Chapter 27: Aqbat Al-Mehsher (Mountain Passes Of The Plain Of Mehsher)

Shaykh Abu Ja’far said that our belief in the concept of the Aqbat was that they were names of various stations or check posts on the plain of Mehshar. One was called the valley of obligation (Wajib) and the other was called the basin of demand (Amr) and another was named as the gorge of negation (Nahee).

When a person will reach the valley of obligation, and if he had shown some laxity on the obligatory duties imposed by God, he would then be stopped and questioned about Lord’s rights. If he passed through this checkpoint due to his previous acts of kindness, or by the grace of God, then he will reach the second and third pass, where he will be questioned respectively.

If he passed through all of these checkpoints successfully, he would then reach a destination of eternity, where he would receive so much of the perpetual assets from his Lord’s grace that he would reside in the company of the Prophets, his legatees, the candid, the martyrs and the devout persons. If someone failed to qualify a check point and his deeds were not enough to secure him a release, and God’s pardon was also not available, then he will slip from this slope into the fire of Hell. (We seek God’s help from the fire of the Hell).

All of these Aqbat were on the bridge of Sirat. One of these passes was named as the Pass of Wilayat, where the entire creation will be stopped and they will be questioned about the wilayat of Amir Al-Mu’minin and rest of the Imams. The one who testified his belief in their wilayat will successfully cross this valley and the rest will be detained and pushed into the Hell. The proof of this happening is in the Qur’anic Verse, which stated:

وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُم مَّسْئُولُونَ

“Stop them as they are to be questioned” (37:24).

Along these routes was a corridor of Marsad, just as God has said:

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ

“Surely your Lord is in the place of ambush” (89:14).

It was stated in Hadith al-Qudsi by God, “I Swear by My dignity that no tyrant will escape Me.”

There were several of these valleys, and each was named after a particular task that was imposed by God upon humans in His charter. Every single person would be stopped and questioned without reservation.