Instead of introduction

We bring here some excerpts from Shaykh Abdulsalam Balkhi's talk

I seek refuge to God from the expelled Shaytan

In the name of God the compassionate the merciful

I say Salaams to all Muslim and believing brothers and sisters and I thank God that He has given us the privilege[1] and opportunity to perform due diligence and discussion and pondering and contemplation about the religion of Islam. We intend to talk to each other in a series of sessions about the honorable book “Return to Islam” written by our master his Excellency Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani. Our intention is in fact to explain and interpret this book to the extent of our power with assistance of God's power and nurture and we hope that God grants us privilege and success in doing this blessed job and insha'allah our sessions continue to be held in this form. Before we start the subject I just want to mention a few remarks. I think it should be good that I talk about two things before we start our discussion and then insha'allah we go into the text of the honorable book “Return to Islam”.

First part of my presentation is for those Muslim brothers and sisters who did not have the chance to read the book or have not been able to read it for whatever reasons, or they have partially read it or those who are totally unaware of this book, so that they will become more familiar with it insha'allah and in second part I will mention a few remarks about the method of our interpretation and explanation insha'allah.

Firstly, the valuable and honorable book “Return to Islam” written by our master Al-Mansoor in reality presents a distinct version, understanding and interpretation from Islam different from what is now commonplace among Muslim publics. What does it mean? Look, the subject and main axis of this book is about Islam, as it is clear from its name. It means whole content of this book is about cognition and establishment of Islam and some more that we will explain as we proceed. But the main point here is the understanding that comes from this book, even though it will be very distinct and new and unprecedented but it is very genuine and pure. That means we do not see such a grasp and such a version from Islam in society and among Muslims. But it does not mean whatever is new and unprecedented is also correct. My words mean when a book or a thoughtful content is based on the core of Islam and is founded on pure principles of Islam will have a loneliness and infallibility and that is why I say it is something new and innovative, not to the meaning of being wrongfully innovative and containing Bid'ah, rather completely the opposite. This book is totally different from all negative innovations[2] that has formed throughout the history after the respected prophet peace and salutation be upon him and his household and then these Bid'ah became dominant and caused a deviated version of Islam to become common and most of the people and most of the Muslims only understand this Islam and call it Islam, whereas it is not Islam and in this book we see our Master Al-Mansoor will present a correct version and grasp of Islam which is completely in conformity to genuine Islamic principles and this is a very important point. This is why this book is very challenging, meaning that it will cause challenge, meaning it may cause some dispute and argument; Because this book opposes these old and Bid'ah historic interpretations which are common and this is why it may face a lot of reactions and confrontations from those oppositions and enemies and adversaries who are very much attached to these versions of Islam that are common and this is very natural and we always expect it and will expect and this is not an abnormal thing for you and us. I mentioned this because we should understand the reactions aimed toward this book and maybe a lot of people who recognize it as their responsibility to defend today's common version of Islam to confront against this book by what they have prepared and as we said, it is a natural behavior and is not something new either.

The other remark I wanted to tell you brothers and sisters is that, this book starts the argument from zero and does not assume any prerequisite meaning that does not have any assumption. It starts from primary points, fundamental matters such as cognition. We understand that cognition and knowledge about something is the most fundamental principle in Islam and this is evidently presented in statements of our Master Al-Mansoor and we will see it insha'allah and this is very important to note that there is no nonacademic bias and unfair orientation in the book and from the very beginning it starts from the primary and fundamental principle of Islam which is cognition and it is very important to give it the proper due attention. The other point is that the book is about a very deep and perspicuous historical diagnosis which is very shocking and we said it earlier too; why? Because it is opposing all those comprehensions, all those versions of Islam that are common today. But the subject of this diagnosis and perspicuity is about beliefs and deeds of Muslims. It means two topics are discussed here; both theoretical and belief-related matters and practical deed-related matters such as acts of worship and commandments and we may say this is a disclosure and as we said it is a diagnosis or in a better way it may be a surgery which in fact is being performed on the body of nation of Islam[3] and Muslims publics and their beliefs and deeds. Another point worthy of attention here is the fact that this type of study is unprecedented and we do not find a similar to it. We have absolutely not seen such a thing however hard we searched and we literally searched a lot but we did not find an example of it anywhere and hence this is definitely something to be grateful about.

