Dear brother!

It appears that you, perhaps due to a lack of sufficient “patience,” have not read the book Return to Islam in its entirety, and this has led to an incomplete and incorrect understanding for you, to the point of claiming that there is no difference between gaining an understanding of religion and not doing so. However, Allah Almighty has said: ﴿هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَۗ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ﴾[1]; “Are those who have knowledge equal to those who do not have knowledge?! Only the wise will take heed,” and said: ﴿مَثَلُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ كَالْأَعْمَى وَالْأَصَمِّ وَالْبَصِيرِ وَالسَّمِيعِ ۚ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾[2]; “The example of the two parties is that of the blind and the deaf, and the seeing and the hearing. Are they equal when compared?! Will you not then take heed?!” It is necessary to note the following points:

Firstly, the truth, as proven in the book Return to Islam with clear rational and religious evidence, is one, whether in the realm of creation or in the realm of legislation, and therefore, it requires to be known in one way; because it is not possible to know one thing in two different ways unless one of the two ways is not knowledge, but only perceived as knowledge; like two scholars who disagree on a deed, one considering it obligatory and the other non-obligatory, while it is self-evident that one deed cannot be both obligatory and non-obligatory at the same time. Therefore, the knowledge of one of them is correct, and the knowledge of the other is inevitably incorrect; as Allah has said: ﴿فَمَاذَا بَعْدَ الْحَقِّ إِلَّا الضَّلَالُ﴾[3]; “So what is there after the truth but error?!” It is agreed upon that Allah Almighty has obligated people to know the truth as one and has not allowed them to differ in it; as He has said: ﴿أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ﴾[4]; “That you should establish religion and make no divisions in it.” This means that He has made it possible for people to know the truth in one way; because it is abhorrent to obligate them to do something that He has made impossible for them, and therefore, He has not done so; as He has said: ﴿لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا﴾[5]; “Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.” Based on this, He has set a path for people to know the truth in one way, and it is their obligation to know this path and follow it. There is no doubt that fulfilling this obligation is the foundation and prerequisite of “gaining an understanding of religion”; because gaining an understanding of religion before knowing and following the path that Allah has set for people to know the truth in one way inevitably leads to knowing religion in various ways, and this is the disagreement among Muslims. This means that gaining an understanding of religion only leads to disagreement among Muslims if it is done without knowing and following that path. Therefore, Allah Almighty has commanded holding firmly to His rope before commanding not to become divided; because it is the condition and key to that. He has said: ﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا﴾[6]; “Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not be divided,” and the rope of Allah is the path that He has set for people to know the truth in one way.

However, what is the path that Allah has set for people, which they must know and follow to reach a single understanding of religion? If you ask most scholars about this, they will say: “It is the Quran and the Sunnah.” This is the extent of their knowledge. If they used their intellect, they would know that their statement is a vicious cycle; because religion is the Quran and the Sunnah, and there is no meaning to disagreement in religion except disagreement in them, and it is impossible to eliminate the disagreement in them by themselves; because it is like something depending on itself, and it is clear that all those who disagree claim to know and follow them. Therefore, the disagreement in religion has not been eliminated since the time of the Messenger of Allah despite the presence of the Quran and the Sunnah among Muslims and their great eagerness to adhere to them, and if it were possible, it would have happened. The path is something other than the Quran and the Sunnah, which clarifies the Quran and the Sunnah and judges between Muslims concerning their disagreement about the Quran and the Sunnah, and that is a caliph whom Allah Almighty appoints on Earth; as He has promised this and said: ﴿إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً﴾[7]; “Indeed, I am the Appointer of a caliph on Earth,” and he is a guide whom Allah Almighty appoints for every generation after His Messenger to guide them by His command; as He has informed of this and said: ﴿إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ ۖ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ﴾[8]; “You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every nation,” and he is the one who has knowledge of the Book, meaning the entire religion, to be a witness between the Messenger and his nation until the Day of Judgment; as He has said: ﴿قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ﴾[9]; “Say: ‘Allah and one who has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses between me and you.’” Therefore, it is necessary to know and follow this caliph, guide, and scholar in every time so that the disagreement among Muslims in it is eliminated. His Eminence Mansoor has explained this in the book Return to Islam, the book Geometry of Justice, and many of his pure words[10]. From here, it is understood that your statement, “We will always have Muslims who do not have a correct perception despite gaining an understanding of religion,” is far from correct; because if by gaining an understanding of religion, you mean understanding it by knowing and following the caliph, guide, and scholar whom Allah has appointed as proof over the people of Earth, then it is impossible that we will have Muslims who do not have a correct perception despite gaining an understanding of religion, and if by gaining an understanding of religion, you mean understanding it without doing that, then His Eminence Mansoor does not consider it adequate so that your objection to him would be justified.

Secondly, you have claimed that despite emphasizing rational certainty, the author has not provided any evidence that following scholars is based on conjecture about the compatibility of their sayings and actions with Sharia. This is a very strange claim; because that is a perceptible and well-accepted matter, and therefore does not need the mention of a minor and major premise! Do you claim or know of anyone who claims that following scholars is not based on conjecture about the compatibility of their sayings and actions with Sharia?! On what is it based then?! Clearly, it cannot be based on certainty about the compatibility of their sayings and actions with Sharia; because certainty about that cannot be achieved with the possibility of their sayings and actions not conforming to Sharia, considering that they are not immune to error, forgetfulness, and lying. Similarly, it cannot be based on conjecture about the non-compatibility of their sayings and actions with Sharia; because there is no meaning in following them despite the conjecture that their sayings and actions do not conform to Sharia! Therefore, this matter that following scholars is based on conjecture about the compatibility of their sayings and actions with Sharia is among the obvious things, and a wise person does not explain obvious things. It is also outside the scope of the dispute; because the dispute is about whether following scholars is adequate or not, considering that it is based on this conjecture, not about it being based on this conjecture, as it is extremely clear and should not be a subject of dispute!

Thirdly, you have predicted that if someone goes to scholars and asks them for evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah for their fatwas, they will not refuse and will present it to him. This is not unlikely, but it is outside the subject of the discussion; because the subject of the discussion is not what scholars will do if someone goes to them and asks them for evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah for their fatwas, but rather whether it is obligatory for people to go to them and ask them for evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah for their fatwas or not! These people say that it is not obligatory; because they claim that it is adequate for people to act upon their fatwas, which are devoid of evidence, without going to them and asking them for evidence. This is the common practice among people, especially the Shias; because what they usually do is act upon a book they call “Risalah al-Amaliyyah” or “Risalah Tawdih al-Masa’il,” which contains fatwas devoid of evidence from a man they call “reference for Imitation.” What informs of the ignorance of their references for imitation is that at the beginning of this book, they write a fatwa stating: “Acting upon what is in this Risalah al-Amaliyyah is adequate, Insha’Allah,” while this is a clear cycle, not issuing from one with even the slightest bit of knowledge; because it means that they issue a fatwa that acting upon their fatwas are adequate; as His Eminence Mansoor has pointed this out in the topic “Impossibility of imitating scholars based on imitating them” from the book Return to Islam, saying: “[Many Muslims] believe that it is obligatory for every Muslim to pick a marja‘ from among them 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.”[11] This is just one example of the ignorance of their references for imitation, despite their immense arrogance! It is not surprising that they do not support His Eminence Mansoor . Rather, they do not care about his invitation toward the pure religion; because they are too ignorant to understand who he is and what he says! Also, it should not be surprising that their imitators are hostile toward him; because one who does not realize the ignorance of these well-known ignorant individuals, how can he realize the knowledge of this hidden scholar?! And one who does not notice the gross contradictions, how can he notice the subtlest evidence and proofs?!

In summary, it is obligatory for people to know their religion with certainty and in one way, and this is possible through direct reference to the Quran and the Sunnah in the light of knowing and following the one whom Allah Almighty has appointed as a caliph and guide in their time.