The Straight Path of Society

The Straight Path reaction, acquires great depth of vision, which takes him beyond all emotional incentive and superficial considerations, and penetrates the heart of the matter. With this sense of realism, his planning is far-reaching and definitive. He becomes invincible, his aim never being off the mark. There is a saying of the Prophet: “Beware of the wisdom of the believer, for he sees by the light of God.” (At Tirmizi, Hadith No. 3419) The signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is one such important instance. Clearly this treaty was accepted under duress: one of the ‘animal’ level, however, would never agree that in spite of the presence of fifteen hundred valiant companions of the Prophet, a treaty could be signed which accepted all the demands of his opponents. But one at the ‘human’ level, capable of seeing reality in its unadulterated form, would see that it was truly a ‘signal victory’ (48:1). Thus a straight path (or God’s way) has been shown for all the problems of the Here and the Hereafter. The universe follows this straight path without the slightest deviation from its course, the path of man’s success and salvation is also the same. The only difference being that while the universe has no choice but to follow God’s path, man must of his own free will make this choice of treading this straight path. Just as the Quran has marked out the course for the individual to follow, so also has it laid down a straight path for society. To provide examples it has cited actual happenings. After describing the wisdom behind the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Quran states: “And He shows you the straight path.” (48:2). Certain basic principles which encompass most practical matters have also been described. Man has only to rise from the state of animality to that of humanity, and then he can never err in taking the right path in social matters—the path destined to lead him to earn divine succour and success as a result. The first basic principle in this regard is never to take a step under the influence of negative mentality: Social planning should always be made with a positive approach to matters: “O believers,