Ilm Fruits

The Fruits of Eman (10): Ease and Light Crossing the Sirat

Towards the end of Judgement Day--a day that will last 50 000 years (Surah Al-Maarij, verse 4)¹, after the judgement has been decreed, the people will have to cross the Sirat--a bridge sharper then a sword and thinner then a hair², that runs over Hell--in order to get to Jannah. People will fall off--there will be hooks like thorns of a size known only to Allah, to snag people into the Fire. Some people will be cut up into pieces as they fall into the Fire³.

In Surah Maryam, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished. (Surah Maryam, verse 71)⁴

That is--each and every single one of us must cross the Sirat. That's difficult enough--imagine doing it in complete darkness. Why? Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will destroy all lights. There will be no lights--no sun, no moon, no stars, nothing. And every human will be thrown into that darkness, a darkness we cannot even fathom. But there will be light--and where will that light come from.

Every human being will have a personal flashlight--his or her body will shine. The light is from their eman. The stronger the eman, the stronger the light shines.

In Surah Hadeed, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: One Day shalt thou see the believing men and the believing women- how their Light runs forward before them and by their right hands: (their greeting will be): "Good News for you this Day! Gardens beneath which flow rivers! to dwell therein for aye! This is indeed the highest Achievement!" (Surah Hadeed, verse 12)⁴

There will be so much light for the believers, they will be able to see everything, the whole horizon lit up for them. And they will race over the bridge faster then the speed of light, then faster then a galloping horse, then a sprinter, a walker, and a crawler⁵ until the person with the lowest level of eman crosses (he's at the fasiq point), his light will be so little that his big toe will flicker on. He'll take one step, and it'll flicker off. He'll freeze, not knowing if it will turn on again.⁶

We can express this in a simple equation: eman = faster crossing + brighter light. And crossing the bridge is a punishment--you look down and see the fire of Hell. And there will be hooks reaching out, hooks with thorns to snag the people destined for the Hellfire.

May Allah make us all among those who cross in the twinkling of an eye, and protect us from falling into the Hellfire, even for a moment.

Related Posts: Belief: A Beautiful Tree

(1) Muhammad, Pickthall M., trans. "Al-Maarij (the Ascending Stairways)." Al-Qur'an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic Text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/70.htm>.

(2) Ibn Kathir, comp. "Everyone Will Be Brought to Hell, Then the Righteous Will Be Saved." Tafsir.Com Tafsir Ibn Kathir. 26 Oct. 2002. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=19&tid=31598>.

(3) "Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 76: to Make the Heart Tender (Ar-Riqaq)." USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/076.sbt.html#008.076.577>.

(4) Pickthall, Muhammad M., trans. Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 1 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html>.

(5) "Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 1: the Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman), Chapter 81: the Way in Which the Believers Would See the Lord." USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/001.smt.html#001.0352>.

(6) Imam Ibn Ul Qayyim Al Jaw. "Commentary on the Verse of Light." Islam.Com. Trans. Michael A. Fitzgerald and Moulay Y. Slitine. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=659>.

(7) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.

• Belief: A Beautiful Tree
• Light of Eman Session 1
• The Fruits of Eman (8): Love
• The Fruits of Eman (7): Brotherhood
• The Fruits of Eman (9): Benefit From Advice

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1. “Announce good news to those walking to the Mosques in the darkness (for the morning and the night prayers) that they will have radiant light on the Day of Judgement.” [Abu Dawud]

   Comment by Abdullah — April 4, 2006 #

2. “Whoever guards it (his prayers), it will be a light, a proof and a (means of) salvation for him on the Day of Judgement.” [Reported by Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and At-Tabaraanee]

   Comment by Abdullah — April 4, 2006 #

3. Ibn Hibbaan (rah) said: “The sign that will mark the believer on the Day of Judgement is the brightness (of their faces) due to their ablution (wudoo’) in this world, causing a distinction between them and the rest of the nations. … This is in order that they may be known amidst that group for that deed. We ask Allaah to grant us blessing on that day.”
   Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan (8/211)

   Comment by Abdullah — April 4, 2006 #

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