The report of a man rising from Transoxiana, called “Mansoor,” ahead of “Harith,” with the purpose of preparing the ground for the rule of the family of Muhammad , is one that Abu Dawud has narrated in his Sunan[1]. Al-Maghribi has said about it: «إِسْنَادُهُ صَحِيحٌ أَوْ حَسَنٌ بِلَا شَكٍّ وَلَا رِيبَةٍ»[2]; “Its chain of narrators is authentic or good, without any doubt or suspicion,” and some have considered it weak. However, there is a variation in its copies; because in one, “Harith ibn Harrath” has been stated, while in others, “Harith Harrath” has been stated. Al-Azimabadi has said that the latter has been stated in most copies, and this is authentic[3]. His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani (may Allah Almighty protect him) has said in the explanation of this report:

The river referred to is Jayhun, which is the River of Balkh in Khorasan. And there is no mention of “Harith” in any hadith other than this one, and only “Mahdi” and “Mansoor” have been mentioned. And ibn Hayyun has narrated it through Abd al-Razzaq, and in his narration, there is no mention of “Harith.” It has only been stated in it: «يَقُومُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ وُلْدِي، عَلَى مُقَدِّمَتِهِ رَجُلٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ: الْمَنْصُورُ، يُوَطِّئُ لَهُ -أَوْ قَالَ: يُمَكِّنُ لَهُ- وَاجِبٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ نُصْرَتُهُ -أَوْ قَالَ:- إِجَابَتُهُ»; “A man from my descendants rises. At the forefront of his army is a man called Mansoor. He prepares the ground for him—or he said: he establishes power for him. It is obligatory for every believer to help him—or he said: to respond to him.” So I fear that the companions of Harith ibn Surayj may have added “Harith” to the narration; because he rose from Khorasan in the year 116 of the Hijra, while claiming to be the owner of the (promised) black flags. However, if this word is correct, it refers to the Mahdi, who is titled “Harith,” meaning “the plowman,” because of his transformation of the Earth; just as in the hadith of Hudhayfah, he is titled “Jabir,” meaning “the mender of brokenness,” because of his reformation of the nation of Muhammad . And what supports this is his other statement, where he said: «إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الرَّايَاتِ السُّودَ قَدْ جَاءَتْ مِنْ قِبَلِ خُرَاسَانَ فَائْتُوهَا، فَإِنَّ فِيهَا خَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ الْمَهْدِيَّ»; “When you see the black flags coming from Khorasan, hasten toward them; for the caliph of Allah, the Mahdi, is among them.” Yes, it is also probable that the hadith has been distorted; because it has been stated in some books: «يَخْرُجُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ وَرَاءِ النَّهْرِ يُقَالُ لَهُ: الْحَارِثُ، عَلَى مُقَدِّمَةِ رَجُلٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ: مَنْصُورٌ»; “A man rises from Transoxiana, called ‘Harith,’ at the forefront of the army of a man called ‘Mansoor.’” And Based on this, the intended meaning of Harith is “Shu‘ayb ibn Salih”; as it has been stated: «تَخْرُجُ رَايَاتٌ سُودٌ، فِيهِمْ شَابٌّ مِنْ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ، عَلَى مُقَدِّمَتِهِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي تَمِيمٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ: شُعَيْبُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ»; “Black flags rise, among which is a young man from the Banu Hashim. At the forefront of his army is a man from the Banu Tamim called ‘Shu‘ayb ibn Salih.’” And what supports this is a narration indicating that Shu‘ayb ibn Salih rises from Samarkand, which is in Transoxiana; in such a way that after learning of Mansoor’s rise, he will set out toward him with five thousand men, then pledge allegiance to him and take command of his army. And this is a very probable scenario, assuming that the principle is not the absence of distortion. Anyway, the hadith indicates the obligation to help Mansoor. And he is called “Mansoor” (meaning “the helped one”) because of the obligation to help him, and also because of the statement of the Messenger of Allah about his companions, that they are «يُنْصَرُونَ»; “helped.”[4]

His statement concluded. As a result, according to the more correct view, “Harith” is one of the titles of Imam Mahdi , who may very well be in Transoxiana before his advent, and Mansoor Khorasani will accompany him; as it has been narrated about the black flags that rise from Khorasan: «إِنَّ فِيهَا خَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ الْمَهْدِيَّ»[5]; “The caliph of Allah, the Mahdi, is among them,” and in another narration, it has been stated: «فَإِنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ وَالنَّصْرَ مَعَهُمْ»[6]; “Indeed, the Mahdi and Nasr are with them”; especially considering that it is not unlikely that the word “Nasr” is a distortion of the word “Mansoor” and that it has been stated in the original narration: «فَإِنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ وَالْمَنْصُورَ مَعَهُمْ»; “Indeed, the Mahdi and Mansoor are with them”; as it has been stated in a narration: «مِنَّا الْمَهْدِيُّ وَالْمَنْصُورُ»[7]; “The Mahdi and Mansoor are from us.” This clarifies the meaning of Abu Dawud’s report and can be considered in the context of a narration about the Mahdi that states: «مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ يَقُومُ، وَأَصْلُهُ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ، وَهُنَاكَ يَسْتَوِي قِيَامُهُ وَيَتِمُّ أَمْرُهُ»[8]; “He rises from the West, but his origin is from the East, and there his rise takes shape and his affairs are set right.”

In any case, the reports indicating a man rising from the Greater Khorasan with black flags, who calls to the Mahdi and prepares the ground for his rule, are not limited to this report, and His Eminence Allamah (may Allah Almighty protect him) has compiled what has been narrated in this regard in a book entitled al-Durr al-Mandud Fi Turuq Hadith al-Rayat al-Sud. In his research, he has reached narrations from 47 of the Sahabah, the Tabi‘un, and the Ahl al-Bayt, which have been transmitted through 147 different chains of narration. Some people believe that the fulfillment of these reports has arrived and that it refers to His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani (may Allah Almighty protect him); because he has risen from the Greater Khorasan with black flags, calls to the Mahdi , and prepares the ground for his rule, exactly as stated in the reports. However, the reality is that he does not make such a claim; perhaps he is the one, but he avoids engaging in it due to his aversion to pretense and discussion of unnecessary matters[9]; because Allah has made him free from the need for claims by clears truths, considering that his movement is not illusory or fictitious to rely on such claims; rather, it is a movement based on objective and tangible realities. Similarly, his rise from the Greater Khorasan is an objective and tangible reality; his black flags are objective and tangible realities; his call to the Mahdi and his preparing the ground for his rule are objective and tangible realities; and his large book, Return To Islam, is a scholarly and intellectual engineering for a global revolution, as is his small book, Geometry of Justice. Therefore, he has no need for such claims, like the sun which has no need to proclaim that it is the sun; as some of our companions informed us, they said:

A man from a distant land came to Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani (may Allah Almighty support him), and after a conversation they had, the man took his hand and said: “I bear witness that you are the promised one who prepares the ground for the Mahdi’s advent; the one whom the Messenger of Allah commanded us to help!” When Mansoor heard this, he immediately withdrew his hand from the man’s hand and said to him rebukingly:

Leave me alone, brother! Have you come all this way from your land to deceive me about my religion?! By Allah, I prepare the ground for the advent of the Mahdi, but I do not care what you call me; because I have not made the sky my roof and the Earth my carpet, and I have not thrown myself into the ocean of calamity like a piece of rock just so you would come from your land and call me the promised one! Am I not a son of man?! Then call me the son of man and accompany me on the path I have taken; because I am going to the Mahdi, and I will reach him with you or without you.

Then he got up to leave and said in a loud voice:

I am a caller ahead of the Mahdi, who calls out: Clear the way![10]

Now, you “young ones who love the Mahdi!”

If you are truly “young ones who love the Mahdi,” then know that helping “the promised one who prepares the ground for the Mahdi’s advent” is not obligatory just because he is “promised”; rather, it is obligatory because he is “the one who prepares the ground for the Mahdi’s advent,” as Allah and His Messenger have made this promise regarding him for that very reason. Therefore, if you are truly “young ones who love the Mahdi,” then you must act to help “the one who prepares the ground for the Mahdi’s advent,” even if you do not consider him “promised.”

Good for those who have insight, for they see the truth behind a thousand veils; and woe to those who are blind, for they do not see the truth even when it is right in front of them!

As for the narration about the conjunction of Mars and Saturn and its indication of some events close to the Mahdi’s advent, it is an extremely weak narration upon which relying is not permissible; especially considering that it contradicts the prohibitions of Islam against seeking predictions of future events through the observation of celestial bodies, even though there may be some truth to it, like sorcery.