The Prayer for Guidance

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Guidance is a thing which everyone possess in some way, and yet no one, not even the greatest, can do without wishing to attain more. Of all the prayers a person can address to Allah, the most important is the prayer for guidance, which has been taught to us in the very first Surah of the Qur'an, Surah Al-Fatihah; and this prayer is as necessary for the greatest of prophets and people of Allah as for an ordinary Muslim.

When we recite Al-Fatihah during prayer, maybe more than 17 times a day, we are asking Allah for hidayah (guidance). Not only we are asking Allah to guide us to perform this particular prayer in the best way, we are also asking Allah to give us hidayah for everything we do after the prayer and with excellence. So bring this to your heart when you recite,

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَ‌اطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

Guide us to the straight path. [Quran, Al-Fatihah]

Some Muslims have this big confusion that by being a Muslim means he has been guided. If that is the case, then this supplication should have been for non-Muslims. In fact, becoming a Muslim is only the first step in the world of guidance. In fact, if you are a born Muslim, you have to actually believe La ilaha illallah Muhammadun Rasulullah through your own discovery. And we should constantly renew our faith.

Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Verily, the faith (iman) of one of you will diminish just as a shirt becomes worn out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts.”

We need guidance at every step of our lives and we need guidance to increase us in guidance, so that the more we are guided the closer we get to Allah, the Exalted. The guidance is so precious.

إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّـهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ﴿٥٦

Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. [Qur'an, Al-Qasas 28:56]

Where do we get the guidance? We get guidance from the Qur'an and Sunnah. If we don't study the Qur'an and Sunnah, then is your prayer sincere? Take for example, a student who makes du'a, asking Allah to make him pass his exams but he does not open his books, then how is this asking sincere? Likewise, if we ask Allah for guidance and we don't open His Book to look for guidance, then there is some problem in our prayers--sincerity.

Actually every prayer is a reminder that understanding the Qur'an is not only necessary but it is an emergency. In fact, after we say "Ameen" after reciting Surah Al-Fatihah and another Surah is recited, that Surah is actually a piece of guidance that Allah gives us at that time. If you keep there standing without bothering to understand, then how sincere are you about asking for guidance? We should pay attention to what Allah tells us today in our prayers and act upon them after the prayer. Don't just ignore it. If we don't understand, open the Book and try to understand it from the translation, tafsir, etc. Every piece of the Qur'an is very precious. It is not random. Whatever you listen of the Qur'an is from Allah and He is watching and He wants to see your reaction as He reveals those verses.
May Allah enable us to understand His Book and bring us closer to Him. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grants success.

Wassalaam