Understand Islam The Way Of The Salaf

The three paths that exist in this worldly life are as follows:

(1) A path known as as-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem (The Straight Path).

(2) A path of those who have earned Allah’s Anger or Wrath.

(3) A path of those who have gone astray.

Allah says in the Noble Qur’an, teaching us how to seek guidance to the right path:

“Guide us along as-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Favour, not (the path) of those who have earned Your Anger, nor of those who are astray.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah (Chapter) Al-Fatihah (The Opening), verses 1:6-7]

‘Siraat’ is an Arabic word that means a way, road or path. The three paths mentioned in the first surah of the Noble Qur’an, Al-Fatihah (The Opening), are paths that lead us to their respective destination in the Hereafter based on our deeds; either Paradise or Hellfire. Only one path, as-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem, leads to Paradise. The other two paths lead to the Hellfire.

(1) as-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem

It is obligatory for Muslims to recite the first surah of the Noble Qur’an in their five daily salah (prayers) and this constitutes to a total of seventeen recitations of the said surah everyday. It could be more than that if additional voluntary salah are performed.

By reciting surah Al-Fatihah in our salah everyday, we Muslims are constantly asking Allah to guide us to the Straight Path. This Straight Path is the path of those whom Allah has blessed namely the Prophets, siddeeqoon (followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them), martyrs and righteous people, as Allah says in His Book:

“And whosoever obeys Allah and the Messenger [Muhammad ﷺ (may Allah send Blessings and Peace upon him)], then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Favour, of the Prophets, the siddeeqoon, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’ (The Women), verse 4:69-79]

We are also asking Allah to bestow His Favour upon us by reciting this surah in our salah. The seventh verse of this surah refers the Straight Path as the path of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Favour. In this particular verse, the verbal word that Allah uses to describe the bestowing of His Favour is an’amta (أنعمت) which means ‘You have bestowed (Your) Favour’. The word An’amta is derived from the triliteral root nun/‘ain/meem (ن/ع/م) which, as per context of the verse, means the following:

(1) To favour someone.

(2) To bestow a thing, benefit or blessing as a favour.

(3) To bestow someone with a pleasant, good and easy life.

(4) To flourish or grow successfully.

Based on the meanings above, the verse teaches us to ask Allah for the following four matters:

(1) To favour or prefer us as His chosen slaves.

When Iblis, the leader of Satan, promised Allāh that he will lead astray as much as possible the sons of Adam, he made an exception saying:

“Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them. Allah replied: “This is the path which will lead straight to Me. Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghaaween (those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, evil-doers and etc.).” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Hijr (The Valley of Stone), verse 15:40-42]

(2) To bestow us guidance, sincerity and obedience.

It is stated in the book of Tafseer Ibn Katheer on the commentary of this seventh verse in surah Al-Fatihah, that the Straight Path is the path of those upon whom Allah have bestowed His Favour, that is, the people of guidance, sincerity and obedience to Allāh and His Messengers.

Concerning guidance, Allah says in the Noble Qur’an, Surah Muhammad, verse 47:17:

“And those who accept guidance, He increases them in guidance and gives them their taqwa (fear of Allah and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden and love Allah much and perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained).”

This means when Allah bestows upon a servant guidance, taqwa will be instilled in him. Blessings such as increase in iman (faith), love of Allah, feeling of shukr (gratitude), remembrance of Allah at all times, ma’rifah (a deep awareness and knowledge of Allah), knowledge of the true teachings of Islam, hikmah (wisdom), furqan (criterion between right and wrong), tawakkul (trust and reliance on Allah) and sabr (patience) will develop gradually in one self when guidance from Allah is sought.

As for sincerity, it compels Muslims to reconcile their actions with their intentions purely for Allah, avoiding ostentation and hypocrisy. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Verily, Allah does not look at your bodies nor your faces but He looks at your hearts.” [Sahih Muslim (2564b)]

There are two other hadiths regarding the reward of intention:

(A) “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.” [Sahih al-Bukhari (1)]

(B) Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that Allah, the Glorious, said: “Verily, Allah has ordered that the good and the bad deeds be written down. Then He explained it clearly how (to write): He who intends to do a good deed but he does not do it, then Allah records it for him as a full good deed, but if he carries out his intention, then Allah the Exalted, writes it down for him as from ten to seven hundred folds, and even more. But if he intends to do an evil act and has not done it, then Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed, but if he intends it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Sahih al-Bukhari (6491) and Sahih Muslim (131a)]

Therefore, it is essential that we ask Allah for sincerity in our acts of worship to Him.

