?O community of shi?a the shi?a 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'd from among the an ilr 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