1 . أَخْبَرَنَا وَلِيدُ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ، قَالَ: قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ الْهَاشِمِيُّ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ: مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ رَأْيٍ وَلَا مِنْ رِوَايَةٍ، وَإِنَّمَا جَعَلَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ! قُلْتُ: فَمَنْ لَمْ يَظْفَرْ بِخَلِيفَةِ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَمَاذَا يُغْنِيهِ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُظْفَرَ بِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَظْفَرْ بِهِ كَانَ كَمَنْ أَصَابَهُ الْعَطَشُ وَلَمْ يَظْفَرْ بِالْمَاءِ، أَرَأَيْتَ الرَّمْلَ وَالْحَصَاةَ يُغْنِيَانِ عَنْهُ شَيْئًا؟! لَا وَاللَّهِ، بَلْ يَمُوتُ عَطَشًا وَلَا يَنْتَطِحُ فِيهِ عَنْزَانِ!
Translation of the saying:
Walid ibn Mahmoud al-Sajistani informed us, he said: Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani said: “God has set neither opinion nor narration, but rather He has appointed a Caliph on Earth to judge among people!” I said: “If someone does not have access to the Caliph of God, what will make him free of the need for him?” He said: “God has surely appointed a Caliph on Earth so that he will be accessible, and whoever does not have access to him is like one who is thirsty and has not had access to water; do you think that sand and pebbles will make him free of the need for water?! No, I swear to God, but rather he will die of thirst, and no two rams will headbutt each other for him.”
Explanation of the saying:
It is understood from this pure wisdom that people’s need for the Caliph of God on Earth is a natural need similar to the need for water, and therefore, their destruction, if not prevented, is a situational and coercive consequence that cannot be rectified. So the only way to prevent this is to have access to the Caliph of God on Earth, which is possible for people if they provide the necessary causes and conditions for it; as Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has explained in detail how to do so in the invaluable book Return to Islam.
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ بَخْتِيَارَ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِلْمَنْصُورِ: أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي لَا يَعْرِفُ خَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَوْ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ، فَهَلْ لَهُ مِنْ بُدٍّ أَوْ مَنْدُوحَةٍ مَا لَمْ يَعْرِفْهُ وَيَقْدِرْ عَلَيْهِ؟ فَطَأْطَأَ رَأْسَهُ كَأَنَّهُ يَتَفَكَّرُ، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ وَقَالَ: لَا، قُلْتُ: وَاللَّهِ يَهْلِكُ إِذَنْ! قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَهُوَ صَاغِرٌ!
Translation of the saying:
Abd al-Hamid ibn Bakhtiar informed us, he said: I said to Mansoor: “One who does not know or have access to the Caliph of God on Earth, is there any choice or escape for him as long as he does not know him or have access to him?” So he lowered his head for a while as if he was thinking, then he raised his head and said: “No.” I said: “I swear to God, he perishes in this case.” He said: “Yes, while he is worthless.”
3 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الطِّهْرَانِيُّ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِلْمَنْصُورِ: إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ رَأْيٌ وَلَا رِوَايَةٌ وَلَا سَبِيلٌ إِلَى خَلِيفَةِ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ، فَإِلَى مَا يَفِرُّ الرَّجُلُ؟ قَالَ: إِلَى النَّارِ!
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Tehrani informed us, he said: I said to Mansoor: “When there is no opinion, no narration, and no way to the Caliph of God on Earth, then where should one escape to?” He said: “To the fire.”
Explanation of the saying:
These decisive and magnificent words of wisdom make you feel as if they have sprung from a pure source, containing signs for those who contemplate. They indicate that it has been the human being himself who has hindered the attainment of God’s Caliph on Earth, and therefore, his destruction is caused by his bad choice; because he could have paved the way for having access to the Mahdi, but he has not done so, and therefore, opinions and conjectural narrations cannot compensate for not having access to him.
4 . أَخْبَرَنَا ذَاكِرُ بْنُ مَعْرُوفٍ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ خَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَقَدْ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً، وَمَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ فَقَدْ شَقَى! قُلْتُ: وَإِنِ اجْتَهَدَ بِرَأْيِهِ؟! قَالَ: وَإِنِ اجْتَهَدَ بِرَأْيِهِ! قُلْتُ: وَإِنْ عَمِلَ بِالرِّوَايَةِ؟! قَالَ: وَإِنْ عَمِلَ بِالرِّوَايَةِ!
Translation of the saying:
Zakir ibn Ma‘roof al-Khorasnai informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: “Whoever dies while not knowing the Caliph of God on Earth has died a death of (the time of) ignorance, and whoever dies while not having access to him has become miserable!” I said: “Even if he exerted himself with his opinions?!” He said: “Even if he exerted himself with his opinions!” I said: “Even if he acts on narrations?!” He said: “Even if he acts on narrations!”
Explanation of the saying:
This is a dreadful dead end in which Muslims have put themselves, and the only way for them to get out of it is to join Mansoor in preparing the ground for the Mahdi’s advent, and there is no other way for them, but, unfortunately, they have fallen into a deep sleep and do not hear the call of this truthful caller; except for a few of them who are awake, so they respond to his call and rush toward him, even if by crawling on snow, until they join the Mahdi along with him and fill the world with justice and fairness as it has been filled with oppression and cruelty, and the (good) end belongs to the pious.