusion and naive imagination and the calamities it has brought upon Muslims of the world! Today, every group of Muslims have made someone dominant over themselves and pledged allegiance to a ruler they like. A group of them allies themselves with unbelievers, and made Muslim rulers who are in fact traitorous and malevolent hypocrites rule over them, and another group of them, with a strange willfulness and recklessness, pledge allegiance to their self-proclaimed rulers and caliphs and support them to have more power and authority. Therefore, ignorance, oppression, enmity, war and poverty have prevailed over them, and destruction and collapse have overshadowed them. [Article 5]
Muslims ignored God and did not take His will and desire about this matter into account and left behind the way He set for them to achieve this great goal. Muslims forgot that the permission of God and His command are the origin and foundation of creation and the cornerstone of the formation of the world, and all matters, equations and calculations take place only with His will and desire, and without them not even a pebble will move on the earth. Muslims forgot that God has determined a way and a method for fulfilling His promises, and has made it necessary to be commitment to this way and method in order to fulfill them. Muslims of the world neglected this great fact that God Almighty has considered exemplary and exemplary exclusively for Himself, and has forbidden them from associating partners with Him in them, and has considered associating partners with Him in them as an example of polytheism toward God. Indeed, how can they reach such a sacred goal by associating partners with Him and disobeying His commands?! Undoubtedly, God the Exalted is the true Ruler and the main Owner of this world, and the rule over it belongs to Him alone. Therefore, the realization of global justice is possible only through the way He has wants, and the ruler He has chosen for people is the only one who can establish justice, no one else. This is a fact that has been completely neglected and forgotten, despite its clarity and rightness, and of course this neglect is very strange; because all Muslims agree that the one who rises for the truth and establishes justice on the earth, and the only one whom God has announced his movement and uprising for the truth and justice and his final victory, according to mutawatir narrations, is Mahdi from the household of Muhammad; “the one who will fill the earth with justice and equity, as it has been filled with oppression and cruelty”, and there is no such agreement about anyone else. This means that he is the only legitimate ruler who is approved by God at this time, and at present the only one to whom pledging allegiance is permitted and even obligatory for Muslims of the world is Mahdi, and any allegiance to anyone other than him is disobedience to God’s command and thus following Satan, and, according to the statement of the Quran, it is considered as resorting to arbitration of Taghut, and this indicates the importance and centrality of pledging allegiance to Mahdi in Islamic teachings. [Article 5]
Pledging allegiance to Mahdi is an alternative to pledging allegiance to oppressors and Taghuts of the world, and therefore, it will be the cause for the weakening of their power and the fall of their sovereignty, and on the other hand, it will guarantee the unity of Muslims of the world and their gathering under one flag; because it seems that the disagreements and divisions among the Ummah stem from political factors and numerous and divided governments, and the division among Muslims is the effect of them following various rulers and political powers, and it is natural that each sect, group and nation of Muslims follow the leader of their own, and all of the leaders of the Islamic world invite toward themselves too, and have forgotten Mahdi; because they either ignore him basically and are unable to mention his name, or they propagate that the advent of Mahdi is very far away and it is not known when it will happen. This is how the leaders the Islamic world act against Mahdi, whether they know it or not, and prevent Muslim’s public opinion from reflecting on him. In such circumstances, if we imagine that the call of inviting toward Mahdi and joining him and separating from others reaches to all Muslims of the world and all of them leave the rulers whom they have chosen without God’s permission, and rush to Mahdi, then what will happen? What changes will actually happen in the region and in the world with the launch of the awakening movement for support and obedience to Mahdi and the rise of the slogan of Muslims’ return to Mahdi? [Article 5]
