Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

The word sirat means path, occurring 45 times in the Koran. The word sirat is said to be a loan word from Latin, strata. The word mustaqim means straight, is more frequent in the Koran, being used either with sirat for 21 times or with tariq means path. The way of God is also termed as sirat sawiyy (19:43, 20:135) or in the genitive phrase, sawa al-sirat (38:22) or sawa al-sabil (28:22, 60:1). It connotes the path of the true believers, of the righteous or the blessed: "And (know) that this is My path, the right one (sirat al-mustaqim), therefore follow it, and follow not (other) ways, for they will lead you away from His way" (6:153), "Hold fast therefore to that which has been revealed to you; surely you are on the right path" (43:43), "Have We not given him two eyes, and a tongue and two lips, and shown him the two highways. But he has made not haste on the path that is steep. And what will explain to you the path that is steep?" (90:8-12), and "And who holds fast to God he indeed is guided unto a right path" (3:101). According to Tafsir al-Muttaqim (p. 3), Imam Jafar Sadik said, "The Straight Path is the belief in Ali and his Imamate." The Prophet also said, "O'Ali! If, through you, God leads a soul along the right path, you will like it more than anyone who likes to have the sun rise for him" (Bukhari, 5:22).