Now what is the truth behind this path? What is this straight path that we are asking God to guide us toward? You can understand what the straight path is from the whole. In verse 51 of Chapter Al-Imran, God says, “Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the straight path.” So what is the straight path in this verse? It is worship. It is attaining the position of being a worshiper. The misguidance, the hardships, and the oppression that you see in abundance in human history are due to the fact that some person or some people have refused to worship God. They have become the slave of their own lusts and desires. There is another verse in Chapter Yasin where God states, “Worship Me. That is the straight path (Quran 36:61(. So according to these verses, the straight path is defined as worshiping God, serving God, and submitting to God.
Imam Khamenei
May 1, 1991
