that is straight.” If this was his condition at or near the end of his life, what, then, of anyone else?

The straight path has been explained as the Quran, Islam, and the path of servitude to Allah. All these explanations are true: it may be described in these and other ways. The “Quran” contains essential matters, subtleties, prohibitions, reports, narratives, and other things. Unless Allah guides His servant to them, he remains ignorant of them and astray from them. The same applies to “Islam” and the noble qualities, acts of obedience, and praiseworthy traits it encompasses, and likewise to “worship and all that it encompasses.”

The servant’s need to ask for this guidance is indispensable to his happiness, salvation, and success. His need for provision and victory is different. Allah provides for him, and when his provision ceases, he dies—but death is inevitable. If he is among those guided by Allah, he will be happy before death and after it, and death will lead him to eternal happiness. The same applies to victory: if it is decreed that he is overcome and killed, he dies a martyr, and his being killed completes the blessing bestowed upon him.

Thus, the need for guidance is greater than the need for victory and provision; indeed, there is no comparison between them. For when he is guided, he becomes one of the God-fearing:

“And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out”
“and provide for him from where he does not expect.”

He also becomes one of those who support Allah and His Messenger, and whoever supports Allah, Allah will support him. He becomes one of Allah’s soldiers, and it is they who will prevail. This is why this supplication is the one that has been made obligatory.