The Road That Leads To Success - Day 17 (1444.h)
وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطِى مُسۡتَقِيمًا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمۡ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ
"And verily, this (i.e. Allâh’s Commandments mentioned in the above two Verses 151 and 152) is My Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious - see V.2:2)."
Sūrah Al-An'am, Āyah 153
﷽
The three verses (151,152 and 153) are the verses of ‘The Ten Commandments’, within them, Allāh commands us to do good (for our own selves) and to stay away from His prohibitions, the most dangerous of affairs which He warned against being Shirk, all so that we may attain piety.
The straight path of Allāh is the clear path which He has shown to us, as He said (ﷻ):
وَمَن يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا
And whoso obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muḥammad ﷺ), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allâh has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqûn (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddîq (رضي الله عنه), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!
Sūrah An-Nisā’:69
ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭalḥah reported that Ibn ʿAbbas commented on the Āyah 156 (Sūrah Al-An’ām):
"Allāh commanded the believers to adhere to the Jamaʾah and forbade them from causing divisions and disputes. He informed them that those before them were destroyed because of divisions and disputes in the religion of Allāh."
These divisions are brought about when random individuals believe that they love Allāh more than the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions so they invent new affairs in the religion. Likewise, deviation comes about when individuals think that it is ‘backward’ to fulfil the commandments of Allāh so they allow the Western ideologies to feed on their souls. Additionally, and more commonly in our times, deviation occurs when individuals think that this sacred way of life, Islām, is a trend, culture, or garment that can be ‘adjusted’ as time passes, rather Islām is applicable at all times and all places! Allāh the Most-High, commanded:
قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى
Say (O Muḥammad ﷺ to mankind): "If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur’ân and the Sunnah)
Sūrah Āl-ʿImrān:31
It was narrated from ‘Awf bin Mālik that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
“The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy in Hell. The Christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one of which will be in Hell and one in Paradise. I swear by the One Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will split into seventy-three sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy-two in Hell.”
Any seeker of good upon hearing this will ask ‘who are those that will be saved from the fire’, and ‘for what reason are they saved from the fire?’
So the companions said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are they?” He said: “The Jama’ah (main body).”
(Sunan Ibn Majah, 3992)
In another wording, he (ﷺ) said:
“They are those who are upon that which I and my companions are upon.”
That saved sect, the one on the straight path of Allāh, the aided group, are those people that are upon what the Messenger (ﷺ) and His companions (رضي الله عنهما) were upon. They are those who suffice with that which the Messenger (ﷺ) and his companions did, they do what they did and stopped where they stopped. They consider religion to be perfect and complete and do not innovate any new practices into it, just as Allāh said:
ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمَ دِينًاۚ
This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion.
Sūrah Al-Mā'idah:3
The path of the Salaf As-Ṣāliḥ (the Pious Predecessors; which includes the Prophet [ﷺ] his companions and two or three generations after them) is the straight path, and if you follow other paths, they will only separate you from the path of Allāh, and cause an individual to be threatened with the Hellfire.
It was narrated that ʿAbdullāh bin Mas’ūd said:
The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) drew a line for us, then he said: "This is the path of Allāh." Then he drew lines on its right and its left, then he said: “These are paths - Yazīd said: diverging (paths) - on each of these paths is a devil calling to it.” Then he recited:
وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطِى مُسۡتَقِيمًا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمۡ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ
And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may have Taqwa.
(Musnad Aḥmad, 4144)
Imagine a scenario where you are in a class and you were given a test which all the students failed except a few of them, and the teacher praised them and advised everyone to learn from them, what would you do as someone who truly wants to succeed in that class? Surely, you would learn from them, and try to do what they did in order to pass.
Indeed this Dunyā is a test and the passing criterion is to die upon Islām, upon the Tawḥīd of Allāh, and the Sunnah of the Messenger (ﷺ) with Him being pleased with you. The Owner of this Dunyā and all that it contains, The Just Judge, The Owner of the Dominion (سبحانه و تعالى) praised the companions in His statement:
وَٱلسَّٰبِقُونَ ٱلۡأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُهَٰجِرِينَ وَٱلۡأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحۡسَٰنٍ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَرَضُواْ عَنۡهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمۡ جَنَّٰتٍ تَجۡرِى تَحۡتَهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًاۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ
And the foremost to embrace Islâm of the Muhâjirûn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansâr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhâjirûn ) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allâh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.
Sūrah At-Taubah:100
They have attained success and have passed their test, the best reward has been prepared for them. So upon us is the ʿAqīdah of our Pious Predecessors, so that we may also be successful. How can we expect the ʿAqīdah of someone born 400 years after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) uncertain of where his final abode will be, calling us to follow him blindly? It is not logical.
We should strive to learn how the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions believed and acted, and implement them in our lives. How else would we act like them if we do not know how they acted? We should follow their footsteps, do what they did and stop where they stopped, that we may be from the pious.
May Allāh save us from the divergent paths and guide us to His One Straight Path which is free from any crookedness. We ask that He makes us from those who emulate the Salaf As-Ṣāliḥ (the Righteous Predecessors), and that He grants us success.
وصلّى الله وسلّم على نبيّنا محمّد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين
