Following the predecessors, if it is due to them following the intellect, the intellect exists for posterity as well, and with its existence, following the predecessors is meaningless, and if it is due to them following the religion, the religion exists for posterity as well, and with its existence, following it is more deserving than following the predecessors; rather following the predecessors due to them following the intellect and the religion is a contradictory work; because following the predecessors, if they followed the intellect and the religion, entails following the intellect and the religion, not the predecessors; considering that the predecessors, according to the presumption, have followed the intellect and religion, not the predecessors, and therefore, following the predecessors requires not following the predecessors! [Return to Islam, pp. 50 and 51]
Following the first three generations of Muslims has no basis in Islam, nor is it justifiable with any statement, and this is regardless of its impossibility in reality; because the first three generations of Muslims were different individuals and groups with contradictory sayings and actions, to the extent that they considered the sayings and actions of each other to be incorrect and fought over them. It is clear that with this description, it is not possible to follow them; because following the sayings and actions of some of them means not following the sayings and actions of some others, and this is a contradictory and meaningless work. [Return to Islam, pp. 55 and 56]
Another common type of imitation is following the sayings and actions of scholars; because most of Muslims consider the sayings and actions of scholars as the religion, and do not know any difference between them, whereas the religion is certainly not the sayings and actions of scholars, rather it is the sayings and actions of God Almighty, and there is no correlation between them, and their compatibility with each other is not certain; as incompatibility of many sayings and actions of scholars with the religion is evident. [Return to Islam, p. 57]
Many Muslims, especially in countries such as Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, believe that it is obligatory for every Muslim to pick a marja’ in order to imitate him, and think that taking action without doing so is false and unacceptable, while the reason of most of them for this belief is the fatwa of their scholars on it, and this means imitating them based on imitation, which is a false and meaningless cycle. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
Imitation is contrary to the natural principle, and therefore is indispensable for a reason, and its reason cannot be based on itself; so there is no choice but to practice ijtihad in imitation, while they are often imitators in their imitation; because they do not know any reason for it from the religion or the intellect, except for an illusion that has been created for some of them, which is that imitating scholars is from this aspect that the intellectuals refer to the expert, while this illusion is far from reality; because in the opinion of the intellectuals, the expert vary depending on subjects about which they are referred to, and in their opinion, an expert in the religion is one referring to whom brings about certainty for them, such as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, not one referring to whom just leads to conjecture, such as mujtahids. [Return to Islam, p. 59]
Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it, but you have despaired of His mercy and neglected His Mahdi, and therefore, you have entrusted the government which He has wanted for His Mahdi to those for whom He has not wanted a government! It seems the government is the inheritance of your fathers that you take it from whomever you want and give it to whomever you want, and it seems it does not belong to God who has said: ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ﴾; “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”, and He has given it to Ibrahim and made a covenant with the just from among his descendants, and said: ﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا ۖ قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ﴾; “And when God tested Ibrahim with some words, then he fulfilled them, 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”, and the just from among his descendants are those whom God has willed to remove all impurity from them and to purify them completely, and they are in the Book of God the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family[3], and it is hereby understood that Mahdi of God is from the household of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and whoever chooses a ruler other than him has gone far astray. [Letter fourteen]
It is surprising that people in every era have pledged allegiance to someone and made the covenant of guardianship with someone but have not known that no one can accomplish it and do it justice, except for the one whom God has guided and enabled to do so!... Do people not have eyes to see that their rulers are all oppressors and do not do justice?! Or do they not have ears to hear that their politicians are all liars and do not tell the truth?! Or do they not have intelligence to find out that their leaders all mislead and do not lead?! So how long will this pus-filled wound be opened, and how long will this madness continue?! Beware, O people! Tell me! How long should you, like dead drunks, stagger from the right to the left and from the left to the right until you finally understand that the right and the left are the same for you, and there is no justice in either of them?! Tell me! How many other governments should you test, and how much other obedience should you pay the price for until you finally find out that no government but the government of God will bring you to justice, and no obedience but the obedience to His Caliph will free you from oppression?! Is this thousands of years of experience not enough?! Are these heavy prices not enough?! Did you not hear Nimrods and Pharaohs? Did you not bear Khosrows and Caesars?! Did you not see caliphs and kings?! Did you not test republics and Islamics?! So have you not yet learned your lesson?! [Letter fourteen]
