O brother!

What you call political acumen and believe Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani lacks is actually lying, cunning, and hypocrisy, which have no place in Islam, and therefore do not exist in the conduct of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani either. Similarly, some of those who agreed with you intellectually in the time of Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, accused him of lacking political acumen using the same argument and considered him naive and lacking in planning because he did not flatter oppressors. However, he was endowed with political acumen and planning, and what prevented him from engaging in lying, cunning, hypocrisy, and flattering oppressors was the piety that Allah bestowed upon him; as he himself pointed out this truth. He said: «هَيْهَاتَ لَوْ لَا التُّقَى لَكُنْتُ أَدْهَى الْعَرَبِ»[1]; “Far it is! If it were not for piety, I would have been the shrewdest of the Arabs.” and said: «وَاللَّهِ مَا مُعَاوِيَةُ بِأَدْهَى مِنِّي، وَلَكِنَّهُ يَغْدِرُ وَيَفْجُرُ، وَلَوْ لَا كَرَاهِيَةُ الْغَدْرِ لَكُنْتُ مِنْ أَدْهَى النَّاسِ، وَلَكِنْ كُلُّ غُدَرَةٍ فُجَرَةٌ، وَكُلُّ فُجَرَةٍ كُفَرَةٌ، وَلِكُلِّ غَادِرٍ لِوَاءٌ يُعْرَفُ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»[2]; “By Allah, Mu‘awiyah is not shrewder than me, but he is treacherous and sinful. If it were not for my detestation of treachery, I would have been one of the shrewdest people. But every treachery is a sin, and every sin is (a form of) disbelief, and for every treacherous one there is a banner by which he will be known on the Day of Judgment.” In another narration, he said: «يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! لَوْ لَا كَرَاهِيَةُ الْغَدْرِ كُنْتُ مِنْ أَدْهَى النَّاسِ، أَلَا إِنَّ لِكُلِّ غُدَرَةٍ فُجَرَةً، وَلِكُلِّ فُجَرَةٍ كُفَرَةً، أَلَا وَإِنَّ الْغَدْرَ وَالْفُجُورَ وَالْخِيَانَةَ فِي النَّارِ»[3]; “O people! If it were not for my detestation of treachery, I would have been one of the shrewdest people. Know that every treachery is a sin, and every sin is (a form of) disbelief. Know that treachery, sin, and betrayal are in the fire,” and said: «لَوْلَا أَنَّ الْمَكْرَ وَالْخَدِيعَةَ فِي النَّارِ لَكُنْتُ أَمْكَرَ الْعَرَبِ»[4]; “Were it not that cunning and trickery are in the fire, I would have been the most cunning of the Arabs.” In another narration, he said: «لَوْلَا أَنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْمَكْرَ وَالْخَدِيعَةَ وَالْخِيَانَةَ فِي النَّارِ لَكُنْتُ أَمْكَرَ الْعَرَبِ»[5]; “Were it not that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, say: ‘Cunning, trickery, and betrayal are in the fire,’ I would have been the most cunning of the Arabs,” and said: «إِنِّي لَعَالِمٌ بِمَا يُصْلِحُكُمْ وَيُقِيمُ أَوَدَكُمْ، وَلَكِنِّي لَا أَرَى إِصْلَاحَكُمْ بِإِفْسَادِ نَفْسِي»[6]; “Indeed, I know what sets you right and straightens your crookedness, but I do not see it as right to set you right by corrupting myself,” and said: «تَأْمُرُونِّي أَنْ أَطْلُبَ الْعَدْلَ بِالْجَوْرِ؟!»[7]; “Are you telling me to seek justice through injustice?!” He also said, complaining about the proponents of this twisted idea: «لَقَدْ أَصْبَحْنَا فِي زَمَانٍ قَدِ اتَّخَذَ أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِهِ الْغَدْرَ كَيْسًا، وَنَسَبَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْجَهْلِ فِيهِ إِلَى حُسْنِ الْحِيلَةِ، مَا لَهُمْ؟ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ! قَدْ يَرَى الْحُوَّلُ الْقُلَّبُ وَجْهَ الْحِيلَةِ، وَدُونَهَا مَانِعٌ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَنَهْيِهِ، فَيَدَعُهَا رَأْيَ عَيْنٍ بَعْدَ الْقُدْرَةِ عَلَيْهَا، وَيَنْتَهِزُ فُرْصَتَهَا مَنْ لَا حَرِيجَةَ لَهُ فِي الدِّينِ»[8]; “We have come to be in a time when most of its people have taken treachery as cleverness, and the ignorant in it attribute them to good planning. What is the matter with them?! May Allah kill them! There are those who know the path of trickery, but the command and prohibition of Allah prevent them, and even though they have the power to do it, they abandon