The intellect is the major source of cognition and the first criterion of knowledge, and its authority is definitely self-evident; because it is not possible to imagine it without acknowledging it, and acknowledging it does not separate from imagining it. Rather it can be said that the authority itself is an intellectual topic and has no meaning other than discovering reality for the intellect, and therefore proving the authority of the intellect is like proving the authority of the authority! [Return to Islam, p. 27]
Those who consider the intellect as a rival for the religion neglect this great fact that the intellect and the religion have stemmed from one source and both are the creatures of the one God! Is there any disagreement in the creation of the one God, and do some of His creatures contradict some others?! It is clearly not so; because God’s actions are based on wisdom and do not contradict each other. [Return to Islam, p. 33]
The belief in the contradiction between the intellect and the religion is a polytheistic belief which has emerged against the monotheistic belief; because the existence of duality in the universe and the opposition of creation to legislation are acceptable only on the basis of atheism! There is no doubt that the religion agrees with the intellect and clearly acknowledges it, rather calls toward it and warns those who abandon it. [Return to Islam, p. 33]
Those who do not consider the intellect as proof look at the limitation of its perceptions, and think that with this limitation it cannot be the criterion of cognition, whereas the limitation of the perceptions of the intellect does not mean that they are not correct, nor does it prevent its authority, rather it means that they are less compared to the divine perceptions, which is the requirement of the intellect being a creature and the inherent limitation of creatures. Therefore, the intellect does not know everything, but whatever it knows is considered correct, and this is sufficient for its authority; just as eyes do not see everything, but whatever they see is considered correct, and ears do not hear everything, but whatever they hear is considered correct, and this is sufficient for their authority. [Return to Islam, p. 35]
It is impossible for those who deny the authority of the intellect to prove their claim; because no claim can be proved without the authority of the intellect. Therefore, they are reasoning based on the intellect without knowing it themselves; because, for example, to reason that the intellect is limited and it is not permissible to reason by a limited thing is an intellectual reasoning, and therefore, if reasoning by the intellect is not permissible, this reasoning is not permissible either, and if reasoning by the intellect is permissible, this reasoning is wrong! [Return to Islam, p. 36]
O people! Is it not time for you to return to your origin?! Is it not time for you to remember the covenant of God with your father Adam?! Is it not time for you to give the trust back to its owner and return the government to the one who deserves it?! Do you still have hope in these colorful governments? Do you still think that if Amr comes to power instead of Zayd, things will go right?! How many Amrs came to power instead of Zayds, but things did not go right; because things will go right by something else, but you are unaware! Then how long will you sit in the hope of this and that and raise the flags of this and that high?! How long will you humiliate yourselves and kiss the hands of this and that?! How long will false promises deceive you and vain desires play you?! How long will you, like donkeys in a mill, spin around an axis and have the illusion of making progress?! [Letter fourteen]
How is it that for thousands of years you have backed every imperfect animal up but have not given your hands to the perfect man?! How is it that for thousands of years you have sucked every moisture and left the sweet sea?! How is it that for thousands of years you have run after every mirage but have not taken a step toward delectable water?! Will you not come to your senses and return to the origin?! Will not you wake up from sleep, and will this nightmare not end?! Will you not come out of the darkness, and will this dark night not have dawn?! Will you not sober up from drunkenness, and will this confusion not go away from your heads?!... I see as if you were suckled from the breast of ignorance and raised on the lap of oppression, and your flesh and blood are unfamiliar to me! [Letter fourteen]
Beware! Do not entrust your guidance to anyone other than Mahdi; because no one asks the way from the blind or goes to the sea with a punctured ship! So do you seek a government other than the government of God?! While justice is only in the government of God; the government which will be realized by His guided Caliph, not by others, and caliphs, kings and jurists are alike in this matter, except that they differ in the manner of oppression, and some oppress more than some others; like killers who all kill, except that some suffocate, some decapitate, and some give poison! Listen to my words; because you will not hear words better than them: Your world will not be reformed except with justice, your Hereafter will not go right except with justice, justice will not be possible except with the government of Mahdi, and the government of Mahdi will not be established except with your help, but most of you do not know! [Letter fourteen]