Beware, O cruel kings and emirs who shed the blood of the innocent to gain and maintain domination! Beware, O hypocritical jurists and mullahs who unrightfully consider yourselves to be appointed by God and guardians of Muslims of the world! Beware, O greedy politicians who vie to take over the government! Beware, O deceitful political parties who seek nothing but power! Beware, O criminal cults and groups who strive to achieve superiority on the earth! Leave these troubled people alone and go away from between them and their owner! Are thousands of years of oppression and corruption not enough?! Is a history of humiliation and poverty not enough?! Are you not tired of all these evil doings and giving rise to fitnahs?! Then when will you end this childish game?! Then when will you stop these repetitive methods?! [Letter fourteen]
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]
Translation of the saying: Beware, O people! Do not rush into what is contingent on moments! The world is near to its end, and the time of promises has come. Soon the age of the absence, which you think is peaceful, will erupt, like a raging camel in spring, and will plunge its sharp teeth into your eyes. I swear to the One in Whose Hands are my life and body, what I say is not a poem, nor an exaggeration in speech. Soon the cauldron of the world will boil, and the river of time will rage and turn the mill of fitnah and rotate the millstone of chaos. Danger! Danger! Be aware that they will not have mercy on any of you! They will bring the most isolated of you and take out his butter and buttermilk. When the scythe of fitnah falls, the one who stands will be reaped and the one who sits will be crushed. Danger! Danger! Take your religion and run as long as you have the opportunity! If you found the truth with me, then come to me, even though by crawling over snow; for I will lead you toward Mahdi, and if you reject me and refuse to come to me, then leave and go as far as you can; although you cannot go far away; because, I swear to God, even if you hide behind the stars of the sky, they will find you and bring you and disgrace you; for this work is not as easy as you have thought, rather is a great plight and a huge calamity that will make the old impatient and the young sleepless. [Saying one]
Translation of the saying: How will they see days without the sun and plants of the earth without water?! Rather their nights will last forever, and their earth will be like a wasteland; because God’s Caliph is not governing them and His rulings are not applied among them. Let those who do not believe in God and those who associate partners with Him mock my words and plunge in their (vain) games; because they will regret it like one who kills himself, and vomit like one who eats filth! At that time, they will rush into the seas and cross steep passes in order to find me, rather they will search for me in crevices of the rocks and ask about me from the shepherds in the plains, so that I repeat them the words that they do not hear from me today, and show them the path that they do not accept from me now! [Saying two]
Translation of the saying: When people are tending to the right and the left, you hold on to the middle path, and when people are inclining toward Zayd and Amr, you turn to Mahdi. Remember God Almighty a lot, and set Heaven as your desire, and perform the prayer at its initial time, and pay Zakat to its people, and do good to your parents, for you will not stay with them for long, and enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and lighten your works, and leave what is ought to be left, and hold on to what is ought to be held on to, and be prepared to migrate toward Mahdi; because I will migrate toward him when I find enough companions, even if there are seven seas between me and him. Who is he that guarantees me ten thousand men, so that I guarantee him the advent of Mahdi?! The earth is rotten, and time is like a pus-filled boil that has opened up, but future belongs to the pious. [Saying three]
Translation of the saying: I advise you and the rest of my companions and followers to fear God in secret and in public, and enjoin all of you and whoever will join you later to do what is right, and forbid you to do what is wrong. Perform the obligations of God, abandon His prohibitions, and observe His hudud. Be merciful to each other, and avoid grudges! Set humility and politeness as your adornments, for the child of Adam has not been adorned with anything more beautiful than those two, and take strength from patience and prayer, for the servant of God has not taken strength from anything more than those two. Make plans for the Day of Judgment, which will come sooner or later, and think of a solution to the disgrace that it will bring. Remember death, for the remembrance of death is a deterrent shield, and do not forget God, for His remembrance is a healing cure. [Saying five]
