The Straight Path
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Welcome. Seven hundred years ago, in Damascus, lived one of the most influential scholars in Islamic history. Ibn Taymiyyah.
People wrote to him from far and wide with their questions. This book gathers some of his answers, all on one theme. What does it really mean to give up the world, to be careful, and to worship Allah?
His starting point is simple. There is a straight path, the way of the Prophet ﷺ. And holding to it protects you from the evil of your own soul, and from Satan. Those who invent their own paths, however sincere they feel, end up carrying burdens Allah never asked them to carry.
He explains two Arabic words. The first, rushd, is right guidance. Every deed that truly benefits you. The second, ghayy, is error. Every deed that harms you, even if it feels sweet.
And he points to a verse about people who came after the prophets. They neglected the prayer, and followed their desires. So they will meet ghayy.
Prayer, he says, is the heart turning towards Allah. Desire is the heart turning towards itself. And the whole book is about learning to tell the two apart.
Let us listen.
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