Meaning of hidaya: The word hidaya means to guide in a gentle and beautiful manner.
Hidaya is of 4 types:
| Hidaya of intellect (common sense/conscience) |
| Hidaya revealed from the tongues of the Prophets and from the books of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) i.e. hidaya of guidance |
| Hidaya from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) to be a worshipper of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) – rejected by Shaytan |
| Hidaya to be guided into Jannah |
We need all 4 hidaya from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Also they are all dependent on previous hidayas. The first and second hidaya are required for the third and all three are required for the fourth etc.
Levels of hidaya:
Hidaya is of multiple levels. Just being a Muslim isn’t enough to say a person has maximum hidaya. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says several times in the Quran that more hidaya can always be gained.
When someone takes shahada, it is their first guided act. Every moment we need to make a series of decisions and we need some advice. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is willing to help us in every decision. The choices we make eventually, decide if we have guidance or not.
A common mistake that humans make is that we often confuse knowledge with guidance. In order to seek guidance, we seek knowledge and after gaining some knowledge, we forget the real purpose of gaining that knowledge. Our purpose for seeking knowledge is to increase guidance. Our today should be better than yesterday. If we forget this, we might increase ourselves in knowledge, but we become misguided because arrogance creeps in.
Why does the believer ask Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for guidance during every prayer and at other times, while he is already properly guided? Has he not already acquired guidance?
The answer to these questions is that if it were not a fact that the believer needs to keep asking for guidance day and night, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) would not have directed him to invoke him to acquire the guidance. The servant needs Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) the Exalted every hour of his life to help him remain firm on the path of guidance and to make him even more firm and persistent on it. The servant does not have the power to benefit or harm himself, except by the permission of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Therefore, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) directed the servant to invoke him constantly, so that he provides him with his aid and with firmness and success.
Guidance is not something we can keep even if we get it once. We have to keep asking Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for it. Even Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) who was the Hadi (the best guided and the one who preached hidaya the best), had to stand and seek guidance every few hours.
Indeed, the happy person is he whom Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) guides to ask of him. This is especially the case if a person urgently needs the help of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) day or night.