Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran: «وَإِن مِّنكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَّقْضِيًّا﴾“And there is none of you but that he will pass through it. This [promise] is a decree upon your Lord. Then We will deliver the righteous and leave the wrongdoers in it, exhausted.”
It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, none of those who swore allegiance under the tree will enter Hell.” The Mother of the Believers, Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her), asked: “O Messenger of Allah, did not Allah, the Exalted, say: «وَإِن مِّنكُم إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا» ‘And there is none of you but that he will pass through it?’” He replied: “Have you not heard what Allah, the Exalted, says further: «ثُمَّ نُنْجِيَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جَثِيًّا» ‘Then We will save the righteous and leave the wrongdoers in it, exhausted.’”
The Mufasir of the Aqeedah at-Tahawiyya writes: “The Mufasireen have differed in the interpretation of this verse regarding its meaning. The strong and obvious view is that it refers to crossing the bridge of Sirat.”
Prophetic Hadiths
It is narrated from Hasan that Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) once spoke of the fire of Hell and began to cry. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “What made you cry?” She replied: “I remembered the fire of Hell, and it made me cry. Will you remember your family and relatives on the Day of Judgment?” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “But in three places, no one will remember anyone else: when the scales are weighed, so that he knows whether his deeds are light or heavy; and when the book of deeds is read, at which point it is said to him: ‘Take and read your book,’ so he knows where his book will be placed, whether it will be given to his right, left, or behind him; and on the bridge of Sirat, when he will be on both sides of Hell.”
Amr ibn Sulayman narrated from Abu Sa’eed (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “The bridge of Sirat is placed in the midst of Hell on thorny plants, and then people will cross it. Some will be saved and remain safe, some will be injured but saved, and some will be stuck and fall into Hell.”
It was narrated from Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The slogan of the believer on the Sirat will be: ‘O Lord, keep him safe, keep him safe.’”
In another narration from Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her), she asked: “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the entire earth is in His grip, and the heavens are rolled up in His hand. Where will the believers be on that Day?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: “They will be on the bridge of Sirat, O Ayesha.”
Ijma (Consensus) of the Ummah
Allamah Ash’ari writes in his book “Risalat Ila Ahl al-Thaghr”: “Ijma fortieth: The righteous predecessors are unanimous that the bridge of Sirat is a bridge that extends over Hell, and that the servants will cross it according to their deeds. They differ only in the speed of crossing it.”
Allama Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) states: “The predecessors are unanimous in affirming the existence of the bridge of Sirat.”
The Sayings of Scholars
Allama Saffarini (may Allah have mercy on him) articulated the view of the people of truth regarding the Sirat Bridge as follows: “In general, everyone agrees on the existence of the Sirat Bridge; however, the people of truth affirm it based on its description, stating that it is a bridge spread over Hell, sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair.”
Abul-Hasan Ash’ari (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “The scholars are unanimous that the Sirat is a long bridge over Hell and that the servants will cross it according to the extent of their deeds, differing only in the speed of their crossings.”
Qazi Ayaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “In this regard… the truthfulness of the issue of the Sirat Bridge and belief in it has been unanimously accepted by the Salaf (predecessors) without justification or interpretation. Allah the Almighty knows best about its truth.”
Allama Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote after mentioning the hadiths regarding the Sirat Bridge: “The hadiths that were mentioned prove the existence of the Sirat Bridge, and the school of thought of the people of truth serves as its proof.”
Khashish ibn Asram (may Allah have mercy on him) (died 253 AH), one of the early scholars, stated: “Those who deny the Sirat Bridge and the fact that Allah allows someone to cross it oppose the evidence.”
Imam Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “We believe in resurrection, the reward of deeds on the Day of Judgment, presence on that Day, the reckoning of deeds, the reading of the book of deeds, the rewards, and punishments, the Bridge of Sirat, and the Scales.”
Ibn Zamnin (may Allah have mercy on him) remarked: “The Sunnis believe in the Bridge of Sirat, and they also believe that people will cross it on the Day of Judgment according to the extent of their deeds.”
Note: The evidence of the Ahl-sunnah wa-al Jama’ah to prove the Bridge of Sirat is very numerous; however, we have limited ourselves here to a portion of this evidence to avoid making the investigation overly lengthy and tedious.
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