DARS 1
For the traveller, the Musaafir, there are two underlying principles. If we are going to define somebody as a traveller, then there are two conditions that need to be met for that person to be considered as a traveller: firstly, that he is travelling on a journey, not stopping, moving along and the second element is that he needs to have a destination to which he wants to go. So if these two conditions are not met, then we cannot term that person as a traveller, because a traveller doesn’t stop - maybe he stops for a very short time, but then he continues on the journey. And if he is travelling, then there should be a destination; if a person is moving but he doesn’t have a destination then he is lost, and he doesn’t know where he is going; so then we would say that person is off-track, that he has deviated - he is going here and there, left and right, for he does not know where he’s going. No direction, no destination. So to be a traveller, it is essential that these two conditions are met - that he is travelling, moving and he has a destination that he is travelling towards.
Now this is also the situation in regards to the journey to the Hereafter. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that we are all Musaafirs, we are all travellers - that’s it. He said that, and if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said that we are travellers, then those two conditions will definitely be met - we are travelling, moving along on a journey in a direction, and there will be a destination at the end of it, definitely. If these two things aren’t present, then how can we be travellers? But if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said it, then most definitely these two elements will be in our lives. We are not people who stop, we are moving, and we are moving to our destination of the Hereafter. So the Musaafir, the traveller, is moving, going on a journey, and he should have a destination and endpoint towards which he is travelling.
Now after this, the most important thing for the traveller to get to his destination is the straight path, the direct route. Obviously, if someone who is a traveller with a destination, who knows where he’s going, doesn’t have the straight route, the straightforward route or path, then he will get lost; he will go this way and that way, left and right - he won’t get to the destination. For this reason, we see that when a person embarks on a journey, whether a bus or a car or a plane or a boat or a ship, then he prepares the route. Nowadays there are gadgets, there are Routmasters, maps and you can look into where you’re going. You can find out the route and the directions, and you can determine the easiest and most straightforward way. For example, we put the postcode in and request the most direct route, and then it guides us and tell us which way to go - turn left, turn right - the straightforward way, the easiest, shortest route. So the most important thing for a traveller is the easiest, most straightforward route. If you have this, it will be easy to get to your destination.
So now, we are travellers to the Hereafter, and the most important thing for us is what? The Straight Path! If the path is not straight, then what will we be? We will be deviated people. With regards to the Dunya, to the world, we would be lost if we do not know where we’re going. If we don’t know where we’re going in the Hereafter, that person will be deviated, and he will not be able to get to the destination, for his journey is not straightforward, it is not correct. So what is the Straight Path? The Straight Path will take you from here straight to the Hereafter - it will take you to success.
So Allah ta'ala has given us Iman, Allah has defined to us the Straight Path, the correct path, the right path. In the greatest book, which guides us and tells us our Deen, the Qur'an al Hakeem, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has told us this. He has defined it totally, completely. He has guided us with regards to the right path, the Straight Path, because without going on the Straight Path, a person cannot get to the destination; without going on the right path, you cannot get to the destination.
So we see that Allah ta'ala, in this Qur'an al Hakeem, which is the greatest guide, from which you get the guidance for every part of the Deen, from the Holy Qur'an - and via the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam Allah ta'ala gave us the Qur'an - if we look at the Qur'an, we can see that in the selection of Allah, the first Surah is the Surah al-Fatiha. Allah has given us Surah al-Fatiha in the Qur'an, Subhanallah. In regards to virtues, Surah al-Fatiha is a very great Surah, and we cannot go through all the virtues here, but we need to understand why Allah started the Qur'an with this Surah, because Surah al-Fatiha comes first. Now this Surah is one Surah from the whole of the Qur'an, and it is the first that was revealed completely, in one go; before this, no Surah was revealed completely, before this Surah. And the second quality you should understand is that you could say that this is the summary of the Qur'an, the essence of the Qur'an. How could it be the summary and essence of the Qur'an? Because in the Surah as a whole, Allah has instilled something within it which is important, and that is why we are ordered that in every unit of prayer, we have to recite this Surah, whether in compulsory Salah or Nafl Salah, this Surah has to be recited. Why? Because Allah has made a prayer ,a Dua in this Surah that every person has to make.
Why? Because Allah has put a prayer for the person who is pleading, begging to Allah. Allah has given us a method in this Surah; the soul of this Surah is a prayer and a supplication through which Allah ta'ala has given us the guidance, the route. {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - guide us on the Straight Path! And the rest of the Qur'an is the commentary and detailed guidance of this one verse. The whole Qur'an is the commentary of this one verse in Surah al-Fatiha - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, guide us on the Straight Path. The rest of the Qur'an is the detailed commentary of this verse, it is the explanation of this verse, SubhanAllah. So in Surah al-Fatiha, we accept that, 'Oh Allah, in this world, in Your creation, nothing can be blessed unless it is started with the Name of Allah.' Nothing, no action! And this Surah starts like this, in the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Very Merciful. Allah's qualities, His attributes, His Names - three Names are mentioned here, and with the blessing of this, everything comes in the whole Qur'an. Everything is with the blessing of this - Allah gave us this!
So Allah, You are the Lord, the Rabb-ul-Alameen, not Lord of one world, but of all of the worlds! You have created them, You look after them, all praise is to Allah. Praise be to You. If we say that this mountain is beautiful, then in reality we say that we are praising You because you created this mountain. If we look at the whole of the universe, whatever we praise and look at and glorify, we are glorifying who, praising who? I love the one who created all of this! Praise be to Allah, all praises are to You! If we are stood on the bank of the ocean or the sea, we look at how beautiful it is, but when we are praising the sea, we are praising Allah - what a beautiful ocean, what a beautiful mountain, what a beautiful tree, what beautiful waterfalls You have made! All praise is to You Allah ta'ala, for You have created everything. The Creator is He who makes, so He is the one who is praised.You don't praise the production or what is produced, no, you praise the Creator! Oh Allah, You are the Magnificent, the Compassionate, the Very Merciful; You are not just Compassionate, You are Raheem, You are Very Merciful!
