Is His Eminence Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani a descendant of Imam Hasan ibn Ali ? Is there anyone among his companions whose name or title is Shu‘ayb ibn Salih?
This question of yours stems from your interest in some singular narrations and their application to individuals, and it is one of the errors of wrongdoers; because it relies on following conjecture and speculation, while Allah Almighty has rebuked its people when He said: ﴿إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ﴾[1]; “They follow nothing but conjecture and do nothing but guess”; moreover, it subjects one to confusion; because singular narrations are very contradictory, in such a manner that it is not possible to follow some of them except by disregarding some others, and this leads to doubt and disagreement and makes it difficult for many people to know the truth; because, for example, if we were to state that the lineage of His Eminence Mansoor goes back to Hasan ibn Ali , some people will fall into discord and say that he cannot be the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
; because it has been said in a narration that the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
is a man from the progeny of Husain; as it has been narrated: «يَخْرُجُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ وُلْدِ الْحُسَيْنِ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَشْرِقِ، لَوِ اسْتَقْبَلَتْهُ الْجِبَالُ لَهَدَّهَا وَاتَّخَذَ فِيهَا طُرُقًا»[2]; “A man from the progeny of Husain will rise from the East; if the mountains come in his way, he will level them and create a path in them.” So if they fall into discord by that, they will abandon considering His Eminence Mansoor’s invitation and not assess its compatibility with the intellect and Sharia, and if we were to state that the lineage of His Eminence Mansoor goes back to Husain ibn Ali
, some people will fall into discord and say that he cannot be the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
; because it has been said in a narration that the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
is a man from the progeny of Hasan; as it has been narrated: «ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُ الْحَسَنِيُّ»[3]; “Then the Hasani (i.e., a man from the progeny of Hasan) will rise,” and narrated: «تَحَرَّكَ الْحَسَنِيُّ»[4]; “The Hasani will make his move.” So if they fall into discord by that, they will abandon considering His Eminence Mansoor’s invitation and not assess its compatibility with the intellect and Sharia, and if we were to state that the lineage of His Eminence Mansoor goes back to both Hasan and Husain
, some people will fall into discord and say that he cannot be the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
; because it has been said in a narration that the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
is a man from the progeny of Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him); as it has been narrated: «قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَا جَعْفَرُ، أَلَا أُبَشِّرُكَ؟ أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ؟ قَالَ: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَقَالَ: كَانَ جَبْرَئِيلُ عِنْدِي آنِفًا، فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَنَّ الَّذِي يَدْفَعُهَا (أَيِ الرَّايَةَ) إِلَى الْقَائِمِ هُوَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ»[5]; “The Messenger of Allah
said: ‘O Ja‘far! Shall I give you glad tidings? Shall I inform you?’ He said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ So he said: ‘Jibreel has just been with me and informed me that the one who will deliver (the flag) to Qa’im (i.e., the Mahdi) is from your offspring.’” So if they fall into discord by that, they will abandon considering His Eminence Mansoor’s invitation and not assess its compatibility with the intellect and Sharia! Based on this, the safest course of action is to refrain from delving into such matters; because regardless of the subject, it has detrimental effects on some people and prevents their pursuit to know the truth free from preconceived notions, and this is in accordance to the words of Allah Almighty that has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ﴾[6]; “O you who believed! Do not ask about things that if disclosed to you, may displease you,” to where He has said: ﴿قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ﴾[7]; “A people before you asked about them and then came to disbelieve in them”; especially considering that the apparent lineage may not be true in the sight of Allah; because lineages may be mixed up, names may be similar, and manuscripts may be lost, to the extent that it leads to confusion even among genealogists. