اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ

Guide us on the straight path.

EXEGESIS

Ihdinā: guide, lead, show the way, with an element of kindness.^{‎[1]Raghib, under h-d-y; Taj, under h-d-y; Tahqiq, under h-d-y.} The primary meaning of its root (hudā, hidāyah) is guidance to what is good and beneficial. A similar alternative meaning is to guide someone to their benefit with lenience and compassion, not with force and severity.^{‎[2]Anṣārī, Tafsīr-e Sūrah Luqmān, p. 16.} Prophet Moses (a) told Pharaoh: I will guide you to your Lord, that you may fear [Him] (79:19), and in this mission he was explicitly instructed: Speak to him in a soft manner; maybe he will take admonition or fear (20:44). This shows that guidance cannot be in a harsh manner; otherwise, it is not hidāyah. Even when the objective is to warn and threaten someone of God’s wrath and punishment, it should be through soft speech. Ihdinā could also mean waffiqnā (assist us, support us, consolidate us, make us succeed).^{‎[3]Tibyan, 1/40.}

Guide has been used here without any particle, such as to (ilā), on (ʿalā), in (fī), or for (li). This may suggest another possible meaning for the verse: present to us the straight path (as a gift). However, given other similar usages of this verb in the Quran, the meaning is: guide us to or on the straight path. In other words, show us the straight path and make us advance on it. Perhaps no specific particle is used in order to keep the meaning open: it means guidance in its different forms, according to various contexts, and as applicable to individuals at different levels of faith.^{‎[4]Furqan, 1/120-121.}

The plural nā (us) matches the previous verse. In fact, the content of the entire chapter is universal and applicable to all creatures. An additional point for using plural here is that including others in one’s request increases the chance of the request being granted. God is so noble and benevolent that if He bestows a blessing upon even one individual among a community, He will also bless others.^{‎[5]Razi, 1/219.} It is narrated that God revealed to Prophet Moses (a): ‘O Moses, call Me by a tongue with which you have not disobeyed Me.’ Prophet Moses (a) replied: ‘My Lord! How can I find such a tongue?’ He said: ‘Call Me by someone else’s tongue.’^{‎[6]Uddah, pp. 131, 183.}

Ṣirāṭ: path, way. Ṣirāṭ is sometimes defined more specifically as a path that is clear, flat, wide, easy, straightforward, and/or elevated. It has been said that its original form is sirāṭ (with letter sīn), and the root sariṭa means to swallow. That is why ṣirāṭ is interpreted as a path that completely absorbs a traveller in terms of its width, or in the sense that it will not let him astray until he reaches the destination.^{‎[7]Mizan, 1/33.} Surāṭ means a sharp sword, and therefore ṣirāṭ could mean a way that cuts through the land and reaches the destination.^{‎[8]ʿAskarī, al-Furūq fī al-Lughah; Maqayis; Raghib; Lisan; Bahrayn; Tahqiq, under s-r-ṭ and ṣ-r-ṭ. Tabrisi, 1/103-104.}

Mustaqīm: straight, direct, standing.^{‎[9]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.^{‎[10]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.^{‎[11]Razi, 1/220.} Allah desires to lighten your burden, for man was created weak (4:28).

EXPOSITION

Here we reach the climax of this chapter. The previous verses prepared the ground for the most important and vital request to be made: asking for guidance to the straight path. This verse identifies the main help that was meant in the previous verse.^{‎[12]Zamakhshari, 1/15.} The next verse then elaborates what is meant by the straight path. Based on other verses, some signs of God’s guidance are the expansion of the heart toward submission, the shivering of the skin when one is confronted with the Quran, and the calming of the heart with God’s remembrance (6:125, 39:23). Similarly, it can be deduced from other verses that the straight path is that of serving God (3:51, 19:36, 36:61, 43:61, 43:64), that of faith in God and clinging to Him (3:101, 22:54), that of Prophets Abraham (a), Muhammad (s), and the Quran (5:15-16, 6:161, 16:120-121, 23:73, 36:4, 42:52, 43:43), and the opposite of obeying Satan (36:60). In many verses, the Quran has often used guidance (hudā) in contradistinction with hawā (desire) (2:120, 6:56, 28:50, 30:29, 43:23, 53:23). This could be an insightful observation about the reality and nature of guidance according to the Quran.