Translation of the saying: Your young ones shall respect your old ones, and your old ones shall have mercy on your young ones. Accompany and interact with the righteous, and shun the wicked and flee from them. Warn the heedless, and teach the ignorant. Guide the misguided, and answer the questioners. Be patient with the foolishness of fools, and grind your teeth, when they swear at you to hurt you, and defame you to bring sadness upon you; because they did so to the Prophets of God before you, and they do so to us more than you. Your example among them is like the example of a honey bee among birds; there is no bird unless it underestimates it, while if it knew what it carries with itself, it would, of course, not underestimate it. The earth has been rotten, and time is like a swollen corpse, but we have not seen a night that is not followed by a day. Then be patient, for your relief is at hand. [Saying five]
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]
The purpose of the lessons of His Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, is to purify people and teach them the Book and wisdom, and their center and basis are the Quran and the Sunnah, and their subject matter is Islamic beliefs, laws and morals, and we have selected from them what is related to the most important and most needed issues, and arranged it in a way that facilitates the studies and researches for the readers, and written annotations for them, which contains references to the sources and some necessary explanations. [Lesson one, introduction]
Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is one of the Muslim scholars himself, and accordingly, he believes that they have the same role and duty that he has, and it is the preparation of the ground for the establishment of the pure and perfect Islam in the world through the establishment and maintenance of the government of God’s Caliph on the earth, as explained in the invaluable book Return to Islam. Therefore, in his opinion, Muslim scholars must invite toward the Caliph of God on the earth instead of inviting toward themselves, and establish and maintain his government instead of establishing and maintaining their own government; because this work is possible if Muslims provide its preconditions, and its preconditions are to a large extent the same as the preconditions necessary for the establishment and maintenance of other governments. Therefore, any Muslim scholar who orders Muslims to pledge allegiance to Mahdi and prohibits them from pledging allegiance to anyone other than him, performs his Islamic duty, and it is obligatory for Muslims to respond to his invitation and help him in this work, but Muslim scholars who do not order Muslims to pledge allegiance to Mahdi, nor do they prohibit them from pledging allegiance to anyone other than him, do not perform their Islamic duty, and it is obligatory for Muslims to stay away from them. [Question and Answer 7]
Imam Mahdi, according to the rule “I am only a human being like you”, is a human being like other people in terms of body, and therefore, he is affected by natural harms; as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the Prophets before him were affected by them, to the extent that the wife of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said: “Woe to me! Shall I give birth to a child while I am an old woman and my husband is an old man?! This is surely a strange thing”, and the brothers of Yusuf, peace be upon him, said: “O noble chief, he has a very aged father”, and Zakariyya, peace be upon him, said: “O Lord! Indeed, my bones have weakened and my head has turned hoary with age”, and said: “O Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?!”. Yes, it is imperative that Imam Mahdi be strong in carrying out the affairs of leadership when he appears; as there are Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt indicating that he appears in the form of a young man despite his old age; as it has been narrated from Hasan ibn Ali that said: “God will prolong his life in his absence; then He will have him appear as a young man under forty years old by His power”... but these Hadiths, if authentic, do not conflict with the fact that he is a human being like other people; because an old human also looks young if he has a good character, a moderate temperament, a strong body and pure sustenance. Moreover, this may be a dignity for him and a sign from God; as it has been narrated that Amr ibn Ḥamiq al-Khuza‘i gave water to the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the he said: “O God! Bless him with his youth”, then eighty years passed from his life, without a single strand of his hair turned white. Anyway, there is no doubt that Imam Mahdi will be strong to carry out the affairs of leadership when he appears, whether he is in the form of a young man or in the form of an old man, “And God has power over all things”. [Question and Answer 25]
Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is the Imam of all Muslims and does not belong to a particular madhhab, but some Islamic madhhabs may have more knowledge about him. In fact, his relationship to Muslims is like that of Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, to them; all of them accept him as a Caliph, but some of them consider him as the fourth Caliph and some of them as the first Caliph. But there are less disagreements among them about Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him; because they all consider him to be the twelfth Caliph and appointed by God and His Prophet. They only disagree about the name of his father and the time of his birth, and this disagreement does not harm the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent; because the necessity of preparing the ground for his advent does not stem from the name of his father or the time of his birth, but from the necessity of his advent as the Caliph of God and His Prophet, whether the name of his father is Abdullah or Hasan, and whether he was born before or will be born later. [Question and Answer 26]
