The Explanation of the Obligation to Follow the Path of the Believers and the Straight Path of Allah for Everyone Within Their Capacity

The Shaykh : So, it is incumbent upon all these groups, if they are sincere in claiming to adopt the Book and the Sunnah.
First, they must apply it according to the methodology of the righteous Salaf.
And second, they must apply it in themselves and their families within their capacity, and not think about establishing the Muslim state, which requires many and very many conditions, the first of which is the unity of the hearts of the Muslims upon a straight methodology. That is not possible except as the Lord of the Worlds said: The path that Allah the Exalted indicated in this noble verse is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were upon. It was reported in al-Hakim's *Mustadrak* and others, from a hadith of Ibn Mas'ud: أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خط ذات يوم خطّاً مستقيما على الأرض ثم خط حوله خطوطًا قصيرة، ثم قرأ عليه الصلاة والسلام تلك الآية وأن هذا صراطي مستقيماً فاتبعوه ولا تتبعوا السبل فتفرّق بكم عن سبيله ثم زاد عليه الصلاة والسلام تبياناً لهذه الآية كما هو مأمور به في القرآن : ونزّلنا إليك الذكر لتبين للناس ما نُّزل إليهم قال عليه الصلاة والسلام مشيراً إلى الخط المستقيم : وأن هذا صراطي مستقيماً فاتبعوه ثم أشار إلى الخطوط القصيرة التي حول الخط المستقيم فقال: هذه طرق وعلى رأس كل طريق منها شيطان يدعو الناس إليه هذه الطرق القصيرة هي في الواقع تمثّل تمثيلًا دقيقاً جداً وكأن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم في هذا الرسم الحلال كان يُنبّئ المسلمين بما سيقع من الاختلاف والاقتصار على سلوك الطرق القصيرة. That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drew a straight line on the ground one day, then drew short lines around it, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited that verse: "And this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow the paths that will cause you to stray from His path." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) added clarification of this verse, as he is commanded in the Qur'an: "And We have revealed to you the Reminder that you may make clear to the people what has been revealed to them." He (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to the straight line and said: "And this is My straight path, so follow it." Then he pointed to the short lines around the straight line and said: "These are paths, and at the head of each of these paths is a devil calling people to it." These short paths actually represent, very precisely, as if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this drawing was informing the Muslims of the differences that would occur and the restriction to following the short paths.