Guide us to the straight path

"The ruling ceases to exist with the absence of its cause. This is similar to His guidance to His servant before the servant is guided, leading the servant to be guided by His guidance. This initial guidance results in further guidance, for which اللّٰه rewards him with guidance upon guidance. Indeed, part of the reward for guidance is further guidance, just as part of the punishment for misguidance is further misguidance."

"yet another guidance, without limit. So every time the servant grows in awe of his Lord he ascends to a further guidance; he is in increasing guidance so long as he is in increasing God-consciousness. And every time he loses a step of God-consciousness, he loses a share of guidance to match it. The more mindful he is, the more his guidance grows; and the more he is guided, the more his mindfulness grows. God Most High said: There has come to you from God a light and a clear Book, by which God guides whoever follows His good pleasure to the paths of peace, and brings them out of the darknesses into the light by His leave, and guides them to a straight path."

"if he is incapable. What he can do he may desire, or he may not desire, out of laziness, neglect, or due to an obstacle. What he desires he may do, or he may not. The Lord, blessed and exalted, is upon a straight path in his decrees and judgments, his prohibitions and commands. He guides whom he wills to his straight path by his grace and mercy, and places guidance where it is suitable, while turning away whom he wills from his straight path by his justice and wisdom, due to the unsuitability of the recipient. This is the consequence of his straight path to which he adheres. He is upon a straight path, and has set for his"

"by placing a barrier between them and being guided by it. The second matter is that when the servant believes in the Book and takes guidance from it in a general way, accepting its commands and affirming the truth of its tidings, this becomes a cause of a further guidance that comes to him in detail. For guidance has no end: however far the servant may reach in it, above his guidance there is another guidance, and above that guidance"

"His guidance to us on the path is due to Him being on the straight path, for His guidance is through His actions and words, and He is on the straight path in His actions and words. This does not contradict the statement of those who said that He, glorified be He, is on the straight path. It is also said: It is the Messenger of اللّٰه, peace be upon him, who commands justice and is on a straight path."

"The sayings of the early generations varied in explaining bounty and mercy, but the sound view is that they are guidance and blessing: His bounty is His guidance, and His mercy is His blessing. For this reason He joins guidance and blessing together, as in His words in Surat al-Fatiha: "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed." Of this also is His word to His Prophet, reminding him of His favours upon him: "Did He not find you an orphan and shelter you? And find you astray and guide you? And find you in need and enrich you?" So He joined for him both His guiding of him and His favour upon him in sheltering him and enriching him."

"upon Allah, my Lord, and your Lord. There is no creature but that he holds its forelock. Indeed, my Lord is on a straight path. When the prophet of Allah knew that his Lord is on a straight path in his creation and command, reward and punishment, judgment and decree, withholding and granting, wellness and trial, guidance and abandonment, he does not deviate from the effects of his holy perfection. His names and attributes necessitate justice, wisdom, mercy, benevolence, and favor. He places reward appropriately and punishment in its deserved place, positioning guidance, abandonment, giving, withholding, guidance,"

"due to the unsuitability of the recipient. This is the consequence of his straight path to which he adheres. He is upon a straight path, and has set for his servants a straight path to which he calls them all. This serves as an argument from him and justice, guiding whom he wills among them to follow it as a blessing and favor, without departing from his straight path. On the day of meeting, he sets up for his creation a straight path leading them to his paradise. Those he turned away in this world will be turned away then, while those he established in this world will remain firm. The light of their faith in"

"Those who have mentioned other interpretations have prioritized this one, as البَغَوِيّ did, asserting it as the explanation of the verse. الكَلْبِيّ said: He guides you to a straight path. His guidance to us on the path is due to Him being on the straight path, for His guidance is through His actions and words, and He is on the straight path in His actions and words."

"God Almighty also says, "And as for ثَمُود, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance." This is guidance after clarification and indication, which is a condition, not a cause. If it is not accompanied by further guidance afterward, it does not result in complete guidance, which is the guidance of success and inspiration."

"has guaranteed increase of guidance to those who strive in His paths, and has never said that He would lead them astray and bring their striving to nothing. Likewise He has guaranteed increase of guidance to the God-fearing who follow His good pleasure, and has told us that He leads astray none but the transgressors, who break His covenant after it has been firmly bound; and that He leads astray only the one who preferred error and chose it over guidance — and then He sets a seal upon his hearing and his heart. And that He overturns the heart of one who was not content with His guidance when it came to him, who did not believe in it but pushed it away and rejected it:"

"How then can they avail him anything or bring him good in provision or support? Then he said drawing his father's attention to the guidance and beneficial knowledge given to him by Allah Even though he was younger than his father. Oh my father Indeed there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you. So follow me I will guide you to a straight path meaning a clear easy straight path that leads you to good in your world and Hereafter when he presented this guidance to him and offered him this advice His father did not accept it nor take it from him instead He threatened and warned him saying do you desire my gods Oh Abraham if you do not stop"

"and from whims that contradict sincerity and devotion. These five are veils separating one from God, and beneath each are many types with countless individuals. Thus the servant's need, indeed necessity, to ask God for guidance on the straight path is great. There is nothing the servant is more in need of or more beneficial to him, for the straight path encompasses knowledge, intentions, actions, and abstentions, both outward and inward, that apply at all times. The details of the straight path may be known to the servant, or they may not be. What he does not know may be more than what he knows. What he knows he may"

"the path that leads to Him — that it is nothing other than worshipping Him alone by what He loves and is pleased with, and seeking His help in worshipping Him. And His words, "Guide us along the straight path," comprise the declaration that the servant has no way to his felicity except by remaining upright upon the straight path, and that he has no way to such uprightness except through his Lord's guidance,"

"the meaning of the words of His prophet Hud: "There is no creature that moves but He holds it by its forelock." Then he said: "Truly my Lord is upon a straight path" — meaning that though He is Owner, Overpowering, disposing of His servants with their forelocks in His hand, He is nonetheless upon a straight path; that is, upon the justice by which He deals with them. He is upon a straight path in His speech, His action, His decree and His determining, in His command and His prohibition, His reward and His punishment. His every report is truth, His every decree is justice, all He commands is benefit, and all He forbids is corruption and harm."

"but rather intended the mere existence of insight. Whatever He wills occurs, and whatever He does not will does not occur. Now, regarding the complete clarification, it necessitates the existence of guidance, and it is what He commanded us to ask for in every prayer. The people of Paradise said about it: 'Praise be to اللّٰه, who has guided us to this; we would never have been guided if اللّٰه had not guided us.' And اللّٰه Almighty said: 'And اللّٰه invites to the Home of Peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path.' He generalized His invitation with explanation and indication and specified His guidance with success and inspiration."

"saw a fire, he said to his family, Stay here, I perceive a fire. Perhaps I can bring you a torch or find some guidance there. This indicates that they were in darkness and had lost their way. As Allah says in Surah An-Naml, When Moses said to his family, Indeed I have perceived a fire, I will bring you from there information, or bring you a burning ember that you may warm yourselves. Indeed Moses brought them information, and what profound information it was. He found guidance, and what guidance it was. He derived light from it, and what light it was. Allah the Almighty said, But when he came to it,"

"Therefore, he mentioned what exists after mentioning what is obligatory, which is the complete clarification of the truth of the Almighty. His intention is the complete clarification that does not deviate from guidance. Otherwise, a servant may perceive the truth but not be guided by it, as اللّٰه Almighty said: 'And as for ثَمُود, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance.' Thus, He - Glory be to Him - made them perceive, but they chose misguidance over guidance."