THE PROPHET AL-YASA (ELISHA) (peace be upon him)
Al-Yasa has been mentioned twice in the Holy Qur'an:
And commemorate Ismail, Elisha and Dhul-kifl; each of them was of the company of! the
good. (58:48)
And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Ilyas all in the ranks of the righteous; and Ismail
and Elisha (Al-Yasa) and Jonas and Lot; each have We preferred above the nations. (To
them) and their fathers and progeny and brethren, We chose them and We guided them to a
straight way. (6: 85-87)
The commentators give no account of him except that he was the son of Ukhtub. The Bible
says that his father was Shaphat.
Al-Yasa was the cousin and spiritual successor of the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him).
One day Ilyas (peace be upon him) passed through the fields while the owner (Al-Yasa) was
busy in ploughing. No sooner had the owner seen the Prophet than he abdicated his own work
and approached Ilyas (peace be upon him) in hot haste. Al-Yasa began to follow him. The
Prophet was much surprised and remarked: Why do you accompany me after leaving your own
work? Al-Yasa retraced his steps and fetched his ox. He slaughtered it, lit the fire and
cooked the beef. He fed Ilyas, his companions and many other guests to seek the pleasure
of Allah. The Prophet was much pleased with the host for his sincerity, hospitality and
righteousness. When Ilyas(peace be upon him) was about to depart, Al-Yasa expressed his
keen desire to live in the company of his honourable guest during the rest of his life and
serve him whole heartedly as a humble servant. As the noble attitude of Al-Yasa had
enamoured Ilyas (peace be upon him), the latter accorded him permission without
hesitation. When the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) was on his death-bed, he wished to
bid him farewell. AL-Yasa was not prepared to leave him. Then Ilyas (peace be-upon him)
asked him to express any of his desires to be fulfilled. Al-Yasa said: I wish that Allah
may bestow blessings upon me in the same way as He has blessed you. The Prophet Ilyas
(peace be upon him) supplicated and invoked blessings of Allah upon his successor. His
prayer was granted. Allah chose Al-Yasa as His Prophet after the death of Ilyas (peace be
upon him). He derived spiritual magnificence from the company of his guide and became the
favourite of Allah.
After some time he proceeded to Yariha to preach the religion of Allah. The inhabitants of
that locality gave him a warm reception. At that time they were under the spell of
starvation. The land was barren and water was not available. Al-Yasa (peace be upon him)
supplicated to Allah to show mercy to the famine-stricken people. His prayer was granted
and Allah showered his bounties upon them.
Copied from 'THE ISLAMIC SCHOLAR'