The dove asked, "O Clay, my brother, who was sent, after Ezekiel's death?" Clay said, "After Allah took Ezekiel, then He sent Elijah, then proceeded by Elisha. During the early part of Elisha's life, he used to be in the company of Elijah. After the demise of Elijah, Allah appointed him as a prophet for the guidance of Bani Israel. He continued to guide Bani Israel in the same way that Elijah did. Among the Israelites, there were quite a few cases where a prophet stayed in the company of another and was later appointed to the same office. From this, we deduce that the company of the pious is a sure means towards getting to righteousness.
From Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Jarir said, "When Allah took Ezekiel, misdeeds became great among the Israelites. They forgot what had been Allah's covenant with them, to the extent that they erected idols and worshiped them instead of Allah. Then Allah sent to them Elijah bin Yasin bin Phineas bin Eleazar bin Aaron. It was said, Elijah was sent to the inhabitants of Baalbek, now in one of the cities in Lebanon, formerly part of Ash-Sham, West of Damascus. After Moses, the prophets of the Israelites were sent to them only with a renewal of what they had forgotten of the Torah. Elijah was with one of the kings of the Israelites named Ahab, whose wife's name was Jezebel. He would listen to Elijah and believe him, and Elijah would keep his affairs in order, while the remainder of the Israelites had adopted an idol that they worshiped instead of Allah, called "Baal." Some sages say that Baal was only a woman whom they worshiped instead of Allah. Allah says,
"And indeed, Ilyas was from among the messengers, when he said to his people, "Will you not fear Allah ? Do you call upon Ba'l and leave the best of creators - Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers?" - [QS.37:123-126]Elijah began to call them to Allah, but they would not listen to anything from him, only what came from the king. Now kings were scattered throughout Syria, each one exploiting one of its regions. One day, the king with whom Elijah was, keeping his affairs in order and considering him alone among his fellow rulers to be rightly guided, said, "O Elijah! By god, I consider what you are urging as nothing but delusion. By god! I do not believe that so-andso and so-and-so (enumerating some of the kings of the Israelites) who worshiped the idols instead of Allah, are faring any differently than we do, eating, drinking, enjoying life, given rule, not losing any of their temporal possessions, because of their stance, which you claim is delusion, while we do not see that we have any advantage or superiority over them."
It was said-but Allah knows best-that Elijah was taken aback and his hair and skin stood up. Then he abandoned Ahab and left. The king then performed the deeds of his peers, worshiping idols and doing what they did. Elijah said, "O my Rabb! Verily the Israelites accept only disbelief in You and worship of another, so change Your favor toward them." Elijah was inspired, "We have placed the matter of the sources of their sustenance in your hands, so that it will be you who will give orders regarding their lives." So Elijah said, "My Rabb! Hold back rain from them!" And it was withheld for three years, until the beasts of burden, cattle, insects, and trees were destroyed and people led miserable lives. After Elijah called down this order upon the Israelites, he went into hiding, fearing for his life. Wherever he was, sustenance was sent down to him. Whenever people detected the smell of bread in a house, they would say, "Elijah must have entered that place!" They would search for him, and the people of that dwelling would suffer at their hands. One night, he sought shelter with an Israelite woman who had a son named Elisha bin Akhtub, who suffered some injury. She gave Elijah shelter and hid him. So Elijah prayed for her son, and he was cured of his injury. Then Elisha followed Elijah, believing in him and holding him to be truthful. He clung to him and went with him wherever he went. Elijah had become aged and grown old, while Elisha was still a young lad.
