Idea: Everything starts with recognising Allah’s mercy.

• You admit you are not the owner of power – you are acting under His care and judgement.
• This kills arrogance (“I did this myself”) and fear (“I am alone”).

Example: Before writing, speaking, or starting a project, you say BismiLlāh to reset your intention: “I’m doing this under Allah’s eye and for His sake.”

All praise: not just some praise – every real praise belongs to Him in the end.

• When we praise a doctor, engineer, parent or teacher, all their ability and chances come from Allah.
• “Rabb of the worlds” = the One who creates, owns, maintains and raises everything to its proper state.

What this corrects in us:

• It kills ego – whatever we have is given.
• It kills dependence on creation – people and systems are only tools in His hand.

Example: You pass an exam or get a promotion. You don’t say only “I’m amazing” or “My boss is great”; you begin with: “Alḥamdulillāh – all true praise is for Allah who allowed this to happen.”

Two names of mercy:

• Ar-Raḥmān – mercy pouring over everyone right now: life, food, air, health, chances to change.
• Ar-Raḥīm – special, ongoing mercy for those who turn back to Him: guidance, forgiveness, protection.

What this corrects:

• We don’t see Allah as a harsh tyrant, but as the One whose default with creation is mercy.
• Mercy doesn’t cancel justice – it gives us space to repent before justice comes.

Example: You fall into a sin and feel ashamed. Instead of running away from Allah, you remember: “The door is still open. The One I disobeyed is also the Most Merciful. Go back, don’t delay.”

Meaning: Allah is the absolute Owner and King of the day when everyone is judged.

• That Day: no lawyers, no bribery, no favoritism based on family, sect or status.
• Only pure truth and justice.

What this corrects:

• This life is not random; there is a final court we are all moving toward.
• If you escape human courts, you cannot escape this one. If you never got justice here, you will get it there.

Example: Someone cheats you in business and walks away smiling. Instead of copying them or drowning in hatred you remember: “There is a Day where the true Owner will judge. I’ll keep my record clean; Allah will deal with them.”

Heart of tawḥīd:

• Every act of worship – prayer, du‘ā, sacrifice, trust, fear, hope – is for Allah alone.
• Ultimate reliance is on Him, even while we use worldly means (doctors, work, people).

What this corrects:

• It cancels intermediaries: not “through a shaykh/saint”, but directly “Yā Allah”.
• It cancels slavery to creation: fear of people, begging for their approval more than Allah’s.

Example: Instead of saying “Shaykh so-and-so saved me”, you say: “Allah helped me; maybe He used that person as a means.” Before an exam you study, but your heart says: “Yā Allah, You alone I rely on. You alone can make this effort succeed.”

Meaning: We are begging Allah for guidance, not just information.

• The straight path is the clear way of living that leads to Allah’s pleasure and safety in the Hereafter.
• It has no crookedness, tricks or hypocrisy.

What this corrects:

• We admit we don’t know everything; we can follow culture, sect or leaders blindly.
• We ask Allah to show truth as truth and give us courage to follow it, and to show falsehood as falsehood and give us strength to leave it.

Example: You are unsure about a belief or practice (a story about the Prophet, a Sufi ritual, a sect rule). Instead of just copying people, you make this du‘ā seriously and then investigate using the Qur'an and sound reason.

Three types of people:

• Favoured: know the truth and act on it – Allah’s favour is guidance, faith and obedience, not money or status.
• Angered: knew the truth, but twisted it, ignored it or used religion for power and corruption.
• Astray: follow guesses, feelings, leaders or traditions without knowledge – maybe sincere, but never check against revelation.

What this corrects:

• This is not about race or nationality – it is about attitudes.
• Any person in any sect can fall into any of these three groups.

Example: Someone reads clear Qur'anic verses about not taking intermediaries, but still insists “we must go through our shaykh because our group does it” – this is moving toward the “angered” group. Another person never opens the Qur'an and only copies family rituals – this is wandering in the “astray” group. We are asking Allah: “Make us from the first group – wherever they are – and protect us from the last two.”