Following the predecessors, if it is due to them following the intellect, the intellect exists for posterity as well, and with its existence, following the predecessors is meaningless, and if it is due to them following the religion, the religion exists for posterity as well, and with its existence, following it is more deserving than following the predecessors; rather following the predecessors due to them following the intellect and the religion is a contradictory work; because following the predecessors, if they followed the intellect and the religion, entails following the intellect and the religion, not the predecessors; considering that the predecessors, according to the presumption, have followed the intellect and religion, not the predecessors, and therefore, following the predecessors requires not following the predecessors! [Return to Islam, pp. 50 and 51]
Following the first three generations of Muslims has no basis in Islam, nor is it justifiable with any statement, and this is regardless of its impossibility in reality; because the first three generations of Muslims were different individuals and groups with contradictory sayings and actions, to the extent that they considered the sayings and actions of each other to be incorrect and fought over them. It is clear that with this description, it is not possible to follow them; because following the sayings and actions of some of them means not following the sayings and actions of some others, and this is a contradictory and meaningless work. [Return to Islam, pp. 55 and 56]
Another common type of imitation is following the sayings and actions of scholars; because most of Muslims consider the sayings and actions of scholars as the religion, and do not know any difference between them, whereas the religion is certainly not the sayings and actions of scholars, rather it is the sayings and actions of God Almighty, and there is no correlation between them, and their compatibility with each other is not certain; as incompatibility of many sayings and actions of scholars with the religion is evident. [Return to Islam, p. 57]
Many Muslims, especially in countries such as Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, believe that it is obligatory for every Muslim to pick a marja’ in order 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. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
Imitation is contrary to the natural principle, and therefore is indispensable for a reason, and its reason cannot be based on itself; so there is no choice but to practice ijtihad in imitation, while they are often imitators in their imitation; because they do not know any reason for it from the religion or the intellect, except for an illusion that has been created for some of them, which is that imitating scholars is from this aspect that the intellectuals refer to the expert, while this illusion is far from reality; because in the opinion of the intellectuals, the expert vary depending on subjects about which they are referred to, and in their opinion, an expert in the religion is one referring to whom brings about certainty for them, such as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, not one referring to whom just leads to conjecture, such as mujtahids. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
Where are my true helpers? Where are those who, like Christ, left the world behind and were freed from any attachment to it? Where are those who were companions of death and saw God in front of them? They wept out of fear of fire, as if they were bereaved parents! They looked around the sky as if they saw the Angels throughout it! They worshiped God and avoided worshiping taghut. They obeyed their leader and competed with each other to help him. It was as if they were steel boards or soaring mountains! When they attacked the enemy in their ranks, it was as if they launched tornadoes and sandstorms. They watched their behavior and knew the proper time for any word. They were adorned with good morals and pure from evil morals. They were unknown on the earth and well known in the sky. Dust sat on them, and their faces were pale. They were like honey beehives during the nights! They spend the nights in performing the prayer, asking for forgiveness and reciting the Quran, and spend the days in gaining knowledge, jihad and serving people. They were neither exhausted nor hesitant. May God have mercy on them. They spent their time and left, and now you are left for us. So make the effort to be good successors to them, and follow their footsteps, and know that you will not see the Faraj unless you are like this. [Letter six]
Indeed, your example in the life of the world has been like that of a child who has lost his mother in the crowd, so in the hope of finding her, he grasps the skirt of every woman and follows her for a while, until he sees unkindness from her and finds out that she is not the mother, then he leaves her while wailing and grasps the skirt of someone else, until the darkness of the night surrounds him and its cold kills him, while there is no helper for him! This has been your example in the life of the world that in the hope of achieving justice, you have set your hearts on every government and followed it for a while until you have seen oppression from it and realized that there is not justice in it, then you have overthrown it while shouting, and turned toward another government! Thus, in the search for justice, sometimes you have tended to the East and sometimes to the West; sometimes you have run to the left and sometimes to the right; sometimes you have turned toward Zayd and sometimes toward Amr; sometimes you have set your hearts on monarchy and sometimes on democracy! While justice has been neither in the East nor in the West; it has been neither in the left nor in the right; it has been neither in Zayd nor in Amr; it has been neither in monarchy nor in democracy! Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it... [Letter fourteen]
Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it, but you have despaired of His mercy and neglected His Mahdi, and therefore, you have entrusted the government which He has wanted for His Mahdi to those for whom He has not wanted a government! It seems the government is the inheritance of your fathers that you take it from whomever you want and give it to whomever you want, and it seems it does not belong to God who has said: ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ﴾; “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”, and He has given it to Ibrahim and made a covenant with the just from among his descendants, and said: ﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا ۖ قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ﴾; “And when God tested Ibrahim with some words, then he fulfilled them, He said: I am going to appoint you as an Imam for people, he said: And also my descendants? He said: My covenant does not reach the oppressors”, and the just from among his descendants are those whom God has willed to remove all impurity from them and to purify them completely, and they are in the Book of God the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family[3], and it is hereby understood that Mahdi of God is from the household of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and whoever chooses a ruler other than him has gone far astray. [Letter fourteen]
It is surprising that people in every era have pledged allegiance to someone and made the covenant of guardianship with someone but have not known that no one can accomplish it and do it justice, except for the one whom God has guided and enabled to do so!... Do people not have eyes to see that their rulers are all oppressors and do not do justice?! Or do they not have ears to hear that their politicians are all liars and do not tell the truth?! Or do they not have intelligence to find out that their leaders all mislead and do not lead?! So how long will this pus-filled wound be opened, and how long will this madness continue?! Beware, O people! Tell me! How long should you, like dead drunks, stagger from the right to the left and from the left to the right until you finally understand that the right and the left are the same for you, and there is no justice in either of them?! Tell me! How many other governments should you test, and how much other obedience should you pay the price for until you finally find out that no government but the government of God will bring you to justice, and no obedience but the obedience to His Caliph will free you from oppression?! Is this thousands of years of experience not enough?! Are these heavy prices not enough?! Did you not hear Nimrods and Pharaohs? Did you not bear Khosrows and Caesars?! Did you not see caliphs and kings?! Did you not test republics and Islamics?! So have you not yet learned your lesson?! [Letter fourteen]
Beware, O cruel kings and emirs who shed the blood of the innocent to gain and maintain domination! Beware, O hypocritical jurists and mullahs who unrightfully consider yourselves to be appointed by God and guardians of Muslims of the world! Beware, O greedy politicians who vie to take over the government! Beware, O deceitful political parties who seek nothing but power! Beware, O criminal cults and groups who strive to achieve superiority on the earth! Leave these troubled people alone and go away from between them and their owner! Are thousands of years of oppression and corruption not enough?! Is a history of humiliation and poverty not enough?! Are you not tired of all these evil doings and giving rise to fitnahs?! Then when will you end this childish game?! Then when will you stop these repetitive methods?! [Letter fourteen]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “O you who believed! Obey God and obey the Prophet and those in authority from among you”, so he said: There is always someone among those who believed that obedience to him is obligatory for them like obedience to God and the Prophet, whoever obeys him, obeys God and the Prophet, and whoever disobeys him, disobeys God and the Prophet, and he is the one whom God and the Prophet have appointed, and not the one whom people have appointed with their passions, I said: They say that anyone from among believers who takes control of their authority is the one in authority from among them, he said: They are right! I said: How can they be right, while you said what you said?! He replied: Whoever other than the one whom God and the Prophet have appointed takes control of their authority is not from among believers, but from among sinners, and God has commanded to obey those in authority from among believers, and has not commanded to obey those in authority from among sinners! “Is the one who is a believer equal to the one who is a sinner?! They are not equal”! Then he said: Shall I increase for you? I said: Yes, he said: Those in authority are its owners, and they are the ones whom God and the Prophet have appointed, and whoever other than them takes control of it is a usurper, and the usurper is not considered from among the owners, “If only they could understand”! I said: May God reward you well; because you gave me two perfect wisdom that I had never heard before! He said: “They are two proofs from your Lord”! [Passage 25 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “O you who believed! Fear God and believe in His Prophet, then He will grant you two portions of His mercy and place for you a light to walk in”, so he said: The two portions of His mercy are the Book and the Sunnah, and the light is an Imam who illuminates those two for them until the Day of Judgment arrives. Then fear God and believe in His Prophet, then He will grant you the Book and the Sunnah and appoint an Imam for you who illuminates those two for you until the Day of Judgment arrives. [Passage 28 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “God is the light of the skies and the earth”, so he said: He is their Guide, and