upon whom You have bestowed favor) (al-Fātiḥah 7). Yet where are the hearts that pay heed? Most people who pray recite this verse and it passes over them like a fleeting shadow, like a cloud that drifts by without rain or benefit, and they give it no attention.

What truly befits us is to wake up and realize how utterly dependent we are on Allah for guidance—both the guidance of knowledge and the guidance of practice, that is, the guidance of instruction and direction, and the guidance of enablement. We must therefore keep asking Allah, at all times, for guidance.

“fa-stahdūnī ahdikum (So seek guidance from Me and I will guide you).” This statement may cover both the tangible path and the spiritual path. Guidance to the spiritual path means being led to the religion of Allah, while guidance to the tangible path is, for example, when you are traveling in the land and lose your way. Whom do you ask? You ask Allah for guidance. Thus Allah says about Moses, peace be upon him: “And when he turned his face toward Midian he said, ‘Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the even path’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 22)—meaning the level road that reaches the goal without hardship. Many have experienced this: when a person is lost in the open country he turns to Allah and says, “Lord, guide me to the even path,” or, “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the even path.” We need Allah for both kinds of guidance: guidance to the physical road just as we need Him for guidance to the spiritual road. We ask Allah to guide all of us among those He has guided.

The Prophet—Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—then reported from his Lord: “My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so ask Me for food and I will feed you. My servants, all of you are unclothed except those whom I clothe, so ask Me for clothing and I will clothe you.” These two sentences, concerning hunger and nakedness, were mentioned