Some more of my friends’ questions are proffered:

1. Allamah Khorasani in page 315 of the book “Return to Islam” has said: “And if ever I have capability on the earth, I will punish them [the militant and corrupt rulers] for their deeds; since removing them from the path of Mahdi, is obligatory for every Muslim who is capable of doing that.” Now the question is does he have permission from his Excellency Mahdi to do this or he acts upon his own certain viewpoint and Ijtihad[1]? Is the meaning of “capability” establishment of sovereignty? In this case, what is the difference between this sovereignty and other Islamic sovereignties?

2. In one of the sayings, he has likened himself to his Excellency Muslim ibn Aqil. His Excellency Muslim had permission from the Imam of his time. Does he have permission from Imam Mahdi? Some scholars like Imam Khomeini also considered their revolutionary movement derived from Imam Hussain’s revolt, however they did not claim they have permission from Imam Mahdi, and they were acting upon their own viewpoint and Ijtihad, which of course based on Allamah’s opinion, viewpoint and Ijtihad solely do not provide certainty.

3. Just as Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) is promised, the inviters and preparers of the grounds of his advent must also be promised based on the order of common sense; because the intellect orders that the Messenger of God and other Imams of Ahl al-Bayt give good tidings of them and lead the people toward them. Now, how is that Allamah Khorasani insists us just to rely on certain items of the book “Return to Islam” and do not rely on items that are referred to the promised Khorasani in valid narrations? In this case, then how can we achieve complete certitude? In general, the narrations that have been quoted from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the Amir al-Mu’minīn and other Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, have explicitly mentioned the following items to identify one of the special representatives of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him):

- The owner of black flags

- Being Khorasani

- Being Hasani or Hussaini

- A handsome young man

- Has a mole on his left palm

- Foremost of his army is Shu’ayb ibn Sālih Tamimi

- Talaqan’s treasures accept him

- Fights with the Umayyad of the end time (Sufyani) and defeats him

- Imam Mahdi is hidden in his army and guides him and ...

All these items show that the Messenger of God and the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt have felt necessary to mention some sings to identify him, just as Salmān al-Fārsi who matched the signs that he had taken from holy books with the Messenger of God when he entered Medina and he achieved complete certitude and believed in his Excellency. Please explain more about this matter.

Educated brother!

The answers to your friends’ questions are respectively as follows:

1. Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani’s may God protect him intention of “capability on the earth” is not necessarily achieving sovereignty, but it means having necessary facilities to repel the sedition of tyrants and removing them from the path of Mahdi, which includes achieving sovereignty, and perhaps it is possible with the support of a sufficient number of Muslims; as he has explicitly said: “removing them from the path of Mahdi, is obligatory for every Muslim who is capable of doing that”, whereas it is clear that achieving sovereignty is not obligatory for every Muslim who is capable of doing that, rather it is not legitimate except with God’s definite permission and therefore, having capability on earth to “punish them for their deeds” is more general than achieving sovereignty. Anyway, there is no doubt that whoever starts ruling over Muslims without God’s permission which is recognized through the definite explicit text of His Caliph on earth or an obvious sign, is Taughut[2], even if he is Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani.

2. Likening someone to someone else does not necessarily mean their similarity in all aspects; as God has likened Jesus peace be upon him to Adam peace be upon him and has said: ﴿إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ ۖ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ﴾[3]; “Indeed the example of Jesus before God is like the example of Adam, He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was”, whereas it is clear that Jesus peace be upon him had a mother and Adam peace be upon him had no mother and therefore, their similarity was not in all aspects. It is hereby understood that likening Mansoor to Muslim ibn Aqil does not necessarily mean that Mansoor has Mahdi’s permission like Muslim had Hussein’s permission, although it is possible and therefore, in order to know that, one must refer to something other than mentioned similarity. So much is certain that Mansoor’s preparation of the grounds for the advent of Mahdi through taking allegiance for him and preparing a sufficient number of people for supporting him is similar to the work of Muslim for Hussain, and that is enough for the correctness of likening these two together.

3. The narrations about the advent of a man from Great Khorasan with black flags who invites to Mahdi and prepares the grounds for his sovereignty are Mutawatir, and if anyone presumes that Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani may God protect him, considering the congregation of the mentioned characteristics, is that very man, he must not wait for his claim, rather he must investigate about him and investigating about him is possible by referring to him or to those who refer to him in order to gain knowledge about his signs; because recognizing the promised Khorasani does not depend on his claim, but depends on the congregation of signs that have been narrated about him, whether he claims that or refuses to do so for some reasons; because it is not mentioned in the narrations that the promised Khorasani will acknowledge himself as the promised Khorasani, but only some signs about him have been mentioned and it is clear that these signs are enough for others to recognize him regardless of his claim; considering the fact that if it is not enough to recognize him regardless of his claim, it will not be enough considering his claim either; because claim, for someone who does not have the signs of the promised Khorasani is not beneficial, as abandoning claim, for someone who has the signs of the promised Khorasani is not harmful. Hence, Buhaira the Christian recognized the Messenger of God peace be upon him and his family, with his signs, before he claims and this is from this aspect that they have said: “the sun came, it is the reason of the sun” and they say: “present your talent and do not just talk Sa’di / what is the need for sugar to say: I am sweet!”[4]

You have been informed before that you can have direct communication with those who refer to his Excellency Allamah in case of active membership in this Islamic website, in order to receive further explanations about some matters Insha’Allah.

We ask the Merciful God the success of you and your friends.