the light of God is His guidance, and it is “in houses that God has permitted to be raised up and His name to be mentioned therein”, and they are the houses of the Prophets, “in them, morning and evening, He is praised by men that no business or occupation makes them neglect the remembrance of God”, and they are the households of the Prophets, do you not see that He says they praise Him morning and evening in them? So they are their family, and God’s guidance does not leave the houses of the Prophets until the Day of Judgment arrives, then seek it from the household of the Prophet, and do not seek it from others, for you will go astray! [Passage 29 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: In the midst of this era, in this time that the sun of the religion is hidden behind dark clouds, God has servants that He is always in their hearts. They light a lamp in the eyes of people from the light of vigilance, and remind people of the days of God, and inform them of the exemplary fate of those who passed away. They are like guides in horrible and unmarked desserts. They give good tidings to those who joined the truth, and warn those who turned to falsehood. Yes, in the corners of this vast earth, there are people for God who have chosen the remembrance of God over the attachments of the world, and trading does not keep them from performing the prayer at its initial time. They spend day and night worshipping God, and convey His warnings to the heedless. They invite others toward justice, and practice it themselves before them. They have abandoned the world, and joined people of Heaven. It is as if they have left this world, and migrated to the Hereafter, or are still in the world and have seen what is behind the veil. It is as if they know about the hidden conditions of people of Barzakh, and spent some time in it. It is as if the Day of Judgment has shown them its horrible face, or the blazing fire of Hell has engulfed them. It is as if they see secrets that others do not see, and hear things that people do not hear. [Saying eleven]
Translation of the saying: If you find them and see their high position that how they have opened their book of deeds and are prepared for judgment; they contemplate how many big and small works they were commanded and failed to do, and how many works they were forbidden to do but did! They feel the weight of their sins and are unable to bear them, and have been brought to their knees, weeping and writhing as if in pain. How many nights they are unable to sleep and sit in a dark and lonely corner, hugging their knees and thinking! Sometimes they stand up for the prayer, and sometimes they prostrate, and sometimes they stare at the sky with eyes overflowing with tears, as if they are looking for something among its stars. If the veil is lifted from before your eyes, you will see the Angels have descended upon and surrounded them, and the doors of the sky have opened to them, and Heavens full of blessings have been prepared for them. [Saying eleven]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from al-Himyari, from Sindi ibn Muhammad, from ‘Alā ibn Razin, from Muhammad ibn Muslim, from Abu Ja’far (al-Bāqir) peace be upon him that said: The earth would not be without a hidden or visible Imam!
Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshiped on earth except through a visible and living Imam; because His worship on it is establishment of the limits and enforcement of the laws and management of the properties and performing Jihad against His enemies, and these works need a visible and living Imam. So if He does not appoint a visible and living Imam, He has not perfected His Favor for His servants and has not set a way for them to worship Him. Therefore, if they abandon worshiping Him, there is no proof for God against them, unless He appoint a visible and living Imam, but they make him hide; because whenever they do so and then abandon worshiping God, they have set a proof for God against themselves; as God has said: “It is because of that which your hands have sent forth, and God is not oppressive toward servants” and has said: “And God has not oppressed them, but they have oppressed themselves” and it is not that if He appoints a visible and living Imam for them, but they kill him out of oppression; because whenever they make him hide, they can make him appear whenever they repent and reform, but if they kill him, they cannot make him alive, and Imam whenever he is hidden, can help them repent and reform with his prayer and blessings and his communication with some of the righteous, and maybe he enjoins them to good and forbids them from evil without them knowing him, but if he dies, he can do nothing and therefore, it is permissible for God in His Justice and Grace to make Imam hide whenever He sees evil in His servants, but it is not permissible for Him to take him from this world without setting a substitute for him. [Lesson one, p. 43]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Some of those who do not like what God has revealed, have thought that the narration of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, stating that his Ahl al-Bayt are a protection for the inhabitants of earth, is fabricated, but it is not what they have thought, rather it is a correct narration which is compatible with Quran and the Sunnah and is compatible with the intellect; as Hākim (al-Neyshāburi) [Died in 495 AH] has considered it to be correct in the book of “al-Mustadrak”. The fabricated is the narration which they have considered to be correct so that they oppose the truth (that is, this correct narration) by it, and it has been said in it that the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “My companions are a protection for my nation, so when my companions are gone, what has been promised to my nation will come to them” and this is a false narration which is in conflict with Quran and the Sunnah and is in conflict with the intellect; because if the meaning of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, from “what has been promised to my nation” in it, has been the punishment or the Resurrection Day, none of them came to his nation when his companions went away, and if his meaning from it, has been disagreement, the disagreement came to them when his companions were still among them, rather his companions founded it by the disagreement they made among themselves, whereas the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, cannot say something that is not true, and accordingly he did not say so. This narration has been narrated by Abu Burdah ibn Abu Musa, and he is a bad man that was hostile toward Ali and befriended his enemies, and at the command of Zyād ibn his father, he testified against Hujr ibn ‘Adi may God be pleased with him. It is thought that he has distorted this narration out of enmity toward Ahl al-Bayt, and the one who trusts him regarding this narration is a fool. The correct is that which has been received from the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, about his Ahl al-Bayt that God has removed any impurity from them and has made them completely pure, and it has been received through Ali, Jābir ibn Abdullah, Salamah ibn al-Akwa’, Abdullah ibn Abbās, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Abu Musa al-Ash’ari. [Lesson one, p. 47]
The purpose of the lessons of His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, is to purify people and teach them the Book and wisdom, and their center and basis are the Quran and the Sunnah, and their subject matter is Islamic beliefs, laws and morals, and we have selected from them what is related to the most important and most needed issues, and arranged it in a way that facilitates the studies and researches for the readers, and written annotations for them, which contains references to the sources and some necessary explanations. [Lesson one, introduction]
Each lesson is about a belief or a jurisprudential or moral issue, and consists of three chapters:
• The first chapter is the statement of some verses of the Quran that are related to the issue, and contains invaluable interpretations which we have extracted from the enlightening sayings of His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, and explain the meaning of the verses in a way that heals hearts and brings people out of darkness into light.
• The second chapter is the statement of some authentic Hadiths from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which are related to the issue, along with mentioning their witnesses and follow-ups, and contains precise points and useful explanations from His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, clarifying the meanings of the Hadiths, the condition of the narrators, and the opinions of scholars.
• The third chapter is the statement of some authentic Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, which are related to the issue, along with mentioning their witnesses and follow-ups, and contains things similar to those of the second chapter. [Lesson one, introduction]
The rule in the opinion of His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, is the authority of mutawatir narrations and lack of authority of ahad narrations. In his opinion, a mutawatir narration is what has been narrated by more than four men at each level, provided that they are not related and do not differ on the meaning, and what they have narrated should not conflict with the Book of God or the proved Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, or the sound intellect. Also, what have been narrated by four men at each level is considered mutawatir, provided that they are just, in addition to the previous three conditions, and this is what makes it necessary to examine the condition of the narrators whenever their number does not exceed four. However, His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, examines their condition whenever they are less or more than this number in terms of obligation; because most Muslims believe in the authority of ahad narrations from a trustworthy or a truthful person, and perhaps they do not consider what has been narrated by five men as mutawatir. Therefore, His Excellency Allamah, may God protect him, selects what their trustworthy or truthful narrators have narrated in order to be a proof for them, may they be guided. [Lesson one, introduction]
Imam Mahdi, according to the rule “I am only a human being like you”, is a human being like other people in terms of body, and therefore, he is affected by natural harms; as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the Prophets before him were affected by them, to the extent that the wife of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said: “Woe to me! Shall I give birth to a child while I am an old woman and my husband is an old man?! This is surely a strange thing”, and the brothers of Yusuf, peace be upon him, said: “O noble chief, he has a very aged father”, and Zakariyya, peace be upon him, said: “O Lord! Indeed, my bones have weakened and my head has turned hoary with age”, and said: “O Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?!”. Yes, it is imperative that Imam Mahdi be strong in carrying out the affairs of leadership when he appears; as there are Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt indicating that he appears in the form of a young man despite his old age; as it has been narrated from Hasan ibn Ali that said: “God will prolong his life in his absence; then He will have him appear as a young man under forty years old by His power”... but these Hadiths, if authentic, do not conflict with the fact that he is a human being like other people; because an old human also looks young if he has a good character, a moderate temperament, a strong body and pure sustenance. Moreover, this may be a dignity for him and a sign from God; as it has been narrated that Amr ibn Ḥamiq al-Khuza‘i gave water to the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the he said: “O God! Bless him with his youth”, then eighty years passed from his life, without a single strand of his hair turned white. Anyway, there is no doubt that Imam Mahdi will be strong to carry out the affairs of leadership when he appears, whether he is in the form of a young man or in the form of an old man, “And God has power over all things”. [Question and Answer 25]
Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is the Imam of all Muslims and does not belong to a particular madhhab, but some Islamic madhhabs may have more knowledge about him. In fact, his relationship to Muslims is like that of Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, to them; all of them accept him as a Caliph, but some of them consider him as the fourth Caliph and some of them as the first Caliph. But there are less disagreements among them about Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him; because they all consider him to be the twelfth Caliph and appointed by God and His Prophet. They only disagree about the name of his father and the time of his birth, and this disagreement does not harm the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent; because the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent does not stem from the name of his father or the time of his birth, but from the necessity of his advent as the Caliph of God and His Prophet, whether the name of his father is Abdullah or Hasan, and whether he was born before or will be born later. [Question and Answer 26]
The manner of Imam Mahdi for introducing Islam to people of the world is the manner of his ancestor, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which is to invite them to one of the three:
1. Converting to true Islam and abandoning false religions
2. Submitting to rulings of the true Islam while remaining true to their religions
3. Fighting
Of course, it is clear that because of his perfect knowledge about what God has sent down by virtue of him being God’s Caliph on the earth, and his complete purity from all impurity by virtue of him being a member of the Ahl al-Bayt, he will invite with wisdom and good advice as long as he is an inviter, rule justly as long as he is a ruler, and observe all rulings of God regarding fighting, peace, the promise of security, prisoners and spoils as long as he fights, and will not oppress anyone in any of these three. [Question and Answer 67]
It is not intellectually or religiously impossible for Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, to have a successor or messenger or child, based on the statement that he exists at the present time; because Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, based on the statement that he exists at the present time, is a human being like other people, and consequently, like any of them, he can delegate some of his works to someone else, or send a messenger, or take a wife to have a child with, however, considering that being a successor or messenger or child of someone is against the principle, the claimant must prove it with a valid religious reason, but it is clear that dreams or ahad narrations are not valid religious reasons; because there is nothing in the Quran and the Sunnah that indicates the permissibility of acting on a dream in order to accept the claims of people when they have no proof or the proof is against them, and it is not acceptable from a judge to adjudicate without a proof or against it, with the excuse that he has dreamed about it. Therefore, one cannot believe or act on something for which there is no proof from the intellect and the religion, with the reasoning that he saw something in a dream that indicates it, and this is explicitly stated in the Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them; as they have said: “Indeed, the religion of God is more firm than to be seen in dreams”. The only exception to that is what an infallible person sees; like what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw... and also what a fallible person sees but an infallible person interprets; like what Pharaoh saw, and Yusuf, peace be upon him, interpreted... Therefore, other dreams that people see or interpret have no validity and cause conjecture at most; as the issuance of ahad narrations is conjectural, so it is not permissible to act on them in what is related to the religion; because of the explicit of the words of God Almighty that has said: “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. Therefore, the claimants who now, by relying on dreams and interpreting some ahad narrations, consider themselves to be children, successors and messengers of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, claim something that cannot be religiously acknowledged. [Question and Answer 4]
The true ground preparers for the advent of Mahdi are a group of people from Khorasan, who have risen with the black flags in order to search for Mahdi and invite people toward him with a pure invitation, without any polytheism and Shubha, and their leader, Mansoor, is a righteous scholar who does not say anything undue about himself. He does not claim to be Mahdi nor his child nor his successor nor his messenger, but he practically invites people toward him, and actually prepares the ground for his advent, and Whoever God has wanted good for him will rush toward him, even though by crawling on snow. [Question and Answer 4 Appendices]
It is clear that whoever believes in the oneness of God in creation, legislation and sovereignty, and believes in His last Prophet, Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and does not deny any of the pillars of His religion such as the Book, the Angels, the Day of Judgment, the Qiblah, prayer, Zakat, fasting, Hajj and jihad, is a Muslim, even though he does not think like you about the rest of his beliefs and has a different interpretation. This is a well-known fact from the Book of God and the mutawatir Sunnah of His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the righteous predecessors were in agreement with it, to the extent that it may be considered one of the obvious facts of Islam, and its denier can be accused of ignorance and misguidance. Therefore, it is clear that “all Shias” are not considered disbelievers and polytheists; because most of them believe in the oneness of God, His last Prophet, and the pillars of His religion; so considering all of them as disbelievers and polytheists, even though due to some of their deviations and mistakes, is pure imperiousness and unfairness. [Critique and Response 11]
