" guide us (o' lord) on the straight path."
commentary :
after confessing his obedience and servitude to allah, reachingthe state of worship, and asking for help from him, the first thing that
the servant seeks is his guidance to the ` straight path ', the path of the
righteous, the path of justice, and the path of faith and good deeds.
so, he asks the lord, who has bestowed on him all of these bounties,
to give him the bounty of `guidance', too.
such a man, in the above stated condition, is a believing one who
is acquainted with the lordship of his lord, but it is possible, too, that
suddenly he would cease to receive this bounty because of some
component of wickedness, and, consequently, he would stray from the
right path.
therefore, he must ask his lord, at least ten times a day, to
protect him from any kind of aberration.
moreover, this ` straight path ', which is the very divine creed,
has some stages. all people are not on the same level of spiritual
preparedness necessary for attaining these stages. whatever stages a
person attains, there are still some higher stages above them that a
believing servant might ask allah to guide him to reach.
here, a question arises: " why must we always ask allah for
guidance to `the straight path', as if we are being misguided ? ".
besides, supposing the statement is true about us, the ordinary
believers, but what about the holy prophet and sinless imams (p.b.u.th.)
who were the examples of complete human beings ? in answer to this
question, we may say :
firstly, the fact is that man is liable to deviate from the right
path with each step that he takes as he is walking along the path of
guidance. so, he should rely on allah and ask him to keep him firm
on the `straight path'.
we must not forget that our existence, our being, and all the
bounties which always come to us, are from his origin. to clarify the
matter, we cite a simple example :
all creatures, including human beings, (from one point of view)
resemble an electric lamp. we see that the light of a lamp, when it is
on, appears to be constant and monotonous. the reason is that the
electrical current flows constantly from a generator to the lamp. the
generator continuously produces some new electrical power, a part of
which reaches the lamp by some connective wires. our being is similar
to the lamp. although it appears as a sustained being, it is, in fact, a
continually renewed being that flows ceaselessly to us from the original
being, the bountiful creator.
therefore, as the continually new being reaches us, we need
constant new guidance, too. it is natural that if something wrong or
some barriers manifest themselves in our spiritual connective wires with
allah; the vices, injustice, wrong doings, etc., will disrupt our
connection with the origin of guidance. at that moment, we may
deviate from the ` straight path '.
we ask allah that these barriers be removed and not obstruct
our way that we may remain steadfast along the ` straight path '.
secondly, receiving `guidance' is the same as travelling the path of
`development' along which man can gradually promote from lower
degrees to higher and higher ones.
we also know that the path of development is endless and
continues towards `infinity'.
so, it is no wonder that even the prophets and sinless imams
(p.b.u.th.) ask allah to guide them to the ` straight path ', because the
absolute perfection is allah and all of us, without any exception, are
on the path of perfection, then it is acceptable that they, too, ask him
for higher promotions.
do we not often send greetings to the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.) by
the special formula of ` salawat ' ? does ` salawat ' not have the
meaning of requesting new blessings from allah for prophet
mohammad and his descendants (p.b.u.th.) ?
is it not expressed in the qur'an regarding the prophet (p.b.u.h.)
who used to say: "... o' my lord ! advance me in knowledge ", (sura taha,
no. 20, verse 114) ?
does the holy qur'an not say: " and allah doth advance in
guidance those who seek guidance...",(sura maryam, no. 19,verse 19) ?
and, again, does it not say : " but to those who receive guidance, he
increases the (light of) guidance, and bestows on them their piety and
restraint (from evil) ", (sura muhammad, no. 47, verse 17) ?
this explanation makes clear the answer to the question regarding
the benediction which we recite for the prophet and the sinless imams
(p.b.u.th.) by which we beseech allah, in fact, for a higher and better
position for them all (p.b.u.th.).
here are two traditions which make the above idea clearer :
amir-ul-mu'mineen ali (a.s.) commenting on the verse `guide
us (o' lord) on the straight path ', says: " it means: `(o' lord) continue
bestowing your blessings on us as you did during the days passed by which
we succeeded to obey you, so that we can obey you in the future of our lives,
too ' ". 1
imam sadiq (a.s.) has said about the verse: " it means: `(o' lord)
show us the way which ends in your love, leads us to your paradise, and
prevents us from following our destructive desires or our own wrong and
destroying decisions ' ". 2
what
is the ` straight path ' ?
according to what is understood from the verses of the holy
qur'an, the `straight path' is the same as the `monotheistic creed'; the
religion of truth and the belief in the instructions of allah, as sura
al-'an`am, no. 6, verse 161 says: " say: ` verily, my lord hath guided
me to a way that is straight,ö a religion of right,ö the path
(trod) by
abraham the true in faith, and he (certainly) joined not gods with allah
'."
here, `a religion of right' and `the theistic path of abraham (a.s.)
as the true faith', in which he called on no god but allah, are
introduced as the ` straight path '. this shows `the belief' aspect.
