THE PROPHET ILYAS (peace be upon him)
After the death of Prophet Sulaiman (peace be upon him) his kingdom was dismembered. There
was virtually the rule of Satan all around. The religious people were mocked at. The ruler
of Somaria killed a large number of learned people. When the evil reached the saturation
point, God sent the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) to reform mankind during the reign
of the king Ahab of Israel. He tried his best to save the people from polytheism. He
forbade them to worship the Tyrian Bal. He advised the people to ward off evil and worship
One God. When his efforts bore no fruit he suddenly appeared before the king and foretold
him that severe draught and famine would overtake his kingdom. He added that the Tyrian
Bal would be powerless to avert it. The people paid no heed to his warnings and did not
mend their ways. The prophecy of the Prophet Ilyas (peace de upon him) turned out to be
true and whole of the kingdom came under the sway of famine. The people began to starve.
After three years the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) supplicated to show mercy to the
famine stricken people. They acknowledged the authority of God and felt penitence. Soon
after the rain ended the draught and God lifted his curses After this he was directed by
God to call upon al-Yasa to be his successor. The Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) did so
in obedience to His command and disappeared mysteriously. The Holy Qur'an makes mention of
Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) in the following Verses:
"And commemorate Ismail, Ilyas and Dhul Kifl. Each of them was the companion of the
good." (38:48)
Copied from 'THE ISLAMIC SCHOLAR'