عَلىٰ صِراطٍ مُستَقيمٍ

On a straight path.

EXEGESIS

Ṣirāṭ (path) is defined more specifically as a path that is clear, flat, wide, easy, straightforward, and elevated. It has been said that its original form is sirāṭ (with the letter sīn), and the root sariṭa, which means to swallow. That is why ṣirāt is interpreted as a path that completely absorbs its travellers in terms of its width or in the sense that it will not let them astray until they reach the destination.^{‎[1]Mizan, 1/33.}

Mustaqīm: straight, direct, standing.^{‎[2]Raghib; Tahqiq, under q-w-m.} It is from the root qāma, which means to stand, where the standing position signifies strength and ability. Overall, al-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm means the path of the truth or a straight and reliable way that leads one to salvation. It is a path that does not fail to take the traveller to the destination.^{‎[3]Mizan, 1/33.}

A subtle observation is that the shortest distance between two points is by a straight line that connects the two. Hence, asking God for the straight path could imply the shortest path, thereby referring to our inherent weakness in the journey toward Him.^{‎[4]Razi, 1/220.} Allah desires to lighten your burden, for man was created weak (4:28).

EXPOSITION

God has now given us two descriptions of the Prophet: You are indeed one of the apostles and you are On a straight path and guide people to the same. We learn from these two predicates that there is a straight path toward God and that Prophet Muhammad (s) is one of the messengers who guide people on that path.

The straight path is all about worshipping God and God alone (see verse 61). All prophets have invited people to the straight path including Prophet Hūd (a) (11:56) and Prophet Abraham (a) (6:161). Prophet Jesus (a) directed his followers to be on the same straight path (3:51, 19:36, 43:61, 43:64), that is, to believe in one God, who is the God of Jesus (a) and everyone else. A similar message was conveyed by Prophet Muhammad (s) (42:52, 43:43, 23:73-74, and this verse).

There are many rewards indicated in the Quran for those who are firm on the straight path; the greatest of all rewards is that For them shall be the abode of peace near their Lord and He will be their guardian because of what they used to do (6:127). Furthermore, if people are firmly on this path then Satan can never have control over them or deceive and tempt them (15:39-41). Those on the straight path bring good and enjoin justice (16:76).

Straight path implies that there are other paths which are not straight. This is broached in the Quran on many different occasions. Some people believe there is a path but do not want it straight; they want it confused and convoluted, Those who prefer the life of this world to the hereafter, and bar [others] from the way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked. They are in extreme error (14:3). False messengers and distorted religions are examples of a crooked path. Many people may have spiritual feelings, mystical experiences, or inner attraction toward a higher being, but they may not be on a straight path toward God. They may be going off track.

Those on the deviated path follow the path of those who incur the wrath of God or those who have gone astray (1:7). The deviated path would lead the oppressors, the idol worshippers, and the arrogant to hell (37:23-24). Satan has promised God to deviate people from the straight path: ‘As You have consigned me to perversity,’ he said, ‘I will surely lie in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come at them from their front and from their rear, and from their right and their left, and You will not find most of them to be grateful’ (7:16-17).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Sajjād (a) said: ‘We are the straight path, and we are the vessel of its knowledge.’^{‎[5]Maani, 1/32, 5/35; Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 2/1609.}

Note: This should not be taken as the interpretation of the verse; instead, it is an application of it. It means the Imams guide to the straight path as the Holy Prophet did. It indicates that their path is not in any way different from the path of God and His Messenger. Indeed, no Muslim can ever claim that they are on the straight path unless they are endowed with inspired knowledge, introduced to them by the Holy Prophet.

2. The Messenger of God said: ‘God has drawn a parable: two walls border a straight path on its sides. There are some openings and doors in the walls that are covered by curtains. There is a caller at the entrance of the path who says: “O people! Enter this path, all of you, and do not diverge.” There is also another caller who calls from above the path. When one wants to open any of the doors, he says: “Beware! Do not open it! If you open it you will fall in it.” That path is Islam. The two walls are God’s laws and limits. The open doors in the walls are things that God has made unlawful. The caller at the entrance of the path is God’s book. The caller from above is the divine admonisher in the heart of every Muslim.’^{‎[6]Ahmad, 4/182; Ibn Kathir, 1/52; Suyuti, 1/15; Kanz, 1/182, h. 921.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The ones sent by God are definitely on the straight path, a concept which He affirms in this verse, and it does not mean that some of the messengers were not on the straight path.^{‎[7]Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/91.}

Many idol worshippers were impressed by the linguistic beauty of the Quran and enjoyed listening to it for their own entertainment, yet they would not believe in it. Perhaps they would consider it like those entertaining fictional stories, many of which lack any realistic view of a person’s life. One of the reasons that God repeatedly reminds the people to follow the straight path – which is the Quran and the Messenger – is that they both guide mankind towards the pragmatic and realistic teachings that benefit them in both worlds: We did not teach him poetry, nor does it behove him. This is just a reminder and a manifest Quran (verse 69).^{‎[8]Furqan, 25/11.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. He [The Lord] guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then, you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong … So follow the steps of the good and stay on the paths of the righteous. For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.^{‎[9]Proverbs 2:8-22.}
2. Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths, sinners stumble and fall.^{‎[10]Hosea 14:9.}

[1] Mizan, 1/33.
[2] Raghib; Tahqiq, under q-w-m.
[3] Mizan, 1/33.
[4] Razi, 1/220.
[5] Maani, 1/32, 5/35; Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 2/1609.
[6] Ahmad, 4/182; Ibn Kathir, 1/52; Suyuti, 1/15; Kanz, 1/182, h. 921.
[7] Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/91.
[8] Furqan, 25/11.
[9] Proverbs 2:8-22.
[10] Hosea 14:9.