1 . أَخْبَرَنَا جُبَيْرُ بْنُ عَطَاءٍ الْخُجَنْدِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ صَاحِبَكُمْ لَا يَخْرُجُ حَتَّى يَرَى الَّذِي يُحِبُّ، وَلَوْ صَارَ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ أَغْصَانَ الشَّجَرِ! قُلْتُ: وَمَا الَّذِي يُحِبُّ؟ قَالَ: اجْتِمَاعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى نُصْرَتِهِ، قُلْتُ: وَمَا فِي اجْتِمَاعِهِمْ، وَهُمُ الضُّعَفَاءُ وَالْفُقَرَاءُ؟! قَالَ: إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِي مَا فِيهِ، فِيهِ مِفْتَاحُ أَبْوَابِ السَّمَاءِ!
Translation of the saying:
Jubayr ibn Ata’ al-Khujandi informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: “Indeed, your master will not rise until he sees what pleases him, even if his matter gets to the point where he eats from the branches of the trees!” I said: “What is it that pleases him?” He said: “The gathering of believers for helping him.” I said: “What is in their gathering while they are weak and poor?!” He said: “You do not know what is in it. In it, there is the key to the doors of the heaven!”
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الطِّهْرَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الْمَهْدِيِّ كَيْفَ يَغْلِبُ الظَّالِمِينَ، وَلَهُمْ مَا تَرَى مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ؟ قَالَ: يَنْصُرُهُ اللَّهُ بِجُنْدٍ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ، وَجُنْدٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، فَوَاللَّهِ لَوْ أَطَاقُوا جُنْدَ الْأَرْضِ لَا طَاقَةَ لَهُمْ بِجُنْدِ السَّمَاءِ! قُلْتُ: مَتَى يَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ جُنْدُ السَّمَاءِ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا حُشِرَ لَهُ جُنْدُ الْأَرْضِ.
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Tehrani informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the Mahdi, how can he defeat oppressors while there is a power for them that you see? He said: “God will help him with an army from the earth and an army from the heaven, so I swear to God, if they endure the army of the earth, they will not endure the army of the heaven!” I said: “When will the army of the heaven be sent down to him?” He said: “When the army of the earth is assembled for him.”
3 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الطَّالَقَانِيُّ، قَالَ: ذَكَرْنَا عِنْدَ الْمَنْصُورِ ضَعْفَنَا فِي قُوَّةِ الظَّالِمِينَ، فَقُلْنَا: جُعِلْنَا فِدَاكَ، إِنَّا لَا نَرْجُو غَلَبَةً، وَإِنَّمَا نَرْجُو فَكَاكَ رِقَابِنَا مِنَ النَّارِ، فَقَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، لِمَ لَا تَرْجُوا غَلَبَةً؟! أَتَحْسَبُونَ اللَّهَ عَاجِزًا أَوْ بَخِيلًا؟! فَمَنْ يَمْلَأُ الْأَرْضَ عَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ ظُلْمًا إِنْ لَمْ تَغْلِبُوا؟! ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّكُمْ سَتَغْلِبُونَ، قُلْنَا: كَيْفَ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ جُعِلْنَا فِدَاكَ؟! وَقَدْ تَرَى ضَعْفَنَا فِي قُوَّةِ الظَّالِمِينَ! قَالَ: وَيْحَكُمْ، أَتَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى ضَعْفِكُمْ فِي قُوَّةِ الظَّالِمِينَ، وَلَا تَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى ضَعْفِهِمْ فِي قُوَّةِ اللَّهِ؟! إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا لَغَافِلُونَ! ثُمَّ قَالَ: مَاذَا تُرِيدُونَ؟! أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ أَقُولَ لَكُمْ: «سَتَغْلِبُونَ فِي سَنَةِ كَذَا، وَبِطَرِيقَةِ كَذَا؟!» لَا وَاللَّهِ، لَمْ يَقُلْ ذَلِكَ نَبِيٌّ وَلَا وَصِيٌّ لِأَصْحَابِهِ! وَلَكِنِّي أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: «سَتَغْلِبُونَ»، فَإِنْ غَلَبْتُمْ بِمَا آتَاكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ فَقَدْ غَلَبْتُمْ، وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْلِبُوا بِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِجُنُودٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ يُهْلِكُونَ أَعْدَاءَكُمْ كَمَا أَهْلَكُوا عَادًا وَثَمُودَ، ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ غَالِبُونَ! فَلَا تَحْسَبُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِفَ وَعْدِهِ رُسُلَهُ، وَلَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ!
