Tafsir of Al-Fatihah 1:6

"Guide us" (Ihdina): The root of "guidance" (huda) is that it is usually transitive via the particle lam (for) or ila (to), as in His saying: "Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most upright" (Al-Isra: 9), and "And indeed, you guide to a straight path" (Ash-Shura: 52). Thus, it is treated like the verb "chose" (ikhtara) in His saying: "And Moses chose from his people" (Al-A'raf: 155).

The meaning of requesting guidance while they are already guided is a request for an increase in guidance through the granting of divine favors (al-altaf), as in His saying: "And those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad: 17), and "And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways" (Al-Ankabut: 69).

It is narrated from Ali and Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with them both) that "Guide us" means "Make us steadfast." The form of the imperative and the supplication are the same, for both are requests, differing only in rank. Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud] recited it as "Direct us" (arshidna).

"The Path" (as-Sirat): The main road (al-jadda). It is derived from sarata (to swallow) something, because it "swallows" the travelers when they traverse it, just as it is called luqma (morsel) because it "gulps them down."

The word sirat is formed by changing the sin to a sad because of the ta, as in the word musaytir (controller) written as musaytir. The sad may also be pronounced with the sound of a zay. All these variations have been recited, but the most eloquent is the pure sad. This is the dialect of the Quraysh and the one established in the Imam (the Uthmanic codex). It is pluralized as sirat (like kitab and kutub), and it can be treated as masculine or feminine, like tariq (road) and sabil (way). The intended meaning is the path of truth, which is the religion of Islam.

"The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray."