A group of our companions informed us, they said: Mansoor turned toward us after the evening prayer, then he advised us, warned us against worshiping taghut, and commanded us to help God and His Caliph on the earth, even if people would hate and go against it. Then, when he finished speaking and did justice to giving advice, a man from our companions said to him: “O master! I wish you would say something that people would accept from you and adopt a method that they would not run away from you!” So Mansoor got angry and said:
“What should I say, and how should I give an example?! Is there a word that they have not made trite, or have they left a sentence for me?! I do not take a path unless they have taken it before me, nor do I adopt an approach unless they have adopted it before me, to the extent that they have made all the paths narrow for me and made all the approaches difficult for me! Alack, they have overcome my knowledge with their ignorance, and alas, they have covered my truth with their lies! In the name of God they fulfilled the needs of Satan, and in the name of religion they have laid every trap; so they have dishonored the name of God and aroused people’s distaste for religion! Indeed, there is no one who would commit fornication to seek God’s satisfaction or commit theft for the sake of reward, but there is a people who shed the blood of the innocent to seek God’s satisfaction, spread corruption on the earth for the sake of reward, and wrong people while they consider themselves appointed by God!”
Then he raised his voice as if shouting and said:
“Woe to those who spread corruption on the earth and shed blood, then they say that God has appointed them!
Woe to those who put their benefit before religion, then they say that God has commanded them!
Woe to those who falsely devour people’s belongings, then they say that God has permitted them!
Woe to those who speak falsehood, then they say that God has told them!
Woe to those who revile and slander, then they say God has ordered them!
So who is more unjust than them in the world, and who has a more severe punishment in the Hereafter?!
Do they not care about the day when the Angel of death will come to them, then he will grab their necks, cut off their breath, and stand between them and their helpers and whatever they have collected?!
Do they not fear the Day when they will be called: ‘Where are the most unjust?! Where are those who worshiped Satan and said: “We only worship God”?! Where are those who spread corruption on the earth and said: “We are only reformers”?!’ So they will gather from the crevices of the graves, the peaks of the mountains, the bottoms of seas, the bellies of beasts, and the crops of birds, then they will rise without any clothes on them and with their faces black, then they will be driven to the Place of Gathering like a herd of goats to have a reckoning that none has ever had! Then they will be chained and thrown into Saqar, which is a valley at the bottom of Hell where Satans will be hurled into, then their skins will be flayed in there, as chicken skin is flayed for grilling!
Then a caller will call out: ‘Where are the helpers of these?! Where are those who believed their lies and obeyed them?! Where are their admirers and the admirers of their admirers?!’ So they will come out of every hole like ants with ugly faces and stench while their hearts have reached their throats and their lives have reached their lips, then they will be driven to the Place of Gathering to have their reckoning; no excuse will be accepted from them, and no intercession will benefit them; until they reach the gates of Hell and hear its dreadful roar as if it is the sound of an explosion, and feel its flames as if it is the heat of a kiln, so they will weep and pray for destruction. Then its gatekeepers will say to them: “O you, followers of the most unjust! Did God not appoint a Caliph on the earth?!” They say: “He did, but we did not follow him and followed the most unjust so that we might enjoy what they had of wealth and power, and Satan made it fair-seeming to us, and we were an ignorant group!” So the gatekeepers will say: “So now enter Hell to enjoy their punishment, as you enjoyed their wealth and power in the life of the world!” So they will join them amid fire and smoke while they are angry with them, so they will curse them and say to them: “You brought us here when you deceived us and said: ‘Follow us so that God may be pleased with you!’” So they will answer them: “Did we force you?! Rather, you followed us obediently to enjoy what we had of wealth and power, and you were our partners in oppression!” Then the fire will flare up between them and interrupt their dispute, then an announcer will announce: “Behold! God’s curse is on the most unjust; those who sat on His seat without His permission and ruled according to other than what He sent down, and God’s curse is on their followers; those who believed and helped them to enjoy what they had of wealth and power!” So they will despair of God’s mercy and realize that they will not be saved!
This is a good exhortation for those who listen to it, but the most unjust and those who enjoy their rule do not listen to it and prevent people from listening to it when they laugh at me mockingly and say arrogantly: “This is a saying like that of claimants,” in order to make the common people fear me and embolden fools against me, and they have plotted once again, so they say: “This is not a new saying, and we have said the same before,” in order to make people hate me as they have made them hate themselves so that they would say: “We hate them and whoever says the same as their words,” while I am not one of them, and I do not say the same as their words; if I were like that, they would not have taken me as an enemy; as I have nothing to do with any false claim, and they know that, but they envy me and do not act fairly.
I am one of the people who adhere to the first covenant and have not changed over time; those who are upon a clear sign from their Lord and walk with light from Him; those who do not say what they have no right to say, nor do they follow their own desires or people’s desires; those whose roots are in the land of certainty and whose branches are in the sky of faith and bear new fruits every time; those whom none can defeat with proof and none can surpass in justice. So listen to what I say and do not think of me as others; because I am a truthful and kind teacher for you and call you to the best deed, that you shall worship your Lord and avoid worshipping taghut so that your Lord may forgive you, bless you, save you from ignominy and wretchedness, and take you to the pure land that He promised your fathers; the land that is better than every land you have seen or heard of in the world. So accept my advice and do not turn away from me, nor be deceived by what the most unjust fabricate against me to make you suspect me; because they make a living from religion, so they fear that I will make their market dull.
Whoever heard what I say shall memorize it and convey it to whoever did not hear it, so that God may guide whom He wills with it or leave him in his misguidance.”
Explanation of the saying:
For more information about the doomed groups that he referred to in this sermon, see letter 12 and sayings 18, 29, 57, and 63.
