نَهيُ الشِّيعَةِ عَنِ الغُلُوِّ Prohibition of Extremism for the Shi`aa

16ـ عن عَمرو بنِ خالدٍ عَن الإمامِ الباقرِ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): يا مَعشرَ الشِّيعَةِ ـ شِيعَةَ آلِ محمّدٍ ـ كُونُوا النُّمْرُقَةَ الوُسطى ، يَرجِع إليكُمُ الغالي ، ويَلحَق بِكُمُ التّالي ، فقالَ لَهُ رجُلٌ مِن الأنصارِ يقالُ لَهُ سعدٌ: جُعِلتُ فِداكَ ، مَا الغالِي ؟ قالَ: قومٌ يَقولُونَ فينا ما لا نَقُولُهُ في أنفُسِنا ، فليسَ اُولئكَ مِنّا ولَسنا مِنهُم . قالَ: فَمَا التّالِي ، قالَ: المُرتادُ يُرِيدُ الخَيرَ ، يُبَلِّغُهُ الخَيرُ يُوجَرُ علَيهِ.


16– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘O community of Shi`aa – the Shi`aa of the household of Muhammad – be like the middle saddle-cushion, on which the extremist who has slid forward falls back, and with which the follower who is yet to come catches up.’ Upon hearing this, a man called Sa`ad from among the ansar asked him, ‘May I be your ransom, who is an extremist?’ He replied, ‘They are a group of people who say such things about us that we do not say about ourselves. Neither are these people from among us, nor do we associate ourselves with them.’ Then the man asked, ‘Who is the follower that is yet to come?’ He replied, ‘The one who is searching for good and wants it, and who will eventually attain it and be rewarded for it.’[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 75, no. 6]