" " And that ye should worship Me, (for that) this is the Straight Way ?

" " And that ye should worship Me, (for that) this is the Straight Way ? " These verses, here, point to the practical' aspects of the religion of truth'. They urge us not to commit any Satanic deed or any wrong action. Clinging to Allah, the Qur'an says, is the key to reaching the Straight Path': "... Whoever holds firmly to Allah will be shown a Way that is straight ", (Sura 'Al-i-Imran, No. 3, verse 101).

It is necessary to mention this point, that the Straight Path ' is always only one way, not more than that, because the shortest distance between two points is always only one straight line. Therefore, when the Qur'an says that the Straight Path ' is the very true belief in the Divine religion with its moral and practical aspects, it is because it is the shortest route to a spiritual connection with Allah.

And it is also for this same reason that the religion of truth' is not more than one: " The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will)...", (Sura 'Al-i-Imran, No. 6, verse 153). Later it will be made evident that Islam' has a vast meaning which envelops all the monotheistic religions that were lawful at their own times but were nullified by the new one. Thus, it clarifies that all different commentaries that commentators have cited on the matter, i.e.

the Straight Path ', refer, indeed, to the same thing. Islam, the Pure Unity, Qur'an, the Prophet, and his vicegerents (p.b.u.th.), are some explications that commentators have offered for the meaning of the Straight Path '. All of the stated explications refer to the Divine religion in the aspects of Faith ' and practice'.

Also all of the various narrations and traditions cited on the subject in the Islamic sources, each of which points to a separate dimension of the question, in substance, refer to one essence. Some examples are as follows : It is narrated from the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) who has said: " The Straight Path' is the path of prophets and they are those on whom Allah hath bestowed His Grace ".

(31) Here are three traditions from Imam Sadiq (a.s.), who, when commenting on this verse, said: " It is the way' and the cognizance' of Imamate ". (32) Again, in another tradition, he (a.s.) says : " By Allah, we (Ahlul-Bait) are the Straight Path ' ". (33) Another tradition from the same Imam (a.s.) says: " The Straight Path ' is Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali (a.s.) ".