The political and economic superiority of Muslims, as an achievable goal, to protect their Islamic culture and then impose it on the world, is a definite necessity, to which there is no alternative, but the fact is that gaining this superiority has now encountered many difficulties, to the extent that it is almost considered impossible; because most of its infrastructures have not been established among Muslims, and establishing them needs sufficient will, endeavor, coordination and time; while Muslims, due to defeatism, laziness, political and sectarian disagreements, and the lack of a single and righteous leader, lack the necessary will, endeavor, and coordination, and do not have sufficient time for it, and therefore, it may be necessary to find a more practical and short term solution, in addition to pursuing the ideal and long term solution, in order to resist the cultural attack of disbelievers, and that solution is indeed invitation. [Return to Islam, p. 79]
Muslims’ disagreements are caused by their different knowledge of Islam; in the sense that different Muslim individuals and groups have different cognition of Islam, and do not tolerate others’ cognition of it. It is obvious that removing these disagreements is not possible without achieving a single cognition, and in order to achieve a single cognition, there must be a single criterion. Multiple criterions lead to multiple cognition, and multiple cognition cause disagreement, and disagreement is not good for Muslims. [Return to Islam, pp. 19 and 20]
It is clear that anthropocentrism is a movement against theism, and those who founded it did not believe in God; because in the divine worldview, God is the origin of the truth and the human being is considered subject to the truth, whereas in the atheistic worldview, the human being is the origin of the truth and God has no role in it. [Return to Islam, p. 21]
It is certain that the truth is a single and specific existence, and cannot become plural nor multiplied, and therefore it requires a single cognition and demands a single criterion. [Return to Islam, p. 23]
The human being’s cognitions must inevitably lead to a self-evident cognition that is the origin of all cognitions and is not originated from any cognition itself; because what needs to be known cannot be a criterion of cognition; because it needs a criterion of cognition itself. With this description, people who make such a thing as their criterion of cognition should not be confident of their cognition; because their cognition is weak and baseless. [Return to Islam, p. 23]
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]
Beware! Do not entrust your guidance to anyone other than Mahdi; because no one asks the way from the blind or goes to the sea with a punctured ship! So do you seek a government other than the government of God?! While justice is only in the government of God; the government which will be realized by His guided Caliph, not by others, and caliphs, kings and jurists are alike in this matter, except that they differ in the manner of oppression, and some oppress more than some others; like killers who all kill, except that some suffocate, some decapitate, and some give poison! Listen to my words; because you will not hear words better than them: Your world will not be reformed except with justice, your Hereafter will not go right except with justice, justice will not be possible except with the government of Mahdi, and the government of Mahdi will not be established except with your help, but most of you do not know! [Letter fourteen]
Translation of the saying: Beware! Know that the horizon of the West is dark with black clouds. Soon a red storm will blow you over and overwhelm your land. It will neither leave a roof for you to take shelter under, nor a wall for you to hide behind! At that time, the nation of Muhammad will wish to sacrifice half of its youth in order to find Mahdi in a valley from the valleys of the Hijaz! Beware, O you the ignorant nation! What are you looking for?! And who are you following?! Your leader is Mahdi. The calmness of your nights and the delight of your days is Mahdi. Your lasting happiness and the sweetness of your life is Mahdi. Your prosperity in the world and your salvation in the Hereafter is Mahdi. So what has stopped you from turning to him?! Or who has filled the void left by him?!... Do you think you will see justice and flourish in his absence? Or do you think you will have security and happiness in his absence? No, I swear to God, then no, I swear to God. You will take this wish to your graves as your ancestors took it to their graves; for God has not put any benefit in His Caliph’s absence, and has not created any blessing in the government of anyone other than him! [Saying one]
Translation of the saying: I am telling you the truth: in his absence, your stomachs will stick to your backs, and you will lie on thorns! You will rage in anger and wish for death morning and evening! Your homes will be uninhabited and your markets closed! Farms will grow thorns and fruit trees will wither! Livestock herds will be scattered and there will be no one to gather them! Your heads will have lice and your hands will be soiled! Your cities will be destroyed and your villages forsaken! No one will cross your alleys, and no one will knock on your doors! There will be no water in your qanats, and snakes will nest in your wells! Wolves will wander around your public squares, and owls will screech on top of your towers! Spiders will weave webs on your windows, and frogs will croak in your ponds! You will reside in dark valleys and take shelter on the summit of the mountains! You will hide in crevices of the rocks, and your companions will be lizards of the desert! Smoke will go up to the sky from your lands and its fire will not go out! Your enemies will dominate you, and Satans of the East and the West will devour you! They will not listen to the crying of your children, nor will they be merciful to your crippled elders! They will divide your possessions and draw lots for your women! They will not bury your dead, rather will leave them for their dogs! [Saying one]
