Explaining how to strive against the self to follow the straight path and abandon the paths of the devils.

The Shaykh : And indeed, it has come in *Mustadrak al-Hakim* by Abu 'Abd Allah, with his sound chain of narration, from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among his Companions one day when he recited this noble verse after drawing a straight line on the ground, then drawing short lines around the straight line, and then reciting this noble verse while running his hand over that straight line Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A long straight line So, the protection for every Muslim from deviating to the right or to the left, and from being among the party of Satan, and rather being among the party of the Most Merciful, is to walk steadily on a straight path, for it will lead him to the Garden of Delight without doubt or hesitation. As for these short lines, there is profound wisdom in the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) drawing of this wonderful image, as if he were, in modern expression—and may he be far from it—a skilled artist, but he draws good and forbids the drawing of evil, as you know. He drew the straight path as a long line, indicating thereby his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The one who wants to reach Paradise, what does he need? He will find many desires, excuse me He will find many disliked things on this long path of his. As for the lines that have a devil at the head of each, they were short lines, indicating thereby the desires that Satan beautifies for these travelers away from the straight path, as if he is saying with the language of the situation: Where are you going, and how far will you go? To me, to me! So look at this path, how close it is! Therefore, upon every Muslim are two things on the occasion of this explanation: The first thing is to know the straight line and to distinguish it from the lines of the devils. And the first thing is to station himself and to be patient in walking on this line, for the path is long and requires striving. So we hope that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will bless us by making us know the path of reaching our Lord, and that He will also make us know the paths of Satan so that we may avoid them. And it was the intellect of one of the Companions, namely Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, as it came in the two Sahihs: "The people used to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about good, and I used to ask him about evil, fearing that I might fall into it." And like this statement narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, the poet said truly:
"I know evil not for evil, but to avoid it *** And whoever does not know good from evil falls into it."
So know the path that leads to Allah, and it is nothing but the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, and upon the methodology of the righteous Salaf.
Yes.