Translation of the saying:
Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Taloqani informed us, he said: We mentioned our weakness against the strength of the oppressors in the presence of Mansoor, so we said: “May we be sacrificed for you, we have no hope of victory and we only hope to rescue our necks from the fire.” So he said: “Glory be to God! Why do you not have hope of victory?! Do you think that God is powerless or ungenerous?! Then who will fill the earth with justice as it has been filled with oppression if you do not achieve victory?!” Then he said: “You will surely be victorious!” We said: “May we be sacrificed for you, how can this be while you see our weakness against the strength of the oppressors?!” He said: “Woe to you! Do you see your weakness against the strength of the oppressors and do not see their weakness against the strength of God?! You are indeed the heedless!” Then he said: “What do you want?! Do you want me to tell you: ‘You will achieve victory in such-and-such a year and in such-and-such a way’?! No, I swear to God, neither a Prophet nor a successor said that to their companions! However, I say to you: ‘You will be victorious,’ so if you achieve victory by what God has given you of the means, then you are victorious, and if you do not achieve victory by that, then God will send armies from the heaven, and they will destroy your enemies as they destroyed Aad and Thamud, then you will be victorious! So do not think that God will fail in His promise to His Prophets, and do not despair of His mercy in the world and the Hereafter, and do not be of the ignorant!”
4 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ دَاوُودَ الْفَيْضآبَادِيُّ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِلْمَنْصُورِ: إِنِّي كُلَّمَا تَأَمَّلْتُ كَثْرَةَ الظَّالِمِينَ وَسَعَةَ بِلَادِهِمْ وَقُوَّةَ جُنُودِهِمْ وَأَسْلِحَتِهِمْ أَخَذَنِي شِبْهُ الْيَأْسِ! فَقَالَ: مِمَّنْ؟ فَسَكَتُّ وَلَمْ أَدْرِ مَا أَقُولُ، فَقَالَ: إِنْ كَانَ يَأْسُكَ مِنْكَ وَمِنْ إِخْوَانِكَ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فَكُنْ آيِسًا وَأَنَا مَعَكَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَأْسُكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَلَا! أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا؟ ﴿وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعْجِزَهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَلِيمًا قَدِيرًا﴾[1]، فَمَكَثَ سَاعَةً، ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ يَابْنَ دَاوُودَ! إِنَّ صَلَاحَ الْأَرْضِ يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، وَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ﴾[2]، فَاسْتَنْزِلُوا أَهْلَ السَّمَاءِ يُصْلِحُوا لَكُمْ أَهْلَ الْأَرْضِ! قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ نَسْتَنْزِلُ أَهْلَ السَّمَاءِ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ؟ قَالَ: بِإِخْلَاصِ النِّيَّةِ، وَبَذْلِ الطَّاقَةِ، وَلُزُومِ الْجَمَاعَةِ، وَالصَّبْرِ عَلَى الْمِحْنَةِ! قُلْتُ: إِذًا يَنْزِلُونَ؟ قَالَ: إِي وَاللَّهِ يَنْزِلُونَ كَمَا نَزَلُوا عَلَى أَهْلِ بَدْرٍ، وَلَا تَزَالُ يَدُ اللَّهِ مَبْسُوطَةً!
Translation of the saying:
Ali ibn Dawud al-Fayzabadi informed us, he said: I said to Mansoor: “Whenever I contemplate the multitude of oppressors, the vastness of their lands, the strength of their armies and their weapons, I fall into despair!” He said: “Of whom?” So I fell silent and did not know what to say. Then he said: “If you despair of yourself and your brothers who are deemed weak, then do so, and so do I, but if you despair of God, then no! Do you not know that God has destroyed before them those who were mightier than them in strength and greater in number? ‘There is nothing in the heavens or the earth that can frustrate God, He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful.’” Then he fell silent for a while, then he said: “Far fetched! Far fetched, O son of Dawud! Indeed, the reform of the earth is sent down from the heaven, and this is the words of God Almighty Who says: ‘And in the heaven is your sustenance and what you are promised.’ So ask people of the heaven to descend so that they will set things right for you people of the earth!” I said: “May I be sacrificed for you, how can we ask people of the heaven to descend?” He said: “With sincerity of intention, extending effort, adhering to the jamaah[3], and patience in trials!” I said: “Then they will descend?” He said: “Yes, I swear to God, as they descended to people of Badr, and the hand of God is always outstretched!”
5 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَ الْمَنْصُورِ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ وَسَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْقِيَامِ، فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا يَقُومُ أَحَدٌ يَدْفَعُ شَرًّا وَلَا يَدْعُو إِلَى خَيْرٍ إِلَّا صَرَعَتْهُ الْبَلِيَّةُ، حَتَّى تَقُومَ عِصَابَةٌ شَهِدُوا بَدْرًا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، لَا يُوَارَى قَتِيلُهُمْ، وَلَا يُدَاوَى جَرِيحُهُمْ؟ قَالَ: مَنْ هُمْ؟ قَالَ: الْمَلَائِكَةُ، قَالَ: مَتَى يَقُومُونَ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا اجْتَمَعَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَى يَعْسُوبِهِمْ، كَمَا يَجْتَمِعُ قَزَعُ الْخَرِيفِ.
Translation of the saying:
Abdullah ibn Habib al-Tabari informed us, he said: I was with Masnoor, then a man came to him and asked him about the uprising, so he said: “Woe to you! Do you not know that no one rises to repel evil or invite toward good unless he is struck by afflictions until a group rises who were present in Badr with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and their dead are not laid to rest, nor are their wounded healed?” He said: “Who are they?” He said: “The Angels.” He said: “When do they rise?” He said: “When believers gather around their leader as the cloudlets of autumn gather.”
6 . أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ الْجُوزَجَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورُ يَقُولُ: لَا يَقُومُ الْقَائِمُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ اللَّهُ ﴿هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَجِبْرِيلُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ﴾[4]، قُلْتُ: بَعْدَ صَالِحِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، أَمَا سَمِعْتَ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا وَيَأْتُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْرِهِمْ هَذَا يُمْدِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ بِخَمْسَةِ آلَافٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ﴾[5]?
Translation of the saying:
Isa ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Jowzjani informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: “The one who rises will not rise until God, ‘Jibreel, and the righteous believers be his helpers, and the Angels will support him after that.’” I said: “After the righteous believers?” He said: “Yes, have you not heard the words of God Almighty Who says: ‘If you remain patient and God-fearing, and they should fall upon you in their fury, Your Lord will help you with five thousand marked Angels’?”
7 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الطَّالَقَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: لَا يَخْرُجُ الْمَهْدِيُّ حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ، وَلَا يَنْزِلُونَ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِخُرَاسَانَ، وَالْمُنَافِقُونَ بِالشَّامِ.
Translation of the saying:
Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Taloqani informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: “The Mahdi will not rise until the Angels are sent down, and they will not be sent down until the believers gather in Khorasan and the hypocrites in the Levant.”
8 . أَخْبَرَنَا ذَاكِرُ بْنُ مَعْرُوفٍ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ، قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى الْمَنْصُورِ وَقَدْ خَرَجَ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ رِجَالٌ، فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ شِبْهَ الْمُغْضَبِ: مَنْ يَعْذِرُنِي مِنْ قَوْمٍ يَأْمُرُونِي بِالْقِيَامِ وَلَمَّا تَنْزِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ؟! وَلَئِنْ قُمْتُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْزِلَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ لَكُنْتُ أَضَلَّ مِنْ حِمَارِ أَهْلِي!
Translation of the saying:
Zakir ibn Ma‘roof al-Khorasani informed us, he said: I went to Mansoor after some men left him, then I heard him say with anger: “Who will excuse me concerning a people who command me to rise while the Angels have not yet been sent down?! And if I rise before the Angels are sent down, I am more astray than the donkey of my house!”
Explanation of the saying:
To know more about what is the condition for the Angels to be sent down, refer to the book Geometry of Justice and the topic “How people can make Mahdi appear” from the book Return to Islam.