The servants of God are pious people who do righteous deeds, speak the truth, and forbearingly refrain from what is forbidden; those whose hearts tremble with the fear of God and settle down in their places in hope of Him; those whose lips have dried due to mentioning God frequently and whose stomachs have got thin due to successive fasting; those who have freed their souls from the trap of passions, and the dust of humbleness have sat on their faces; those whose hearts have been purified by remembrance of death, and the world has fallen out of their favor by the Hereafter; concern for their duties has robbed them of sleep, and paying heed to the rights has stopped them from eating; they are inclined to what people are averse to, and are averse to what people are inclined to; they know that soon they will depart to another world and must make provision for this journey; they know that they have a long way ahead and must cross steep passes; the way which its travelers never return, and the passes which seem to swallow its passengers. Oh, how close today is to tomorrow! So they weep thinking of this journey and make themselves ready for it; as if they are breathing their last or are already dead before they die! [Letter two]
The world is like a woman whose bride price is death, or a dishonored prostitute whose wage is shame. Beware! Do not take her as a wife and do not sleep with her; because this treacherous one has killed her husbands and despoiled their heritages, sedated her lovers and stolen their belongings. Beware! Do not let her seduce you with her makeup and deceive you with her coquetry... The world is like a well that is dried or polluted with all kinds of impurities; so do not cast your bucket into it and do not use it as your watering place... The world is a worn-out ladder that cannot be leaned on or like a snake hole that whoever has put his hand in it has bitten him; or it is like a carcass that attracts hyenas and gathers flies but drives away lions and disgusts human beings... The world is a woman who does not give birth, a tree that does not bear fruit, a cloud that does not rain, and a shadow that does not last. Beware! Do not rely on it; because relying on it is relying on the wind, and making friends with it is making friends with a wolf, and who can be friends with a wolf?! [Letter two]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: God has not revealed in the Book what people are not able to do, and He has revealed in It: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know”, so no time is empty of a man of remembrance that people ask him about what they do not know and he gives them the right answer, and if you tell these ignorant people to know this man and ask him, they will say that you are but the people of bid’ah! I said: May I be sacrificed for you, these people say that the scholars are all people of remembrance, so he said: Do all of them give right answers when asked? I said: No, he said: God does not command to ask a group that may not give right answers! [Passage 17 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: We were in a mosque with the righteous servant [That is, Mansoor, may God protect him] and there were men from Salafiyya with us, so he looked at them and said: Indeed, God has renewed a new remembrance for you, then follow it and do not follow the predecessors; because the predecessors did not follow the predecessors, but followed their remembrance, and indeed, whoever stops at the predecessors and does not follow the remembrance that God has renewed for him, has cut off what God has commanded to be always kept constant and has gone astray from His way, “they are being called from a faraway place”! A man from Salafiyya said: Is it not that every renewed thing is bid’ah?! So His Honor paid attention to him and said: Bid’ah is what people have renewed in the religion, and the remembrance is what God has renewed, then he recited this verse that says: “Never comes to them a renewed remembrance from their Lord, unless they listen to it as they play around”. The man said: What is the renewed remembrance?! He said: An Imam whom God renews in every century that guides by His command, in order to warn everyone who is alive and prove the words to disbelievers. The man said: We have not heard this in the first centuries, this is nothing but bid’ah! He said: Woe to you! Do you want nothing but to speak like those who disbelieved?! They said: “We have not heard of this in the religion of past people, this is but a fabrication”. I swear to God, I did not think any Muslim would say this until I heard you say it, O people of Salfiyya! [Passage 18 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: Indeed, the earth is not empty of a righteous man from the descendants of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, whom God has appointed as an Imam for people, and this is the covenant that God made with Ibrahim, peace be upon him, when He tested him with some words, so he fulfilled them, then “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”, so what do these deviant and ignorant people, who have fallen into fitnah, deny?! Do they deny that most Muslims have gone astray?! “Whereas before them, most of the past people went astray”, and they narrate from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he said to them: “You will follow the past people’s path step by step”! So what do they deny despite the words of God and the words of His Prophet?! Do they deny that most of the companions made mistakes?! Whereas most of them made a mistake on the day of Uhud, when they fled to the mountain and did not look at anyone, and the Prophet called to them from behind, so He punished them with sorrow upon sorrow and said: “Undoubtedly, those of you who fled on the day when the two groups faced each other, Satan caused them to slip because of some of what they had gained”, and on the