Explanation of the author's statement: "And the Sirat is set up over the surface of Hellfire, and it is the bridge between Paradise and the Fire, and people pass over it according to their deeds, some of whom pass like the flash of an eye"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And the Sirat is set up over the surface of Hellfire, and it is the bridge between Paradise and the Fire, and people pass over it according to their deeds". Do you have it in your possession, or do people not pass over it according to their deeds? "Some pass like the flash of an eye, some like lightning, some like the wind, some like a swift horse, some like the riders of camels, some run, some walk, some crawl, and some are snatched away and thrown into Hellfire" and so on.
The word Sirat is a form indicating the passive, so it means a path that is traversed. Al-Sirat is the act of passing quickly. From this comes the word zarat, "zarat al-luqmah," meaning he swallowed it quickly.
The scholars said: The Sirat is not called a Sirat unless it is a wide, straight, and level path. As for a narrow path, it is not a Sirat, and a crooked path is not a Sirat, and a path with ascents and descents is not a Sirat. Why? Because this root word does not correspond to narrow or winding paths, because it is derived from al-sirat, which is passing with speed.
Does this Sirat set up over Hellfire fit this description, meaning: that it is a wide, straight path with no crookedness or unevenness? Or what is it?
The scholars differed on this. Some said: It is a wide path over which people pass according to their deeds. The evidence is that the linguistic meaning of the word Sirat is this, and another piece of evidence is, and slipping and sliding only occur on a wide path, because slipping and sliding, slipping is like a path that floodwater or rain comes to, and people slip on it. They said: This does not happen except on a spacious path, whereas a narrow one is not a Sirat.
And some scholars said: Rather, it is a very thin Sirat, as came in the hadith of Abu Sa'id which Muslim narrated as a report. Based on this last opinion, a problem arises for us, which is: how is it possible to cross a path like this?
The answer is: The matters of the Hereafter are not measured by the matters of this world, for Allah the Exalted is capable of all things. And we do not know how they cross! Do they all gather on this path, or one after another? Allah knows best. The important thing is that if it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it must be accepted and submitted to.
And in this issue, a person hardly asserts one of the two opinions with certainty, because each opinion has a strong point.
And his saying: "Set up over the surface of Hellfire". The surface of Hellfire means: Hellfire itself, over the Fire itself, a bridge stretched over it, and then people pass over it.
And the intended meaning of "people" here is the believers. My intention is that the intended meaning of people is the believers, because the disbelievers have been taken to the Fire, and there is no need for them to ascend with this path. Only those who are from the people of Paradise ascend with this path.
So people pass over it according to their deeds. Some pass like the flash of an eye, and some pass like lightning. Which is faster? The flash of an eye is faster, faster than lightning. And some pass like the wind, the air, and the air is fast, very fast, especially before people knew about airplanes. Yes. And the air is known to reach how much? It sometimes reaches one hundred and forty miles per hour. Sometimes storms come in some countries that reach this limit, one hundred and forty miles. How much is that in kilometers?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no, more, more, because the mile is, I think, two kilometers minus a third or minus a quarter. So it reaches a great distance, but even so, it is less than the airplane. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an example of what people knew at that time.
And some pass like a swift horse, the swift horse that is good and fast in its gait.
And some pass like the riders of camels, which is much less than the swift horse.
And some run, and some walk. Running means hurrying, and some walk, and so on. Now, is this by the choice of the person or without his choice?
Without his choice. If it were by his choice, everyone would like to be fast. But it is without his choice and according to his speed in accepting the Shari'ah in this world, because the Sirat in reality there is the Sirat in this world. Here the Sirat is conceptual, and there it is tangible. So whoever in this world, with regard to the Sirat of Allah Mighty and Majestic, accepts it without hesitation, believes in its reports, and follows its rulings, then in the Hereafter he passes quickly.
He says: "And some crawl, and some are snatched and thrown into Hellfire, because the bridge has hooks that snatch people by their deeds". Snatched and thrown into Hellfire, but he does not remain in it forever. Rather, he is from the sinners who are punished according to their sins, and then they come out of the Fire.
And the author's saying: "In Hellfire" indicates that the Fire in which the sinners are thrown is the same Fire in which the disbelievers are thrown, because Hellfire is one name. But it is not in punishment like the punishment of the disbelievers. Rather, some scholars said: It will be coolness and peace for them, as the Fire in this world was coolness and peace for Ibrahim. But the apparent view is the opposite, and that it will be hot and painful, but it is not as hot as it is for the disbelievers.
Then, the limbs of prostration are not touched by the Fire. The limbs of prostration are not touched by the Fire, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They are the forehead, the nose, the two palms, the two knees, and the toes. Yes.