Interpreting the verse of purification as Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, and not interpreting it as the mothers of believers, is the interpretation of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which has been narrated from him by many of his companions, such as Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, Anas ibn Malik, Wathila ibn al-Asqa‘, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, Zayd ibn Arqam, Bara’ ibn Azib, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abu Huraira, Abu Hamra, Abu Barza, Umm Salamah, Aisha, Safiyya, and others, and it has been narrated that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said explicitly: “This verse was revealed concerning five persons: I, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain: ‘Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure’”, and that one of the wives of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “I said: O Messenger of God, am I not one of the Ahl al-Bayt? He said: You are upon good, you are one of the wives of the Messenger of God”, and in another narration: “I said: O Messenger of God, what about me? Then I swear to God, he did not say yes, and said: You are upon good”, and in another narration: “I said: O Messenger of God, am I not one of the Ahl al-Bayt? He said: You are one of the wives of the Messenger of God, and did not say: You are one of the Ahl al-Bayt”. Therefore, he made it clear that his wives are not from the members of his Ahl al-Bayt intended in the verse of purification. [Critique and Response 11]
Zayd ibn Arqam, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, Wathila, Umm Salamah and Safiyya have narrated that the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾; “Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure” was revealed separately in the house of Umm Salamah as an actuality-proposition, and was not revealed with the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى ۖ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾, which means: “And stay in your houses, do not flaunt your charms as in the former times of ignorance, perform prayer, pay zakat, and obey God and His Messenger”, and this indicates that they are two separate verses that were brought together in writing; considering that the order of writing the verses does not correlate with the order of their revelation. What strengthens this fact is the difference in pronouns in the two parts; because the pronoun in the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ...﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural feminine, but the pronoun in the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural masculine; as al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) has also pointed this out in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, when he said after mentioning the narrations: “What we narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, (that said) to Umm Salamah, indicates that the verse intends the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, peace be upon them, not other than them. So if one says: The Book of God indicates that the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, are the ones whom are intended in this verse; because before that in the same chapter He said: ‘O Prophet! say to your wives: If you’ to His words ‘as in the former times of ignorance’ then He said: ‘Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you’, our answer to him is: What has been stated in it up to before His words: ‘Indeed, God wants to’, addresses his wives, then God continued His words by addressing his Ahl (al-Bayt): ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’, and it addresses men, because He said in it: ‘to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you pure’, and this is how men are addressed, while what comes before that, uses the letter ‘N («ن»)’, and this is how women are addressed. So we understand that ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’ is an address to men whom He has willed to make them aware of His honor for them and His elevation in their dignity, if He made their women what He has described, for what has been stated in the verses before the one addressing them”, and it is not just al-Tahawi that has said so, but rather ibn Atiyyah (d. 542 AH) has attributed it to the majority, and said after pointing out the narrations: “One of the proofs of the majority is God’s words: «عَنْكُمُ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ» with the letter ‘M («م»)’, while if it had been exclusive to women, it would have been «عَنْكُنَّ»”. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not worship the god of ibn Hamid, ibn Taymiyyah, ibn Abd al-Wahhab and others like them; the god who is above and not below, has two eyes, two ears, two feet, and ten real fingers, moves from one place to another, can be seen by eyes like the moon in the sky, and is a perfect example of al-Lat, Hubal, and al-‘Uzza, hidden behind the veil of “without knowing how or what”! But he worships the God of Ibrahim, Isma‘il, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, the Descendants, Isa and Musa, who said: “O Lord! Show me so that I see You”, and He replied: “You will never see Me”, then he repented of his expectation: “He said: Glory be to You, I repent to You”; the God who destroyed seventy men of the children of Israel with a thunderbolt because they wanted to see Him with their eyes: “They said: Show us God manifestly”; because “Eyes cannot perceive Him, but He perceives all eyes, and He is the Subtle, the Aware”; the God that wherever you go He is there, and His presence is not limited to places and directions; as He has said: “Wherever you turn, there is the presence of God”, and said: “He is with you wherever you are”; the God who does not move from one place to another, nor does He rely on His creatures, nor is it possible to divide Him into parts, nor is He characterized by human characteristics; as He has said: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing”; the God that does not fit into any description, nor is He perceived by any imagination, and He is Glorified, Exalted from anything imaginable; as He has said: “They do not know God as He deserves to be known”, and said: “Glorified and Exalted is He, from whatever they describe”; the God that has all the Most Excellent Names, without the multiplicity of His Names leading to the multiplicity or division of His Essence; as He has said: “God, there is no god but He; He has the Most Excellent Names”; as the two attributes “the All-Seeing” and “the All-Hearing” do not transform Him into two beings, nor do they create two parts for Him, but rather He is the All-Hearing in His Essence, the All-Seeing in His Essence, and hearing and seeing are two aspects of one attribute of Him, which is “knowledge”; because there is no way for multiplicity to His presence, and He is pure from any plurality in His Essence; as He has said: “Say: He is the One God”, and said: “And Our command is but one”. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani worships the Lord of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and does not associate anyone with Him in creation, legislation and sovereignty; in the sense that he believes in His oneness in creating all the creatures, providing sustenance for them and managing them, and does not submit to any law other than His law, or to any government other than His government, and believes that His government is the government of one who rules with His permission, even though most people do not know... The God that legislation belongs to Him, and none but He makes a thing obligatory or forbidden; as He has said: “Or do they have partners who legislate for them as the religion that which God has not permitted?!”; the God that the government belongs to Him, and none but He appoints or removes a ruler; as He has said: “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”; so He has no partner in the government; as He has said: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ﴾! This is the God of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the God of Ibrahim and his family, and this is the God of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, the flag-bearer of monotheism in the current era with the monotheistic call “Allegiance belongs to God”. [Critique and Response 11]
The elements of hypocrisy have come to power in Muslim countries and have taken over the rule over Muslims; the rulers who seem to be Muslims but their subjection and submission to unbelievers or their opposition and hostility against Islamic streams indicates their disbelief in their heart. A group of them spread the deviant Umayyad and Abbasid ideas over the majority of Islamic countries by Sunni slogans, and by spreading extremism and political and arms support to terrorist groups, they target innocent Muslims’ lives and properties and honor, and a group of them spread superstition and religious invented heresies in Islamic countries by Shia slogans, and they cause insult against Islam and conflicts among Muslims, and it is interesting that both of them are unanimous in their opposition to the purest call of the time for realization of pure and complete Islam in the world, and in order to preserve their power and prevent the Caliph of God on earth from coming to power, they do every wicked and evil work! As for example, their mercenary and self-sold elements, who do not believe in any god other than their masters, are plotting daily to hit the purified movement “Return to Islam” and block the way for its free and great leader Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani and for this purpose, they do every lie, slander, cruelty and evil act. How many educated and committed youth who are in their prisons and suffer for accepting the right invitation toward pure and complete Islam, and how many honorable and respected men and women who become infamous and dishonored for the crime of preferring Mahdi over their gods, and they get blamed and insulted! [Article 6]
There is no doubt that ending this evil chaos will be accomplished by the Caliph of God on earth; because no one except for him has the ability to overcome these seditious wicked people with their big bellies and rough necks, and he is the Mahdi from the household of Mohammad who, by the definite promise of God and His Messenger, will fill the world with justice and fairness as it is filled with oppression and cruelty, but the reality is that to fulfill the sovereignty of this noble man and his confrontation against evil hypocrites, one cannot sit and do nothing and only pray and repent for his Excellency’s advent, but it is necessary to form a community of sincere and warrior Muslims for a comprehensive support and to help his Excellency and declare readiness to protect and assist him and break the vicious allegiance to other rulers and pledge allegiance to the true Caliph of God on earth; because without forming such community, the advent of Mahdi would not be possible and there would be no guarantee for survival and victory for him and this is the supreme goal that his honor Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is pursuing with his Islamic and public movement and tries to achieve it and therefore, his blessed movement is the best chance for gathering and forming a community of the youth who love