Allah the Exalted also says, “And indeed, you guide to a straight path.” (Quran 42:52)

[Commentary]
Among the verses with which the author—may Allah have mercy on him—opened the chapter on maintaining adherence to the Sunnah and its etiquettes is the Almighty’s statement: “And indeed, you guide to a straight path—the path of Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.” The address here is to the Prophet ﷺ. Allah informs him that he guides to the straight path, meaning that he points it out and clarifies it for people.

The “straight path” is further explained by Allah’s words “the path of Allah,” that is, the path He has established for His servants—His revealed law. Allah attributes it to Himself because He is the One who set it in place and because it leads to Him. Likewise, in Sūrat al-Fātiḥah He attributes the path to “those upon whom You have bestowed favor,” because they are the ones who tread it.

Thus the Prophet ﷺ guides people to the path: he shows it to them, invites them to it, encourages them to follow it, and warns them against opposing it. The same holds true for those who succeed him in this nation—its nurturing scholars—for they too call to the straight path, the path of Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

Someone may ask: How can this verse, “And indeed, you guide to a straight path,” be reconciled with His saying, “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love” (Quran 28:56)? The latter was revealed when the Prophet ﷺ was distressed over his uncle Abū Ṭālib. Although Abū Ṭālib was an idolater, he supported, honored, and defended the Prophet, and composed magnificent odes praising him, he was—may Allah protect us—deprived of the blessing of Islam and died in disbelief.

The scholars explain that the verse which affirms guidance refers to