And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Guide us﴾ is a request, because it is from the one who is guided to the Lord. And thus, the form of the command is all of it; if it is from the Most High, it is a command.

Guidance in language means directing. However, it manifests in ways that the interpreters express without using the term directing, and all of them, when contemplated, return to directing.

So, guidance comes with the meaning of: "Creating faith in the heart." From this is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Those are upon guidance from their Lord﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 5] and His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And Allah invites to the abode of peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path﴾ [Yunus: 25]. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills﴾ [Al-Qasas: 56]. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So whoever Allah intends to guide, He expands his breast to Islam﴾ [Al-An'am: 125]. Abu al-Ma'ali said: This verse cannot be interpreted except as creating faith in the heart, and this is pure directing.

(p-85) Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Guidance has also come with the meaning of "invitation." From that is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And for every people is a guide﴾ [Ar-Ra'd: 7], meaning: an inviter, and His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And indeed, you guide to a straight path﴾ [Ash-Shura: 52]. This also clarifies directing, because it is the beginning of directing, whether the invited responds or does not respond.

And guidance has come with the meaning of "inspiration." From that is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿He gave everything its form, then guided﴾ [Ta-Ha: 50]. The interpreters said: Its meaning is: He inspired all animals to their benefits. This also clarifies the meaning of directing.

And guidance has come with the meaning of "clarification." From that is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And as for Thamud, We guided them﴾ [Fussilat: 17]. The interpreters said: Its meaning is: We made clear to them. Abu al-Ma'ali said: Its meaning is: We invited them. And from that is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, upon Us is guidance﴾ [Al-Lail: 12], meaning: It is upon Us to clarify. In all of this, there is the meaning of directing. Abu al-Ma'ali said: Guidance may come with the intention of "directing the believers to the paths of Paradise, and the routes leading to it." From that is His saying, exalted is He, regarding the fighters: ﴿So He will not misguide their deeds﴾ [Muhammad: 4] ﴿He will guide them and amend their condition﴾ [Muhammad: 5]. And from His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So guide them to the path of Hell﴾ [As-Saffat: 23], its meaning is: Lead them to it.

Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this guidance itself is what is said in the paths of this world, and it is the opposite of misguidance. It is what occurs in His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Guide us to the straight path﴾. This is based on correct interpretations, and that clarifies from the term path. And "guidance" is a feminine term, and Al-Lihyani said: It is masculine. Ibn Sidah said: And "guidance" is a name from the names of the day. Ibn Muqbil said: (p-86)

Until I discerned guidance while the herds were charging, they would be humbled in the family, either in silence or praying.

And "the path" in language means the clear way. From that is the saying of Jarir:

؎ The Commander of the Believers is on a path ∗∗∗ -if the sources deviate- straight.

And from the saying of another:

؎ So turn away from the clear path.

And Al-Naqqash narrated: "The path" means the way in the language of the Romans, and this is very weak.

And the readers have differed regarding the path. Ibn Kathir and a group of scholars read "the path" with a 's' (س), and this is the original form of the word. Al-Farisi said: It has also been narrated from Ibn Kathir with a 'ṣ' (ص), and the remaining seven - except for Hamzah - read it with a pure 'ṣ'. This is a substitution of 's' with 'ṣ' for its compatibility with 'ṭ' in the articulation, making it sound better. Sibawayh narrated it as a dialect. Abu Ali said: It has been narrated from Abu Amr: "the 's' and 'ṣ'" and "the similarity between 'ṣ' and 'z'". This was narrated from him by Al-'Uryan ibn Abu Sufyan. Al-Asma'i narrated from Abu Amr that he read it with a pure 'z'. Some linguists said: What Al-Asma'i narrated about this reading is a mistake on his part. He only heard Abu Amr reading with the similarity and mistakenly thought it was a 'z', and Al-Asma'i was not a grammarian, so this cannot be trusted. Abu Ali narrated this statement from Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid. Hamzah read it between 'ṣ' and 'z', and it has also been narrated from him that he only adheres to that in the definite form and not in the indefinite form. Ibn Mujahid said: This reading is an artificial letter between two letters, and that is more difficult for the tongue. It is not a letter upon which speech is built, nor is it from the letters of the alphabet. I do not deny that it is from the speech of the eloquent Arabs, except that 'ṣ' is more eloquent and broader. Al-Hasan and Al-Dahhak read "Guide us to a straight path" without the definite article, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq read: "Guide us to the straight path" with the definite article. Thabit Al-Bannani read: "Make us see the path." The interpreters have differed regarding the meaning for which the path is borrowed in this context, and what is meant by it. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The straight path" here is the Qur'an. Jabir said: It is Islam, meaning the Hanifiyyah. He said: Its width is between the heavens and the earth. Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyyah said: It is the religion of Allah which is not accepted from the servants other than it. Abu Al-Aliyyah said: It is the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and his companions Abu Bakr and Umar. He mentioned this to Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, who said: Abu Al-Aliyyah has spoken the truth and given good advice. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is gathered from all of these sayings that the call is indeed for the caller to be upon the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, from the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous in their beliefs, and in their adherence to the rulings of His Law. This is what the Qur'an and Islam necessitate, and it is the state of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and his two companions. This supplication is indeed commanded for the believers, and among them are the beliefs, and each one has some of the actions. So the meaning of their saying: 'Guide us' in what is present with them is the request for steadfastness and continuity, and in what is not present, either due to ignorance of it or deficiency in preserving it, is the request for guidance towards it. I say: Every caller by it indeed wants the straight path in its completeness in his sayings, actions, and beliefs. Therefore, it is appropriate for him to call upon the straight path in its completeness from his side, and it should not be intended by 'Guide us' in this verse: 'Create faith in our hearts.' Because it is a guidance that is constrained to a path, nor should it be intended by it: 'Call us,' and all other forms of guidance are intended. And 'the straight path' is in the accusative as the second object. And 'the straight': that which has no deviation in it nor inclination, and what is meant is that it is upright upon the truth, and towards the ultimate success and entering Paradise. And the reason for 'straight' is that its origin is 'mustaqim,' the movement has been transferred to the qaf, and the waw has turned into a ya due to the broken sound before it.