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah
said in what has been narrated from him: «كَذَبَ النَّسَّابُونَ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا﴾[8]»[9]; “Genealogists lied. Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has said: ‘And many generations between them,’” and it has been narrated that he got up in a gathering while he was angry and said: «لَا تَسْأَلُونِي الْيَوْمَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْبَأْتُكُمْ بِهِ»; “Today you will not ask me about anything unless I inform you of it.” Then some men asked him about their lineages, so he attributed some of them to those they were related to, and some of them to those they were not related to, until Umar ibn al-Khattab approached him and asked him to stop that, and he said: “We, O Messenger of Allah, are close to the time of ignorance and polytheism, and Allah knows who our fathers are,” so his anger subsided[10], and it has been narrated from al-Kalbi al-Nassabah that he said: «دَخَلْتُ عَلَى جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ، فَابْتَدَأَنِي بَعْدَ أَنْ سَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ لِي: مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: أَنَا الْكَلْبِيُّ النَّسَّابَةُ، فَضَرَبَ بِيَدِهِ عَلَى جَبْهَتِهِ وَقَالَ: كَذَبَ الْعَادِلُونَ بِاللَّهِ، وَضَلُّوا ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا، وَخَسِرُوا خُسْرَانًا مُبِينًا، يَا أَخَا كَلْبٍ! إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ: ﴿وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَأَصْحَابَ الرَّسِّ وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا﴾، أَفَتَنْسُبُهَا أَنْتَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: لَا جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، فَقَالَ لِي: أَفَتَنْسُبُ نَفْسَكَ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، أَنَا فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانِ بْنِ فُلَانٍ، حَتَّى ارْتَفَعْتُ، فَقَالَ لِي: قِفْ، لَيْسَ حَيْثُ تَذْهَبُ»[11]; “I came to Ja‘far ibn Muhammad
. After I greeted him, he began by asking me: ‘Who are you?’ So I said, ‘I am al-Kalbi, al-Nassabah (i.e., genealogist).’ So he struck his forehead with his hand and said: ‘Those who have turned away from Allah have spoken lies, and gone far stray, and suffered a great loss. O brother of Kalb! Indeed, Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has said: “And Aad and Thamud, and the people of Rass, and many generations between them.” Can you tell their lineages?’ So I said: ‘No, may I be sacrificed for you.’ Then he said to me: ‘Then can you tell your own lineage?’ I said: ‘Yes, I am so-and-so the son of so-and-so the son of so-and-so,’ and I went on. Then he said to me: ‘Hold it there. It is not as you say.’” Therefore, it can be said that the knowledge of lineages resides with Allah, His Messenger, and the inheritors of knowledge from His Messenger, and it is not possible to know religious beliefs relying on the lineages claimed by people. For instance, relying on the lineages claimed by the heads of ISIS to believe in the legitimacy of their caliphate, and relying on the lineages claimed by some dajjals to believe that they are the successors of the Mahdi
; because religious beliefs require certainty, which is not obtained from such common claims among people due to the possibility of them lying or being erroneous in these claims, although it would be permissible to rely on these claims in jurisprudential rulings, such as the permissibility of taking possession of Khums or Zakat.
Based on this, whoever relies on lineages claimed by people to ascertain their authenticity has gone far astray and his example is ﴿كَمَثَلِ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا﴾[12]; “like that of a spider that has made itself a house,” or ﴿مَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَى شَفَا جُرُفٍ هَارٍ فَانْهَارَ بِهِ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ﴾[13]; “one who has built his foundation on the weak edge of a cliff that suddenly falls into the fire of Hell.” However, a pious and wise person is not like that; because he is not deceived by such conjectural and superficial matters that could be contrary to reality, and if they are aligned with reality, they ﴿لَا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِي مِنْ جُوعٍ﴾[14]; “neither nourish nor satisfy hunger”, but rather he acts upon what is certain in his religion; such as one whom Ali described in his well-known sermon, when he said: «إِنَّ مِنْ أَحَبِّ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ إِلَيْهِ عَبْدًا أَعَانَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ»; “Indeed, one of the most beloved servants of Allah with Him is one whom Allah has given support (to act) against himself,” to where he said: «وَاسْتَمْسَكَ مِنَ الْعُرَى بِأَوْثَقِهَا، وَمِنَ الْحِبَالِ بِأَمْتَنِهَا، فَهُوَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ عَلَى مِثْلِ ضَوْءِ الشَّمْسِ»; “He has caught hold of the most reliable support and the strongest rope, so he is at a level of certainty that is as bright as the sun”[15]. Undoubtedly, what is certain from the attributes of the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
whom mutawatir narrations indicate, is that he is a man who rises from Khorasan with black flags and makes preparations for the advent of the Mahdi
in a manner compatible with the intellect and Sharia, regardless of whether he is a descendant of Hasan, Husain, Ja‘far, or someone else. Therefore, what is beneficial for you to know is not the lineage of His Eminence Mansoor
, but rather his thoughts, sayings, and deeds; because these indicate whether he is truthful or false to you without any doubt, even if his lineage is unknown to you, and the same applies to the names of his companions; considering that the existence of a man among his companions whose name or title is Shu‘ayb does not indicate that he is the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
; because those who bear this name are many, and not all of them are promised men; as the nonexistence of a man among his companions whose name or title is Shu‘ayb does not indicate that he is not the promised preparer of the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
; because what has been narrated in this topic does not reach the level of tawatur, and if it is authentic, then he may join him at a later time.
Based on this, we advise you to avoid delving into such matters, and instead read the published works of His Eminence Mansoor on this website, so you can become familiar with his thoughts, sayings, and righteous deeds, which are focused on preparing the ground for the advent of the Mahdi
in accordance with the intellect and Sharia, free from any claims about himself; because he
is not among those who pretend and he abhors resembling false claimants. Instead, he proceeds on his straight path by avoiding any unnecessary statements, fulfills his rational and religious duties, and engages in teaching the true Islam and reforming the beliefs and actions of Muslims with reliance on the Book of Allah, the mutawatir Sunnah of His Prophet, and what sound intellect dictates. He does so practically without making any claims; because with his deeds, he has no need for claims. He leaves claims for those with no deeds, though he hopes for Allah’s grace upon himself and does not despair of His mercy; because Allah has immense grace, and He singles out for His mercy whomever He wills, and none despairs of His mercy except for the misguided, but he
does not involve into such matters[16]; contrary to those whose claims have deafened people of the world, yet they do not practically make preparations for the advent of the Mahdi
. They are merely wandering imposters who gather a handful of ignorant and superstitious people around themselves and spend their lives, wealth, and reputation on their delusions and falsehoods; those who, with their excessive claims, strange titles, illusory honors, indoctrinated dreams, and fabricated narrations, have broken the back of the Mahdi
and turned the day of Mansoor
-this true preparer of the ground for his advent- into a cold and dark night; as he has described them in one of his sermons and said:
“They inform about the beyond of seventh heaven and beneath the fourth earth, yet they lack true understanding of beliefs in Islam, nor do they have a grasp of its lawful and forbidden, and their best words are meaningless and incomprehensible, like the caws of crows! They have no roots in the soil of knowledge nor do they have a star in the firmament of piety! They mislead one with an unseen dream, and another with an unheard call! They cast one into the well with an unrevealed verse, and another with an untold narration! They deceive one with a futile saying, and another with an intricate spell! Thus, they leave no open door to the Mahdi unless they close it, nor do they leave any short path for his supporters unless they obstruct it, nor do they leave any untainted abode for his devotees unless they defile it! Every day, they change their colors, make new claims, and assert new discoveries about themselves; for their ambitions and exaggerations know no bounds. They blur the lines between truth and falsehood, and taint honesty with lies, until there remains no reverence for the truth and no value for honesty! When the banner of the truth is raised, who is he that recognizes it?! And when the honest word is spoken, who is he that accepts it?! The eyes have grown blind, the ears deaf, and the hands weary, and there is no longer patience for contemplation and examination; because the claimants have sown the seeds of ill suspicion far and wide, stirred up the clouds of pessimism across space and time, pushed life to the edge, and driven the blade to the bone.”[17]