SIRAT. صراط
Lit. “A road.” The word occurs in the Qur’an thirty-eight times in nearly all of which it is used for the Siratu ‘l-Mustaqim, or the “right way” of religion. In Muslim traditions and other writings it is more commonly used for the bridge across the infernal fire, which is described as finer than a hair and sharper than a sword, and is beset on each side with briars and hooked thorns. The righteous will pass over it with the swiftness of the lightning, but the wicked will soon miss their footing and will fall into the fire of hell (Mulla’ Ali Qari, p. 110.)
The Jews, also, believed in the bridge of hell, which is no broader than a thread, over which idolaters must pass (Midrash,Yalkut, Reubeni, sect Gehinnora.)
Lit. “A road.” The word occurs in the Qur’an thirty-eight times in nearly all of which it is used for the Siratu ‘l-Mustaqim, or the “right way” of religion. In Muslim traditions and other writings it is more commonly used for the bridge across the infernal fire, which is described as finer than a hair and sharper than a sword, and is beset on each side with briars and hooked thorns. The righteous will pass over it with the swiftness of the lightning, but the wicked will soon miss their footing and will fall into the fire of hell (Mulla’ Ali Qari, p. 110.)
The Jews, also, believed in the bridge of hell, which is no broader than a thread, over which idolaters must pass (Midrash,Yalkut, Reubeni, sect Gehinnora.)
Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam
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