it. But those for whom there is no piety in religion wait for an opportunity to engage in it.” In its explanation, ibn Abi al-Hadid (d. 656 AH) has said: «إِنَّمَا قَالَ أَعْدَاؤُهُ لَا رَأْيَ لَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ مُتَقَيِّدًا بِالشَّرِيعَةِ لَا يَرَى خِلَافَهَا، وَلَا يَعْمَلُ بِمَا يَقْتَضِي الدِّينُ تَحْرِيمَهُ، وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْخُلَفَاءِ كَانَ يَعْمَلُ بِمُقْتَضَى مَا يَسْتَصْلِحُهُ وَيَسْتَوْقِفُهُ، سَوَاءٌ أَكَانَ مُطَابِقًا لِلشَّرْعِ أَمْ لَمْ يَكُنْ، وَلَا رَيْبَ أَنَّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بِمَا يُؤَدِّي إلَيْهِ اجْتِهَادُهُ، وَلَا يَقِفُ مَعَ ضَوَابِطَ وَقُيُودٍ يَمْتَنِعُ لِأَجْلِهَا مِمَّا يَرَى الصَّلَاحَ فِيهِ، تَكُونُ أَحْوَالُهُ الدُّنْيَوِيَّةُ إلَى الْإِنْتِظَامِ أَقْرَبَ، وَمَنْ كَانَ بِخِلَافِ ذَلِكَ تَكُونُ أَحْوَالُهُ الدُّنْيَوِيَّةُ إِلَى الْإِنْتِثَارِ أَقْرَبَ»[9]; “His enemies say that his opinion has no credibility; because he was bound by Sharia and did not deviate from it, nor did he act upon anything that religion deems forbidden. Whereas other caliphs, unlike him, acted based on what they considered beneficial and necessary, whether it conformed to Sharia or not. And there is no doubt that one who acts according to his own understanding and does not stop at the rules and restrictions that prevent him from achieving what benefits him, his worldly affairs are closer to order, but one who acts contrary to this, his worldly affairs are closer to disorder,” and Muhammad Saliḥ al-Mazandarani (d. 1081 AH) has said: «كَانَ هَذَا الْكَلَامُ صَدَرَ مِنْهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ كَالْجَوَابِ لِمَا كَانَ يَسْمَعُهُ مِنْ أَقْوَالِ الْجَاهِلِينَ بِحَالِهِ وَنِسْبَتِهِمْ لَهُ إِلَى قِلَّةِ التَّدَبُّرِ وَسُوءِ الرَّأْيِ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَنِسْبَةِ غَيْرِهِ إِلَى جَوْدَةِ الرَّأْيِ وَحُسْنِ التَّدَبُّرِ فِيهَا لِمَا بَيْنَهُمْ مِنَ الْمُشَارَكَةِ فِي هَذَا الْعَمَلِ، فَمَنْ كَانَ فِيهِ أَتْقَنَ وَأَكْمَلَ كَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ أَحْسَنَ وَأَفْضَلَ، وَغَفَلُوا أَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ كَانَ فِي جَمِيعِ حَرَكَاتِهِ عَلَى الْقَوَانِينِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ وَرَفْضِ مَا كَانَ عَادَتَهُمْ مِنِ اسْتِعْمَالِ الدَّهَاءِ فِي الْأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَوِيَّةِ، فَأَفَادَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ تَمَسُّكَهُ بِزِمَامِ الْوَرَعِ وَالتَّقْوَى مَنَعَهُ مِنَ الدَّهَاءِ وَاسْتِعْمَالِ كُلِّ فِعْلٍ وَقَوْلٍ وَبَطْشٍ مُخَالِفٍ لِلْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، وَإِلَّا فَهُوَ أَعْرَفُ بِالدَّهَاءِ وَطُرُقِهِ وَكَيْفِيَّةِ اسْتِعْمَالِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ مُخْتَصًّا بِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، بَلْ جَاهِلُ كُلِّ قَوْمٍ يَظُنُّ بِعَالِمِهِمْ ذَلِكَ، لِأَنَّ الْعَالِمَ مُلْجَمٌ بِلِجَامِ التَّقْوَى، فَطَوْرُهُ فِي مُعَامَلَةِ الدُّنْيَا غَيْرُ طَوْرِهِمْ»[10]; “This statement, uttered by him, was a response to what he heard from those who were ignorant of his manner and attributed to him a lack of foresight and poor judgment in worldly affairs, while they attributed to others foresight and good judgment in them due to their shared involvement in this work. So, whoever excelled and was more thorough in it was better and more superior in their view, while they were oblivious to the fact that in all his actions, he adhered to religious law and rejected their customary use of cunning in worldly affairs. So, he made it clear that his adherence to piety and devoutness prevented him from employing cunning and engaging in any action, word, or force that contradicted the Book and the Sunnah. Otherwise, he was more knowledgeable about cunning, its methods, and how to use it than anyone else. And it was not just him, but rather the ignorant among every people think this way about their scholars; because the scholar is restrained by the bridle of piety, so his approach to dealing with the world is different from theirs.”

This is the very manner of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani; because he follows the path of Ali ibn Abi Talib and does not deviate from it. This means that he does not conceal the truth or speak falsehood to please anyone, nor does he resort to flattery or adulation to gain support from anyone. Rather, he speaks the truth even if it brings all people against him, and rejects falsehood even if it scatters all people from around him; because Allah and His caliph are sufficient for him, and with Their existence, he does not fear being alone; as he says explicitly in one of his sayings:

I and justice are twins, and I have been accompanying the Book and the Sunnah since I existed; I have neither fallen behind nor moved ahead nor hesitated. Behold! By Allah, if all people abandon me until not a single person stays with me under this rotating gray, I will not doubt that I am upon guidance and they all are in misguidance. Be aware! I am one of those who are not deterred from the path of Allah by the rebuke of a malicious one, nor are they afraid of the blame of blamers; their word is the word of the truthful, and their deed is the deed of the righteous; those who always are guides for the lost and strive to revive the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet; they neither act arrogantly nor seek superiority; they neither indulge in excess nor betray; they neither abandon the truth nor incline toward falsehood; those who never defile mind with impurity; they are neither deceived by the flattery of flatterers nor afraid of the turning away of those who turn away; their hearts are always flying in the High Place, and their tongues are ever speakers of the best word. Behold! Do not hasten for what is contingent on moments; because a nestling does not fly until it grows feathers, and lightning does not thunder until it flashes.[11]

This is because he has turned his heart away from your worthless world and does not care about the things that matter so much to you; because he views the world from a much higher horizon than yours and follows rules completely different from yours. Furthermore, he has not criticized any sect, madhhab, or nation unjustly, but rather he has done so based on the Book of Allah and the widely transmitted Sunnah of His Prophet. Therefore, it is not he who has struck them all, but Allah has struck them; as He has said: ﴿فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَى﴾[12]; “So you did not kill them, but Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw.” For this reason, only those who, like him, have divorced the world three times and are not attached to any sect, madhhab, or nation remain with him and support him. They are the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and how excellent those companions are. They may be few in your eyes, but they are many in the sight of Allah; because each one of them is a nation, as was Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in his time, according to the words of Allah Almighty: ﴿إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً﴾[13]; “Indeed, Ibrahim was a nation.”

In any case, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is neither regretful nor ashamed that he has warned about the deviations of all the sects, madhhabs, and Islamic nations based on the certainties of Islam and the commonalities among Muslims with scholarly and advisory explanation, and that he invites all of them, without discrimination or exception, toward the pure and perfect Islam, and that he prepares the ground for the advent of Allah’s caliph on Earth; because regret and shame fit one who acts contrary to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, and such a person is the one who is regretful and ashamed in the world and the Hereafter. Nonetheless, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani invites all the sects, madhhabs, and Islamic nations to accompany him on the blessed path he follows; considering that they all can do so, and his movement is vast enough to accommodate them all and is truly not exclusive to some of them while excluding others. If they are unable to gather under his flag, with its wide shade, they will not gather under the flag of anyone after him. However, if they do not do so and instead gather against him, despite their diversity, they do not harm him in the least but only themselves. He is “Mansoor”[14] in any case; because his goal is to fulfill his rational and religious duty by revealing the truth of Islam. This goal has already been achieved, as his message has been effectively conveyed through the publication of the book Return to Islam, and it has been spread like a blessed seed throughout the world. Naturally, its shoots will appear, sooner or later, in near and far lands, one after another, and it will grow and flourish despite all hostile actions and twisted ideas until it becomes a good tree whose roots are firm and whose branches are in heaven, bearing fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ﴾[15]; “And their example in the Gospel is like a seed which puts forth its shoot, then strengthens it, then grows tall until it stands firm on its stem, delighting farmers and enraging disbelievers,” and said: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ ۝ تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا ۗ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ﴾[16]; “Have you not seen how Allah gives an example of a good word as a good tree, whose roots are firm and whose branches are in heaven?! It gives its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord, and Allah gives examples to people that they may take heed.”

Yes, O brother! The pure seed that Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has planted with his blessed hand in every corner of the Earth will, sooner or later, despite all the misguided sects, newly invented madhhabs, and arrogant nations, and with the support of the oppressed, the needy, the displaced, and the barefoot, become a good tree whose fruit is global justice in the light of the Mahdi’s rule. It will nourish the weak among children, women, and men, to the point that they will never hunger again, Insha’Allah. ﴿فَاصْبِرْ ۖ إِنَّ الْعَاقِبَةَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾[17]; “So be patient. Indeed, the (good) end belongs to the pious.”