Now the verses are continuing; then we also say and we accept in this Surah, 'Oh Allah, in reality You are the Owner of today, of tomorrow, You are the King, the Emperor, the Supreme Controller - You are the Sovereign of the Day of Judgement! On that day, it will be Your Kingdom! also all of these attributes qualities a person says Lord of the Worlds, Compassionate, Very Merciful, Owner of the Day of Judgement - we keep saying, these are Allah's qualities, attributes, power - everything; we continually accept and believe, and then we say, 'You alone we worship!' Oh Allah, if this is all due to You, only a foolish person would worship or praise anyone else; he would be stupid, he would be foolish! He would be a mad, stupid person. We cannot accept that that somebody could leave Allah, with all His greatness and glory and power, and then go to prostrate to something else! No, You are alone we worship, so Allah, it will be Your servanthood; we cannot worship anyone else - we accept that You are the God, You are the Lord.
So here then, after all the praising, the servant requests: 'Oh Allah, You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help! Oh Allah, only to You do we ask for help.' So here, now the servant is asking for help, for assistance; we say, 'Oh Allah, please help me! Assist me! I accept and hear!' A beautiful point comes - after asking Allah, then he presents the real request: 'Allah, show me the Straight Path, give me a Straight Path! I am travelling to the destination, and on the way there are many barriers of the desires and the devil!' For example, if you are going to London, there are thousands of ways to get to London - give me a route that I can get directly to London easily, quickly! So here the servant says, 'Oh Allah, my Lord, after accepting everything, oh Allah, I am asking You for help - You alone I ask for help - and what is the help I am asking? Guide us on the Straight Path, show me the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path!'
SubhanAllah, so now, understand the point, look, subhanAllah, Allah ta'ala has told us clearly, vividly, very transparently, that for a human being, the most important thing is the Straight Path, otherwise he cannot get to his destination - and the StraightPath is not in your hands! Yes, you can try, but you cannot get to theStraight Path through your own efforts and attempts; you cannot get to the Straight Path through your brain power and wisdom, through your efforts. There is no way that you can get to the Straight Path. If you want to attain the Straight Path, then Allah has said what? There is only one thing - what is that? You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help! Ask Allah for help and assistance. In other words, you have to supplicate to Allah, to plead to Allah; this is compulsory, it is essential if you want the Straight Path. 'Oh Allah, You alone will show me the Straight Path; I cannot get to the Straight Path, I cannot get it through my mind, through my brain, through my attempts. -- even if I am reading the Qur'an!' And there are people who are reading the Qur'an but they are off-track, they are deviating, it is a lie! Allah says, 'I will give the Straight Path!'
You can study knowledge, the Qur'an, commentary - you will not get the Straight Path. You will only get the Straight Path through one thing: unless a person asks Allah, pleads to Allah, supplicates to Allah 'Please show me the Straight Path', you will not get the genuine path that will take you to the destination of the Hereafter. You can try to use your brain, your intellect, your thoughts and understanding, you can try, you can pick up the Qur'an - but you do not supplicate! If you pick up the Qur'an and say I want the Straight Path, then the Qur'an itself says that there are many people who are deviated because they have not adopted the right method - this Surah explains! The greatness of this Surah is that this secret is hidden in this Surah. The secret of the straight path is that Allah says 'Ask Me for the Straight Path!' He says, 'Whatever your state, ask me!' SubhanAllah, whoever says {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, whether he is a polytheist, a person who doesn’t believe, if he has deviated and is doing whatever he wants, but when he says from his mouth 'Guide me on the Straight Path', Allah says immediately 'I have told you My principle' so that this person is then given then the Straight Path! 'I show him, I illustrate the Straight Path to him.' Now you can strive through your own efforts to get the Straight Path and you can think you have achieved it through knowledge, but Allah says 'You will never get to the destination, you have deviated!' because Allah has stated, instructed 'Ask Me for the Straight Path, ask for My help!'
{La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} - 'there is no power and might except in Allah!' What does this mean? This is the door to Paradise! This phrase {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} that I am explaining to you is a door to Paradise. Abdullah bin Masud radhiAllahu anh, a great companion, recited this phrase and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said 'Do you know what the meaning of this phrase is?' - and Abdullah bin Masud radhiAllahu anh, who was a high status companion who had knowledge, plentiful knowledge, and a very high status, a beloved companion of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he said 'Oh Prophet of Allah, I don’t have the knowledge of this.' The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam then gave him the explanation: this phrase {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} is the door to Paradise because this is showing you that the path to Paradise is that there is no power and no ability except by Allah! If you understand this, the reality of this phrase, you will reach to Paradise! This is such a valuable phrase! Allah, it is Your power - without Your power I can never prevent myself from committing sins! It is Your power. Allah, it is Your power that stops me from sinning, otherwise I can never stop sinning. When a person assigns himself to his Lord - 'I am humble, I am low, Allah, I cannot do this! It is Your power Allah, {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah}. Without Your power and Your help, I cannot do this. If You do not assist me, I cannot even prostrate, I cannot raise my hands, I cannot say my prayers!'
