Translation of the saying:
One of our companions informed us, he said: We were in the presence of His Eminence Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, then he gave us a sermon in which he described the pious and said:
Do you not see those who stay awake at night in anticipation of death and weep for fear of the fire? They believe in the Hereafter as if they see it. Their desire for Paradise is the desire of those who walk through its green fields, sit by its beautiful rivers, and rest in the everlasting shade of its fruitful trees while they know that they will not die after the first death and will live beside Allah forever. Every one of them has abandoned this inferior world and joined the Abode of Eternity. When they look ahead of them, they see houses raised with the light of Allah and surrounded by gardens as wide as the eye can see; Paradises of infinite and astonishing breadth, as the breadth of the vast sky. At this moment, they do not pay attention to what is behind them from the unpleasant world; because what they see ahead of them has occupied them from what is behind them. Allah, may His majesty be glorified, removes the veil from their eyes and shows them what He has prepared for them; so they eagerly long for it and forbearingly refrain from what is forbidden for fear of not gaining it. In Paradise, they are neighbors of the Prophets and companions of the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, so they visit each other, and this is one of the best blessings in Paradise.
Then he turned toward me and said:
Do you not like to be the neighbor of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, and the companion of his Ahl al-Bayt?!
Then he resumed his sermon and said:
When they put a believer in the grave, he fears; then Allah allows him to smell the scent of Paradise to soothe him, and if someone does not smell the scent of Paradise, then no good has been wanted for him. Then there is nothing more pleasing to a believer than finding the friends of Allah by his side and feeling at ease with them. Then, after a short delay which is inevitable, one of the gates of Paradise is opened for him, and he enters it with the friends of Allah, like a groom who enters the bridal chamber, and his eyes become brightened by its horizons. At this moment, some of those who are with him say: “Let him recover himself; because he came from the world.” Then he sits in the shade of a tree or by a river or on a bed or in some houses, and they bring him something to eat and drink, and his eyes become brightened, and he relieves himself of the exhaustion of death. Then slowly his righteous friends and good relatives, who passed away before him, come to him and greet him, and they rejoice in seeing each other. So he thinks that he has returned from a trip or woken up from a short sleep. Then they give him the glad tidings of seeing the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, so a joy comes to him that has never come to him before. Then he visits His Excellency and his Caliphs, and they treat him favorably. Then they have him reside in the Paradise that Allah has prepared exclusively for him and grant him its endless blessings.
I said: “May I be sacrificed for you, you thrilled our hearts with your words! I hope you further describe its endless blessings!” So he said:
If you had seen the endless blessings of Paradise and known about its mysterious beauties, nothing would be more worthless to you than the world and its ornaments. If you had seen the green trees of Paradise, how their foliage shake in the breeze that blows from under the Throne, their roots are in hills of musk and saffron, and rosewater springs spout from beneath them, you would loathe the desires of the world and leave them for its people. Do you not know that amber hangs from the trunks of the trees of Paradise, jasmine and lily bushes are wrapped around them, and those trees have grown among fields covered with colorful flowers and eye-catching greenswards? Do you not know that among those lush fields and around those fruitful trees, there are rivers of pure water, rivers of fresh milk, rivers of tasty honey, and rivers of clean wine? And among them is a river called Tasnim, and another river called Salsabil, which tastes like ginger. Do you not know that diamond icicles hang from the roofs of the houses of Paradise and the walls of its caves, its pebbles are made of pearls and rubies, its brushwood is made of agate and turquoise, and its soil is made of musk and saffron? There are houses there made of golden bricks and decorated with silver sheets, with green emerald doors, solid bronze windows, and transparent crystal glasses. In their rooms, around the rivers, in the orchards, and under the fruitful trees, there are beds made of oak and walnut and engraved with beautiful patterns, and on those beds are carpets made of pure silk, and on those carpets are mattresses made of green velvet, and on those mattresses are cushions made of blue silk fabric, and on each bed, a table is set, on which there are fruits of the four season fruits, such as apples, grapes, bananas, pears, figs, pomegranates, plums, oranges, peaches, and fruits that do not exist in the world, and colorful fragrant delicious foods, plates made of crystal, bowls made of gold, and spoons made of silver, and at each table is a beautiful lady who desires her husband, while she has worn dresses made of blue chiffon and white silk, adorned herself with jewels, and perfumed herself with incense. The hair of these ladies is as dark as the darkness of the night, their faces are as bright as the brightness of the sun, and their bodies are as delicate as spring blossoms, and the hair of some of them is golden and some others maroon; they have black, blue, and green eyes and thin lips and long eyebrows, unimaginable in beauty; they hold silver cups of wine and honey juice to offer to their husband while they surpass each other to accompany him and compete to attract his attention.
Then he fell silent for a while and then said:
One of the blessings of Paradise is that Allah has appointed an Angel over its people that calls out to them every day and says: “O people of Paradise! You will live forever!” and another Angel says: “Know that you shall have what you desire and more!” and another blessing is that Allah has removed heat, cold, and darkness from Paradise and suffering, illness, and old age from its people; another blessing is that no day in Paradise is equal to the previous day; another blessing is that sometimes people of Paradise see people of Hell in the midst of punishment and talk to them; another blessing is that the Angels talk to people of Paradise, and people of Paradise talk to the Angels; another blessing is that people of Paradise see nothing but beauty and hear nothing but beauty, and seeing people of Hell is seeing justice; another blessing is that people of Paradise can reside wherever in Paradise they want; another blessing is that Allah has removed the reckoning from people of Paradise, and they do not commit sins in it; another blessing is that Allah raises the ranks of people of Paradise; another blessing is that people of Paradise are the kings of Paradise; and another blessings is that Paradise is better than all of these!
Then he turned toward me and said: “Is it not enough?!” I said: “May I be sacrificed for you, half of what you said is enough for people of understanding!” Then he turned toward his companions and said in a loud voice:
Know that this Paradise is for you and those who are on your path, and there is nothing for others but the fire!
Explanation of the saying:
His Honor’s meaning by “your path” in this magnificent saying is the beliefs and righteous deeds that he has explained in the honorable book Return to Islam based on the Book of Allah, the mutawatir Sunnah of His Prophet, and in the light of sound intellect, which represents the pure and perfect Islam; whoever accepts it is one of the people of Paradise, and whoever rejects it is one of the people of Hell.
It is worth mentioning that many of Mansoor’s helpers carry this pure saying with them and read it at the beginning of the day to strengthen the remembrance of Paradise in themselves and keep themselves safe from attachment to the world until the end of the day.