The purpose of the prophets’ message was to save humanity from the state of confusion they are in with every single individual going in a different direction. They wanted to call peoples’ attention to the Right Path out of this world [of misery]; to tell them to disregard all the other paths, for the only way is the path of God. Show us the straight Path” ; “Lo! my Lord is on a straight Path” . There is no other way out but this path. Other than this path, there is only the [base] world: that is those issues pertaining to the human desires and their worldly wishes; this is the [base] world. The world which has been denounced is not this natural world [of the creatures]. This world of nature is Light [i.e. the continuation of God’s illumination and thus includes no evil]. It is the attachment of the soul to this world that corrupts the humans. The darkness that overtakes us is the result of becoming attached to this world, to these posts and positions, these delusions and superstitions. All the prophets came to grasp our hands and release us from these worldly desires, which are all against what our nature and temperament necessitate. They came to rescue us from these attachments and guide us to the world of Light.
Sahifeh-ye-Imam. V 13. P 30-31