Truth, and the righteous – are a mercy to the worlds and evident exemplars of mercy;

• and with “Owner of the Day of Judgement (mālik al-yawm ad-dīn),” because religion (dīn) is the perfect bounty;

• and with “do we worship,” because they are foremost in worship;

• and with “do we seek help,” because they have been graced with success in response to their request for help;

• and with “Guide us,” because according to the meaning of “Follow then their guidance,”(6:90) they are the finest models;

• and with “the Straight Path,” because clearly the straight path is confined to their way. This is an example, so carry on in the same way.

In the word “path (al-ṣirāṭ)” is an indication that their way is passable, and has restricted sides so that those who travel down it will not stray from it.

In “those whom (alladhīna)” – since it is a relative pronoun and it is the function of the relative pronoun to describe things known to the listener – is an indication to the exaltedness of their rank, and their refulgent shining in the darkness of mankind, as if they are obvious to all listeners even if they do not search or enquire. While its being plural indicates the possibility of following their way, and corroborated by the constant consensus concerning it, its rightness, since “Allah’s power is with the community.” [^16]

[^16]:This is a Hadith the original of which is given by al-Tirmidhī as “The hand of Allah is over the community,” al-‘Ajlūnī, Kashf al-Khafā’, ii, 391. For more details, see, Nūrsī, Ishārāt al-I‘jāz [Iḥsān Qāsim], 34.

In the use of the perfect tense for “You have blessed (an‘amta)” is a hint to the means of requesting further bounty. And its use of the second person, addressing Allah directly, indicates that it is an intercessor, as though one is saying: “O my God! You are the bestower of bounty and in Your grace have bestowed it before; so bestow it on me again, even though I am not worthy.”

And in “on them (‘alayhim)” is an indication to the heavy burden that is divine messengership and the bearing of the Trust, and a sign that the Messengers are like high mountains on which pour down torrents of rain so that the plains may be flooded. As one part of the Qur’an expounds another, how beautifully “Those whom You have blessed” is expounded by “[they] are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah – of the prophets, the veracious, the witnesses, and the righteous”(4:69)!

• If you were to ask: The outlooks of the prophets are all different and their ways of worship are diverse. What is the reason for this?