Episode 12

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, in the previous episode, we completed our stops with the Ten Commandments in the Quran, and we said that after the tenth commandment ((And this is My Straight Path, so follow it)), did Allah forbid us from something? What is this thing? He said: ((And do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path. This is an admonition to you, that you may fear Him.)) ((And do not follow the paths)) meaning: the ways that contradict this path. He singled out the straight path and mentioned the paths in the plural. Truth is one, and falsehood has many forms. ((And do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path)) meaning: they will mislead you and turn you away from it. If you are misled from the straight path, there will be no way but paths that lead to Hell, Allah forbid. In the authentic hadith of Abdullah ibn Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, drew a line for us and said: This is the path of Allah. Then he drew lines to its right and left and said: These are diverging paths, and on every path there is a devil calling to it. Then he recited: {And that this is My Straight Path, so follow it, and do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path.} (authenticated by Ahmad Shakir)

Brothers, Islam is a way of life that includes the social, political, economic, and legislative systems, and it is, in its entirety, the path of Allah that leads to Him. On the other hand, there are non-Islamic systems that offer alternatives to Islam in any of these social, economic, political, or legislative fields. So, either a person follows the path of Allah or follows the paths of these systems. Note that He did not say: (Do not follow the paths along with the path of Allah), for this is a phrase that allows for following the path of Allah and the other paths. But He said: ((And do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path)). If you follow one of these paths, it will inevitably lead you away from the path of Allah. So, it is not possible to be a Muslim and a socialist at the same time. Islam is a path, and socialism is a path. And it is not possible to be a Muslim and at the same time accept the right of legislation and judgment over things and principles from other than Allah. This is a path other than the path of Allah. And you will not be able to follow both paths at the same time. Either you follow the path of Allah, or you follow a path other than the path of Allah. Another matter, brothers... ((And do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path))... The word ((lest they divert you)) draws in the mind a straight line from which a line branches off. If a person allows himself to deviate from the straight line, he will feel that the deviation is small at first because the path he has taken is still close to the straight line. But over time, he will move further and further away from the straight line without feeling this distance because he is still walking on the same path, at the same angle of deviation! He does not feel that anything has changed after the small deviation he accepted at the beginning, but in reality, he is moving away day by day...((And do not follow the paths, lest they divert you from His path. This is an admonition to you, that you may fear Him)). With this, we have completed our discussion on the great Ten Commandments in the Quran. We ask Allah to benefit us with what we have learned. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.