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() is, according to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, the bridge over which every person must pass on the () in order to enter (). It is not mentioned in the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
, but described in the
Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
. is said to be thinner than a strand of hair and as sharp as the sharpest knife or sword (because of its danger). Below this path are the fires of Hell, which burn the sinners to make them fall. Those who performed acts of goodness in their lives are transported across the path at speeds according to their deeds leading them to the ().


Etymology

Early Muslim writers were uncertain on how to spell this word as it was rendered , and . They were equally uncertain of its gender. It appears ultimately to be the Hellenised of (), which entered Arabic via .


Background

On Judgement Day, after the dead have been resurrected, assembled, and judged by God, the saved and the damned now being clearly distinguished, the souls will traverse over hellfire via the bridge of . The faithful will "move easily and swiftly across a broad path", led first of all by Muhammad and other leading lights of the community on their way to ; those judged guilty of sin but still considered to be () will fall from the bridge into () but remain there only for a limited period of purgation; unbelievers, however, will find the bridge has become "sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair" and darkness blinds their way. Their inevitable fall from the bridge will be an "inescapable descent" into their fiery destination of everlasting punishment.


Quran

This specific event is not mentioned in the Quran but is said to be based on verses Q.36:66 and Q.37:23-24, although both sets "are rather indefinite". Only Q.37:23-24 mentions hell in the form of .
On this Day We will seal their mouths, their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they used to commit. Had We willed, We could have easily blinded their eyes, so they would struggle to find their way. How then could they see?
˹They will be told,˺ "This is the Day of ˹Final˺ Decision which you used to deny." ˹Allah will say to the angels,˺ "Gather ˹all˺ the wrongdoers along with their peers, and whatever they used to worship instead of Allah, then lead them ˹all˺ to the path of Hell []. And detain them, for they must be questioned." ˹Then they will be asked,˺ "What is the matter with you that you can no longer help each other?" Q.37:21-25
Neither set of verses mentions a bridge nor falling into hell, but "was adopted into Islamic tradition to signify the span over , the top layer of the Fire". In the about "the bridge" or a bridge to hell or a bridge between heaven and hell, or over hell. According to one Sahih al-Bukhari hadith:
"... We, the companions of the Prophet said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the bridge?' He said, "It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (Looks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends. Such a thorny seed is found in and is called . Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down going into Hell. The last person will cross by being dragged over the bridge."


In other religions

"The idea of a bridge crossing to the underworld has found expression in a number of different religious traditions" In
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
, a version of this doctrine is espoused by of Alexandria in , where he interprets " Jacob's ladder" as symbolic of the aerial realm, the air between heaven and earth, through which departed spirits ascend before either united to God or falling back to earth to be reincarnated. The Zohar also seems to have a similar view. (Zohar 1, 99a & b)
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
also has this idea. The Chinvat bridge, which occurs in the Gathas of Zarathushtra, has many similarities and is a close concept to . S.G.F. Brandon quotes the
" ... pursued by the malevolence of the evildoer Wrath who bears a bloody spear, (the soul) will come to the Bridge of the Requiter, lofty and dreadful, for thither must saved and damned alike proceed." The Chinvat Bridge is also referred to many times in both Avestan and Pahlavi literature.
Certain forms of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
also feature a similar bridge or passage, such as the Brig of Dread in folk
Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...
, or the passage through the aerial toll houses in
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
. Manichaeism calls this path to heaven or paradise the "Pillar of Glory" and identifies it with the Milky Way. Like the versions of this doctrine in and the Kabbalah, the Manichaean account entails reincarnation as a possibility resulting from falling off the path or turning back.


Cultural references

American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
author
Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, ...
adopted the idea for his novel ''
Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
''. In the Orange Catholic Bible, life is described as a journey across the , with "Paradise on my Right, Hell on my Left, and the Angel of Death Behind". There is a Persian curse "meet you tSirat".پل صراط
cgie.org.ir (in Persian)


See also

* Silat Bridge - a Yazidi sacred bridge in Lalish, Kurdistan, Iraq * Vaitarani (mythology) - a mythological river * Styx - a similar concept in Greek mythology


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirat Islamic cosmology Islamic eschatology Islamic terminology Mythological bridges