.
So, in every prayer, we have to implore God that we be not of the people who distorted the Book of Allah, the people who took usury, and the people who fled from war and jihād; similarly, that we should not be among the misguided ones; those who, like lost persons, are subject to abjectness and ignominy, and every moment, without having a prior aim, they wander about; they live as opportunists and have no will and power of their own.
Those who are astray—“ḍāllīn”—are not like the blessed ones—“an‘amta ‘alayhim”—who have been included in the ranks of the prophets and the righteous, and are not like those who have incurred the divine wrath—“al-maghḍūbi ‘alayhim”—who are waging war against the religion of God. Instead, they are indifferent, indolent and comfort-seeking individuals who, like animals, are only thinking of the stomach and the flesh, without caring for truth and falsehood. For them, it makes no difference whether the prophets or the tāghūts are ruling. What is important for them is that they live in material comfort and ease; anyone who likes may rule. This is the group of the misguided ones because they have not chosen a specific way for themselves.
This verse, “Ṣirāṭ alladhīna an‘amta ‘alayhim ghayri’l-maghḍūbi ‘alayhim wa lāḍ-ḍāllīn,” is the perfect showcase of tawallā [befriending the truthful ones] and tabarrā [avoiding the people of falsehood].
At the end of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah, the person praying expresses his love, fondness and tawallā for the prophets, the martyrs and the righteous, as well as his disavowal [barā’ah] and renunciation [tabarrā] of the misguided and those who have earned the divine wrath. This expression of aversion toward the deviant and those who have incurred the anger of God in every prayer makes the Islamic society firm and resistant to the acceptance of their rule. The Qur’an thus exhorts:
﴾ لا تَتَوَلَّوْا قَوْماً غَضِب اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ﴿
“Do not befriend a people at whom Allah is wrathful.”[1]
