The Author

Introduction

Tract on The Beliefs of The Shi'a Imamiya

The Belief of The Imamiya Concerning Tawhid

Attributes Of (His) Essence And Of (His) Actions

Belief Concerning Taklif (Responsibility)

The Belief In Respect Of Human Actions

Regarding the Denial of Both Constraint And Delegation

The Belief Concerning (Allah's) Intention (Irada) And Will (Mashi'a)

Concerning (qada') Destiny And Decree (qadar)

Concerning Man's Original Nature (fitra)  And His True Guidance (hidaya)

Belief In The Capacity Of Human Beings (al-istita'a)

Regarding the Source of Creation (mabda' )

Concerning Abstention From Disputation (jadal) And Contention About Allah (mira')

Concerning The Tablet (lawh) And The Pen (qalam)

Regarding The Chair (Kursi)

Concerning The Throne

Concerning Souls (nufus) And Spirits (arwah )

Concerning Death (mawt )

Concerning The Questioning In The Grave

Concerning Resurrection (Raj'a)

Concerning Return (Ba'th) After Death

Concerning The Pond (al-Hawd)

Concerning Intersession (ash-shafa'a)

Concerning The Promise (al-wa`d) And The Threat (al-wa'id)

Concerning What is Written Against The Slave

Concerning Justice (al-'adl)

Concerning Purgatory (al-A'raf)

Concerning The Bridge (as-Sirat)

Passes On the Road to Mahshar

Concerning The Reckoning (al-hisab) And The Scales (al-mawazin)

Concerning The Garden (al-janna) And The Fire (an-nar)

The Manner Of Descent Of Revelation (nuzulu'l-wahy)

Revelation Of The Qur'an In The Night Of Power

The Belief Concerning The Qur'an

Concerning the Extent of The Qur’an

Concerning Prophets Apostles, Imams And Angels

The Number of Prophets And Vicegerents

Concerning Infallibility ('isma)

The Denial Of Excess And Delegation

Belief Concerning Evil Doers

Concerning Dissimulation (Taqiyya)

The Ancestors Of The Prophet

Concerning The Alids ('alawiya)

Concerning Reports Detailed And Summary

Concerning Prohibition And Permission

Concerning The Reports Regarding Medicine

Concerning Two Divergent Traditions

This text is a translation of one of the most important works of Shayh
Saduq; it presents a summary of all of the core tenets of the Shi'ite
creed.


A Shi'ite Creed

Concerning The Bridge (as-Sirat)
================================

Says the Shaykh Abu Ja'far: Our belief concerning the Bridge
*(as-sirat)* [^1] is that it is true, and that it is the bridge over
Hell. It is the place from which the whole of mankind will pass. Allah
the Mighty and Glorious says:

***“There is not one of you but shall go down unto it. That is a fixed
ordinance of thy Lord” (Qur'an 19:71)***.

According to another view, as-sirat means the name of the Imams
(literally, proofs)[^2] of Allah. And to him who knows them and obeys
them in this world, Allah will grant permission (to traverse) the path,
which is the bridge over Hell, on the Day of Resurrection-the Day of
Regret and Contrition. And the Prophet said to Ali: O 'Ali, on the Day
of Resurrection, I shall sit near the Bridge with you and Gabriel, and
no one will cross the Bridge unless he can produce a writ (of
absolution)[^3] by reason of devotion ( walaya) to you.

[^1]: Lit. "path", but here "bridge". Fully explained in MC, 232-233. It
is a thin ridge over Hell; the wicked will fall, but the righteous will
escape. Macdonald, 296 (Ash'ari). It is "sharper than a sword and finer
than a hair", loc. cit., 306 (al-Ghazali), 311 (Nasafi), 349 (Fudali);
BHA, no.224; KP, 107. According to Ibnu'l-\`Arabi, "the sirat is the
straight path of the Divine Essence on which everything \`walks' because
it is the source whence all things come and whither all things return,"
Affifi, 164-165.

[^2]: For hujja in the sense of Imam, see FC, 8 and this is clearly
explained in art. 38. The Imam is the Proof of Allah on earth, KP, 22
and at numerous other places. For a full discussion, MB, S.V. حج

[^3]: MC, 168 mentions this note of credit.