The other point I wanted to mention to brothers and sisters is that this book is established based on categorical certainties. What do categorical certainties mean? It means those things that cause certainty and not conjecture and illusion; rather it is absolutely based on Islamic doubtless certainties. The reality is that the whole conversation of the book is about that. Brothers and sisters! Please be very careful this is not just a claim and I am not merely claiming something with no reason. You and I will see and will read the core of this book insha'allah. I understand most of you have read the book and verify my words. This claim is not just an alleged claim. None of the foundations and discussions in this book depart from categorical certainties and the conclusions made at the end of each section, is a definite and certain conclusion and causes knowledge for you and us which is a correct result. Now what are categorical certainties? They are divided into two groups in this book. It means every discussion and conclusion in this book is either based on verses of the God's words, i.e. based on verses of the Quran Karim which is the highest form of certainty and strength and soundness, or is based on Mutawatir Sunnah of the prophet peace and salutation be upon him and his household and we know that Mutawatir Sunnah is the certain tradition of the messenger such that its issuance from his excellency the messenger of God peace and salutation be upon him and his household is definite and clear and no one can bring doubt into it or God forbid deny it; because Mutawatir Sunnah include information and narrations that have been narrated by many different individuals in the same form, such that the possibility of their collusion is ruled out.

This is the utmost of certainty and soundness and strength of the book which is surely very important and we should emphasize again, we do not see this anywhere else. Another approach that our Master Al-Mansoor has taken is that he only adheres to these two things, he is only loyal to these two and nothing else; whether it is fame, i.e. a famous declaration or a famous narration or the consensus and settlement of a group of scholars or anything else. Whatever is in opposition to Quran Karim and Mutawatir Sunnah of the prophet even if it has been around for a thousand years among Muslims and has gained firm foot, is possible to be rejected and actually is rejected in the eyes of our Master Al-Mansoor and this is the utmost of bravery and frankness in declaring the truth and this is certainly an important point worthy of attention; in order to make this comprehensible for you brothers and sisters, I can assert that this book can be considered as an exegesis to Quran. That means no step is taken in this book unless it is backed with explicit decree of Quran or Sunnah of the prophet and this book in various occasions in discussions and analyses and investigations cite the Quranic concepts and the Sunnah of the prophet peace and salutation be upon him and his household.

Another very important point that I should say is, the discussions in this book are brought up in an utmost unbiased manner and this book is never a sectarian book and does not support any particular sect. Brothers and sisters please pay attention to these seditions and sectarian divisions that has spread in the world of Islam. I mean the challenges and tensions that are around about differences of sects and you all understand them and thank God your mind is free from those and no need to do more explanation on it. You should pay attention this book does not take any sectarian position or support. There is nothing found in this book that you can say it is a sectarian book, all you can say is, this is a religious book, a book about Islam; the very core of Islam, truth of Islam, and this is because all Islamic sects and groups, their major root is Islam and all of them are the audience of this book and that is why this book is an encompassing book and talks about all Ummah[4] of Islam and addresses all of them; therefore one can never bring up possession of any sectarian position or assumption by this book and none of the audience of this book should ever say for instance it has defended such and such sect in such section or it is understood from such chapter, this book belongs to such sect; because these conversations are not wise and accepted and admirable and we accuse one who says such allegations with unfairness. Therefore we can assert certainly that we do not find anywhere in the book any sectarian content.

Another point I will mention here and then wrap up this part of my talk; everywhere in this book our master Al-Mansoor has allocated a heavy dependence and reliance and loyalty and adherence to God's commandment and divine permission. Everywhere in the world of Islam today, which is filled with seditions, we can see the only matter, which is not adhered to, to which is not paid attention, is God's commandment, God's permission, that which is God's will, His commandment and determination. For instance in many topics of the book such as Caliphate or sovereign ruling, Jihad, pledge of allegiance[5] and similar subjects, it has been tremendously emphasized none of them has credibility unless with God's commandment and permission and as I said earlier this is contrary to what commonly exists in the world of Islam today; because most of the Muslims consider Ijtihad in these affairs permissible and they talk about these subjects with their bellies. Every one interprets Jihad one way or another, every one delivers sovereign ruling to one person or another and everyone understands Caliphate one way or another. In this book, the only acceptable understanding and interpretation and comprehension from these types of fundamental and deterministic subjects, is the one derived from Quran, is the understanding coming from Mutawatir Sunnah of the prophet peace and salutation be upon him and his household and all of these are subject to God's command, are subject to God's permission and anything beyond that has no credibility and does not possess any credibility in the eyes of our Master Al-Mansoor accordingly and are not even mentioned. This was the other point I wanted to talk about, and it should get too much attention as it is very important and fundamental and many of the future conversations are determined by this basis and in many cases this is the turning point and results that are concluded based on this fact turn out to be very distinct from other results concluded to this day and more important than that, these conclusions are certain and categorical as I mentioned earlier. Because they cite God's command and His permission and His order and not command of Zayd or the permission of Amr or the order of Bakr or the words of others. This was one point, and last point is to say according to all my words so far, one can say the author of this book, our master Al-Mansoor with an utmost good intention and sympathy that he has toward nation of Islam and with an Islamic and religious sense of responsibility has written this book and from this book, from these foundations, we can understand this individual is a truth seeker character and a totally Islamic person who is restricted to fundamentals and principles of Islam and he wants nothing and is pursuing nothing other than establishment of Islam, other than a correct cognition of all Muslims about Islam so that with support and cooperation of one another and with adherence to those principles in the book that we said earlier, they establish the pure and complete Islam. This is our Master Al-Mansoor's motive which he has emphasized on it in various places in his book and the book as a whole verifies these words and whatever we want to understand about him, from his character, from his methods, we should look into this book, look into that which this book has said, to that which it has invited, to that which it has addressed and this is very deterministic for us. Only those who are away from fairness and far from justice do not verify my words, otherwise whoever reads this book in a state of fairness and with no biased perspective and sees the categorical fundamentals and the genuine method in declaring the truths of Islam in this book, will verify my words.

Meanwhile we should mention this point, his declaration is in an admirable bravery and decisiveness style and is an exemplar of uprightness and surely it is very appropriate to have perspicuity in asserting the truth and to not compromise or to appease people. We see this explicitly in the words of our master Al-Mansoor and we see he speaks with perspicuity and decisiveness, yet with respect and politeness he says what he should say and does not compromise or appease. He holds positions that are necessary and absolutely important firmly and speaks up about them, positions which are founded based on the principles we said earlier and he follows those principles and fundamentals step by step and defends them.

This was the first part of my talk and I truly request you Muslim brothers and sisters that either write down these points that I mentioned or remember them in any way you want, such that you can review them every time we start a session together so that these points, which are absolutely essential matters, become permanent in your and our minds and thoughts.

Explanation of the noble book “Return to Islam”

Shaykh Saleh Sabziwari

(I seek refuge to God from the expelled Shaytan

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim

Thanks and praise be upon God the Lord of the two worlds and peace be upon Mohammad and his purified household

