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CHAPTERTHREE
T h e St ra ight Pat h
§
Is he who walks grovelling upon his face better guided, or he who walks
upright upon a straight path? Say, ‘It is He who brought you into being,
and made ears and eyes and hearts for you, yet you are seldom grateful.’
—The Quran, 67:22-23
W
hat
is the
straight
path
?
We learn from the Quran that God has laid down a fixed path for
the entire universe. A path which the entire universe is following
strictly, even the honeybee (16:68-69). Just as for the proper
functioning of everything in the universe it is essential that they
follow the divine path appointed by God in total submission,
similarly the secret of success for man also lies in following the
same.
But since man is in a state of trial, he has only been told the right
path and he has been given the chance to follow this path or reject
it. (76:3). Once God has shown man the straight path, man ought
to follow it with total trust and adopt it with total conviction, as
being the only path that leads to success (14:12). If man, under the
influence of some temporary temptations strays in some other
direction, he will lose his foothold on God’s path and when he
