was incompatible with faith and the perfection of religion. Some therefore gave priority to religion and turned away from those means without which it cannot be fully established. Others recognized their need for such means and embraced them while turning away from religion, believing it incompatible with them. Religion thus became, in their eyes, a matter of compassion and lowliness, rather than ascendancy and honor.

Likewise, when many religious people became unable to establish religion fully and were overcome by distress at the trials they might suffer in upholding it, those who saw that neither their own interests nor those of others could be served by this approach regarded it as weak and abject.

These two corrupt paths—the path of those who profess religion but fail to complete it with the authority, jihad, and wealth it requires, and the path of those who pursue authority, wealth, and warfare without intending thereby to establish religion—are the paths of those who have incurred Allah’s anger and those who have gone astray. The first is that of the Christians who have gone astray; the second is that of the Jews who have incurred His anger.

The straight path, however—the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor: the prophets, the steadfastly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous—is the way of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his caliphs, his Companions, and those who follow their way. They are those described in the verse:

“And the first forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them in goodness—Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is