In other words, what does this mean? For these two things, I need to submit to you, oh Allah! Give me Your blessings, make me a person who prays Salah! Oh Allah, make me a worshipper, show me the Straight Path! And if you don’t ask Allah, if you don’t plead and beg and ask Allah, then you cannot do it yourself, remember! Remember - Allah says there is no power and no might except by Allah! For this, we need Allah's power, Allah's assistance, Allah's help. So what we realise here, what we learn here, is that Surah al-Fatiha contains the beauty and the essence of the Qur'an. Surah al-Fatiha is the opening chapter, and the whole of the Qur'an is the commentary of Surah al-Fatiha, because it is telling us a great message: to get the Straight Path, you have to do an action, you have to make Dua, to supplicate to Allah, and plead to Allah. That is why in every prayer, we supplicate to Allah when we recite Surah al-Fatiha - but we don’t understand the meaning of it! What are we asking from Allah is this, that 'Oh Allah, help me, assist me, show me the Straight Path, show us the Straight Path.'
So this should be the habit of a human being, of a believer: if he wants to stay on the Straight Path, on the right path, always we should be asking Allah, '{Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} -Guide us on the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path!' Allah's promise is that if you ask Me for the Straight Path, then I will keep you on the Straight Path! The reason for people being deviated and off-track is that they don’t ask Allah, they think, 'I am the man, I am fine, I have reached, I have achieved' - no! Whoever it is, any human being, Allah says it does not matter who a person is, ask Me for the Straight Path - I will give it to him!
I’ve seen in my life various people who have become Muslim, and I asked them, 'What brought you towards the path of Islam, how did you become Muslim? What feeling arose?' And mostly, the response was this, they just said 'I don’t know what power there may be, but if You can guide us, then we want the right path. We don’t know what it is - is should I go this way or that way, this religion or that religion, but we just asked for guidance, and Allah guided us. He brought us to guidance!' I have heard this in my life regularly, I have seen this. They didn’t read the Qur'an, they didn’t read Hadith, they just asked Allah. They requested, and Allah says, 'Whoever asks Me, I will show him the Straight Path, I will guide him to the Straight Path.'
So remember one thing: a human being should pray for the thing that he wants. If a person does not have a desire, then he won’t pray for it. For example, water - if I want water, then I will ask for water. If I want a son, I will request a son. Whatever you want, whenever you have a need, you ask for that from Allah - so why don’t we make this prayer? Because we don’t have this desire. And why don’t we have this desire? Because the Nafs and the devil have suppressed this desire, this desire of ours for the Straight Path. The Nafs and the devil have suppressed it and buried it, and they have buried it in such a way that they have injected these thoughts and evil whispers in our ears and minds and hearts. If somebody is off-track, sinful, deviated, and doing wrong actions, the Nafs and the devil suppress his desire - 'What is the point of you asking Allah? How can you come on the right path, you you are not even doing good actions! How is this prayer of yours going to be accepted?'
But remember one point here: in no way or form should a person think this is not necessary, thinking that 'Oh Allah, if You put us on the right path, then we do not need to do this Dua after that.' Even then the threat is present - the threat is ongoing! Those people are more in danger, for already Allah has demonstrated the right path. They have travelled and they are travelling, and they have hazards on the route, so even they should continuously, throughout life, always make this prayer to Allah. If you have the right path, and you are practising, then other paths will open up, other invitations will come. So if we don’t have the right path and we are off-track, then we have to ask Allah, and if we’re on it, we need to stay on it!
So the first thing we have to ask from Allah is one thing, always. Surah al-Fatiha has taught us this - always ask a lot for one thing: {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, Allah, show us the Straight Path!' The Nafs and the devil suppress our real desire, that is why we don’t ask Allah. 'If I ask Allah, how will I be accepted? I am dirty, impure, sinful, I have done wrong things, I’m a bad person - how can I ask Allah with my impure tongue?' No! Keep on asking, keep on asking - it does not matter how dirty or sinful you are, it does it does not matter how impure you are, but definitely you should ask Allah. 'Allah, give me the right path! Allah, guide me! Show me the right path, take me to the right path!' - this statement should continually come out from a person's mouth, continually. After this, when this phrase comes out, Allah's promise is that 'I will definitely bring that person to the right path, I will!'
So if a persons stop staying this Kalima, then he is going to lose. Whether a person is already guided, or if a person is misguided, if a person is a Friend of Allah, he should not forget this phrase - that is why in every prayer we have to recite this prayer in Surah al-Fatiha. Allah says 'Don’t fall into pride and don’t become big headed, thinking that you cannot go off-track or deviated, no, you are in danger!' My brothers, this is the essence of the Qur'an, this Surah al-Fatiha. Why? The rest of the Qur'an is the commentary, the detailed explanation of Surah al-Fatiha. Allah says in this Surah '{Siraat-al-Ladheena an'amta alayhim, ghaiyril-Magdhoobi alayhim, wa la-dhaaleen} - The path of those whom You have favoured, not those with whom You are angry or who have gone astray.' Allah says there are three paths. We are asking for the Straight Path, but what paths could we have gone down? Allah is explaining. Allah says that if we are not careful, there are the paths of those who have earned Allah's anger or who have gone astray. Allah has mentioned this in Surah al-Fatiha. So upon which nations did Allah's anger come down, and who are those who went astray? Allah has explained this in the rest of the Qur'an, and Allah has also described those whom He has favoured - the Prophets, the truthful ones, the righteous ones. These are the people whom Allah has favoured - the righteous ones, the pious ones, the Friends of Allah, all the great personalities. So when we make this prayer {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, 'Guide us on the Straight Path' that is what we mean. 'Oh Allah, please Allah, show us the path of those whom You have favoured' - and the rest of the Qur'an demonstrates in detail who those people are. We want that path! 'Oh Allah, we want protection from those who earn Your anger and from those who have deviated and are lost!' This is the Straight Path.
If you want to see what the right path is, then what do you need to do? We want to see, to witness the demonstration of the path of those whom You have favoured - the Prophets, the righteous, the truthful. These are those whom Allah has favoured - that is the Straight Path. If you see the signs of those people in others, they are good, but if you see someone who is not good, if you see portions of contamination, they may have earned Allah's anger; if you can see the signs mixed together, then that is not the right path, that is not the path of those Allah has favoured, that is not the Straight Path. If you see signs of those who are astray, know that this is not the Straight Path, no. There should be the style of the righteous people, and their efforts and methods and mannerisms and character - all of their lifestyle that you see will be according to the path of the righteous predecessors. But other people have a mixture and contamination - these are the people who went astray and who earned Allah's anger. Allah says, 'No, they have deviated and they are off-track!'
So how will we get this path? From prayer and supplication, pleading to Allah. So every time, the first prayer we need to make to Allah is 'Oh Allah, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, guide us on the Straight Path! Oh, Most High, please show me the Straight Path!' So a human being asks Allah for help and assistance - we must remember this. There is a lot of help and assistance in this prayer, this is asking Allah for help. And in regards to supplication, Allah says, 'You ask of Me, and I will give to you!' Alhamdulillah! So a person should make supplication - it is very important, it is the key for us, the key to success in the Hereafter, that we repeat this supplication: 'Oh Allah, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, show us the Straight Path!' It doesn’t matter how much we think we are on the Straight Path, keep on asking, keep asking 'Show us the Straight Path, show us the Straight Path' because it is very difficult to be safe from the devil and the base desires. They attack us any time, any day, from any direction. So only in one way can we be saved from them, when we ask for Allah's assistance, Allah's help, Allah's guidance. When we ask for Allah's help, there is no power and no might except by Allah - 'Without Your power and permission, we cannot do anything! Without your power and permission, I cannot achieve, I cannot attain!' SubhanAllah!
So when we ask Allah for help, we make the supplication, 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path', then the human being will adopt the Straight Path. And alhamdulillah, this is Surah al-Fatiha. The greatness of this is that this is the essence, the summary, of the whole Qur'an, due to this supplication '{Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, Guide us on the Straight Path'. This verse is the essence of the Surah, this is the meaning of this Surah. So what we should do is realise and learn that the first thing we need to ask from Allah is that prayer. What is that prayer? {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - Guide us on the Straight Path. Before all other prayers, the prayer that we should make is 'Oh Allah, guide us on the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path.' It cannot be that even the most deviated and misguided people will not be guided, but that person has to have that desire himself, even if he is committing a sin at that time, it doesn’t matter, he should keep on asking. The devil says 'Oh you’re a loser, you’re a waster, you’re drinking alcohol, and you’re asking Allah for the Straight Path?' You should say 'No, it doesn’t matter, whatever happens I am asking Allah for help, even if I am sinful. I do not have the power to leave unlawful actions or sins or adultery, I don’t have the power, I admit it. I am totally at a loss, I am a loser!' Allah says, 'No problem, I have not put any conditions down to {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}' except that before you make the supplication, you have to do something. Allah says 'Have I put any preconditions? No! There is just one thing - {Iyyaaka na'budu wa Iyyaaka nasta'een} - You alone we worship, and You alone we call on for help. Then {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - Guide us on the Straight Path!'
There is no precondition, such as you have to say a prayer, or you have to be clean and pure, you should do Hajj, you should be observing segregation - no conditions. Whatever form or way of life you have, if you are off-track or misguided, don’t leave this prayer, don’t worry! Don’t listen to the devil! Don’t leave this prayer even if you are the worst of sinners! Allah has promised in this Surah, inshaAllah, Allah says, 'I will show you the right path, the Straight Path.'
It is so sad for us that we recite the statement, but we don’t say this from our hearts. That’s it. Just pray to Allah that Allah allows us to continually recite this prayer on our tongues, 'Oh Allah {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, show us the Straight Path!' And through this, pride ends and stubbornness ends, but some people think 'I know I am guided; I’m fine, I’m not misguided so I don’t need to ask Allah for the Straight Path, for the right path.' How do you know you’re on the right path? How do you know? These claims we see all around us, all the trickeries and the games are for this reason, that we have stopped making this prayer. We have stopped asking Allah for this, we have stopped reciting {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}. That is why there are so many cults and sects and groups. If every person had this on his tongue - 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path', then Allah would have shown us the path automatically and would have put us on the Straight Path, and we would be travelling on that Straight Path. Everybody would be going down that straight line, but because of pride, and due to stubbornness and big headedness, we think we are the best. A person thinks 'I’m cool and I have learnt so much of the Qur'an, and I've learned this and that' - there is so much pride! So he does not say from his mouth 'Allah, guide us on the Straight Path.' He does not think, 'Maybe I’m off-track, maybe I’m misguided, I’m not sure if I’m on the Straight Path, and I can’t be sure that I’m on the right path - Oh Allah, please favour me, give me the Straight Path, show me the Straight Path! Maybe I’m on the wrong path! Allah, You are the One who can show me the Straight Path. You are the One to guide me to the Straight Path!' So in other words, the human being shouldn’t be satisfied with himself; he shouldn’t trust in himself that he is the one, no, ask Allah for help.
And a person will say, when he stands in the Hereafter, 'Oh Allah, I asked from You, I pleaded to You and I asked from you all the time and you showed me this path.' So how can it be that when person says 'Oh Allah, I asked from You', Allah will say 'Do you think I would show you the wrong path? You didn’t even ask Me, you kept on going down your route and doing wrong! You considered that you were the best and you left the path!' No, you should continue to ask Allah, and plead and beg to Allah.
May Allah give us all the Tawfeeq and the ability - this is the first prayer we should make to Allah, 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path!'
For the traveller, the Musaafir, there are two underlying principles. If we are going to define somebody as a traveller, then there are two conditions that need to be met for that person to be considered as a traveller: firstly, that he is travelling on a journey, not stopping, moving along and the second element is that he needs to have a destination to which he wants to go. So if these two conditions are not met, then we cannot term that person as a traveller, because a traveller doesn’t stop - maybe he stops for a very short time, but then he continues on the journey. And if he is travelling, then there should be a destination; if a person is moving but he doesn’t have a destination then he is lost, and he doesn’t know where he is going; so then we would say that person is off-track, that he has deviated - he is going here and there, left and right, for he does not know where he’s going. No direction, no destination. So to be a traveller, it is essential that these two conditions are met - that he is travelling, moving and he has a destination that he is travelling towards.
Now this is also the situation in regards to the journey to the Hereafter. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that we are all Musaafirs, we are all travellers - that’s it. He said that, and if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said that we are travellers, then those two conditions will definitely be met - we are travelling, moving along on a journey in a direction, and there will be a destination at the end of it, definitely. If these two things aren’t present, then how can we be travellers? But if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said it, then most definitely these two elements will be in our lives. We are not people who stop, we are moving, and we are moving to our destination of the Hereafter. So the Musaafir, the traveller, is moving, going on a journey, and he should have a destination and endpoint towards which he is travelling.
Now after this, the most important thing for the traveller to get to his destination is the straight path, the direct route. Obviously, if someone who is a traveller with a destination, who knows where he’s going, doesn’t have the straight route, the straightforward route or path, then he will get lost; he will go this way and that way, left and right - he won’t get to the destination. For this reason, we see that when a person embarks on a journey, whether a bus or a car or a plane or a boat or a ship, then he prepares the route. Nowadays there are gadgets, there are Routmasters, maps and you can look into where you’re going. You can find out the route and the directions, and you can determine the easiest and most straightforward way. For example, we put the postcode in and request the most direct route, and then it guides us and tell us which way to go - turn left, turn right - the straightforward way, the easiest, shortest route. So the most important thing for a traveller is the easiest, most straightforward route. If you have this, it will be easy to get to your destination.
So now, we are travellers to the Hereafter, and the most important thing for us is what? The Straight Path! If the path is not straight, then what will we be? We will be deviated people. With regards to the Dunya, to the world, we would be lost if we do not know where we’re going. If we don’t know where we’re going in the Hereafter, that person will be deviated, and he will not be able to get to the destination, for his journey is not straightforward, it is not correct. So what is the Straight Path? The Straight Path will take you from here straight to the Hereafter - it will take you to success.
So Allah ta'ala has given us Iman, Allah has defined to us the Straight Path, the correct path, the right path. In the greatest book, which guides us and tells us our Deen, the Qur'an al Hakeem, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has told us this. He has defined it totally, completely. He has guided us with regards to the right path, the Straight Path, because without going on the Straight Path, a person cannot get to the destination; without going on the right path, you cannot get to the destination.
So we see that Allah ta'ala, in this Qur'an al Hakeem, which is the greatest guide, from which you get the guidance for every part of the Deen, from the Holy Qur'an - and via the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam Allah ta'ala gave us the Qur'an - if we look at the Qur'an, we can see that in the selection of Allah, the first Surah is the Surah al-Fatiha. Allah has given us Surah al-Fatiha in the Qur'an, Subhanallah. In regards to virtues, Surah al-Fatiha is a very great Surah, and we cannot go through all the virtues here, but we need to understand why Allah started the Qur'an with this Surah, because Surah al-Fatiha comes first. Now this Surah is one Surah from the whole of the Qur'an, and it is the first that was revealed completely, in one go; before this, no Surah was revealed completely, before this Surah. And the second quality you should understand is that you could say that this is the summary of the Qur'an, the essence of the Qur'an. How could it be the summary and essence of the Qur'an? Because in the Surah as a whole, Allah has instilled something within it which is important, and that is why we are ordered that in every unit of prayer, we have to recite this Surah, whether in compulsory Salah or Nafl Salah, this Surah has to be recited. Why? Because Allah has made a prayer ,a Dua in this Surah that every person has to make.
Why? Because Allah has put a prayer for the person who is pleading, begging to Allah. Allah has given us a method in this Surah; the soul of this Surah is a prayer and a supplication through which Allah ta'ala has given us the guidance, the route. {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - guide us on the Straight Path! And the rest of the Qur'an is the commentary and detailed guidance of this one verse. The whole Qur'an is the commentary of this one verse in Surah al-Fatiha - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, guide us on the Straight Path. The rest of the Qur'an is the detailed commentary of this verse, it is the explanation of this verse, SubhanAllah. So in Surah al-Fatiha, we accept that, 'Oh Allah, in this world, in Your creation, nothing can be blessed unless it is started with the Name of Allah.' Nothing, no action! And this Surah starts like this, in the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Very Merciful. Allah's qualities, His attributes, His Names - three Names are mentioned here, and with the blessing of this, everything comes in the whole Qur'an. Everything is with the blessing of this - Allah gave us this!
So Allah, You are the Lord, the Rabb-ul-Alameen, not Lord of one world, but of all of the worlds! You have created them, You look after them, all praise is to Allah. Praise be to You. If we say that this mountain is beautiful, then in reality we say that we are praising You because you created this mountain. If we look at the whole of the universe, whatever we praise and look at and glorify, we are glorifying who, praising who? I love the one who created all of this! Praise be to Allah, all praises are to You! If we are stood on the bank of the ocean or the sea, we look at how beautiful it is, but when we are praising the sea, we are praising Allah - what a beautiful ocean, what a beautiful mountain, what a beautiful tree, what beautiful waterfalls You have made! All praise is to You Allah ta'ala, for You have created everything. The Creator is He who makes, so He is the one who is praised.You don't praise the production or what is produced, no, you praise the Creator! Oh Allah, You are the Magnificent, the Compassionate, the Very Merciful; You are not just Compassionate, You are Raheem, You are Very Merciful!