On top of that, we are asking Allah for the sense of obedience in order to comply with and submit to His commandments. It is the strong feeling of love for Allah that drives a person to obey Him and thus develop the longing to meet Him and to get the pleasure to see His Face. Allah says in His Book:

“Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Noble Quran and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ). But if you turn away, then Allāh does not like the disbelievers.’” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Ali ‘Imran (Family of ‘Imran), verse 3:31-32]

All of the above are determining factors for a servant of Allah to enter His Jannah (Paradise).

(3) To bestow us with a pleasant, good and easy life.

Allah says:

“Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), verse 16:97]

In this verse, Allah promises that He will give the believers who do righteous deeds (in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ) good life in this world and that He will reward them according to the best of their deeds in the Hereafter. The good life as explained in Tafseer Ibn Katheer includes feeling of tranquillity in all aspects of life, contentment with Allah for what He has given of good and sufficient lawful provisions and happiness. It also means being able to worship Him in this life and working to obey Him and finding joy in that.

For those whose sole concern is the never-ending reward in the Hereafter, Allah has promised them life of ease in this world, regardless of any kind of trials and tribulations they go through. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Whoever makes the Hereafter his goal, Allah makes his heart rich, and organizes his affairs, and the world comes to him whether it wants to or not. And whoever makes the world his goal, Allah puts his poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him.” [Jami’ at-Tirmdhi (2465), Classified Sahih (Authentic) by Sheikh al-Albani]

(4) To flourish or increase us in His Blessings such as iman, taqwa, love of Allah, feeling of shukr, remembrance of Allah at all times, ma’rifah, the true teachings of Islam, hikmah, furqan, tawakkul, sabr and etc.

The purpose of salah is not only to remember Allah and make supplications to Him but also to express shukr (gratitude) for showering His Blessings on us. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would stand in prayer so long that the skin of his feet would crack (i.e. his feet would swell). His wife ‘Aishah رضى الله عنها (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him:

“Why do you do this while your past and future sins have been forgiven?” He said, “Should I not love to be a grateful slave of Allah?” [Sahih al-Bukhari (4837)]

Allah has promised to increase His Blessings on us if we express gratitude to Him by doing good deeds. He says in His Book:

“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you give thanks [by constantly performing salah, giving sadaqah (charity) and other acts of worship], I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe.’” [The Noble Quran, Surah Ibrahim, verse 14:7]

To sum up, when we Muslims ask for guidance to the Straight Path in our salah everyday, we are indirectly asking for four matters that have been explained above. Allah bestows His Favour to whosoever of His slaves who are seeking success in this world and the Hereafter through salah. Only by ‘treading’ on this Straight Path, we will reach Jannah, our final destination, our true home.

(2) The Path of Those Who Have Earned Allah’s Anger or Wrath

Allah’s Anger is upon those who follow this path. Their destination will be the Hellfire and they will be doomed forever in it. Allah says:

“And he on whom My Anger descends, he is certainly doomed.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Taha, verse 20:81]

They are the ones who reject the truth out of envy and hatred and disbelieve after clear proofs have been presented to them. Allah says:

“How bad is that for which they have sold their ownselves, that they should disbelieve in that which Allah has revealed (the Qur’an), in insolent envy that Allah should reveal of His Grace unto whom He will of His slaves. So they have drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers, there is disgracing torment.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verse 2:90]

In the book of Tafseer Ibn Katheer, it is mentioned that this is the path of the Jews whose intentions are corrupt, who know that Islam is the truth, yet deviate from it and avoid implementing the truth. They recognise the truth but they hate it so they mix the truth with falsehood and try to conceal it from the people. Ibn Katheer states that the Christians have also earned the anger of Allah and are led astray, but the anger is attributed more particularly to the Jews. Allah says:

“O people of the Scripture! (Jews and Christians), why do you disbelieve in the Ayaat [the verses about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ present in the Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] of Allah, while you (yourselves) bear witness (to their truth). O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), why do you mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Ali ‘Imran (Family of ‘Imran), verse 3:70-71]

Those who have believed and then disbelieved are also categorised in this path. They are mentioned in Allah’s Book:

“Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief, except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith but such as open their breasts to disbelief, on them is wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a great torment.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), verse 16:106]

Another category of people on this path are the hypocrites whom Allah has cursed because they take the disbelievers, especially the Jews, as their allies. They pretend and swear to be Muslims but in reality, they are lying; they are neither with the Muslims nor with the Jews. The hypocrites conceal their disbelief under the shield of their false oaths. Many Muslims were unaware of their true stance and thus, were deceived by their oaths. Because of this, some people were hindered from the Path of Allah. Allah describes them in His Book:

“Have you (O Muhammad ﷺ) not seen those (hypocrites) who take for friends a people upon whom is the Wrath of Allah (i.e. Jews)? They are neither of you (Muslims) nor of them (Jews), and they swear to a lie while they know. Allah has prepared for them a severe torment. Evil indeed is that which they used to do. They have made their oaths a screen (for their evil actions). Thus they hinder (men) from the Path of Allah, so they shall have a humiliating torment.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Mujadilah (The Contention), verse 58:14-16]

The book of Tafseer Ibn Katheer states that when the hypocrites are alone with their devils from among the Jews and polytheists, they claim that they are present with the believers only to mock them. This trait of theirs is mentioned in Allah’s Book:

“And when they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their devils, they say: ‘Truly, we are with you; verily, we were but mocking.’” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verse 2:14]

Allah mentioned another trait of the hypocrites in His Book:

“Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salah (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but a little.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’ (The Women), verse 4:142]

Allah has reserved the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; the severest torment for them as mentioned in His Book:

“Verily, the hyprocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’ (The Women), verse 4:145]

Allah’s Anger is also upon the hypocrites and the polytheists who harbour evil thoughts about Allah; who question the wisdom in Allah’s decisions and think that Islam will be exterminated, supposing that He would not support His religion or make His word supreme. Their terrible fate is stated in the Noble Qur’an:

“And that He may punish the Munafiqoon (hypocrites), men and women, and also the Mushrikoon (polytheists) men and women, who think evil thoughts about Allah, for them is disgraceful torment, and the Anger of Allah is upon them, and He has cursed them and prepared Hell for them, and worst indeed is that destination.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Fath (The Victory), verse 48:6]

In conclusion, those who ‘tread’ on this path after knowing that Islam is the only truth, Allah will not forgive them. Their destination will be the Hellfire and they will be severely tormented in it forever. But there is an exception stated in the Qur’an:

“Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and openly declare (the truth which they concealed). These, I will accept their repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verse 2:160]

As for the hypocrites, for their repentance to be accepted, they have to hold fast to Allah and purify their faith only for Him; as mentioned in His Book:

“Except those who repent (from hypocrisy), do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah (by worshipping none but Allah, and do good for Allah’s sake only, not to show-off), then they will be with the believers. And Allah will grant to the believers a great reward.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’ (The Women), verse 4:146]

(3) The Path of Those Who Have Gone Astray

According to Ibn Katheer, this is the path of the Christians who lost the true knowledge, and as a result, are wandering in misguidance, unable to find the correct path. The Christians want to seek the true knowledge, but are unable to find it because they did not seek it from its proper resources.

Another opinion suggests that other than the Christians, anyone who indulges in misguidance and is drifted away from the truth because of ignorance is also included in this path. They ignore the signs of Allah after recognising them. This means disbelieving and denying the proofs that Islam is the only true religion.

They are the ones whom Allah has willed to be misguided. Allah says:

“He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right path).” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Kahf (The Cave), verse 18:17]

“Whomsoever Allah sends astray, none can guide him; and He lets them wander blindly in their transgression.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-‘Araf (The Heights), verse 7:186].

These verses testify to the fact that Allah alone is the One Who guides and also misguides.

Another category of people who follow this path are those who introduce bid’ah (new beliefs or practices) in the Islam. They call themselves Muslims but they have deviations in belief and actions from the true teachings of Islam. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned us that:

“Every innovation is going astray, and every going astray will be in the Fire.” [Sahih Muslim (867) and Sunan an-Nasa’i (1578)]

What we can learn about this path is that it is followed by people who are ignorant and are corrupted in their creed; have inappropriate beliefs about their true god and innovate practices that are not based on the sources revealed by Allah.

Answer Allah’s Call

Each and everyone of us is invited to the eternal Home of Peace in the Hereafter:

“Allah calls us to the Home of Peace (i.e. Paradise, by accepting Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds and abstaining from polytheism and evil deeds) and guides whom He wills to a Straight Path.” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Yunus (Jonah), verse 10:25]

Sadly, most of us are busy with our mobile devices, addicted to social media resulting in us being distracted from our goals; hindered from our social and familial responsibilities and ability to focus on our worship to our Creator, Allah.

For those seeking the truth, answer the call of Allah by allowing yourself a chance to read the Noble Qur’an entirely and reflect on its verses. Only then, He will guide you to the Straight Path.

May all of us be guided to the Straight Path. Aameen.