He says: "Indeed, the bridge has hooks that snatch people by their deeds, so whoever passes over the Sirat enters Paradise". Because he is now safe, with the Fire behind his back, and in the Hereafter there is only Fire or Paradise. So whoever crosses the Sirat enters Paradise and is safe.
The word Sirat is a form indicating the passive, so it means a path that is traversed. Al-Sirat is the act of passing quickly. From this comes the word zarat, "zarat al-luqmah," meaning he swallowed it quickly.
The scholars said: The Sirat is not called a Sirat unless it is a wide, straight, and level path. As for a narrow path, it is not a Sirat, and a crooked path is not a Sirat, and a path with ascents and descents is not a Sirat. Why? Because this root word does not correspond to narrow or winding paths, because it is derived from al-sirat, which is passing with speed.
Does this Sirat set up over Hellfire fit this description, meaning: that it is a wide, straight path with no crookedness or unevenness? Or what is it?
The scholars differed on this. Some said: It is a wide path over which people pass according to their deeds. The evidence is that the linguistic meaning of the word Sirat is this, and another piece of evidence is
That the Messenger informed that it is slippery and sliding
أن الرسول أخبر بأنه دحض ومزلةAnd some scholars said: Rather, it is a very thin Sirat, as came in the hadith of Abu Sa'id which Muslim narrated as a report
That it is thinner than hair and sharper than a sword
أنه أدق من الشعر، وأحدّ من السيفThe answer is: The matters of the Hereafter are not measured by the matters of this world, for Allah the Exalted is capable of all things. And we do not know how they cross! Do they all gather on this path, or one after another? Allah knows best. The important thing is that if it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it must be accepted and submitted to.
And in this issue, a person hardly asserts one of the two opinions with certainty, because each opinion has a strong point.
And his saying: "Set up over the surface of Hellfire". The surface of Hellfire means: Hellfire itself, over the Fire itself, a bridge stretched over it, and then people pass over it.
And the intended meaning of "people" here is the believers. My intention is that the intended meaning of people is the believers, because the disbelievers have been taken to the Fire, and there is no need for them to ascend with this path. Only those who are from the people of Paradise ascend with this path.
So people pass over it according to their deeds. Some pass like the flash of an eye, and some pass like lightning. Which is faster? The flash of an eye is faster, faster than lightning. And some pass like the wind, the air, and the air is fast, very fast, especially before people knew about airplanes. Yes. And the air is known to reach how much? It sometimes reaches one hundred and forty miles per hour. Sometimes storms come in some countries that reach this limit, one hundred and forty miles. How much is that in kilometers?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no, more, more, because the mile is, I think, two kilometers minus a third or minus a quarter. So it reaches a great distance, but even so, it is less than the airplane. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an example of what people knew at that time.
And some pass like a swift horse, the swift horse that is good and fast in its gait.
And some pass like the riders of camels, which is much less than the swift horse.
And some run, and some walk. Running means hurrying, and some walk, and so on. Now, is this by the choice of the person or without his choice?
Without his choice. If it were by his choice, everyone would like to be fast. But it is without his choice and according to his speed in accepting the Shari'ah in this world, because the Sirat in reality there is the Sirat in this world. Here the Sirat is conceptual, and there it is tangible. So whoever in this world, with regard to the Sirat of Allah Mighty and Majestic, accepts it without hesitation, believes in its reports, and follows its rulings, then in the Hereafter he passes quickly.
He says: "And some crawl, and some are snatched and thrown into Hellfire, because the bridge has hooks that snatch people by their deeds". Snatched and thrown into Hellfire, but he does not remain in it forever. Rather, he is from the sinners who are punished according to their sins, and then they come out of the Fire.
And the author's saying: "In Hellfire" indicates that the Fire in which the sinners are thrown is the same Fire in which the disbelievers are thrown, because Hellfire is one name. But it is not in punishment like the punishment of the disbelievers. Rather, some scholars said: It will be coolness and peace for them, as the Fire in this world was coolness and peace for Ibrahim. But the apparent view is the opposite, and that it will be hot and painful, but it is not as hot as it is for the disbelievers.
Then, the limbs of prostration are not touched by the Fire. The limbs of prostration are not touched by the Fire, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They are the forehead, the nose, the two palms, the two knees, and the toes. Yes.
He says: "Indeed, the bridge has hooks that snatch people by their deeds, so whoever passes over the Sirat enters Paradise". Because he is now safe, with the Fire behind his back, and in the Hereafter there is only Fire or Paradise. So whoever crosses the Sirat enters Paradise and is safe.