Now the verses are continuing; then we also say and we accept in this Surah, 'Oh Allah, in reality You are the Owner of today, of tomorrow, You are the King, the Emperor, the Supreme Controller - You are the Sovereign of the Day of Judgement! On that day, it will be Your Kingdom! also all of these attributes qualities a person says Lord of the Worlds, Compassionate, Very Merciful, Owner of the Day of Judgement - we keep saying, these are Allah's qualities, attributes, power - everything; we continually accept and believe, and then we say, 'You alone we worship!' Oh Allah, if this is all due to You, only a foolish person would worship or praise anyone else; he would be stupid, he would be foolish! He would be a mad, stupid person. We cannot accept that that somebody could leave Allah, with all His greatness and glory and power, and then go to prostrate to something else! No, You are alone we worship, so Allah, it will be Your servanthood; we cannot worship anyone else - we accept that You are the God, You are the Lord.
So here then, after all the praising, the servant requests: 'Oh Allah, You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help! Oh Allah, only to You do we ask for help.' So here, now the servant is asking for help, for assistance; we say, 'Oh Allah, please help me! Assist me! I accept and hear!' A beautiful point comes - after asking Allah, then he presents the real request: 'Allah, show me the Straight Path, give me a Straight Path! I am travelling to the destination, and on the way there are many barriers of the desires and the devil!' For example, if you are going to London, there are thousands of ways to get to London - give me a route that I can get directly to London easily, quickly! So here the servant says, 'Oh Allah, my Lord, after accepting everything, oh Allah, I am asking You for help - You alone I ask for help - and what is the help I am asking? Guide us on the Straight Path, show me the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path!'
SubhanAllah, so now, understand the point, look, subhanAllah, Allah ta'ala has told us clearly, vividly, very transparently, that for a human being, the most important thing is the Straight Path, otherwise he cannot get to his destination - and the StraightPath is not in your hands! Yes, you can try, but you cannot get to theStraight Path through your own efforts and attempts; you cannot get to the Straight Path through your brain power and wisdom, through your efforts. There is no way that you can get to the Straight Path. If you want to attain the Straight Path, then Allah has said what? There is only one thing - what is that? You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help! Ask Allah for help and assistance. In other words, you have to supplicate to Allah, to plead to Allah; this is compulsory, it is essential if you want the Straight Path. 'Oh Allah, You alone will show me the Straight Path; I cannot get to the Straight Path, I cannot get it through my mind, through my brain, through my attempts. -- even if I am reading the Qur'an!' And there are people who are reading the Qur'an but they are off-track, they are deviating, it is a lie! Allah says, 'I will give the Straight Path!'
You can study knowledge, the Qur'an, commentary - you will not get the Straight Path. You will only get the Straight Path through one thing: unless a person asks Allah, pleads to Allah, supplicates to Allah 'Please show me the Straight Path', you will not get the genuine path that will take you to the destination of the Hereafter. You can try to use your brain, your intellect, your thoughts and understanding, you can try, you can pick up the Qur'an - but you do not supplicate! If you pick up the Qur'an and say I want the Straight Path, then the Qur'an itself says that there are many people who are deviated because they have not adopted the right method - this Surah explains! The greatness of this Surah is that this secret is hidden in this Surah. The secret of the straight path is that Allah says 'Ask Me for the Straight Path!' He says, 'Whatever your state, ask me!' SubhanAllah, whoever says {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, whether he is a polytheist, a person who doesn’t believe, if he has deviated and is doing whatever he wants, but when he says from his mouth 'Guide me on the Straight Path', Allah says immediately 'I have told you My principle' so that this person is then given then the Straight Path! 'I show him, I illustrate the Straight Path to him.' Now you can strive through your own efforts to get the Straight Path and you can think you have achieved it through knowledge, but Allah says 'You will never get to the destination, you have deviated!' because Allah has stated, instructed 'Ask Me for the Straight Path, ask for My help!'
{La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} - 'there is no power and might except in Allah!' What does this mean? This is the door to Paradise! This phrase {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} that I am explaining to you is a door to Paradise. Abdullah bin Masud radhiAllahu anh, a great companion, recited this phrase and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said 'Do you know what the meaning of this phrase is?' - and Abdullah bin Masud radhiAllahu anh, who was a high status companion who had knowledge, plentiful knowledge, and a very high status, a beloved companion of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he said 'Oh Prophet of Allah, I don’t have the knowledge of this.' The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam then gave him the explanation: this phrase {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah} is the door to Paradise because this is showing you that the path to Paradise is that there is no power and no ability except by Allah! If you understand this, the reality of this phrase, you will reach to Paradise! This is such a valuable phrase! Allah, it is Your power - without Your power I can never prevent myself from committing sins! It is Your power. Allah, it is Your power that stops me from sinning, otherwise I can never stop sinning. When a person assigns himself to his Lord - 'I am humble, I am low, Allah, I cannot do this! It is Your power Allah, {La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi'llah}. Without Your power and Your help, I cannot do this. If You do not assist me, I cannot even prostrate, I cannot raise my hands, I cannot say my prayers!'
