The communities into which God’s prophets had come were all believers in God. In other words, the missionary projected himself as a God-worshipper, while his addressees also made the same claim. So the question arises: in which group is God present? The simple answer to this question is that God is on a straight highway (as-sirat al-mustaqim). So, the religion which is going on the straight path will directly reach God and that which is going on crooked paths will be diverted on to by-paths and can never be successful in reaching God. When Hud said, ‘My Lord is on the straight path,’ he was saying in other words that the path towards which he was calling them was ‘the highway of religion.’ But his people, in the name of religion, had adopted by-ways around the highway of religion and were running headlong along them. Such a headlong course does not take a man towards God; it takes him here and there and leaves him astray. In the light of these verses, the straight path shown by Hud comprises the following: belief in the unity of God, worship of God, seeking God’s pardon, repentance, turning towards God (tawbah), gratitude for God’s grace, placing trust in God, treating God as our Sustainer, treating God as the only possessor of all power, accepting God’s watchfulness over oneself, and remaining humble. All these are the basic teachings of religion. Following these teachings and making them the centre of one’s attention amounts to treading the highway of religion. One who treads this path straightaway reaches God. On the contrary, if a man gives importance to other things, it is as if he is taking the side paths to the right or the left of the highway and hastening along them. Such a course takes a man away from God, not closer to God.