Translation of the saying: Beware, O people! Do not rush into what is contingent on moments! The world is near to its end, and the time of promises has come. Soon the age of the absence, which you think is peaceful, will erupt, like a raging camel in spring, and will plunge its sharp teeth into your eyes. I swear to the One in Whose Hands are my life and body, what I say is not a poem, nor an exaggeration in speech. Soon the cauldron of the world will boil, and the river of time will rage and turn the mill of fitnah and rotate the millstone of chaos. Danger! Danger! Be aware that they will not have mercy on any of you! They will bring the most isolated of you and take out his butter and buttermilk. When the scythe of fitnah falls, the one who stands will be reaped and the one who sits will be crushed. Danger! Danger! Take your religion and run as long as you have the opportunity! If you found the truth with me, then come to me, even though by crawling over snow; for I will lead you toward Mahdi, and if you reject me and refuse to come to me, then leave and go as far as you can; although you cannot go far away; because, I swear to God, even if you hide behind the stars of the sky, they will find you and bring you and disgrace you; for this work is not as easy as you have thought, rather is a great plight and a huge calamity that will make the old impatient and the young sleepless. [Saying one]
Translation of the saying: How will they see days without the sun and plants of the earth without water?! Rather their nights will last forever, and their earth will be like a wasteland; because God’s Caliph is not governing them and His rulings are not applied among them. Let those who do not believe in God and those who associate partners with Him mock my words and plunge in their (vain) games; because they will regret it like one who kills himself, and vomit like one who eats filth! At that time, they will rush into the seas and cross steep passes in order to find me, rather they will search for me in crevices of the rocks and ask about me from the shepherds in the plains, so that I repeat them the words that they do not hear from me today, and show them the path that they do not accept from me now! [Saying two]
Translation of the saying: When people are tending to the right and the left, you hold on to the middle path, and when people are inclining toward Zayd and Amr, you turn to Mahdi. Remember God Almighty a lot, and set Heaven as your desire, and perform the prayer at its initial time, and pay Zakat to its people, and do good to your parents, for you will not stay with them for long, and enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and lighten your works, and leave what is ought to be left, and hold on to what is ought to be held on to, and be prepared to migrate toward Mahdi; because I will migrate toward him when I find enough companions, even if there are seven seas between me and him. Who is he that guarantees me ten thousand men, so that I guarantee him the advent of Mahdi?! The earth is rotten, and time is like a pus-filled boil that has opened up, but future belongs to the pious. [Saying three]
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]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: 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”. His speech is over, 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! So, do they blame us on anything other than that we say they are from the Ahl al-Bayt of our Prophet?! While we do not say this because they are our fathers, but because of the virtue we find for them in the Quran and Sunnah, and we do not deny the virtue of others who accompanied our Prophet, but no one shall be compared with the Ahl al-Bayt of our Prophet; as it has been narrated from Abdullah ibn ‘Umar that said: “Whenever we counted the companions of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, we said: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān, then a man said: O father of Abd al-Rahmān! What about Ali?! He said: Woe to you! Ali is from the Ahl al-Bayt, no one shall compare with them” and this is a famous speech from Ahmad ibn Hanbal [Died in 241 AH] and he is Imam of the Sunnis and is not considered to be a Shia; as Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal has narrated, he has said: “I asked my father: Who was the best people after the Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family? He said: Abu Bakr, I said: Father! Who is next? He said: ‘Umar, I said: Father! Who is next? He said: ‘Uthmān, I said: Father! What about Ali? He said: My son! Ali is from the Ahl al-Bayt with whom no one shall be compared”, ... and this is a truth that every knowledgeable one says it and Ahmad ibn Hanbal has said it as well, but when we say it, those who are not knowledgeable say: They are Rafidhah! “In this way God seals the hearts of those who do not know”! [Lesson one, p. 19]
Translation: Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 381 AH] has narrated in the book of “Kamāl al-Din wa Tamām al-Ni’mah”, ... from Muhammad ibn Muslim that said: I said to Abu Abdullah, meaning Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq, peace be upon him about the word of God Almighty that says: “You are only a warner and there is a guide for every nation”, so he said: Each Imam is the guide of each nation in their time.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: This is a correct narration; because the word of God Almighty is general and includes every nation until the Day of Judgment, and the nation means the century (meaning generation and period); as He has said: “And indeed, We destroyed the centuries before you when they did wrong and their Prophets came to them with clear signs and they refused to believe in, in this way We punish the guilty people”.
Also, Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal [Died in 290 AH] has narrated in that which he has added to “Musnad”, has said: ‘Uthmān ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to me, he said: Muttalib ibn Zyad narrated to us, from al-Suddi, from Abd Khayr, from Ali that about the word of God: “You are only a warner and there is a guide for every nation”, he said: The Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, is the warner and the guide is a man from Bani Hāshim.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: It has been said that his meaning from this man has been he himself, but it seems that he has spoken in general, and his meaning has been that for every nation (that is, every century) after the Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, there is a guide from Bani Hāshim. [Lesson one, p. 20]
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]
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 one of the servants of God and the nation of His Prophet, Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, who follows the Quran and the mutawatir Sunnah of His Excellency in the light of the intellect; he does not claim to be a Prophet or Imam appointed by God, nor is he in affiliation with any government or sect or group in the world; he only invites toward the Caliph of God, Mahdi, and prepares the ground for his advent through cultural activities such as writing books and conversing with Muslims, and in return for this righteous and hard work, he does not ask people for reward, for he believes that his reward is with God; he does not devour people’s belongings falsely, nor does he take anyone’s life unrightfully, nor does he oppress a small ant or a bigger creature, and therefore, if someone responds to his invitation and helps him, he does so because of the truthfulness of his words and the rightness of his work based on intellectual and religious reasons, and with intention of preparing the ground for the advent of Mahdi, and if someone does not do so or instead becomes hostile to him, he will not harm him, and will only divest himself of a good or cause himself an evil, “And God is Fully Aware of what they do”. Therefore, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is just a pious and Muslim scholar who prohibits Muslims from following oppressive and tyrannical rulers, and invites them to follow Mahdi, and prevents them from following conjectures and illusions, and orders them to follow knowledge and certainties, and warns them against ignorance, imitation, passions, worldliness, fanaticism, arrogance and superstitionism, and enjoins them to establish the pure and perfect Islam in the light of the Quran, the Sunnah and the sound intellect, and therefore, those who are hostile to him have no excuse before God and must prepare themselves for His punishment; because clearly it is not permissible to be hostile to such a righteous man, rather it is obligatory to make friends with him, and whoever is hostile to him is a misguided oppressor; such as one who tries to kill him, or labels him as a disbeliever, or insults him, or mocks him, or slanders him, or harms him, or tempts people against him, and it is clear that all of these people are in an obvious error. [Question and Answer 8]
His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God help him, is the preparer of the ground for the advent of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, and has no other claim. The preparation of the ground for the advent of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is not a privilege for him either, rather it is a good deed from him, which is being carried out in the form of gathering and training a sufficient number of Muslims in order to protect and support Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, and this is a perceptible reality on the earth. Therefore, it is obligatory to help him by virtue of the commandment ﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى ۖ ﴾; “And help one another in goodness and piety”, and abandoning what is obligatory is a sin that will undoubtedly result in punishment. [Question and Answer 27]
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]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not worship the god of ibn Hamid, ibn Taymiyyah, ibn Abd al-Wahhab and others like them; the god who is above and not below, has two eyes, two ears, two feet, and ten real fingers, moves from one place to another, can be seen by eyes like the moon in the sky, and is a perfect example of al-Lat, Hubal, and al-‘Uzza, hidden behind the veil of “without knowing how or what”! But he worships the God of Ibrahim, Isma‘il, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, the Descendants, Isa and Musa, who said: “O Lord! Show me so that I see You”, and He replied: “You will never see Me”, then he repented of his expectation: “He said: Glory be to You, I repent to You”; the God who destroyed seventy men of the children of Israel with a thunderbolt because they wanted to see Him with their eyes: “They said: Show us God manifestly”; because “Eyes cannot perceive Him, but He perceives all eyes, and He is the Subtle, the Aware”; the God that wherever you go He is there, and His presence is not limited to places and directions; as He has said: “Wherever you turn, there is the presence of God”, and said: “He is with you wherever you are”; the God who does not move from one place to another, nor does He rely on His creatures, nor is it possible to divide Him into parts, nor is He characterized by human characteristics; as He has said: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing”; the God that does not fit into any description, nor is He perceived by any imagination, and He is Glorified, Exalted from anything imaginable; as He has said: “They do not know God as He deserves to be known”, and said: “Glorified and Exalted is He, from whatever they describe”; the God that has all the Most Excellent Names, without the multiplicity of His Names leading to the multiplicity or division of His Essence; as He has said: “God, there is no god but He; He has the Most Excellent Names”; as the two attributes “the All-Seeing” and “the All-Hearing” do not transform Him into two beings, nor do they create two parts for Him, but rather He is the All-Hearing in His Essence, the All-Seeing in His Essence, and hearing and seeing are two aspects of one attribute of Him, which is “knowledge”; because there is no way for multiplicity to His presence, and He is pure from any plurality in His Essence; as He has said: “Say: He is the One God”, and said: “And Our command is but one”. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani worships the Lord of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and does not associate anyone with Him in creation, legislation and sovereignty; in the sense that he believes in His oneness in creating all the creatures, providing sustenance for them and managing them, and does not submit to any law other than His law, or to any government other than His government, and believes that His government is the government of one who rules with His permission, even though most people do not know... The God that legislation belongs to Him, and none but He makes a thing obligatory or forbidden; as He has said: “Or do they have partners who legislate for them as the religion that which God has not permitted?!”; the God that the government belongs to Him, and none but He appoints or removes a ruler; as He has said: “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”; so He has no partner in the government; as He has said: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ﴾! This is the God of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the God of Ibrahim and his family, and this is the God of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, the flag-bearer of monotheism in the current era with the monotheistic call “Allegiance belongs to God”. [Critique and Response 11]
Know that Mansoor attempts to gather Muslims of the world altogether around Mahdi, peace be upon him, by relying on Islamic certainties, and you must cooperate with him in this good and blessed work, not make it more difficult for him by beating the drum for accusations of disbelief and blowing into the fire of division. We invite you and other Muslims of the world to “return to the pure and perfect Islam”; because it is the preparation of the ground for the advent of Mahdi, and the advent of Mahdi is the preparation of the ground for the earth to be filled with justice and equity after it has been filled with oppression and cruelty, and this is a happiness that there is no happiness greater than that. So join Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, support him in this great Islamic movement, and allow him to change your old disagreements into a union in the light of the government of Mahdi, peace be upon him. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not take allegiance from any Muslim for himself; Since he considers the allegiance only belongs to God, and his meaning by that is to pledge allegiance to someone whom God has commanded to pledge allegiance to and he is nobody except Mahdi that pledging allegiance to him is obligtory upon every Muslim. Accordingly, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani takes allegiance from Muslims of this world for Mahdi; In the meaning that he takes promise and oath from them that if Mahdi appears to them, they protect, support and obey him and do not leave him alone like those who were before them. This is the context of the allegiance which Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani takes from every Muslim, and if sufficient number of Muslims pledge such allegiance to him, the grounds for the advent of Mahdi will be prepared. [Critique and Response 15]
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]
Apparently, the first blessed result of such an awakening movement is the unity of Muslims in one rank and under one flag, as well as their cooperation and agreement through pledging allegiance to the Caliph of God, and this is the first step toward the realization of our great Islamic goal, meaning the realization of the sovereignty of Mahdi, peace be upon him; because undoubtedly, the true unity and deep solidarity among the ranks of Muslims are considered as preludes to the global revolution of Mahdi. We believe that such a blessed Islamic movement that has aimed for the unity of all Muslims under the flag of Mahdi has already begun and chanted the call of “Return to Islam”. This movement is led by the vigilant and courageous scholar, His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, who with his extraordinary and exemplary courage, has set the word «البيعة للّه»; “the allegiance is for God” as the slogan of his movement and believes that the only example of pledging allegiance to God in our time is pledging allegiance to the Caliph of God, Mahdi from the household of Muhammad, and any other allegiance at this time is considered as an allegiance to Taghut. Therefore, “the allegiance is for God” means the government and authority exclusively belong to the one whom God has chosen as His Caliph, and he is no one other than Mahdi. This flag-bearer of the pure and complete Islam, by presenting such a pure and authentic understanding, believes that Mahdi is the iron pillar of the tent of Islam, and the tent of Islam will not be erected until this iron pillar is established on the earth. Therefore, the duty of each and every one of Muslims of the world is to support Mahdi completely and sincerely, and help, protect and obey him. This is why we can call the movement of this great scholar the “Return to Islam” movement or the return to Mahdi movement; because he is the strong pillar and the promised establisher of Islam, and returning to him is in fact returning to the real Islam. [Article 5]
