—and Abu Nuʿaym also transmitted this ḥadīth through several separate chains (1) with the wording, “It is the firm rope of Allah, the wise Reminder; it is the Straight Path.”

Others maintained that the Straight Path is Islam itself, basing this on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the report of al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān, recorded by al-Tirmidhī and others:

“Allah has set forth a parable of a straight path. On either side of the path are two walls, and in those walls are open gates over which hang lowered curtains. A caller from above the path calls out, and another caller stands at the head of the path. The Straight Path is Islam, the two walls are the limits set by Allah, the open gates are the things Allah has forbidden, the caller at the head of the path is the Book of Allah, and the caller from above the path is the admonition of Allah placed in the heart of every believer.” (2)

These two statements are in full agreement, for the religion of Islam is none other than adherence to the Qur’an. Each of them, however, highlights a different attribute, while the very word “path” itself suggests still a third. The same applies to those who said that it is the Sunnah and the community, or that it is the road of servitude, or that it is obedience to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and similar expressions.

All of them are pointing to a single reality; each merely describes it in his own words.