Mahdi and the true waiters for his advent in order to announce loyalty and allegiance to his Excellency; the movement which with the slogan of “Allegiance to God” considers any allegiance except to the caliph of God on earth equal to allegiance to Taughut and with the belief in the possibility of realizing Mahdi’s sovereignty on the condition that the aforementioned grounds are provided, is preparing the grounds for the sovereignty of his Excellency objectively and practically. Therefore, it is imperative that all those who are honest in their claim to help, love, and wait for the advent of household of Mohammad, come forward as soon as possible and gather around this flag of guidance for getting close and practical realization of Mahdi’s advent and shout loud the informing and awakening call of “Return to Islam”, even though the blind-hearted and evil hypocrites do not like it and burst with jealousy and anger! [Article 6]
Elsewhere in the book Return to Islam, Khorasani considers the establishment of Islam to be useful and effective only in its pure and perfect form, and believes that establishing a part of it alone or mixed with something outside of it, not only is it not useful and effective, but can be harmful and dangerous, and this is contrary to the belief of most Muslims who think that establishing a part of Islam is also desirable and effective. He likens Islam to a single system with interconnected components that if one component does not work, the other components will also lose their efficiency and the whole system will fail. Therefore, Muslims have no choice but to establish the entire Islam in its purest form, and this is possible only if the Caliph of God on the earth teaches it. Another fundamental and important issue in this book is that the author considers the implementation of Islamic hudud and punishments contingent upon the implementation of all general and political rulings of Islam, and believes that legislating these hudud and punishments has been done in view of the rule of God on the earth, proportional to the time and place that all rulings of Islam are implemented as deterrents. Therefore, the implementation of these hudud and punishments in another time and place is not fair and proportional; especially considering that from the author’s point of view, the rulings of Islam are interdependent and interconnected and affect each other and are influenced by each other. [Article 1]
In another part of the book Return to Islam, Mansoor Hashemi considers disagreements among Muslims, sovereignty of anyone other than God, mixing with non-Islamic nations and cultures, emergence of sects and their rivalry with each other, moral decline, and prevention of enemies as the most important impediments to the establishment of the perfect and pure Islam since the demise of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and talks about each of them in detail, with a historical, pathological and trans-sectarian perspective. He also considers the tendency to Hadiths as one of the impediments to knowing the pure and perfect Islam and its establishment by Muslims; because in his opinion, Hadiths, in the sense of conjectural narrations from the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, have no validity due to the invalidity of conjecture in Islam, and it is not sufficient to rely on them in order to deduce a belief or a law. He believes that there is no reason to exclude the conjecture arising from Hadiths from other conjectures; because the invalidity of conjecture is one of the rulings of the intellect which do not accept exceptions. Therefore, only a mutawatir Hadith whose narrators are numerous and leads to certainty is valid, while such Hadiths are very few and are not available enough. However, from the author’s point of view, the solution to this predicament is not to refer to non-mutawatir Hadiths, but to refer to the Caliph of God on the earth, and if it is not possible to refer to him at the present time, it is because of the fault of people for not making its arrangements, and therefore, there is no excuse for them to refer to non-mutawatir Hadiths. Hashemi Khorasani believes that people have put themselves in a desperate situation by their own fault for not making the necessary arrangements to access the Caliph of God on the earth, and that this situation is not imposed upon us from God to be in conflict with His grace. However, he believes that it is possible for them to get out of this desperation; because their access to the Caliph of God on the earth is possible when his security is guaranteed by them; as his sovereignty over them is possible when their demand, support and obedience to him are guaranteed by them. [Article 1]
In this part of his book, after introducing the last Prophet of God and proving his Prophethood, the author explains the position of the Quran and the Sunnah, and points out very important and fundamental points in this regard. One of these points is the impossibility of abrogating, specifying and generalizing the Quran by the Sunnah; considering that the only duty of the Sunnah is to explain the Quran and cannot contradict it in any way; as it is conjectural in most cases and not capable of contradicting the Quran which is certain; rather, in mutawatir cases, it is not as mutawatir as the Quran either and cannot stand in an equal position to it. In another part of the book Return to Islam, the author considers the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, authentic which can be followed forever, but he believes that access to it in a certain way is possible mainly for people of his time and not for future generations. Therefore, future generations need another authority to achieve certainty about the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and that authority is the Caliph of God on the earth, who is considered the successor to the Prophet in implementing God’s rulings, and of course, like the Quran, is always available to people. [Article 1]
