Every day, a great many people ask the Lord God for the same thing: show me the way. The scriptures call it the straight path, and they point to a man who walked it before any of the names we use now existed.
A man called out of his town
The Torah starts the story with a command and a promise.
Now The Lord God said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
He goes. Later the Lord God tells him to walk before Him and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). And in between, one short line that the Gospel and the Recitation both circle back to: he believed the Lord God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Not a ritual. Trust.
Before the names
Abraham was not a Jew, a Christian or anything else we would recognise as a label, because none of those words existed yet. The Lord God revealed it so, directly, in the Recitation.
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, one who submits to The God. And he was not of the polytheists.
The phrase rendered here as "inclining toward truth" is one Arabic word, ḥanīf. It means someone who turns away from everything else and faces Him. Not a sect. A direction.
When people said follow us and you will be guided, the answer given was to follow Abraham's religion instead (The Recitation 2:135). The same is said again in 3:95 and 6:161, where the way of Abraham is called a straight path. And 16:120–123 says he was a leader, obedient, grateful, chosen, and guided to a straight path.
What the path is like
The Messiah describes it as narrow, and says plainly that few find it.
"Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.
That is not a threat. It is a description of how roads work. The easy one is wide because everyone is on it.
The Psalms ask for the same road in the form of a prayer: teach me your way, lead me in a straight path (Psalm 27:11). The Recitation opens with the same request.
Guide us to the straight path -
Torah, Psalm, Gospel and Recitation, asking for one road.
What it asks of a person
Reading the verses above together, the path has a shape, and each part of it stands on a text.
- Turn from everything else and face Him alone (The Recitation 3:67).
- Trust Him, and let the trust be counted rather than the pedigree (Genesis 15:6).
- Go where He sends, even when the destination is not named yet (Genesis 12:1).
- Walk before Him and be blameless (Genesis 17:1).
- Expect the gate to be narrow, and take it anyway (Matthew 7:13–14).
- Keep asking to be shown it (Psalm 27:11, The Recitation 1:6).
Why this matters for the argument people have
Much of the arguing between the children of Abraham is about which name is the right one to wear. The verses above do not settle that argument by picking a name. They go behind it. Abraham had no name to wear, and he was guided.
Some say the path is kept by holding to the law given at Sinai, and they read Deuteronomy 6:4–9. Others say it is kept by following the Messiah, and they read John 14:6. Others say it is kept by submitting as Abraham submitted, and they read The Recitation 2:135. Each of those readings has a verse under it, and we are not here to rule between brothers.
What every one of those verses agrees on is the direction: away from all else, towards Him. Perhaps that is the place to start, whatever we were born into.
Questions people might ask
What does "the straight path" mean?
The way of Abraham: trusting the one Lord God, worshipping Him alone, and doing what He asks. The Opening asks Him for it in every prayer (The Recitation 1:6).
Was Abraham a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim?
The Lord God revealed to us in the Recitation that he was none of these by name, but one inclining towards truth who submitted to The God (The Recitation 3:67). The names came later; the path did not.
How do I walk it?
Hear that He is one, love Him with all your heart, keep His words, and be a blessing to others (Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Genesis 12:2). The Messiah said the same when asked (Mark 12:29-31).