Guidance is the quality of believers who abstain from wrongdoing: Those who have faith and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing – for such there shall be safety, and they are the [rightly] guided (6:82). Their opposite group is described as: Indeed those who are faithless and do wrong, Allah shall never forgive them, nor shall He guide them to any way, except the way to hell, to remain in it forever, and that is easy for Allah (4:168-169).

Guidance is not the same as knowledge, and to guide is not the same as to teach. Asking for guidance is asking for all good, while asking for knowledge is asking for partial good. Guidance goes beyond a mental state to a spiritual and psychological awakening, awareness, and inclination to move toward perfection. It is one’s determination and perseverance in seeking the truth and acting upon it in order to reach felicity. The role of prophethood and religion is exactly to guide the people. One of the most pivotal and primary stages of guidance is one’s consciousness about one’s defects and problems. It is to feel a need, thirst, and pain with one’s being, which will in turn make one seek a solution for it.^{‎[13]Kashif, 1/35, with some elaboration.} This is one of the most essential teachings of the Quran and the Prophet, where they make the people cognisant of their eternal life and warn them of imminent damnation. This awareness is achieved by contemplation upon the character and message of the Prophet: Say: ‘I give you just a single advice: that you rise up for Allah’s sake, in twos, or individually, and then reflect: there is no madness in your companion: he is just a warner to you before [the befalling of] a severe punishment’ (34:46).

It is notable that the Quran narrates from Prophet Hūd (a): Indeed my Lord is on a straight path (11:56). This refers to God’s justice and wisdom in how He conducts the affairs of His creatures. Therefore, when we ask for guidance to the straight path, we are asking to be like God. This means that the guidance that is found in religious beliefs and laws is not something that is merely conventional and legislative, something that could be otherwise, because it is rooted in God’s setup of the universe and the system that He has enacted to govern His creation. And whoever takes recourse in Allah is certainly guided to a straight path (3:101). As for those who have faith in Allah, and hold fast to Him, He will admit them to His mercy and grace, and He will guide them on a straight path to Him (4:175).

Why should we ask for guidance every day and in every prayer? There are a few possible answers for this: 1. In and of ourselves we lack it. Even if we are on the straight path now – that is, if we have true beliefs and do righteous acts – if God were to cut His guidance and aid from us we would stray immediately. In other words, we are not certain of our end; there is always the threat that we may die in a state of disbelief. This is why even a great prophet like Joseph (a) prayed to God: Let my death be in submission [to You] (12:101), which is also what Prophet Abraham (a) and Prophet Jacob (a) told their children as their last pieces of advice on their deathbeds (2:132). Similarly, Imam Ali (a) interpreted Guide us to mean ‘make us steadfast’.^{‎[14]Zamakhshari, 1/15.} 2. The straight path is that which leads to the desired destination, which is eternal happiness that is referred to as paradise. This is something beyond our access, knowledge, and ability, because we are limited by our current life in the temporal world. In every decision between two or more options we need God’s support and guidance to help us choose the path that will take us closer to our eternal salvation. 3. There are different levels and stages of guidance, and the straight path has various sub-ways (subul), as discussed under Exegesis. Therefore, asking for guidance to the straight path could be interpreted as advancing in one’s share of guidance to a higher level of the path.^{‎[15]Mizan, 1/35.} In other words, there is always room for further improvement and advancement. As per a supplication by Imam al-Sajjād (a), we either have vices and faults, or blameworthy flaws, or incomplete virtues.^{‎[16]Sahifah, supplication 20.}

These three points can be found in a supplication narrated from the possessors of intellects in this world, and a supplication narrated from the people of paradise in the hereafter: Our Lord! Do not make our hearts swerve after You have guided us, and bestow Your mercy on us. Indeed You are the all-munificent (3:8); they shall be the inhabitants of paradise, and they shall remain in it [forever] … and streams will run for them. They will say: ‘All praise belongs to Allah, who guided us to this. We would have never been guided had not Allah guided us’ (7:42-43). Similar prayers are also found in narrated supplications in the books of hadith.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. A few interpretations have been offered in the narrations for the straight path. For example: 1. It is God’s book, as narrated from the Prophet, Imam Ali (a), and Ibn Masʿūd. 2. It is Islam, as narrated from Jābir and Ibn Abbas. 3. It is God’s religion, which is the only thing that God will accept from His creatures, as narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah. 4. It is the Prophet and the Imams, as mentioned in Shia narrations.^{‎[17]Tibyan, 1/42.}

