Explanation Of Phrase Pul Al-Sirat

Sirat in its literal sense meant - Passage or a Path, and in Islamic legal terminology it was the name of a bridge that would be built over Hellfire. It will initiate from the plain of Mehsher and ends in the Paradise. The passage itself was thinner than a human hair and sharper than the sword. Each and every person including the Prophets and their legatees had to pass over it. This was the meaning of the Qur’anic Verse,

وَإِن مِّنكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَىٰ رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَّقْضِيًّا

“And there is not one of you but shall come to It (the hell); this is an unavoidable decree of your Lord” (19:71).

The confirmation of the concept of Pul al-Sirat was one of the necessities of the religion, and all Muslims despite their internal differences were unanimous on this concept that was confirmed by various Qur’anic Verses and established traditions (Ahadith) of the Prophet.

A Weak Elucidation Of Pul Al-Sirat

Some scholars consider Pul al-Sirat, a straight religious pathway that led to the pleasure of God and to Paradise. There was no imbalance in it and it stood for the Shariah of the Prophet that had reached us through our guided Imams. It was very secure for the believers to act upon it, but extremely difficult for the Infidels, Hypocrites, Nawasib, Khawarij and Ghalis, and for them it was similar to walking over a razor-sharp object.

Those who had presented this explanation in view of the complexity of Pul al-Sirat that how people could cross it, have made a grave mistake to escape the affirmed concept of Islamic Shariah. We shall answer this conjecture later on, but initially we would like to say that their statement that Sirat was a passage, which had no inequities, and it was the path of Muhammad (S) and his holy Progeny was not contradictory to our view.

It was true that the path shown by the Prophet and his progeny was the one that was sought by every believer in the obligatory prayers, but it did not mean that we should deny the Pul al-Sirat of the hereafter, as their own approach was undesirable due to its conflict with the well-established traditions of the Muslim Ummah. We could say that there were two Sirats; one that was apparent, which we would encounter on the Day of Judgement and the other in-house that required the Marefa (understanding) and submission to the True Guides. Allama Sayyid Shabbar has reiterated this view in Haqq Al-Yaqin, “There are two Sirats, one apparent that has been mentioned above, which is a bridge over the Hell and the other internal one that represents the Prophet and the guided Imams, just as it has been told to us that we were the Sirat and only those will cross the bridge of the hereafter, who had accepted our guidance and obeyed us.”

There were several Ahadith to supplement this view but we relied on one that has been quoted by Shaykh As-Saduq in Kitab al-Maani on the authority of Mufazzal Ibn ‘Umar, who says that a question was asked from Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) about the Sirat. Imam replied, “There are two Sirats, one in this world and the other in the hereafter. The worldly Sirat is the Imam, whose compliance is compulsory therefore, whoever recognises that Imam and follows his footsteps he will cross over the Sirat of the hereafter easily, and who so denied the Imam of his time then he will slip and will be consumed by the fire of the Hell.”

It was also quoted in the same book from Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a), who said, “There are two Sirats, one in this world and the other in the hereafter. The mundane Sirat represents the passage, which is completely free of iniquities, simply straight and direct, with no inclination towards injustice and evil. The Sirat of the hereafter is that path, which will lead the believers to the Paradise and they will not lose their direction.”

Reasons For Going Over The Pul Al-Sirat

The true reason for everyone to cross over the bridge of Sirat was only known to God, Who had established this procedure. What we could understand was that those who will cross over the Hell through this bridge and reach the Paradise would highly appreciate the comfort of the Paradise, compared to the incredible agony of Hell.

It was a matter of logic that one enjoyed that comfort more of which is obtained with a bit of struggle compared to the one, which was obtained without struggle. It was also possible that the horror of this crossover might compensate for the sins of a few that still remained intact after the period of Barzakh.

A Doubt And Its Rectification

A doubt was created here that if the state of Sirat was what it had been described - that it was a route thinner than a hair and sharper than the sword crossing over the Hell, then for the Prophets and their legatees the pain of this experience was similar to the masses, which we could not imagine for a moment that such things could ever happen to them.

This was the doubt that had made various scholars to find alternative explanations of Sirat, but for the true researchers this attitude was absolutely wrong, because if we started changing the norms of Shariah with such confusions, then the face of Islam will be left distorted permanently. Allama Al-Majlisi wrote in Bahar- al-Anwar, “The innovative explanations of religious norms without much needed requisites are not permissible in Shariah.”

The same author wrote in Risalah Itiqadiyah, “It is important to believe in religious standards the way those have been explained, such as Sirat, Mizan and other events of the Day of Judgement. It is not permissible to assign other meanings to such things, other than what the recipient of Shariah has understood about it, because profanity and heresy initiates from such irresponsible intrusions in the revealed issues.”

Anyhow, one answer to this doubt was that those who were aware of the potentials of such celebrities, knew that they could fly in the air and walk over water. So, what difficulties might they encounter then, while passing over this bridge? It may be a bizarre phenomenon for the people, but it was routine for them. So far as other believers are concerned, God would make arrangements such that some on the strength of their deeds might fly over it like electric current or the whirling winds or a speedy horse, while some would tread leisurely.

This explanation was not one that I had coined myself, but it was based upon the solid narrations of Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a). It was reported that the Imam said, “Pul al-Sirat is thinner than a human hair and sharper than the sword, those people who will cross it are of different categories - some will cross it like an electric spark, a few like a speeding horse, some on their knees, others with a slow walk and the remaining clinching to it, such that the fire of Hell might only smoulder them.”

No One Could Cross The Sirat Without Amir Al-Mu’minin’s Permit

In both Shi’a and Sunni literature, it was reported that the Prophet on the elaboration of the Qur’anic Verse of Surah Al-Saffat:

وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُم مَّسْئُولُونَ

“And stop them, for they shall be questioned” (37:24).

Had said, “When people will be ready to cross the Sirat, then suddenly a sound would emerge asking the Angels to stop these people, because they still had to answer the query, regarding the Wilayat of Ali Ibn Abi Talib”1.

It was also reported in both Shi’a and Sunni books that no one could cross over the Sirat, unless a permit has been issued by Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a).

• 1. Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah and Bihar Al-Anwar.