Ibn Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “God has propounded as a parable a straight path on the sides of which are walls with open doors over which curtains are hanging down. At the top of the path there is one who calls, ‘Go straight on the path and do not follow an irregular course.’ Above that one is another who calls out as often as anyone tries to open any of those doors, ‘Woe to you! do not open it, for if you open it you will go through it.’” He then interpreted it telling that the path is Islam, the open doors are the things God has forbidden, the curtains hanging down are the limits God has set, the crier at the top of the path is the Qur’an, and the one above him is God’s monitor in every believer’s heart. Razin and Ahmad transmitted it. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman from an-Nawwas b. Sim'an, as did Tirmidhi in a more concise form.
The Parable of the Straight Path
This profound hadith from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) presents a comprehensive allegory of the spiritual journey in Islam. The straight path represents the religion of Islam itself - the balanced, moderate way that leads to divine pleasure and eternal salvation.
The Walls and Open Doors
The walls with open doors symbolize the boundaries of lawful and unlawful. The open doors represent the various prohibitions (muharramat) that Allah has decreed, while the hanging curtains indicate the subtle boundaries (hudud) that separate permissible from forbidden.
The scholar Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali explains that these curtains serve as warnings - they are not solid barriers but gentle reminders that require the believer's conscious choice to avoid what lies behind them.
The Two Callers
The first caller at the path's summit represents the Qur'an - the eternal guidance that continuously directs believers toward righteousness and warns against deviation.
The second caller above him signifies the innate spiritual awareness (al-wa'i al-ilahi) that Allah places in every believer's heart. This is the divine monitor that alerts the soul when approaching forbidden matters.
Spiritual Significance
Al-Ghazali comments that this parable illustrates the comprehensive nature of Islamic guidance. The path is clear, the dangers are marked, and continuous divine assistance is provided through both external revelation (Qur'an) and internal consciousness (heart's monitor).
The believer must remain vigilant, heeding both the explicit guidance of revelation and the subtle warnings of spiritual intuition to successfully navigate the straight path without falling into the pitfalls of disobedience.