In other words, what does this mean? For these two things, I need to submit to you, oh Allah! Give me Your blessings, make me a person who prays Salah! Oh Allah, make me a worshipper, show me the Straight Path! And if you don’t ask Allah, if you don’t plead and beg and ask Allah, then you cannot do it yourself, remember! Remember - Allah says there is no power and no might except by Allah! For this, we need Allah's power, Allah's assistance, Allah's help. So what we realise here, what we learn here, is that Surah al-Fatiha contains the beauty and the essence of the Qur'an. Surah al-Fatiha is the opening chapter, and the whole of the Qur'an is the commentary of Surah al-Fatiha, because it is telling us a great message: to get the Straight Path, you have to do an action, you have to make Dua, to supplicate to Allah, and plead to Allah. That is why in every prayer, we supplicate to Allah when we recite Surah al-Fatiha - but we don’t understand the meaning of it! What are we asking from Allah is this, that 'Oh Allah, help me, assist me, show me the Straight Path, show us the Straight Path.'
So this should be the habit of a human being, of a believer: if he wants to stay on the Straight Path, on the right path, always we should be asking Allah, '{Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} -Guide us on the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path!' Allah's promise is that if you ask Me for the Straight Path, then I will keep you on the Straight Path! The reason for people being deviated and off-track is that they don’t ask Allah, they think, 'I am the man, I am fine, I have reached, I have achieved' - no! Whoever it is, any human being, Allah says it does not matter who a person is, ask Me for the Straight Path - I will give it to him!
I’ve seen in my life various people who have become Muslim, and I asked them, 'What brought you towards the path of Islam, how did you become Muslim? What feeling arose?' And mostly, the response was this, they just said 'I don’t know what power there may be, but if You can guide us, then we want the right path. We don’t know what it is - is should I go this way or that way, this religion or that religion, but we just asked for guidance, and Allah guided us. He brought us to guidance!' I have heard this in my life regularly, I have seen this. They didn’t read the Qur'an, they didn’t read Hadith, they just asked Allah. They requested, and Allah says, 'Whoever asks Me, I will show him the Straight Path, I will guide him to the Straight Path.'
So remember one thing: a human being should pray for the thing that he wants. If a person does not have a desire, then he won’t pray for it. For example, water - if I want water, then I will ask for water. If I want a son, I will request a son. Whatever you want, whenever you have a need, you ask for that from Allah - so why don’t we make this prayer? Because we don’t have this desire. And why don’t we have this desire? Because the Nafs and the devil have suppressed this desire, this desire of ours for the Straight Path. The Nafs and the devil have suppressed it and buried it, and they have buried it in such a way that they have injected these thoughts and evil whispers in our ears and minds and hearts. If somebody is off-track, sinful, deviated, and doing wrong actions, the Nafs and the devil suppress his desire - 'What is the point of you asking Allah? How can you come on the right path, you you are not even doing good actions! How is this prayer of yours going to be accepted?'
But remember one point here: in no way or form should a person think this is not necessary, thinking that 'Oh Allah, if You put us on the right path, then we do not need to do this Dua after that.' Even then the threat is present - the threat is ongoing! Those people are more in danger, for already Allah has demonstrated the right path. They have travelled and they are travelling, and they have hazards on the route, so even they should continuously, throughout life, always make this prayer to Allah. If you have the right path, and you are practising, then other paths will open up, other invitations will come. So if we don’t have the right path and we are off-track, then we have to ask Allah, and if we’re on it, we need to stay on it!
So the first thing we have to ask from Allah is one thing, always. Surah al-Fatiha has taught us this - always ask a lot for one thing: {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, Allah, show us the Straight Path!' The Nafs and the devil suppress our real desire, that is why we don’t ask Allah. 'If I ask Allah, how will I be accepted? I am dirty, impure, sinful, I have done wrong things, I’m a bad person - how can I ask Allah with my impure tongue?' No! Keep on asking, keep on asking - it does not matter how dirty or sinful you are, it does it does not matter how impure you are, but definitely you should ask Allah. 'Allah, give me the right path! Allah, guide me! Show me the right path, take me to the right path!' - this statement should continually come out from a person's mouth, continually. After this, when this phrase comes out, Allah's promise is that 'I will definitely bring that person to the right path, I will!'
So if a persons stop staying this Kalima, then he is going to lose. Whether a person is already guided, or if a person is misguided, if a person is a Friend of Allah, he should not forget this phrase - that is why in every prayer we have to recite this prayer in Surah al-Fatiha. Allah says 'Don’t fall into pride and don’t become big headed, thinking that you cannot go off-track or deviated, no, you are in danger!' My brothers, this is the essence of the Qur'an, this Surah al-Fatiha. Why? The rest of the Qur'an is the commentary, the detailed explanation of Surah al-Fatiha. Allah says in this Surah '{Siraat-al-Ladheena an'amta alayhim, ghaiyril-Magdhoobi alayhim, wa la-dhaaleen} - The path of those whom You have favoured, not those with whom You are angry or who have gone astray.' Allah says there are three paths. We are asking for the Straight Path, but what paths could we have gone down? Allah is explaining. Allah says that if we are not careful, there are the paths of those who have earned Allah's anger or who have gone astray. Allah has mentioned this in Surah al-Fatiha. So upon which nations did Allah's anger come down, and who are those who went astray? Allah has explained this in the rest of the Qur'an, and Allah has also described those whom He has favoured - the Prophets, the truthful ones, the righteous ones. These are the people whom Allah has favoured - the righteous ones, the pious ones, the Friends of Allah, all the great personalities. So when we make this prayer {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, 'Guide us on the Straight Path' that is what we mean. 'Oh Allah, please Allah, show us the path of those whom You have favoured' - and the rest of the Qur'an demonstrates in detail who those people are. We want that path! 'Oh Allah, we want protection from those who earn Your anger and from those who have deviated and are lost!' This is the Straight Path.
