Imam Baqir (as) said “The person who serves Allah according to a religion so putting himself in great inconvenience and hardship for it, but does not have an Imam fixed by Allah then his endeavor is unaccepted (rejected). And he is a lost, gone astray and a wandering person in (a state of) perplexity. And Allah is the enemy of his practices. And his example is that of a sheep which has lost her shepherd and herd and remains wandering here and there all day long. Thereafter, when night falls she mistakenly joins a (different) herd whose shepherd is other than the shepherd of her own herd. After (the night) when the shepherd drives the herd she again gets astonished and perplexed not finding her own shepherd and herd and again starts the search for her own shepherd and herd. And (again) finds a shepherd with a herd (only) to mistakenly join it and the shepherd having seen her shouts at her asking her to go and join it’s own herd since, she has lost her shepherd and herd. And she is amazed and at a loss to know what to do. She being afraid of the wolf is running this way and that way. She does not have her shepherd to lead her to her meadow or turn her back. In the mean while, the wolf valuing and esteeming the opportunity eats her up. And, by Allah, similarly any body in this ummah and community too who starts a morning in a condition that he does not believe in the Imam appointed by Allah, an Imam who is evident, apparent, just and equitable he will start the morning in a condition that he is gone astray & perplexed. And if he dies in this (very) condition he will die a death of infidelity & hypocrisy.”[i]
[i] USOOL AL KAFI. VOL I, P 375
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Sheikh Mateen Charbonneau
Joshua Charbonneau is an American Muslim. He was born in 1982 in Sumter, South Carolina. He is of French Canadian and American descent. He was born into a Christian family, and later chose to revert to Shi’a Islam at the age of 17, having studied both faiths. After reverting to Islam he chose the name Mateen which in Arabic means strong, firm and unshakable. His first language is English and he also learned Quranic Arabic.
At age 26 he moved to Washington, DC area and has been an active part of the Muslim community. He took part in a documentary by Al-Anwar Hussain TV entitled Journey of the Spirit where he narrated his incredible story on how he became a Shia Muslim.
Since March of 2013 he has been studying Howza (Islamic Seminary) classes in America and Najaf al-Ashraf under esteemed scholars such as Sheikh Mustafa Akhound, Sheikh Mirza Abbas Shamsuddin, Sheikh Saed Kulayni, Sheikh Mohammad Baghernejad, Sayed Ibn Abbas Naqvi, Sheikh Mohammad Jafar Danesh, Sayed Baqir Imrani, Sayed Raad al-Alawi and Sayed Muhammad Baqir Shirazi.
Sheikh Mateen has also written, compiled and published some very in-depth books entitled The Suffering of the Ahl ul Bayt and their Followers (Shia) throughout History, Christians who defended and died for Prophet Muhammad and his Family (English, Spanish, French), Mystery of the Shia, a Study Guide for Logic and an extensive book of narrations entitled Prophetic Gems, A Commentary to the Faith of Shia Islam (Aqaed Imamiyya) of Allama Muzaffar (4 volumes) and Recalling the Sacrifices of Karbala. These titles are available at Amazon.
In 2014 he founded a nonprofit organization to send free books to prisoners entitled 2nd Chance Books, which was filmed about in a documentary by Ahlul Bayt TV entitled Faith Behind Bars.
He received his turban from the hand of Sheikh Ahmad al-Haeri on the martyrdom of Muslim ibn Aqil (ra) / Day of Arafat in 2016 and also from Marja’ Ayatollah Sayed Muhammad Taqi Modarresi in the Holy city of Karbala on the birth anniversary of Imam Sajjad (as) in 2018.
View all posts by Sheikh Mateen Charbonneau
mateenjc.com 