The manner of Imam Mahdi for introducing Islam to people of the world is the manner of his ancestor, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which is to invite them to one of the three:
1. Converting to true Islam and abandoning false religions
2. Submitting to rulings of the true Islam while remaining true to their religions
3. Fighting
Of course, it is clear that because of his perfect knowledge about what God has sent down by virtue of him being God’s Caliph on the earth, and his complete purity from all impurity by virtue of him being a member of the Ahl al-Bayt, he will invite with wisdom and good advice as long as he is an inviter, rule justly as long as he is a ruler, and observe all rulings of God regarding fighting, peace, the promise of security, prisoners and spoils as long as he fights, and will not oppress anyone in any of these three. [Question and Answer 67]
It is not intellectually or religiously impossible for Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, to have a successor or messenger or child, based on the statement that he exists at the present time; because Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, based on the statement that he exists at the present time, is a human being like other people, and consequently, like any of them, he can delegate some of his works to someone else, or send a messenger, or take a wife to have a child with, however, considering that being a successor or messenger or child of someone is against the principle, the claimant must prove it with a valid religious reason, but it is clear that dreams or ahad narrations are not valid religious reasons; because there is nothing in the Quran and the Sunnah that indicates the permissibility of acting on a dream in order to accept the claims of people when they have no proof or the proof is against them, and it is not acceptable from a judge to adjudicate without a proof or against it, with the excuse that he has dreamed about it. Therefore, one cannot believe or act on something for which there is no proof from the intellect and the religion, with the reasoning that he saw something in a dream that indicates it, and this is explicitly stated in the Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them; as they have said: “Indeed, the religion of God is more firm than to be seen in dreams”. The only exception to that is what an infallible person sees; like what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw... and also what a fallible person sees but an infallible person interprets; like what Pharaoh saw, and Yusuf, peace be upon him, interpreted... Therefore, other dreams that people see or interpret have no validity and cause conjecture at most; as the issuance of ahad narrations is conjectural, so it is not permissible to act on them in what is related to the religion; because of the explicit of the words of God Almighty that has said: “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. Therefore, the claimants who now, by relying on dreams and interpreting some ahad narrations, consider themselves to be children, successors and messengers of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, claim something that cannot be religiously acknowledged. [Question and Answer 4]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani believes that the biggest mistake in the current world is handing over the government of countries to all those whom the Creator of the world has not deemed worthy of governing; considering that the Creator of the world is the Most Deserving for its administration, and He does so by introducing “the perfect human” as His Caliph. Yes, of course if you do not believe in the existence of God, then you must believe in His existence in view of His signs in the heaven and the earth and the order that has encompassed everything and the rhythmic movements that govern the nature. However, if you believe in His existence, then you must concede this inevitable fact that the rule over the world belongs to Him alone, and humans do not deserve to rule over humans. The realization of justice in the world is contingent upon the realization of God’s sovereignty over it, and God’s sovereignty over it will be realized when His Caliph takes over the government in it, and His Caliph takes over the government in it when people like you abandon religious leaders and non-religious leaders, and stop moving back and forth between the two, between jibt and taghut, and turn away from both of them toward “the perfect human”, the Caliph of God on the earth, and stretch out the hand of need to his doorstep, and submit to him conceding their inability, and ask him a favor to grant them pardon for the mistake they insisted on for more than a thousand years, and to accept the rule over them in order to free them from humiliation and misery, and lead them to dignity and contentment. This is the only path for your salvation, and any other path leads to perdition, whether you call it religion or disbelief; because without God and His Caliph on the earth, there is no noticeable difference between religion and disbelief, and whoever does not pledge allegiance to God and His Caliph on the earth, he may pledge allegiance to religious people if he wants or to non-religious people if he wants, rather to a stone if he wants or to a wood if he wants; because it is equal for him in either case! [Critique and Response 12]