day of Hunayn, when their abundance made them proud, then it did not make them not be in need, and the earth became narrow for them despite its vastness, so they fled, and they themselves narrate from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he said: “Indeed, a group of my companions will come to me (on the Day of Judgment), then they will be driven away from around the Pond, so I will say: My Lord! My companions! Then He will say: You do not know what they did after you! They returned to their past”! So what do they deny despite the words of God and the words of His Prophet?! Have they taken the companions and the followers as gods other than God, as the Jews took their scholars and monks?! “Whereas they have been commanded to worship only the One God. There is no god but He! He is glorified from what they associate with Him”! [Passage 20 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: “And those who disbelieved say: You are not a Prophet, say, God and whoever has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses among me and you”, so he said: The witness of God is His Book, and indeed there are two witnesses among the Prophet and his nation: the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book, and he is the Caliph of God among them after the Prophet, and his nation will never be without those two until the Day of Judgment arrives. I said: May God make me a sacrifice for you; because you revealed to me something of the Book of God which they conceal! He said: They do not conceal it, but do not ponder on it, or there are locks on the hearts! At this time I cried, so he said: What is bothering you?! I said: I feel sorry for people; because they have not heard your words, while it is wisdom and decisive statement, and if they heard it, they would be guided, so he said: Do not feel sorry for them, “If God had found any good in them, He would have certainly made them hear, and if He were to make them hear, they would turn away in rejection”! [Passage 21 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: A group of our companions informed us, they said: We were a group in the presence of Mansoor, then he looked at us and said: Indeed, for God there are two witnesses over people: the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book, and neither of those two makes them not need the other, and this is the words of God that has said: “Say, God and whoever has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses among me and you”, then he looked at the sky and said: O God! Did I explain?! Then something from the fear of God came to us that God knows when he said this, then he looked at us again and said: Indeed, the earth is not empty of the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book in order to be two witnesses among the Prophet and his nation until the Day of Judgment, and the one who has knowledge of the Book is a man from the Itrah and Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, and this is his words that has said: “Indeed, I leave among you two precious things: The Book of God and my Itrah, my Ahl al-Bayt, and those two will never be separated until they come to me by the Pond”, then he looked at the sky again and said: O God! Did I fulfill?! Then we started to flinch because of his dignity when he said this, as if he were not in this world! [Passage 22 from Saying six]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from Sa’d, from Muhammad ibn Isā ibn Ubayd, from Muhammad ibn Sinān and Safwān ibn Yahyā and Abdullah ibn Mughayrah and Ali ibn al-Nu’mān all of them, from Abdullah ibn Muskān, from Abu Baseer, from Abu Abdullah — meaning Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq — peace be upon him that said: Indeed, God has not left the earth be unless there is a knowledgeable one therein who knows excess and defect, so that if the believers increased, he makes them return, and if they decreased, he completes for them, so he says: ‘Take it completely’, and if had not been like this, the affairs of the believers would have become doubtful for them, and the truth would have not been distinguished from falsehood.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: This is our speech that we say to people: Take the religion completely and purely, so that no defect be in it nor any excess with it, for its likeness is that of fire, if it increases it burns the food, and if it decreases it does not cook it. [Lesson one, p. 37]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through a deceased 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 living Imam. So if he dies or get killed, God replaces him with someone like him or better than him, according to His tradition regarding abrogating and making forgotten; as He has said: “Any sign which We abrogate or make it to be forgotten, We bring a sign better than it or like it. Have you not known that God is Capable in doing everything?” and Ja’far ibn Muhammad peace be upon them, referred to this speech of mine, in that which has been narrated from him, when he said to Isā ibn Abdullah: Know that O Isā, you will not be faithful until you know the abrogator from the abrogated, he said: May I be your sacrifice, what is to know the abrogator from the abrogated? He said: Is it not that you are with the Imam while you have made yourself obey him with goodwill, then he passes away and another Imam comes, then you make yourself obey him with goodwill? He said: Yes, he said: This is to know the abrogator from the abrogated, and it has been narrated that Mu’allā ibn Khunays asked him about a narration which has been received from the past Imams, so he said: Take it as long as it comes to you through a living Imam, then if it came to you through a living Imam, take his speech. [Lesson one, p. 42]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through an absent Imam; because he cannot establish the limits and collect the charities and enforce the laws and fight against the enemies in his absence, and if someone other than him carries them out, he will fail in many of them; because God would not guide him and would not bestow the success on him, and if he accomplishes something, it will not be accepted from him; because he has not accomplished it through the way God had commanded, whereas God has said: “Beneficence is not that you enter houses from behind them, but the benefactor is someone who acts upon piety, and enter houses through their doors, and fear God, may it be that you gain salvation”. [Lesson one, p. 42]
