Prophet Idris

The story of Idris in the Quran

"Mention in the Book Idris: he was a truthful man, a prophet, and We raised him to a high station" (Maryam, 56-57)

Surah Maryam, 56-57

Allah praised Idris (peace be upon him) and described him with prophethood and truthfulness. He is Enoch (Khanokh), who appears in the lineage of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), according to more than one genealogist. He was the first of the sons of Adam to be given prophethood after Adam and Shith (peace be upon them). Ibn Ishaq reported that he was the first to write with a pen, and that he lived three hundred and eight years of Adam's life

Some people said: he is the one referred to in the hadith of Muawiya ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, when he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about writing on sand and he answered: "There was a prophet who used to write with it; whoever's writing matches his, he is the one." And many historians and scholars claim he was the first to speak of it, and call him Hermes Hermesus (Hermes the thrice-wise), attributing to him many fabrications, as they have lied about other prophets, scholars, sages and saints.

The raising of Idris to a high station

Allah the Most High said: "and We raised him to a high station. It is established in the two Sahihs, in the hadith of the night journey, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by him and found him in the fourth heaven. Ibn Jarir reported, from Hilal ibn Yasaf who was present: Ibn Abbas questioned Ka'b, asking him: "What does the verse of Allah about Idris mean: and We raised him to a high station? Ka'b replied: "Allah revealed to Idris: every day I will raise for you the like of all the works of the sons of Adam, hoping to place him among the people of his time – and he loved to increase his works.

A friend among the angels came to him and said: Allah has revealed such-and-such to me; speak to the angel of death to delay your term so you may increase your works. He carried him between his wings and ascended with him to the sky; at the fourth heaven he met the angel of death coming down, and Idris spoke to him about what he had spoken of. The angel of death asked: where is Idris? – He is here, on my back.

The angel of death said: how strange – I was sent and told: take the soul of Idris in the fourth heaven, and I said: how can I take his soul in the fourth heaven while he is on earth! And there he took his soul. That is the verse: and We raised him to a high station."

Some versions add: Idris asked that angel to ask the angel of death how much of his life remained; the angel of death, who was with him, looked and said: "You ask me about a man of whose life nothing remains but the blink of an eye." The angel looked under his wing at Idris, and behold: his soul had already been taken without his noticing. All of this belongs to the Israelite narrations, some of which contain strange elements. Ibn Abi Najih reported from Mujahid, concerning the verse "and We raised him to a high station": "Idris was raised and did not die, just as Issa was raised." If he means he has not died to this day, that view requires examination; if he means he was raised alive to the sky and his soul was taken there, it does not contradict what preceded from Ka'b.

The era of Idris and his place among the prophets

Allah knows best. Al-Awfi reported from Ibn Abbas, concerning the verse: "he was raised to the sixth heaven and died there"; al-Dahhak said the same; but the hadith agreed upon in the two Sahihs – that he was in the fourth heaven – is more authentic, and it is the view of Mujahid and others. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "to Paradise." Others said: "he was raised during the lifetime of his father Yarad ibn Mahlalil, and Allah knows best."

Some have claimed that Idris did not live before Noah but in the time of the children of Israel. Al-Bukhari reports that it is said from Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas that Eliya (Elijah) is Idris, drawing on the hadith of al-Zuhri, from Anas, of the night journey: when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by him (peace be upon him), he said: "Welcome to the righteous brother and the righteous prophet" – without saying, as for Adam and Ibrahim: "Welcome to the righteous prophet and the righteous son." They inferred that had he been in his lineage, he would have said as he did for the two. But this does not necessarily indicate that: the narrator may not have retained the wording well, or the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) may have said it out of modesty and humility, without standing in the position of sonship, as he stood for Adam, father of mankind, and Ibrahim, the friend of the Merciful, the greatest of the men of resolve after Muhammad – may the blessings of Allah be upon them all.