~$ ls -l /bin/sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 2007-05-27 14:33 /bin/sh -> bash

-- the l in "lrwxrwxrwx" means symolic link

-- the permissions are always 777 for a symblic link (lrwxrwxrwx) <-- note all rwx

-- /bin/sh is a symbolic link the points to /bin/bash - i say /bin/bash, because  i am using ls in the /bin dir, and the "bash" binary is in the /bin dir

-- the "-> bash" (dash + arrow) signifies a symbolic link 

Test this;

ls -l /dev/disk/by-*

notice all that are symbolic links, and point to elsewhere