If you want to see what the right path is, then what do you need to do? We want to see, to witness the demonstration of the path of those whom You have favoured - the Prophets, the righteous, the truthful. These are those whom Allah has favoured - that is the Straight Path. If you see the signs of those people in others, they are good, but if you see someone who is not good, if you see portions of contamination, they may have earned Allah's anger; if you can see the signs mixed together, then that is not the right path, that is not the path of those Allah has favoured, that is not the Straight Path. If you see signs of those who are astray, know that this is not the Straight Path, no. There should be the style of the righteous people, and their efforts and methods and mannerisms and character - all of their lifestyle that you see will be according to the path of the righteous predecessors. But other people have a mixture and contamination - these are the people who went astray and who earned Allah's anger. Allah says, 'No, they have deviated and they are off-track!'
So how will we get this path? From prayer and supplication, pleading to Allah. So every time, the first prayer we need to make to Allah is 'Oh Allah, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, guide us on the Straight Path! Oh, Most High, please show me the Straight Path!' So a human being asks Allah for help and assistance - we must remember this. There is a lot of help and assistance in this prayer, this is asking Allah for help. And in regards to supplication, Allah says, 'You ask of Me, and I will give to you!' Alhamdulillah! So a person should make supplication - it is very important, it is the key for us, the key to success in the Hereafter, that we repeat this supplication: 'Oh Allah, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, show us the Straight Path!' It doesn’t matter how much we think we are on the Straight Path, keep on asking, keep asking 'Show us the Straight Path, show us the Straight Path' because it is very difficult to be safe from the devil and the base desires. They attack us any time, any day, from any direction. So only in one way can we be saved from them, when we ask for Allah's assistance, Allah's help, Allah's guidance. When we ask for Allah's help, there is no power and no might except by Allah - 'Without Your power and permission, we cannot do anything! Without your power and permission, I cannot achieve, I cannot attain!' SubhanAllah!
So when we ask Allah for help, we make the supplication, 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path', then the human being will adopt the Straight Path. And alhamdulillah, this is Surah al-Fatiha. The greatness of this is that this is the essence, the summary, of the whole Qur'an, due to this supplication '{Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, Guide us on the Straight Path'. This verse is the essence of the Surah, this is the meaning of this Surah. So what we should do is realise and learn that the first thing we need to ask from Allah is that prayer. What is that prayer? {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - Guide us on the Straight Path. Before all other prayers, the prayer that we should make is 'Oh Allah, guide us on the Straight Path, guide us on the Straight Path.' It cannot be that even the most deviated and misguided people will not be guided, but that person has to have that desire himself, even if he is committing a sin at that time, it doesn’t matter, he should keep on asking. The devil says 'Oh you’re a loser, you’re a waster, you’re drinking alcohol, and you’re asking Allah for the Straight Path?' You should say 'No, it doesn’t matter, whatever happens I am asking Allah for help, even if I am sinful. I do not have the power to leave unlawful actions or sins or adultery, I don’t have the power, I admit it. I am totally at a loss, I am a loser!' Allah says, 'No problem, I have not put any conditions down to {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}' except that before you make the supplication, you have to do something. Allah says 'Have I put any preconditions? No! There is just one thing - {Iyyaaka na'budu wa Iyyaaka nasta'een} - You alone we worship, and You alone we call on for help. Then {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - Guide us on the Straight Path!'
There is no precondition, such as you have to say a prayer, or you have to be clean and pure, you should do Hajj, you should be observing segregation - no conditions. Whatever form or way of life you have, if you are off-track or misguided, don’t leave this prayer, don’t worry! Don’t listen to the devil! Don’t leave this prayer even if you are the worst of sinners! Allah has promised in this Surah, inshaAllah, Allah says, 'I will show you the right path, the Straight Path.'
It is so sad for us that we recite the statement, but we don’t say this from our hearts. That’s it. Just pray to Allah that Allah allows us to continually recite this prayer on our tongues, 'Oh Allah {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, show us the Straight Path!' And through this, pride ends and stubbornness ends, but some people think 'I know I am guided; I’m fine, I’m not misguided so I don’t need to ask Allah for the Straight Path, for the right path.' How do you know you’re on the right path? How do you know? These claims we see all around us, all the trickeries and the games are for this reason, that we have stopped making this prayer. We have stopped asking Allah for this, we have stopped reciting {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}. That is why there are so many cults and sects and groups. If every person had this on his tongue - 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path', then Allah would have shown us the path automatically and would have put us on the Straight Path, and we would be travelling on that Straight Path. Everybody would be going down that straight line, but because of pride, and due to stubbornness and big headedness, we think we are the best. A person thinks 'I’m cool and I have learnt so much of the Qur'an, and I've learned this and that' - there is so much pride! So he does not say from his mouth 'Allah, guide us on the Straight Path.' He does not think, 'Maybe I’m off-track, maybe I’m misguided, I’m not sure if I’m on the Straight Path, and I can’t be sure that I’m on the right path - Oh Allah, please favour me, give me the Straight Path, show me the Straight Path! Maybe I’m on the wrong path! Allah, You are the One who can show me the Straight Path. You are the One to guide me to the Straight Path!' So in other words, the human being shouldn’t be satisfied with himself; he shouldn’t trust in himself that he is the one, no, ask Allah for help.
And a person will say, when he stands in the Hereafter, 'Oh Allah, I asked from You, I pleaded to You and I asked from you all the time and you showed me this path.' So how can it be that when person says 'Oh Allah, I asked from You', Allah will say 'Do you think I would show you the wrong path? You didn’t even ask Me, you kept on going down your route and doing wrong! You considered that you were the best and you left the path!' No, you should continue to ask Allah, and plead and beg to Allah.
May Allah give us all the Tawfeeq and the ability - this is the first prayer we should make to Allah, 'Oh Allah, show us the Straight Path!'