Fortunately, many of the essential and fundamental laws of Islam, such as the pillars of the prayer, fasting, Zakat and Hajj, are known through the Book of God and the mutawatir narrations from His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family; therefore, acting on them is possible and sufficient, but in order to be certain of the rest of the laws of Islam and be free from liability for them, there is no way but to refer to the Caliph of God on the earth, which is possible in the opinion of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani; because the impediment to referring to him is nothing but the fault of people in providing its prerequisites, and therefore, removing this impediment in the sense of providing the prerequisites for referring to him is possible for them, and if it requires the gathering of a sufficient number of them but a sufficient number of them do not gather, then it is not the sin of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, but the sin of people themselves and those who prevent them from doing so. With this description, this situation that “does not make sense at all” and you are wondering about, is a situation brought forth by people themselves, ﴿وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ﴾; “and God is no oppressor of His servants”; like thieves who have entered a house and have to perform the prayer at the ending time, whereas their prayer in it is void, and this situation that “does not make sense at all” is a situation that they have got themselves into by making a poor choice, and therefore, it does not make their prayers in people’s house valid; as Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has explained this bitter and unfortunate reality in detail in the section “Consequences of non-advent of Mahdi for people” in his book Return to Islam; may Muslims realize their misery and ignominy in the absence of Mahdi, and return to him as soon as possible. [Critique and Response 1]
The fact that Hadiths are conjectural, with the exception of mutawatir Hadiths, is not just “the opinion of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani”, rather it is the general opinion of Muslim scholars from all Islamic sects except for a group of Salafis, and this is an obvious fact perceived by common sense, to the extent that according to some Muslim scholars such as al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH) in Sharh Sahih Muslim, “denying it is nothing but obstinacy against the perceptible"; because wahid Hadiths are such that there is the possibility of mistake, distortion and lying in them, and naturally, with this possibility, they do not lead to certainty... The fact that conjecture is not proof is not just “the opinion of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani”, rather it is the explicit saying of God Almighty in the Holy Quran, where He has said repeatedly and affirmatively: “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for the truth”, and it is clear that this explicit saying of God is a guide to an intellectual law, because the intellect also considers certainty alone as the criterion for knowing the truth, and does not consider conjecture and doubt and illusion sufficient to know the truth, taking into account the possibility of the opposite in them, and it is clear that intellectual laws cannot be specified; as the explicit saying of God refuses to be specified, in the sense that considering its decisive and explicit context and also its guidance toward the nature of conjecture, it does not tolerate specification... and this is not considered the sin of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani! [Critique and Response 1]
The fact that you did not know his excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani before and did not hear his name, is not a reason for him to not exist. As the wise people have said: “To not find is not the reason for to not exist”! As you surely do not know many of scholars of the world of Islam in different countries too, and have not heard their names and nonetheless, they exist and whether you know or not, are doing their scientific and cultural activities... Yes, unfortunately you are under the influence of inductions of ignorant, rancorous and sick people, otherwise you know that on the contrary the most righteous servants of God are those who are unknown and flee from fame and this does not mean they do not exist, rather it may be that the existing of others is due to the good omen of their existence and others are given time by the blessing of their existence! They are the ones that by the explanation of some narrations “are unknown and anonymous on earth, but are famous and famed in heaven”... Anyway, remember that a wise human is the one who does not recognize the right by individuals, rather recognizes individuals by the right, while the ignorant human does the opposite and considers the fame or the status or the title of people as a reason for them being right and their anonymity as a reason for them being false. This undoubtedly is an obvious ignorance! [Critique and Response 3]
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]
In this part of his book, after introducing the last Prophet of God and proving his Prophethood, the author explains the position of the Quran and the Sunnah, and points out very important and fundamental points in this regard. One of these points is the impossibility of abrogating, specifying and generalizing the Quran by the Sunnah; considering that the only duty of the Sunnah is to explain the Quran and cannot contradict it in any way; as it is conjectural in most cases and not capable of contradicting the Quran which is certain; rather, in mutawatir cases, it is not as mutawatir as the Quran either and cannot stand in an equal position to it. In another part of the book Return to Islam, the author considers the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, authentic which can be followed forever, but he believes that access to it in a certain way is possible mainly for people of his time and not for future generations. Therefore, future generations need another authority to achieve certainty about the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and that authority is the Caliph of God on the earth, who is considered the successor to the Prophet in implementing God’s rulings, and of course, like the Quran, is always available to people. [Article 1]
After examining the definitive Islamic texts, including the verses of the Quran and the mutawatir Hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the author proves in an elaborate and convincing manner to all Muslims, free from any sectarian orientation, that the Caliphs after the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, are twelve people from his Ahl al-Bayt, the first three of whom are Ali, Hasan and Husayn and the last of them is Mahdi. He then studies the position of Mahdi and his role in the realization of the ideal of Islam, which is global justice, and in this regard, he brings up some accurate and profound details that are completely novel and unprecedented. For example, unlike others who believe that the creation and advent of Mahdi depends first on the will and action of God and subject to His wisdom and expediency, he believes that it depends first on the will and action of people and subject to their free will and readiness, and explicitly and decisively asserts that their access to Mahdi is possible, and therefore, they should only think of protecting, supporting and obeying him, and should not make themselves busy protecting, supporting and obeying people other than him, whoever they are. [Article 1]
In the end of his book, Hashemi explains the most important principle of Islam, which is monotheism, and divides it into three parts: monotheism in creation, monotheism in legislation, and monotheism in judgment or sovereignty, and explains each of them in detail. He then introduces the rest of the principles of the beliefs and the foundations of the rulings of Islam, and redefines each of them with a distinct and particular method, and opens new doors to jurists about Zakat, Hajj and Jihad, from each of them new doors are opened. In this way, he redefines the beliefs and rulings of Islam by relying on clear intellectual rules and based on definite religious texts, which are nothing but verses of the Quran and mutawatir Hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and presents a new and distinct understanding of it that can be considered an Islamic school and ideology, capable of revolutionizing the attitude and approach of Muslims of the world and preparing the ground for their unity and mutual closeness in the near future and for major and fundamental changes in their political and cultural structures. We recommend all Muslims of the world, especially scholars, to study this important and influential book, and we expect them and the officials of Islamic countries to show the necessary patience and forbearance in face of it by observing freedom of thought and expression and adhering to Islamic ethics and scholarly etiquette and to avoid hasty and irrational confrontations with thoughts and thinkers. [Article 1]
A group of people are those who may read the book and find out the existing facts in it, but are afraid because of the suppression and pressure governing the political atmosphere of the country and do not say anything about the book or cannot gain the permission to talk about it! What should be reminded to these people is the fearing of God and the day of resurrection and the fearing of divine trial. Because the content of this book is nothing but the pure and complete Islam based on certitudes, meaning verses of Quran and the Mutawatir Sunnah and firm intellectual proofs, and these are the salient examples of Good. Therefore, inviting toward it is a salient example of promotion of Good and therefore, it is obligatory. Hence, somebody who is afraid of the governments’ trial more than God’s trial, is not an intelligent and wise person, and is making a mistake and will immediately lose and regret. [Article 4]
Some people are those who understand the book, but they do not consider its content rightful because of its novelty and freshness and also its obvious difference compared with common and famous readings, at least in some cases. this method is not a right method either! Because everything except for the sacred essence of God is a creation, and has been created from a point in time forward, and this is not a reason for its nullity and invalidity! In fact, the old beliefs and deeds that people consider them good and are used to them, did not exist from the beginning and they are new compared to beliefs and deeds that were before them, and if we accept this method, it is clear there will remain no truth after! It is obvious that this habit is false and has a psychological and mental root and must be eliminated. The correct way that the Holy Quran praises, is to pay attention to all speeches, regardless of their time and location and speaker, and to follow the best word by relying on intellect as a criterion for cognition and avoid the impediments to cognition. [Article 4]