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]
A very important rule that every Muslim must know and pay attention to is that conjecture has no authority in Islam. God Almighty has explicitly stated in the Quran: ﴿إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾ which means, “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”, and He has rebuked those who follow conjecture and said: ﴿إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ﴾ which means, “They follow nothing but conjecture and do nothing but guess”. This means that Muslims’ beliefs and actions must always be based on certainty, and those beliefs and actions that are based on conjecture, are not correct nor acceptable to God. This is while imitating others in beliefs and actions, in the sense of following their words and deeds without knowing their reasons, obviously does not lead to certainty, but leads to conjecture, and therefore, according to the explicit words of God Almighty in His Book, “[It] is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. But the proof of those who believe imitation in actions is permissible is that they consider actions to be different from beliefs, whereas this difference is not proved in Islam, and God’s words in the Quran are general and include both beliefs and actions. This means that every Muslim must learn his Islamic beliefs and actions, just as he learns reading, writing and other necessities of life, and must not accept or perform any belief and action unless with a certain reason, and the certain reasons in Islam, as explained by Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, in his book Return to Islam, are the verses of the Quran and mutawatir Hadiths and of course hearing from the Caliph of God on the earth. This is the pure and complete Islam which is not tainted by conjectures. [Question and Answer 1]
Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not consider Muslim scholars as maraji’ al-taqlid for Muslims, and believes that acting on their fatwas without knowing their reasons is not sufficient; as it is not sufficient if their reasons are conjectural either. Therefore, Muslims must request fatwas of Muslim scholars with their reasons, and Muslim scholars must inform them about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, and tell them, for example, “The reason for our such and such fatwa is such and such verse of the Quran, or such and such mutawatir Hadith, or the direct hearing from God’s Caliph on the earth”, and in this case Muslims can act on their fatwas; because this is not considered imitating them, rather it is acting on their certain reasons, and in fact acting on the Quran and the Sunnah. But if they do not inform Muslims about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, or the reasons for their fatwas are conjectural, such as fame, consensus, and wahid narrations, then it is not sufficient to act on their fatwas, and it is obligatory to search for the certain reasons, then take precaution if possible, and then stop until it becomes possible to access God’s Caliph on the earth, and of course, the preparation of the ground for the advent of God’s Caliph on the earth is as necessary as the preparation of the ground for reaching the Sacred Mosque for the one who is obligated to perform Hajj, and this is a fact that Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani calls out loudly, may those who have listening ears in the East and West of the world hear and accept it. [Question and Answer 7]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is one of the servants of God and the nation of His Prophet, Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, who follows the Quran and the mutawatir Sunnah of His Excellency in the light of the intellect; he does not claim to be a Prophet or Imam appointed by God, nor is he in affiliation with any government or sect or group in the world; he only invites toward the Caliph of God, Mahdi, and prepares the ground for his advent through cultural activities such as writing books and conversing with Muslims, and in return for this righteous and hard work, he does not ask people for reward, for he believes that his reward is with God; he does not devour people’s belongings falsely, nor does he take anyone’s life unrightfully, nor does he oppress a small ant or a bigger creature, and therefore, if someone responds to his invitation and helps him, he does so because of the truthfulness of his words and the rightness of his work based on intellectual and religious reasons, and with intention of preparing the ground for the advent of Mahdi, and if someone does not do so or instead becomes hostile to him, he will not harm him, and will only divest himself of a good or cause himself an evil, “And God is Fully Aware of what they do”. Therefore, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is just a pious and Muslim scholar who prohibits Muslims from following oppressive and tyrannical rulers, and invites them to follow Mahdi, and prevents them from following conjectures and illusions, and orders them to follow knowledge and certainties, and warns them against ignorance, imitation, passions, worldliness, fanaticism, arrogance and superstitionism, and enjoins them to establish the pure and perfect Islam in the light of the Quran, the Sunnah and the sound intellect, and therefore, those who are hostile to him have no excuse before God and must prepare themselves for His punishment; because clearly it is not permissible to be hostile to such a righteous man, rather it is obligatory to make friends with him, and whoever is hostile to him is a misguided oppressor; such as one who tries to kill him, or labels him as a disbeliever, or insults him, or mocks him, or slanders him, or harms him, or tempts people against him, and it is clear that all of these people are in an obvious error. [Question and Answer 8]
His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God help him, is the preparer of the ground for the advent of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, and has no other claim. The preparation of the ground for the advent of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is not a privilege for him either, rather it is a good deed from him, which is being carried out in the form of gathering and training a sufficient number of Muslims in order to protect and support Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, and this is a perceptible reality on the earth. Therefore, it is obligatory to help him by virtue of the commandment ﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى ۖ ﴾; “And help one another in goodness and piety”, and abandoning what is obligatory is a sin that will undoubtedly result in punishment. [Question and Answer 27]
The secret of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani’s use of the black flag is four things: Firstly, it is Sunnah; because the flag of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, was black; as ibn Abbas and Buraydah and Jabir and Aisha and others have narrated it... and the flag of Ali ibn Abi Talib in his wars was also black... Therefore, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani’s use of the black flags is based on the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the Sunnah of his guided Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and this is not strange; because he follows their Sunnah in everything and continues their blessed movement in order to establish the pure religion and fill the earth with justice, and there is no doubt that the most proper flag for the one who does so and invites people to “Return to Islam” and prepares the ground for Mahdi to come to power, is the flag of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the flag of Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him. Secondly, the use of the black flag is more beneficial to believers on the day they gather and fight in the way of God... Thirdly, the use of the black flag is a common and conventional work among those who have been afflicted with a great tragedy; to the extent that it conventionally indicates the occurrence of an important and unfortunate event, and is considered a kind of announcement of calamity, and it is probably one of the things that have encouraged Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani to use the black flags; because he has been afflicted with a great tragedy that has never happened since God made the children of Adam dwell on the earth, and it is the absence of the Caliph of God on the earth, which has led to the filling of the earth with ignorance, disbelief, oppression and sins... Fourthly, the use of the black flag is a clear opposition to an oppressive and corrupt group called “ISIS”; because they emerged in the Levant and Iraq shortly before the emergence of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani in Khorasan, and used the black flags to invite toward the government of a misguided and misleading man, so when Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani noticed it, he used the black flags to invite toward the government of Mahdi in order to stand against this great and dangerous deviation from the path of Islam. [Question and Answer 9]
If you do not see Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, you also do not see Mahdi peace be upon him, but this does not prevent you from being in conformity with his excellency; As you do not see the prophet of God peace be upon him and his family, yet you live on his religion and you will die on his religion, if God wills; Since his book is available to you and his teachings has been reached to you and this alone suffices you to follow him. Be aware that Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani’s concealment is the result of inconvenient situations which exist at the moment and is changeable by changing these situations, if God wills. [Critique and Response 12]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is just a Muslim scholar who has risen up with the purpose of making Mahdi, peace be upon him, appear and bringing him to power, and invites Muslims to pledge allegiance to him instead of pledging allegiance to others, and in this way, he prepares the ground for the establishment of the pure and perfect Islam in this world, and for this reason, it is obligatory for every Muslim to support him. However, if it has been made clear to you and to some other Muslims, for whatever reason, that in addition to this objective and evident character, he is also a promised person, supporting him is a fortiori obligatory for you; as supporting him is also obligatory for Muslims to whom this matter has not been made clear; because this Muslim scholar invites toward Mahdi, peace be upon him, and prepares the ground for his advent in a perceptible and evident manner, and this is sufficient for every Muslim to support him; as God Almighty has said: “And help one another in goodness and piety”. [Critique and Response 15]
