The Glorious Quran is Allah's eternal miracle revealed to guide man to the Straight Path. The Wise Book (kitab-ul-hakim) which is one of the titles of this sacred Book teaches every aspects of life. It is the word of Allah Almighty and contains everything a man needs to know.

The earnest seeker of wisdom will receive guidance by the Grace and Mercy of Allah. Allah's knowledge and wisdom is infinite and we are surely lost without His guidance. Everything that happens is according to Allah's will (Qadr) and plan. A person who rejects faith will with each step go further and further down. While a person who is an earnest seeker of guidance will find with each step the next step easier. We must seek Allah's grace so that we may prosper in both the earthly life and the hereafter. In, surat-al-Anam and surat-al-Insan Allah tells us about His will:

6:125 Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.
76:29 This is an admonition: Whosoever will, let him take a (straight) Path to his Lord.
76:30 But ye will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.

We are now aware of the fact that everything is going to happen according to Allah's just will and plan. So is there any hope for a person who is not following the Straight Path but wishes to?

13:11 Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls).
We are being encouraged in Surat al-Ra'd to change our own nature and way of thinking. By doing this with an earnest heart, Allah will lead us out from darkness and in to spiritual light:

57:28 O ye that believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger, and He will bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide for you a Light by which ye shall walk (straight in your path), and He will forgive you (your past): for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.

So what exactly are the conditions to receive guidance ?
Allah tells us in His book in the very beginning of Chapter number 2 Surat al-Baqara.

2:2 This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah
2:3 Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them;
2:4 And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter.
2:5 They are on (true) guidance, from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper.
2:6 As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
2:7 Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).

The selective group mentioned in the above verses are the Mutaqeen, the ones who fear Allah out of love. We are specifically being told that it is these people with Taqwa in their hearts who will be guided.

The conditions are:

1. That you believe in all that is unseen (ghaib).
In surat al Jinn we are being told that the knowledge of the unseen is only with Allah (72:26) . There are some things that a person cant understand or see but we still need to believe in it.

2. Are steadfast in Prayer.
Muslims are obliged to offer prayers five times a day. Prayer is an act of worship and when we pray regularly it will restrain us from shameful and unjust deeds (29:45).

3. Charity
Charity can be anything that may benefit another person. We must remember that any kind of bounty we have, doesn't come from our own intelligence or good luck but the root of it can only be directed to Allah. It is our duty to spread it among people in need. Charity can be in matters of physical gifts; money, food, clothing etc or non-physical; influence, an advice, or any kind of other help that may benefit a person (2:215). The idea is to give something that contributes to the well-being of others.

4. Believes in the Holy Books
The Revelation sent to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) is the Holy Quran and the previous revelations are The Gospels sent to Isa (r.a.), The Torah sent to the Jews and the Psalms sent to Prophet David (r.a). These are the revelations mentioned in the Quran and a Muslim should have belief in all of them (4:163; 5:44-48).

5. Believes in the Day of Resurrection
Allah has created us once and will create us once again on the Day of Judgment. On that day we will be held accountable for everything we did in our earthly life. Each person has angels appointed over them who are writing down their deeds and actions in a report. The ones who will be given their report on the right hand (illyin) will be the companions of bliss, while the ones who will be given their report on the left hand (sijjin) will be the companions of fire (82:10-14).

The Arabic translation of Taqwa is "God conciousness" (M.Asad ) or "fear of Allah" (Yusuf Ali). The Mutaqeen are aware of Allah during each and every action taken in their life and they use Taqwa in all of their daily decisions. By doing this we are promised by Allah that we will be rightly guided to the Straight Path (Seerat-ul-mustaqeem). On our way to success we will be granted a criterion so that we are able to judge between right and wrong (8:29). By remaining conscious of Allah we are promised to receive happiness and fulfillment in this world and in the hereafter (24:52).

When you get into this kind of relationship with Allah, your personality will be transformed and your faith will produce only works of righteousness. Mankind is created only to obey Allah and our life on earth is a time of probation. Death is not the end, but a new beginning and every Muslim should strive for the long-lasting and permanent life in Paradise.

3:102 O ye who believe! fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

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Sources: The Glorious Quran translated by Yusuf Ali