The importance, value, benefit and blessing of the honorable book “Return to Islam” written by our master his excellency Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is more transparent that needs my explanation; such that my explanation does not add anything to its transparency in the eyes of people of knowledge and those who possess intellect and fairness, rather I fear with regards to failure in my declaration and weakness in my words, it results the opposite; because however hard you speak about sweetness of sugar, it is not more obvious than trying it, and for one who has already tried it, talking about sugar being sweet is a vain attempt. Therefore I do not say anything about concepts and content of the book from this respect and I suffice to explaining the terminology and expressions. Even though, very simple and lucid terminology and expressions in this book have been selected as much as possible, but it might be a little bit difficult for some of the brothers and sisters who have less acquaintance with Islamic knowledge and concepts, or have less acquaintance with Persian literature and language and they may need some explanation and my explanations are mostly for those and are proportionate to them; It means explanations are mostly to clarify the utilized terminology and expressions in this honorable book or some idioms that have been used in very few occasions. I say very few occasions, because our master Al-Mansoor actually does not have much attention to many modern common terminology and he has avoided them in this honorable book as much as possible and in cases where he had to use them, he has further explained his objective and purpose with other words and phrases; the reason is because he knows literature and terminology of Allah and His messenger the best literature and most appropriate terminology to declare concepts of Islam, not the literature and terminology of jurists[6] and philosophers; As the respected companions and purified Ahl Al-Bayt and generally the righteous predecessors were not acquainted with the modern terminology and literature of jurists[7] which is full of unnecessary verbosity and they used the lucid and transparent terminology and literature of Quran and Sunnah.[8] While our master Al-Mansoor has a complete acquaintance with terminology of jurists[9] and philosophers, he is very reluctant to use them unless to the extent of necessity and avoids them otherwise, and for this very reason, one cannot consider his honorable book, a book of jurisprudence or philosophy, even though he has spoken in it both about commandments and beliefs of Islam. Anyway, explanation of some words and expressions can be handy for some of the brothers and sisters and therefore I try to do it to the extent of my power and accordingly if I had any defect or error in my explanation is due to defect in the scope of my knowledge and has no relation to our master Al-Mansoor and this honorable book.

Before I start the book I should remind two major points, which should be considered in all discussions of the book and should not be neglected:

Firstly, the terminology of this book are extremely precise and they are used proportionately and in the right spot and there is no word which has been utilized vainly or with no meaning or disproportionately or without necessity; particularly descriptions that has been mentioned for words and adverbs that have been reminded for expressions, are extremely essential and deterministic; such that lack of due attention to a single description and adverb will obstruct the correct and complete comprehension of the purpose of our master Al-Mansoor and nevertheless in some cases, it may cause misunderstanding or misapprehension from some of his words or expressions and may cause an inopportune question or doubt which is due to insufficient attention to his terminology and expressions. Therefore it is necessary to pay due attention and vigilance to all his words and expressions, particularly those descriptions and adverbs that he has used with wisdom and Hikmah, so that his purpose and objective is apprehended correctly.

Another point is, discussions in this honorable book are interconnected like the rings of a chain; such that every topic is the introduction to the next and a complete and correct perception of it is necessary for complete and correct perception of next topic and therefore, one should read it from the beginning to the end in the order it has been written and should not read it sporadically and out of order like a newspaper. This is a point should one observe it will get the benefit oneself, and should one not observe it because of laziness and impatience or hastiness and curiosity or any other reason, one will see due reparation oneself; especially with due regards to the fact that, this book almost starts from zero and before it starts its main objectives, it has already laid out and defined its foundations and accordingly one who has not gained apprehension about these foundations, cannot comprehend its main objectives.

And finally the explanations to the book: )

Foreword

(Our master Al-Mansoor after “Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim” which is the opening of this honorable book starts his words under the title “Foreword” and by that he means entrance, the gate to enter into the discussion, giving the credit that discussion starts here. Maybe one reason that he did not use the word “introduction” or “Preface” is because he uses this word “Prefaces” for next section and using the word “Preface” here could cause confusion. Then he says: )

I worship God as it is required (meaning, I praise; I worship) and I praise upon His prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as it is praiseworthy (meaning, I send peace and Salaams to him)

(There are three questions here to be raised: I mean with regards to this very first line:

First question is about the word “God”. Is it permissible to use the word “God” when we are talking about Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala? Regarding the fact that some of the Muslims specially the Salafis, believe remembering the sacred essence of God is only permissible through the word “Allah” and it is not correct to remember Him with other words such as “God”. Whereas our master Al-Mansoor in this honorable book remembers Him with the word “God”, rather he has not used any other word as much as he has used this one and the word “God” is his keyword throughout the book! The answer to this question is, the opinion of those groups of Muslims does not have any basis in Islam and it originates from their taste mostly; because there is no verse in the Quran nor any firm narration from the prophet nor even a definite opinion from the predecessors that states remembering Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is only permissible in Arabic language and is not permissible in other languages! With due regards to the fact that the word “Allah” is in fact an Arabic word which Arabs have conventionally established to refer to the sacred essence of the worshiped being and therefore, it existed among Arabs even prior to Islam and was used by polytheists of the Arabic peninsula and hence Islam has not invented it, rather has confirmed and used the common word among people of that language.

Anyway it is clear this word comprises a few Arabic language alphabets and accordingly its citation to sacred essence of the worshiped being is not an inherent and intrinsic citation, rather it is a conventional and credited citation; as it is possible for a polytheist to use this word to cite an idol from among his idols. Therefore it is obvious those prophets who were not Arabic speaking, did not remember the sacred essence of the worshiped being with the word “Allah”; because due to their language difference they were not acquainted with this word and if they used this word, their people would not understand their objective, therefore they used their people language to remember Him, and not the Arabic language with which neither themselves nor their people could understand and it is clear they did not do wrong acts; because Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has said: ”وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ“; which means “We did not send any prophet unless to the language of their people so that he can declare for them” and it is clear the language of the people of all prophets were not Arabic, rather except for a few of them rest of them were not Arabs and did not speak Arabic, such as Noah, Ibrahim, Moses and Jesus peace be upon all of them who were all non-Arabs and spoke in another language. This is while, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, has remembered them in His book and has brought their dialog in Arabic and has ascribed to them the fact that they remembered Him by the word “Allah” and clearly this word is the translation of their own word in Arabic, which means their non-Arabic word to cite the essence of the sacred worshiped being, in the eyes of God was the Arabic word “Allah”; because He has translated those words into “Allah”. It is hereby understood the important thing in God's view is the meaning of the word and the concept intended from it, otherwise the word itself which comprises a few alphabet letters attached to each other, regardless of its meaning and concept, is not that much important. But it is obvious, in cases where there is definite reason from religion that states certain words should be said in Arabic, one cannot use equivalent words from another language, such as words in the prayer[10] and some other phrases which apparently should be said in Arabic; even though there is no consensus on this matter among Muslim scholars and some like Abu Hanifa believe one can use Persian language words for prayer and some Shia scholars have the same opinion for Mustahabbat[11] of prayer such as Ghonout[12]. Anyway it is clear, except for some few predetermined cases, everyone can remember the sacred essence of the worshiped being with his/her own language, provided that the word among people of that language cites to this concept and that persons intends to refer to that very concept as well; just as the word “God” among English speaking people is used to cite the sacred essence of the worshiped being and our master Al-Mansoor has intended this very meaning and therefore he is not to be blamed from this front. Indeed what we said does not mean it is problematic to remember God with the word “Allah”, rather it is actually very good and even our master Al-Mansoor himself in many cases where he is speaking in Persian language does the same, but we mean this is not obligatory and remembering Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala with the name “God” for English speaking people, has no problem. So this was the first question.

But the second question is about the format of Salaams that our master Al-Mansoor uses after he mentions messenger of God here and in other places. He has said the following in all of the cases: Sallallahu Alaihi wa ‘Alihi wa Sallam; which means may God send peace and Salaams to him and his household. While this is different from the usual and common way of sending peace and Salaams to the messenger of God after writing his name; because the common and usual way is “Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam”; which means may God send peace and Salaams to him, without mentioning his household. The answer to this question is, the format of sending peace and Salaams to the prophet has been taught by himself by a global consensus among all Muslims from all sects and Ahl Al-Hadith[13] have narrated it in a Mutawatir[14] way in their books and that includes sending peace and Salaams to household of the prophet after sending peace and Salaams to his excellency and with this description, the format of peace and Salaams that our master Al-Mansoor has mentioned in this honorable book is totally correct and is in conformity to the prophet's Mutawatir Sunnah and global consensus of Muslims and the usual common format of sending peace and Salaams which does not include sending peace and Salaams to household of the prophet, is incomplete and incorrect and our master Al-Mansoor with his action in this book, apparently is pursuing to correct this defect.

