The origin of guidance is that it is transitive with 'lam' or 'ila', as in His saying: "Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright," and "And indeed, you guide to a straight path." It is treated similarly to 'ikhtaar' in His saying: "And Musa chose his people."

The meaning of seeking guidance - while they are guided - is to seek an increase in guidance by granting kindness, as in His saying: "And those who are guided, He increases them in guidance," and "And those who strive in Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways." And from Ali and Ubayy, may Allah be pleased with them: "Guide us, make us steadfast," and the form of command and supplication is the same, because each one of them is a request, but they differ in rank.

Abdullah read: "Guide us."

(The path) is the way, from 'sarat' meaning to swallow, because it swallows the travelers when they take it, just as it is called 'laqma' because it swallows them. The path is from changing the 's' to 's' because of the 'ta', as in 'musaytar' in 'musaytar', and the 's' can sound like 'z'. Both pronunciations are read, and their eloquence is the sincerity of the 's', and this is the language of Quraysh and it is established in the Imam. It is pluralized as 'sarat', like 'kitab' and 'kutub', and it can be masculine or feminine like 'tareeq' and 'sabeel', and the intended meaning is the path of truth, which is the religion of Islam.