Although some Muslims from among people of knowledge consider him the promised person who will prepare the ground for the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, and believe that it is obvious in view of his intellectual, practical and outward characteristics, and there is no need for doubt and dispute in this regard, but he does not direct his concern to such a claim, and only strives to prepare the ground for the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, in a practical and realistic manner, and believes that the intellectual and religious necessity to accompany him in this regard is dependent on this practical and realistic preparation, not on his claim that he is the promised person; because there are many who claim that they are promised people, but there is not a single person who prepares the ground for his advent in a practical and realistic manner! Considering that claimants have no concern but to prove their claim, and do nothing but dispute about who they are and what their status and virtue are, while clearly, the stature of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is beyond such selfish acts, and he is busy with more important works than them, which is teaching the pure and perfect Islam to Muslims of the world and training a sufficient number of them in order to help Mahdi, peace be upon him; the works that if accomplished by him, the advent of Mahdi, peace be upon him, will be realized, even though no one considers him the promised person who will prepare the ground for it. [Critique and Response 10]
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]
Pledging allegiance to Mahdi is an alternative to pledging allegiance to oppressors and Taghuts of the world, and therefore, it will be the cause for the weakening of their power and the fall of their sovereignty, and on the other hand, it will guarantee the unity of Muslims of the world and their gathering under one flag; because it seems that the disagreements and divisions among the Ummah stem from political factors and numerous and divided governments, and the division among Muslims is the effect of them following various rulers and political powers, and it is natural that each sect, group and nation of Muslims follow the leader of their own, and all of the leaders of the Islamic world invite toward themselves too, and have forgotten Mahdi; because they either ignore him basically and are unable to mention his name, or they propagate that the advent of Mahdi is very far away and it is not known when it will happen. This is how the leaders the Islamic world act against Mahdi, whether they know it or not, and prevent Muslim’s public opinion from reflecting on him. In such circumstances, if we imagine that the call of inviting toward Mahdi and joining him and separating from others reaches to all Muslims of the world and all of them leave the rulers whom they have chosen without God’s permission, and rush to Mahdi, then what will happen? What changes will actually happen in the region and in the world with the launch of the awakening movement for support and obedience to Mahdi and the rise of the slogan of Muslims’ return to Mahdi? [Article 5]
Apparently, the first blessed result of such an awakening movement is the unity of Muslims in one rank and under one flag, as well as their cooperation and agreement through pledging allegiance to the Caliph of God, and this is the first step toward the realization of our great Islamic goal, meaning the realization of the sovereignty of Mahdi, peace be upon him; because undoubtedly, the true unity and deep solidarity among the ranks of Muslims are considered as preludes to the global revolution of Mahdi. We believe that such a blessed Islamic movement that has aimed for the unity of all Muslims under the flag of Mahdi has already begun and chanted the call of “Return to Islam”. This movement is led by the vigilant and courageous scholar, His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, who with his extraordinary and exemplary courage, has set the word «البيعة للّه»; “the allegiance is for God” as the slogan of his movement and believes that the only example of pledging allegiance to God in our time is pledging allegiance to the Caliph of God, Mahdi from the household of Muhammad, and any other allegiance at this time is considered as an allegiance to Taghut. Therefore, “the allegiance is for God” means the government and authority exclusively belong to the one whom God has chosen as His Caliph, and he is no one other than Mahdi. This flag-bearer of the pure and complete Islam, by presenting such a pure and authentic understanding, believes that Mahdi is the iron pillar of the tent of Islam, and the tent of Islam will not be erected until this iron pillar is established on the earth. Therefore, the duty of each and every one of Muslims of the world is to support Mahdi completely and sincerely, and help, protect and obey him. This is why we can call the movement of this great scholar the “Return to Islam” movement or the return to Mahdi movement; because he is the strong pillar and the promised establisher of Islam, and returning to him is in fact returning to the real Islam. [Article 5]
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]
