Guide us to the Straight Way (1:6)

Because of our worldly involvement only, which puts to much stress and pressure on us. Most of the time, whatever is said by our lips, is not the same as our intentions, when we ask Allah to show us the straight path, our intentions are not to seek the straight path.

Lets say if you are planning to get groceries for your house, for example, but you are only saying it, but not moving towards the market, in order to buy the groceries, one may ask how will you get it? From day to night you say that you are going to buy groceries, but you do not leave your house to get it, and lets say you do get the groceries, but you do not prepare food, but you continuously say that you will eat food, but never do it, so will you your stomach be full without eating?

When it comes to Islam, most of us are thinking that we are praying five times, and all we do is worry about the condition of the Muslims, but we do not realize that what are we focusing during prayer. We ask Allah to guide us to the straight path, but this request is empty in our hearts. And Allah knows very well, what we are currently thinking, and what we are going to think in the future. 

Intention is important along with actions, whoever holds these two things while practicing Islamic in his life time, then he or she will be successful, inshallah. Because Allah says that during prayer, and that he is the most closest to us. One of the main problems today is, during prayers with today's worldly involvements only, we try and finish our prayer faster, or our mind is somewhere else and not towards the prayer. 

And when we say to Allah to guide us to the straight path, we have to realize our likings and preferences also. Lets say there is a pale of fresh drinking water, and one adds a drop of urine within that water, one may ask is it possible for anyone sensible to drink that water?

The same thing applies to our involvements with this world, and with the excuse of watching TV, movies, songs, etc. All of these things stay in the mind, and during prayer we are asking Allah to show us the straight path, and the prayer is only a matter of ten minutes, what is our activities between prayers for hours? Everything related to this world, and all forms of entertainment, and all of these things from Satan stay in our minds. And many of us know the translations of the prayer, but we forget during the time of prayer, or during the time of reading the Qur'an, our mind goes somewhere else, and we satisfy ourselves that we finished our prayers, without understanding or focusing on what we said. This is very important for the soul in front of Allah, that whatever is said, we have the intention and we are begging from our hearts, that we really want the straight path.

Inshallah it is a guarantee that if we are asking the straight path from the bottom of our hearts, and we are working towards attaining the straight path, then we will get it.