In the previous verse, we are commanded to make dua for Allah Ta‘ala to guide us to the straight path. In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala explains to us which path is the straight path of deen. Allah Ta‘ala says, “The path of those whom You have favoured (with Your special grace).” In other words, the straight path of deen is the path which was followed by those who have been favoured and chosen by Allah Ta‘ala.

In another verse of the Qur’aan Majeed, Allah Ta‘ala enumerates four categories of servants as being those whom He has favoured with His special grace. Allah Ta‘ala says:

وَ مَنۡ یُّطِعِ اللّٰہَ وَ الرَّسُوۡلَ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ مَعَ الَّذِیۡنَ اَنۡعَمَ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡہِمۡ مِّنَ النَّبِیّٖنَ وَ الصِّدِّیۡقِیۡنَ وَ الشُّہَدَآءِ وَ الصّٰلِحِیۡنَ ۚ وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِکَ رَفِیۡقًا 

Whoever obeys Allah and the Rasul, then (in the Hereafter,) they will be in the company of those whom Allah has favoured (with His special grace) viz. the Messengers, the siddeeqeen, the martyrs and the righteous servants. How excellent are these companions! (Surah Nisaa v.69)

From all these four categories of chosen servants, the Messengers are the greatest in rank, followed by the siddeeqeen. The siddeeqeen are those who have acquired spiritual perfection in deen and the internal and external condition of their lives remain upon constant truth and loyalty to Allah Ta‘ala. The third in rank are the martyrs – those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of deen, and fourth in rank are the righteous servants of Allah Ta‘ala.

The Divine System of Almighty Allah Ta‘ala

In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala has commanded us to follow His pious servants, as they are the ones who have understood the straight path. The reason is that these pious servants have learnt the knowledge of deen and the book of Allah Ta‘ala from their seniors, who in turn, acquired it from their seniors, until this series of acquiring deen reached the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) who acquired it from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

Hence, we understand that in deen, we are in need of the Kitaabullah (the divine heavenly Books) as well as the Rijaalullah (the favoured servants of Allah Ta‘ala). If one has to study history, one will find that since time immemorial, it has always been the divine system of Almighty Allah Ta‘ala that He sent down Kitaabullah (the divine heavenly Books) together with Rijaalullah (the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) and their pious followers). There has never been a period witnessed in the history of humanity wherein Allah Ta‘ala revealed a kitaab to a nation without sending a Nabi to them.

The mission of the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) was to explain the correct application of the kitaab of Allah Ta‘ala to the people and show them how to live their lives in accordance to its dictates.

Why Did Allah Ta‘ala Not Command Us to Follow the Path of the Qur’aan and Hadith?

The crucial question that arises at this juncture is, “Why did Allah Ta‘ala not command us to adopt the path of the Qur’aan Majeed or the path of the Hadith, whereas these two are the primary sources of guidance in deen?”

The answer to this critical question is that if each person was to refer directly to the Qur’aan Majeed and the Mubaarak Ahaadith and try to reach his own conclusions based on his own intellect, Deen would no longer be preserved in the way Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had conveyed it to us.

Rather, it would become a mixture of acts of worship diluted with man’s whims and fancies, thus leading to the destruction and ruin of Deen. Hence, for the protection and preservation of Deen till the day of Qiyaamah, Allah Ta‘ala has commanded that the path of His chosen and rightly guided servants be adopted, as they are the ones who have truly understood the Qur’aan Majeed and the Sunnah.