Between the Sabīl and the Ṭarīq

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 5 December 2025 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

The Doctor opened his khatira with a supplication that Allah set right for us our religion, our worldly life and our Hereafter, that He prepare for us right guidance in our affairs, bless us in what He has provided us, protect us from the punishment of the Fire and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, by His mercy, kindness and generosity.

A Pause at the Word "Sabīl"

Then he said: I paused at the words of Allah, Blessed and Exalted: ﴿وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا﴾ (On the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands, saying, "Oh, I wish I had taken a path with the Messenger.")^[1] The Noble Qur'an's choice of its words is not random, far be it from Him, glory be to Him, for this is the word of Allah. So what is the difference between the Qur'an's use of the word "sabīl" and its use of the word "ṭarīq"?

A ṭarīq involves going and returning; you can go and come back, and it is open, people travel along it and return from it. A sabīl, on the other hand, is a term fixed in one direction, or travel in one direction only. And he mentioned that the word "ṭarīq" came once with the people of Hell at the end of Sūrat al-Nisā'^[2], then he said that even if that were not the case, the difference remains.

Wavering in Walking with the Prophet ﷺ

So when the wrongdoer says, "I wish I had taken a path with the Messenger," it seems that he either never took this path at all and did not choose it, or was wavering, walking back and forth. And those who waver in walking with the Prophet ﷺ lose their earlier deeds, and lose the destination they are heading for, because they do not determine where they are going and do not know how to walk. So you see a person at one time with the Prophet ﷺ, stirred, responsive, affected and holding fast, and at another time you see him reckless, heedless of any sunnah or anything else.

And the states that come over us in moments of anger and moments of contentment, moments of discontent and moments of tranquility, make people waver between this and that.

One Sunnah in All Conditions

Then he reminded us that our Messenger ﷺ teaches us that Allah commanded him to believe in His decree and destiny, to submit to everything that comes from his Lord, and to be content with all his conditions without exception. That is the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, whatever the changing circumstances that lodged in his mind, heart or soul, and he was nevertheless at ease in his conduct with his wife and the people of his household. And that is his sunnah as he dealt justly among people, near and far. And that is his sunnah as he spoke truthfully, whether the truth led to material gain or material loss; truthful in all his conditions.

So the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the path of constant uprightness, from which the servant does not deviate because of his personal interests, nor his own whims, nor his attempts at material gain from here or there. It is one path, one sunnah, one Paradise and one Fire; we fear the one and hope for the other. And we ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted, to grant us a good meeting with Him and to make us among the people of Paradise.

Hold Fast to the Sunnah

Hold fast to the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in all its conditions; the matter needs no further explanation. There are sunnahs, even outward ones, that cost us physical effort, which is the least kind of effort, and yet we do not exert it; rather, we sometimes neglect even an obligatory foundation, and lose some of the prayers, and excuse ourselves by saying that we were busy or that worldly matters decided things for us, and so on.

Then he supplicated: O Allah, make us steadfast, guide us, make us content, and be for us; ease what is before us and decree for us good and its causes. O Allah, we ask You to make us among those who follow the guidance of Your Messenger ﷺ. And we ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted, for our people in Palestine and for every oppressed person on earth: gentleness, pardon, well-being and mercy; that He make their feet firm, guide their souls to good, unite their word, strengthen their hearts, and place the means of the earth and the means of the heavens in their hands.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Furqān, verse 27. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The speaker hesitated over this example and commented that it does no harm if it is not correct; the location was not precisely verified in the transcript (see His words near the end of Sūrat al-Nisā': ﴿إِلَّا طَرِيقَ جَهَنَّمَ﴾).