Third question is why his honor has mentioned he worships God as it is required and praise upon his prophet as he is praiseworthy? What is the Hikmah [wisdom] behind this requirement and praiseworthiness beside its eloquence? The answer is, it is always obligatory to worship and thank God at all times and in any situation, whereas sending peace and Salaams to prophet is not obligatory at all times, rather it is appropriate, meaning it is Mustahab[15] and favorable. In addition, his intention from these two phrases can be, he praises and worships God with the quality and quantity which is obligatory and sends peace and Salaams to the prophet with quality and quantity with which he is worthy of.

He continues after praising God and sending Salaams to the prophet: )

But next;

(It means after praising God and sending Salaams to the prophet I say such and such. The question is what is the reason behind this phrase? The answer is, this phrase has been narrated from the messenger of God Sallallahu Alaihi wa ‘Alihi wa Sallam and his purified household and his respected companions in their sermons and writings and therefore, it is Sunnah and our master Al-Mansoor has used this phrase in order to practice this Sunnah and have adherence to them.

Then he mentions his blessed purpose from writing this book and this implies the objective from doing an action, meaning, the intention behind it, is prior to taking the action and is the first step along the way; with due regards to the fact that messenger of God Sallallahu Alaihi wa ‘Alihi wa Sallam has said: “Actions are weighed by intentions” which means human being's actions are judged by his intention and his action originates from his intention and is valued based on his intention; as he also explains his objective and intention another time at the end of the book in more detail which means intention should be present from the beginning to the end of an action.

Anyway in the beginning he says the following about his intention from writing this book: )

is the purpose of this writing, which is theoretical preparation (meaning, providing the intellectual and practical preliminaries and prerequisites) for practical return of the Muslims to Islam (meaning, their return to Islam in practice and not just in their faiths and thoughts), that means performing Islam after it has been annihilated by them (this is a brief and eloquence description of return to Islam; which means the objective from return to Islam is to establish it by practicing and implementing it after it has been annihilated which means it has been abandoned and wasted and has not been established by typical Muslims.); based on the presumption that they have abandoned performing Islam as it must be performed (because if we assume they have practiced and established Islam as it should be, then it would be a vain attempt to talk about return to Islam with the meaning that we said. But what is the basis on which our master Al-Mansoor assumes Muslims have abandoned practice of Islam as it should be?), with due regard to the fact that its outcomes (meaning, the outcomes of establishing and practicing it, such as accomplishment of justice and settlement of material and spiritual problems among Muslims), is not evident among them (meaning, is not visible among them) as it is required, should Islam has been performed (meaning, completely and as intended to be once Islam is established), rather the consequences of abandoning it (meaning, consequences that come by abandoning the establishment and practice of Islam, such as oppression and ignorance and corruption and division), are evident among them, so there is no doubt (meaning, it is certain) in necessity of returning them to Islam (and this is to assert the necessity of this writing after mentioning its objective; because once return of Muslims to Islam is necessary, providing the grounds for it by facilitating the process and removing the obstructions becomes necessary too) it is clear that this return, is possible through cognition of Islam and comparing it with the version that they have already had from Islam (with due regards to the fact, return to the desirable situation without knowing it and comparing it with existing situation and weighing the differences, is not possible; because one who has not gained such cognition and has not done such comparison, may vision himself inside the desirable situation mistakenly and hence does not apprehend his need to change the existing situation and therefore does not make any effort to do this job; regardless if he does not know the desirable situation he cannot actually create it. Therefore return to Islam without cognitively knowing Islam is not possible); so as cognition of Islam without standard and with the impediments existing in this path, is not possible (because in principle gaining cognition about everything requires a standard and a standard can only help cognition of something once there is no impediment obstructing it; as our master Al-Mansoor clarifies this point as he continues) and therefore, knowing the standard and impediments to cognition of Islam, is necessary for acquiring one (that is, cognition standard) and removing other. (That is, cognition impediments) Therefore, talking about return to Islam requires talking about four subjects:

First; Prefaces of cognition, including its standard and impediments, for cognition of Islam and returning to it (As it was clarified return to Islam without gaining cognition of it is not possible and gaining cognition of it without having a standard for cognition and removing impediments for it is not possible);