Notes: 1. All of these are valid as examples and applications of the straight path, but none of them limits the meaning to that specific case. 2. The first interpretation can be deduced from verse 5:15-16. 3. The second and third views are effectively the same.

2. Concerning this verse, Ibn Abbas said: ‘Guide us to the path that will lead us to the destination. That is God’s religion, in which there is no distortion.’ In another narration he said: ‘Guide us to Your true religion.’ And in another narration he said: ‘That is Islam.’^{‎[18]Suyuti, 1/14-15.}
3. Ibn Masʿūd said: ‘Indeed this is a path that is attended by the devils who surround it and call [to the people]: “O servants of God! This is the true path,” [pointing to a false way] to bar from the way of Allah [8:36]. So cling to the rope of God, which is the book of God.’^{‎[19]Tabari, 4/43; Thalabi, 4/189; also with minor differences in: Tabarani, 9/212; Ibn Kathir, 2/77; Haythami, 6/326; Suyuti, 1/15.}

Notes: 1. Similar interpretations have been narrated from other companions.^{‎[20]Suyuti, 1/15.} 2. These can all be correct as descriptions, examples, and elaborations of the straight path. 3. The Quran says that Satan told God: 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). This should be a great word of caution for us. Those who are astray are already part of Satan’s hosts; the focus of the evil sources is exactly to deceive and mislead those who are on the straight path. This might be another reason for continuously asking God to guide us to the straight path, for there is a temptation in every step, and slight deviations from the path are very common and possible.

The bandit of time isn’t asleep or slow;

Don’t rest assured, for you never know;

If it didn’t rob you today, it may rob tomorrow.^{‎[21]Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 128.}

4. The Messenger of God said: ‘God has drawn a parable: there is a straight path bordered by two walls 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.’^{‎[22]Ahmad, 4/182; Ibn Kathir, 1/52; Suyuti, 1/15; Kanz, 1/182, h. 921.}
5. Once, Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) was asked about the ṣirāṭ (path, way). He said: ‘It is thinner than hair, and sharper than a sword. Some people pass it like lightning. Some people pass it like the galloping of a horse. Some of them pass it walking. Some of them pass it on their stomachs. Some of them pass it while hanging from it; the fire will consume some parts of them and leave some other parts.’^{‎[23]Qummi, 1/29.}
6. In another narration, Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘That is the way to knowing God, the mighty and majestic. It consists of two paths: one in this world and one in the hereafter. The path in this world is the Imam whom one should obey. Whoever recognises him and follows his guidance in this world will pass the path in the hereafter, which is a bridge extended over hell. Whoever does not recognise him in this world will slip on the path in the hereafter and fall into the fire of hell.’^{‎[24]Maani, p. 32, h. 1.}

Notes: 1. There are many narrations that identify the ṣirāṭ as the Imams, or particularly Imam Ali (a). 2. Some companions have also interpreted it as the path of Muhammad and his family, or the love of the Prophet and his household.^{‎[25]Hasakani, 1/74-75.} 3. Clearly, religion is a spiritual path, not a physical one. Similarly, religious guidance pertains to a spiritual journey; it is a matter of spiritual evolvement and perfection. The views and values that are found in religion are to be implemented internally, actualised in one’s soul, and united with one’s being. This entails the transformation of one’s self and reality. This inner and spiritual transformation is a path with several stages which is found in one’s soul. Path here refers to the stages and qualities of perfection that the soul acquires in its evolution and movement toward the spiritual goal outlined by religion: eternal bliss and human perfection. The Imam represents a perfect human being who has completed and incorporated every stage and dimension of perfection in this journey. That is why the path of religious guidance is the very spiritual reality of the Imam as a perfect human being.^{‎[26]Tasnīm, 1/494ff, 508-509.}

7. Concerning Guide us on the straight path, Imam al-ʿAskarī (a) narrated from his fathers, from Imam Ali (a): ‘[It means:] continue to bless us with Your aid by which we obeyed You in the past, so that we obey You in the remainder of our lives. The straight path consists of two paths: one in this world and one in the hereafter. The straight path in this world is below exaggeration and above shortcoming [that is, it is to keep away from the extremes and follow a golden mean]. It is straight, meaning that it does not bend toward any falsehood. The path in the hereafter is the path of the believers toward the garden. It is straight, meaning that they do not deviate from the garden to the fire or anything else other than the garden.’^{‎[27]Maani, p. 33, h. 4.}
8. Concerning this verse, Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘[It means:] enlighten us to adhere to the path that leads to Your love, makes us reach Your religion, and prevents us from following our desires – in which case we will be doomed – or clinging to our own opinion – in which case we will perish.’^{‎[28]Maani, p. 33, h. 4; Uyun, 1/305, h. 65; Ihtijaj, 2/368-369; Majmūʿat Warrām, 2/96.}
9. A companion of Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘While I was praying behind him, I heard him repeat Guide us on the straight path so many times that I could not enumerate.’^{‎[29]Ayyashi, 1/24, h. 26.}

REVIEW OF TAFSIR LITERATURE

It has been said that when hudā or hidāyah (guidance) is used with the particle ilā (to), it means legislative guidance, which is showing the way to salvation so that the person would follow. When it is used without any particle, it means existential guidance, which is taking one to the destination and perfecting one’s deficiencies.

Although there is some Quranic evidence for this distinction (4:70, 28:56, 42:52), there is also evidence against it (40:38).^{‎[30]Mizan, 1/35.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.^{‎[31]Matthew 6:9-13.}

Note: The difference between the levels of prayer is quite notable here: praying for ‘the bread of the day’ versus praying for ‘not being led into temptation’. The Quran has emphasised the latter: Guide us on the straight path …^{‎[32]Manar, 1/82.}

2. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.^{‎[33]Psalms 27:11.}
3. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.^{‎[34]Psalms 139:24.}

[1] Raghib, under h-d-y; Taj, under h-d-y; Tahqiq, under h-d-y.
[2] Anṣārī, Tafsīr-e Sūrah Luqmān, p. 16.
[3] Tibyan, 1/40.
[4] Furqan, 1/120-121.
[5] Razi, 1/219.
[6] Uddah, pp. 131, 183.
[7] Mizan, 1/33.
[8] ʿAskarī, al-Furūq fī al-Lughah; Maqayis; Raghib; Lisan; Bahrayn; Tahqiq, under s-r-ṭ and ṣ-r-ṭ. Tabrisi, 1/103-104.
[9] Raghib; Tahqiq, under q-w-m.
[10] Mizan, 1/33.
[11] Razi, 1/220.
[12] Zamakhshari, 1/15.
[13] Kashif, 1/35, with some elaboration.
[14] Zamakhshari, 1/15.
[15] Mizan, 1/35.
[16] Sahifah, supplication 20.
[17] Tibyan, 1/42.
[18] Suyuti, 1/14-15.
[19] Tabari, 4/43; Thalabi, 4/189; also with minor differences in: Tabarani, 9/212; Ibn Kathir, 2/77; Haythami, 6/326; Suyuti, 1/15.
[20] Suyuti, 1/15.
[21] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 128.
[22] Ahmad, 4/182; Ibn Kathir, 1/52; Suyuti, 1/15; Kanz, 1/182, h. 921.
[23] Qummi, 1/29.
[24] Maani, p. 32, h. 1.
[25] Hasakani, 1/74-75.
[26] Tasnīm, 1/494ff, 508-509.
[27] Maani, p. 33, h. 4.
[28] Maani, p. 33, h. 4; Uyun, 1/305, h. 65; Ihtijaj, 2/368-369; Majmūʿat Warrām, 2/96.
[29] Ayyashi, 1/24, h. 26.
[30] Mizan, 1/35.
[31] Matthew 6:9-13.
[32] Manar, 1/82.
[33] Psalms 27:11.
[34] Psalms 139:24.