1 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الطِّهْرَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ عَنِ الشَّهِيدِ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ قُتِلَ فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ، وَخَيْرُ الشُّهَدَاءِ مَنْ قُتِلَ مَعَ خَلِيفَةِ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ يَضْرِبُ بِسَيْفِهِ أَوْ يَرْمِي بِسَهْمِهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَوْ سَأَلْتَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْجَبَابِرَةَ عَنْ قَتْلَاهُمْ لَقَالُوا إِنَّمَا قُتِلُوا فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ! أَلَا فَمَنْ قُتِلَ فِي طَاعَةِ سُلْطَانٍ غَيْرِ خَلِيفَةِ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَإِنَّمَا قُتِلَ فِي طَاعَةِ الشَّيْطَانِ! فَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْجَبَابِرَةُ لِيَأْكُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ كَمَا يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَكُمْ! فَإِنَّ أَمْوَالَكُمْ قَدْ تُخْلَفُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا، وَلَا تُخْلَفُ أَنْفُسُكُمْ إِلَّا فِي النَّارِ!
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Tehrani informed us, saying: I asked Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani about a martyr, and he said: “Whoever is killed while obeying Allah is a martyr, and the best of the martyrs is one who is killed alongside the caliph of Allah on earth while striking with his sword or shooting his arrows.” Then he said: “If you ask these tyrants about their slain, they will say that they were killed while obeying Allah! Be aware that whoever is killed while obeying a ruler other than the caliph of Allah on earth has been killed while obeying Satan! So do not let these tyrants deceive you, lest they consume your lives wrongfully just as they consume your wealth—because your wealth may return to you in the life of the world, but your lives will not return except in the fire!”
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِبْرَاهِيمَ السَّمَرْقَنْدِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ لِأَصْحَابِهِ: أَلَا تَتَعَجَّبُونَ مِنْهُمْ؟! يُسَمُّونَ قَتِيلَ هَذَا شَهِيدًا وَقَتِيلَ هَذَا شَهِيدًا، وَمَا هُمَا إِلَّا جِيفَتَانِ تَهُبُّ عَلَيْهِمَا الرِّيَاحُ! أَلَا وَاللَّهِ مَا الشَّهِيدُ إِلَّا أَنَا وَأَصْحَابِي، وَإِنْ مِتْنَا عَلَى فُرُشِنَا.
Translation of the saying:
Abu Ibrahim al-Samarqandi informed us, saying: I heard Mansoor say to his companions: “Are you not astonished by these people?! They call the slain of this a martyr, and they call the slain of that a martyr, while the two are nothing but carrion over which the winds blow! Be aware that there is no martyr except me and my companions, even if we die in our beds.”
Explanation of the saying:
It is understood from these two illuminating sayings that martyrdom has degrees, and whoever is killed or dies while carrying out a deed that Allah has commanded, while being a believer, has a share of it according to the virtue and outcome of the deed. Its highest degree belongs to one who is killed in a state of jihad alongside the caliph of Allah on earth in order to establish or preserve his government, and he is the one who is certainly counted among the martyrs. As for those who are killed now for the establishment or preservation of the government of the leader of ISIS, the leader of the Taliban, the leader of Syria, the leader of Iran, or any other leader of states or parties, they are dead, and calling them martyrs is nothing but a lie and a deception; for the martyr in this age is one who is killed for the establishment or preservation of the government of the Mahdi 
, since he is the caliph of Allah on earth in this time. At present, no one fits this description except Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani and his sincere companions, who strive for the establishment and preservation of the government of the Mahdi .