Second; Necessity of returning to Islam and its possibility, which means the necessity and possibility of performing Islam completely and purely after its annihilation by Muslims (with due regards to the fact that return to Islam is secondary to possibility of establishing it purely and completely; whereas it is probable one considers it impossible to establish it with such quality; for instance one may deems it outside scope of Muslims power and ability, therefore it is necessary to clarify the possibility of this job);

Third; Impediments of returning to Islam; which means the causes and motives (meaning, the driving forces) for non-performing it after the Prophet till present (regarding the fact that without proper cognition about these impediments you cannot remove them and without removing them you cannot access the path to establishment of Islam);

Forth; Cognition of Islam, which means cognition of the beliefs and laws of it (regarding the fact that Islam comprises beliefs and commandments) based on the certainties (meaning, those things that are doubtless and cause certainty) and away from illusions and mistrusts (meaning, those things that are illusive and conjectural do not have any credibility, regardless under what title or category they are and only certainties have credibility and therefore we can say cognition about Islam is only possible by reliance on certainties and whatever is earned from illusions and conjectures is not cognition about Islam in principle. This is a very important subject that he will clarify in details as he continues);

While we must ask God for help and we must rely on Him (meaning, while performing all these jobs that are done to return to Islam, we should ask God for help; regarding none of these tasks are possible without help of God and meanwhile we should rely on Him; with due regards to the fact that, all these jobs will be useful and fruitful if He wills and we should have hope in His will and rely on it so that these four major steps get us to the aimed destination); as He has said: ”اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّـهِ“[16]; “Get help from God” and has said: ”فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوا“[17]; “So rely on Him” (This is the first time our master Al-Mansoor cites the book of God in this book and his citations to the book of God everywhere in this book, from the perspective of quality and quantity and relevance, honestly has no similar and is unexampled and we have neither seen nor heard such a thing and it is in a way that will amaze and astonish every Muslim, especially if you are from among academics and scholars; such that you may feel you are reading the book of God and its exegesis; rather it seems like some of the verses from the book of God which has been cited in this book are being read for the first time or seems like it is the first time their correct and precise concepts are being apprehended and this originates from remarkable, rather extraordinary, connection of this man to the book of God; such that you may say he is the son of Quran and has been trained and raised with it or such that the spirit of Quran has penetrated his body and speaks with his tongue. As he continues with the book, everywhere in it he brings a witness from the book of God for all the expressions and phrases he uses and he takes all his steps exactly on a footstep of Quran with regards to all beliefs and deeds in Islam and he neither surpasses nor falls behind Quran and this is the instance for the honorable verse ”خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ“ and the secret in his bravery in asserting the truths is this, and honestly whoever has this character and has this much adherence to Quran, should not have any fear; as God has said: ”أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّـهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ“ which means disciples of God has no fear nor anxiety; because they are highly adherent to revelation and do not separate from it. Honestly this subject is bold and evident to such an extent that we can assert one of the first fruits of this honorable book is to revive the position of Quran and its role among the nation of Islam. As we continue this point will be more clear and honestly it will amaze and astonish friends and enemies and will bring them to confess it and admire it. Any way his honor says in order to gain cognition about Islam and return to it as explained in the book and in the foreword, we should ask God for help and rely on Him and indeed this is true; because the content that are being taught in this book are mostly very heavy, such that unless with the help of God and reliance upon Him you cannot commit to them and your neck can break under its load, and this is why you should take this advice in the beginning of the book serious and practice it and you should not assume it is a simple and routine statement. Both because of the reason that I just mentioned and because of the following as he says: ) since every good existed, come from Him (meaning, they come from God as He has said Himself: ”بیده الخیر“ and you should not consider it from anyone other than Him, even though that is one of His means and neglect Him who is the cause of all means; because He is the founder of benignity and benefaction and as our master Al-Mansoor says: ) and will occur only through His permission (meaning, even if all necessary means for it is provided) and (therefore he says) worship must be for Him who is the Lord of the earthlings.

wa salamualaikum wa rahmatullah