Then the Israelites asked him to relieve them from that, and promised that they would believe in him if rain came to them. It was said-but Allah knows best-that Elijah said, "Verily you have been destroyed by misfortune, and the beasts, cattle, birds, insects, and trees have been destroyed because of your sins. Verily you are following delusion and falsehood" - ... - "and if you would like to know this and to know that Allah is angry at what you are doing and to know that what I have been urging upon you is the truth, then bring out these idols that you worship , which you claim are better than what I urge upon you. If they respond to you, then it is as you say. But, if they do not act, then you will know that you are deluded and should abandon them. Then I will pray to Allah, and He will relieve you of the distress you are suffering, "They said, "You are acting justly." So they brought out their idols and abominations with which they sought Allah's favor and which He did not accept. They prayed to them, but they were not answered, nor were they relieved of the distress in which they were, so they realized the extent of their error and falsehood. Then they said to Elijah, "O Elijah! We are perishing. Pray to Allah for us."
So Elijah prayed for their relief, that they be given rain. A cloud, like a shield, came forth over the surface of the sea, with Allah's permission, while they were watching. Then the clouds rushed toward him, and it became overcast, whereupon Allah sent the rain and watered them. Their land was revived, and He relieved them of the distress they were in. But they did not abandon their idols or repent, but continued in the worst of their deeds.
What was the end of Elijah's life? Still disputed, because the rest of the story included in the Israeliyat category that cannot be justified and cannot be denied. Even explicitly, the story was far from the truth.
After Elijah, Elisha was made a prophet among the Israelites. He was among the Israelites to a certain extent, calling on them to Allah, until Allah take him to death. After that, the leaders of the Israelites took turns. There were various events and big mistakes between them. Many people turned up dissent and they also killed the prophets.
Elisha is only mentioned twice in the Qur’an. Allah says,
"And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot - and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds. And [some] among their fathers and their descendants and their brothers - and We chose them and We guided them to a straight path." - [QS.6:86-87]And Allah also says,
"And remember Ishmael, Elisha and Dhul-Kifl, and all are among the outstanding. This is a reminder. And indeed, for the righteous is a good place of return. Gardens of perpetual residence, whose doors will be opened to them." - [QS.38:48-50]Whoever accompanying the righteous, he too gets a share from their goodness. See when the dog of Ashab al-Kahf loved them and followed them closely as if appended with them, Allah mentioned it in the Quran. And so as Elisha, he is mentioned in the Quran among the prophets.
Then the clay said, "O my brothers and sisters, accompanying righteous people is also one of the characteristics of the Salaf. From the morals and manners of the Salaf, it was their ardent zeal for the sake of Allah to support the pure Sharee'ah and sense of dishonour if anyone entered into the forbidden. So, they would never do an action nor accompany anyone without knowing whether the pleasure of Allah was there or not, never hating anyone or loving them for a worldly reason. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
"Whoever possesses three qualities will have the sweetness of faith; the one to whom Allah and His Messenger becomes dearer than anything else; who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's Sake; who hates to revert to disbelief as he hates to be thrown into the Fire." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]The Prophet (ﷺ) also said,
"Whoever loves for Allah and hates for Allah, gives for Allah and withholds for Him, has completed his faith." [Sunan Abi Dawood]Ahmad ibn Harb, rahimahullah, said,
"There is nothing more beneficial to a Muslim's heart than to mix with the righteous and to watch their actions, while nothing is more harmful to the heart than mixing with the sinners and watching their actions."Abu Hatim gave this advice.
Reference :"The wise person, whom Allah has granted the companionship of another Muslim whose friendship is sincere, should hold onto that friend. He should keep relations with this friend even if he severed them, go to him if he went away, give him even if he did not give, draw close to him if he withdrew far away, and in short, act as ifhe was one ofhis friend's pillars."Malik bin Dinar said,
"Every companion and friend from whom you do not earn a religious benefit then discard him and his friendship."Therefore, the Dien is the true scale with which you could and should weigh all things, people and statements. Otherwise, one will end up with unsuccessful and evil choices. This neither means that you would be able to find error-free friends and companions nor that one should discard his friends if any error occurs by them. And Allah knows best."
"And We left for him [favorable mention] among later generations. "Peace be upon Ilyasin." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good." - [QS.37:129-131]
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume VIII, Darussalam
- The History of al-Tabari, The Children of Israel, Volume III, Translated by William M. Brinner, SUNY Press.