but, sura yasin, no. 36, verses 60 and 61 say: " did i not
enjoin on you, o' ye children of adam, that ye should not worship satan;
for that he is to you an enemy avowed ? " " and that ye should
worship me,
(for that) this is the straight way ? " these verses, here, point to the
`practical' aspects of the `religion of truth'. they urge us not to commit
any satanic deed or any wrong action.
clinging to allah, the qur'an says, is the key to reaching the
`straight path':
"... whoever holds firmly to allah will be shown a way that
is straight ", (sura 'al-i-`imran, no. 3, verse 101).
it is necessary to mention this point, that the ` straight
path ' is always only one way, not more than that, because the shortest
distance between two points is always only one straight line.
therefore, when the qur'an says that the ` straight path ' is the
very true belief in the divine religion with its moral and practical
aspects, it is because it is the shortest route to a spiritual connection
with allah.
and it is also for this same reason that `the religion of truth' is not
more than one: "
the religion before allah is islam (submission to his
will)...", (sura 'al-i-`imran, no. 6, verse 153).
later it will be made evident that `islam' has a vast meaning which
envelops all the monotheistic religions that were lawful at their own
times but were nullified by the new one. thus, it clarifies that all
different commentaries that commentators have cited on the matter, i.e.
the` straight path ', refer, indeed, to the same thing.
islam, the pure unity, qur'an, the prophet, and his vicegerents
(p.b.u.th.), are some explications that commentators have offered for
the meaning of the ` straight path '. all of the stated explications refer
to the divine religion in the aspects of ` faith '
and `practice'.
also all of the various narrations and traditions cited on the
subject in the islamic sources, each of which points to a separate
dimension of the question, in substance, refer to one essence. some
examples are as follows :
it is narrated from the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.) who has said: " the
`straight path' is the path of prophets and they are those on whom allah
hath bestowed his grace ". 3
here are three traditions from imam sadiq (a.s.), who, when
commenting on this verse, said: " it is the `way' and the `cognizance' of
imamate ". 4
again, in another tradition, he (a.s.) says : " by allah, we
(ahlul-bait) are the ` straight path ' ". 5
another tradition from the same imam (a.s.) says: " the ` straight
path ' is amir-ul-mu'mineen ali (a.s.) ". 6
ahmad-ibn-mohammad-ibn-ibrahim al-tha`labi, a sunni scholar,
has narrated from abu-buraydah al-aslami, who was one of the
companions of the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.), that he said: " the ` straight
path ' is the path of mohammad and his descendants ". 7
this means that their path is based on the doctrine of islam which
consists of the belief in: `oneness of allah', `justice', `prophethood',
`imamate', and the `hereafter'. there is no doubt that the path of
ahlul-bait (p.b.u.th.) is the ` straight path', and that adhering to it
causes prosperity and salvation, while pursuing other than that leads to
loss and injury.
ibn-il-maqazili has narrated from the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.) who
has said: "
the example of my household (ahlul-bait) is similar to the ark
of noah. he who embarked it was rescued (from drowning and
destruction), but, he who refused it drowned (and perished) ". 8
other traditions narrated from ahlul-bait (p.b.u.th.) also confirm
the concept. in addition, the well-known tradition ` thaqalayn ' from
the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.), is another good clear witness to the matter,
too. it says: "
i leave behind me amidst you two great things; should you
be attached to these two, never, never shall you become astray: the `book' of
allah (the holy qur'an) and my progeny, my ` ahlul-bait '." 9
as was previously stated, it is certain that the holy prophet
(p.b.u.h.), hadrat ali-ibn-abitalib (a.s.) and all of the other infallible
imams (a.s.) invited people to the theistic religion of allah, an
invitation to faith and practice in truth, which elevates man to the
climax of ability, guidance, dignity, and human excellences.
by the way, it should not be neglected that there are two kinds of
guidance: ` divine guidance ' and ` religious guidance '.
` divine guidance
' is the human intelligence
bestowed on a person
by allah, which recognizes the difference between: good and bad,
right and wrong, gain and loss, felicity and wretchedness, virtue and
vice, and so on. it is, in fact, the inner messenger of a person.
` religious
guidance ' means that allah sends
prophets, divine
books and legislation to guide man to all merits of this world and the
next, as well as making him aware of the injuries and damages of the
two worlds. of course, when man is guided by the above guidance and
acts accordingly, he will be worthy of receiving the blessings of the next
world; this is made possible through the development of the soul by
acquiring knowledge, good habits, and commendable moral qualities in
which state he will certainly attain the happiness of this world and that
of the next, together with the infinite grace of allah.
` intellect ' is called a `guide' in that it enlightens man as to what is
right and what is wrong. the prophets (p.b.u.th.), imams (a.s.), and
scholars are called ` guides ', too, because they guide the human race
to the salvation and felicity in both worlds. but, really, allah is the
main supreme guide, and these are the means appointed for the
guidance of man.