Islam is Beautiful

capter seventeen: the prophet ilyasa

Prophet Ilyas was the son of Yasin ibn Finhash and one of the descendants of the Prophet Aaron. He was sent by Allah SWT to be a Prophet and to be a guide for the Jordanians. He received the mandate to bring the Israelites back to the teaching of God. At that time the Israelites were famous for their idolatrous habit called Baal. The idol was in the middle of the city, so the city was nicknamed the city of Baalbak.

Quoted from the book The Story of the Prophet Ilyas AS In Islam, Muhammad Xenoryuki's work explained, Prophet Ilyas began his mission by preaching to the Children of Israel. He always reminded and invited the Children of Israel to return to the teachings of God. When the prophet Ilyas saw the fact that his people were worshipping the idol of Baal, the Prophet Ilyas said to his people, "Why do you not fear? Shall ye worship Baal and forsake the Creator (i.e.,) the God of thy Lord and the Lord of thy former fathers?". (QS As-Saffat verses 124-126).

Hearing the invitation of the prophet Ilyas, the Israelites were so angry that they said, "Hi Ilyas, you dare to ask our people to forsake our gods. Verily, we did this because our fathers had done so, too" cried the Children of Israel to the Prophet Ilyas.

Even the Children of Israel blatantly insulted and mocked the Prophet Ilyas. Even so, Prophet Ilyas remained patient and continued to preach to the Children of Israel.

Meanwhile, the Children of Israel conspired to get rid of the Prophet Ilyas. They chased and drove out the Prophet Ilyas. The prophet Ilyas was forced to move from one place to another to remove his tracks in order to avoid the evil of the Children of Israel. In his escape, the Prophet Ilyas arrived at a house inhabited by a kind family.

They accepted the Prophet Ilyas selflessly. At the time, one of the family members in the house was ill. That person was the Prophet Ilyasa who a few years later was sent to become a Prophet and accompany the proselytization of Prophet Ilyas.

When he was young, Ilyasa suffered from severe pain. Finally, the Prophet Ilyas prayed to Allah SWT to invoke the healing of Prophet Ilyasa. With the permission of Allah, Prophet Ilyasa recovered from his illness. The attitude of the Prophet Ilyas, in healing the Prophet Ilyasa made him interested in following the teachings of the Prophet Ilyas. After the Prophet Ilyasa saw that the Prophet Ilyas could cure his illness through the help of Allah SWT, it became evident to him to follow the teachings of Prophet Ilyas and worship Allah. Since then the Prophet Ilyas had a friend to preach.

Meanwhile, three years had passed since the Prophet Ilyas was driven out by the Israelites. The Children of Israel were in drought for three years, they suffered greatly from hunger and death became a daily sight. They had a lack of water, and lived a tormented life. In addition, many crops and livestock animals eventually died. The drought continues and there are no signs of when it will end. Finally some community leaders gathered and talked about the problem of drought in their city.

One of the Children of Israel said, "We have been commanded by Ilyas before. However, we do not care about it, even we throw it out. Now, what he said has happened to us". "Then what is your intention to avoid this torment?" replied one of the Children of Israel. "We must find Ilyas and repent to God. Then we ask Ilyas to ask God not to punish us" one of the Children of Israel said.

At that moment they flocked and determined to find the Prophet Ilyas, they hoped that the Prophet Ilyas could help them out of the long-standing suffering.

After a long search, the Israelites were finally able to find the Prophet Ilyas who had been accompanied by the Prophet Ilyasa. They pleaded with the Prophet Ilyas to help out of the suffering of the long drought that had befallen them over the past three years. The Children of Israel promised the Prophet Ilyas to believe in Allah and obey His commandments. Then they destroyed their idols. The children of Israel immediately believed in Allah.

Seeing the sufferings of the Children of Israel, finally the Prophet Ilyas was devastated because he could not bear to see their suffering. The Prophet Ilyas then prayed to Allah SWT that the Children of Israel be granted His mercy by pouring down rain. Soon, rain fell on the town of Baalbak. Plants began to grow, and people and animals began to be able to use water according to their needs. The children of Israel again lived prosperous and prosperous lives.

A few years later, however, the Israelites returned to their custom and reneged on their promise by returning to idolatry and using their possessions to do mischief. Finally, Ilyas prayed to Allah that the Children of Israel might have His punishment. Soon, they were struck by Allah SWT. 

He is also known to prefer to be in the forest and play with animals. Until the first revelation at the age of 35 years. He was asked to remind the king of Israel to return to God. The inhabitants of that country are said to have turned away from Allah and denied the teachings of Allah.That is because the Prophet Ilyas was called to be an invader of the teachings of Allah to the inhabitants of the land of Ba'labak. But let alone get attention, the Prophetic Prophetship of Ilyas is reciprocated with rejection for rejection. Even so Ilyas continued his preaching.

Ilyas also warned that the idols they worshipped would not be able to help when the inhabitants were punished. Apparently the warning of the Prophet Ilyas, it makes the population angry and disturbed. The inhabitants drove out Ilyas, and some even pelted the Prophet Ilyas with stones.

But Ilyas did not return their treatment. He continued to preach for the sake of da'wah despite reaping rejection. Until one day the inhabitants were furious and drove out the Prophet Ilyas for all eternity.

The prophet Ilyas hurried away and sought a hiding place. In the silence of his escape he prayed for protection and asked God to warn the people of Ba'labak.

Shortly after, Ba'labak was hit by a prolonged drought. This disaster took the lives of the inhabitants of Ba'labak state one by one. Disputes between residents also arise because of the struggle for food. Small problems can trigger big fights.

The people were angry and considered the disaster because of the arrival of Ilyas and the anger of their idols. In another source called the King of Israel asked the priests to pray to the idols so that the drought would soon be over. But the drought persisted, the Israelites were enraged and determined to hunt down the Prophet Ilyas.

While in the middle of his escape, the Prophet Ilyas found a house in the desert. Another source said, in the middle of the hideout Ilyas was sent to meet a mother who had a son. Ilyas stayed there, eating, drinking, sleeping and his days were spent in that house.

It was there that he was met with Ilyasa - who would later also be appointed as the Prophet of Allah. When Ilyas arrived, Ilyasa was suffering from severe pain for a long time.

By Allah's permission, Ilyas healed Ilyasa who was very ill at the time. The Prophet Ilyas prayed to Allah for healing for Ilyasa. Soon Ilyasa recovered and became the most faithful disciple of the Prophet Ilyas.Nabi Ilyas began to teach the religious sciences to Ilyasa. According to Dian Noviyanti's book, the first thing taught to ilyasa is tawhid.

"Tawhid is to exclude Allah SWT and not associate Him with anything. We must believe that Allah SWT is the only God worthy of worship" as written in the book "The Prophets; Acts of Wisdom 25 Prophets of Allah".

The Prophet Ilyas then resumed preaching accompanied by Ilyasa. In the midst of despair never ending the long drought, the people of Ba'labak this time began to listen to the Prophet Ilyas. They also gradually understood and returned to the teachings of Allah SWT.

It rained shortly after and made the people of Ba'labak glad because they longed for water from the sky. A few days later the plants began to grow, the animals got enough food and drink, the population was free from hunger and thirst.

From the story of the Prophet Ilyas, one of the imprints was his consistency of conveying what he considered to be true despite being rejected, insulted, reviled and expelled. Despite the time-consuming and long process, Ilyas' persistence bore fruit, the inhabitants of Ba'labak opened their hearts and minds.