"And mentioned in the Book, Iddris Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet, And We[Allah] raised him to a high position." --- Qur'an chapter 19 verses-56-57
Our fourth in the series on [Delving Deep Inside the Islamic Historic Memory Lane] concluded last week with the birth of the first children of Adam and the incident leading to the first murder perpetrated by Qabil[Cain] against his bother Habil[Abel]. And the fifth series this week focuses on the short stories of Sheeth[Seth]and Iddris[Enoch] who were both prophets of Allah.
Sheeth, the second Prophet of Allah had a will from his father, Adam. And it was narrated that, "Allah revealed fifty holy scriptures on to him. And all the progeny of Adam came directly from the genetic root of Sheeth. Sheeth stayed in Makkha, performing Hajj and Ummrah. He complied all the books including those revealed to him and worked according to the spirit and letter of Allah's scriptures.
Some Incidents that Happened During the Prophethood of Sheethu
One of the incidents was the death of his mother Hawa, it was narrated that she lived for only a year after the death of her husband, Adam and she was buried next to his grave. And she remained there until when Prophet Noah exhumed their bodies from their graves, put them on a wooden casket and carried them on the special ship before the event of the "Great Flood." However, after the flood incident was over, Noah took the bodies back to their graves and reburied them.
It was also narrated that, Prophet Sheeth, the son of Adam built Ka'abah with stones and clay. And some people claimed that the minaret that was made for Adam was still there until the days leading to the "Great flood" of Noah.
The Beginning of Idol Worship
History has it that, when Qabil killed his brother Habil, he fled to Yamen, and the devil[Satan] came to him and said: The sacrifice of your brother was accepted because he used to serve the fire and worship, so you have to also lit a fire and do the same. He then built a house and lit fire and began to worship it, thereby becoming the first person to prepare the fire and worship it. Eventually, some of his children became fire worshippers,[ jababirah wa fara'enah]. And the entire progeny of Adam ended except the progeny of Prophet Sheeth.
And it was narrated that: Some of Qabil's children took to entertainment instruments such as clarinets[AI-mazaameer], drums[Al-[tubool], festivities[Al-'Eedan], mandolin/lute[Al-tanabeer], musical performances[Al-Ma'azif] and that influenced the children of Qabil to delve deep in amusement and a segment of the children of Sheeth joined them in this merrymaking and thereby indulged in immoral acts of fornication and adultery after drinking alcohol and getting drunk.
But in regards to Sheeth, he had a son by name Unoosh when his father Adam was alive. He advised and warned him against using political power influence in order to change the policies of his father which was made for his people. He was the first to plant date trees, seeds and crops. He was full of wisdom. And lived for 950 years.
Unoosh also had a son called Qainan during the time of Adam. Qainan also had a son called Mahlaaeel, Mahlaaeel had a son by name Yarad. Yarad also had a son by name Khanookh, who is popularly known as Iddris, the Prophet of Allah.
But Mahlaaeel, the son of Qianan was the first man during the time of Adam to invent and discover an iron and his people began to utilize it to create useful tools. And he was also first to discover mineral resources from the earth. He advocated for farming, and made clothing from the skin of lions. He authorized the slaughter of animals and established dos and don'ts. His kingdom lasted for forty years. He established a town called "Rayyi", the first town to be established after the town of "Juyoomirth", where he used to live at Dunba. He also discovered the town of Babylon and Soos, far from where he lived…When he went to India, they honored him with a crown on top of his head, he fought the deviant people and drove them far from town and brought the devout closer to him, his kingdom finally ended and was inherited by one of his sons, Tahmooruth.
However, as for Yard, father of Iddris, he lived for 900 years. And according a narrative account of Ibn Abbass: People worshipped idols during the time of Yard.
The Advent of Prophet Iddriss[Peace of Allah Be Upon Him]
As the Qur'an stated above, Allah had praised Iddris and granted him prophethood and truthfulness. In a hadith narrated by Mua'wiyah bunul Hakam Al-Salmi, when the Prophet[PBUH] was asked about writing by the sand, he said: "There used to be a Prophet who would write with the sand and whichever archival record matches this story [then that was Iddriss].
And Allah's statement: "And we have raised him to a high place", has also been mentioned in the two most authenticated books[Sahihil Bukhari & Sahihi Muslim]. In the hadith of Israe or ascension, where the Prophet[PBUH] was said to have passed by him on the fourth level of the heaven. And Imamu Hassnul Basari, a great sufi scholar of the tabi'een[next] generation after the companions of the Prophet is with the opinion that, the statement: "And we have raised him to a high place", is referring to the fact that, Allah placed him in Paradise.
According to Hisham bunul Sa-eb Al-Kalbi: When Adam died, his grand children, the children of Sheethu preserved his body in a cave in one of the mountains that Allah descended him on from Paradise, in India.
And in another narration, Hisham says: My father informed me according the narration of Abi Salih who obtained from Ibn Abbass who said: "The children of Sheethu would come closer to the body of Adam in the cave and would pay homage and seek mercy from him. Having seen this, one of the sons of children of Qabil said: The children of Sheethu have an object they rotate around and honor it and you[children of Qabil] have nothing. So he created an Idol for them to worship, thereby becoming the first ever man on earth to create an Idol.
And Hisham further revealed that, according to his father: There used to be some noble and pious people such as; Wuddu, Suwa', Yagooth, Ya'uq, Nasr. When they died and their families and neighbors became so worried and miserable about missing them, a man among the children of Qabil suggested to them that: I can create five idols in their own image, but I only cannot inject soul into them. They accepted and he then crafted and curved out five Idols for them as replica of their beloved departed ones. So since them, members of the families of the curved departed ones would come and walk around them, honoring them, until the end of that first century since the inception of human life on earth.
And this worship even intensified during the second century. And during the third century, they said: Our predecessors never honored those unless they were seeking their intercession from Allah, they therefore worshipped them, honored them and ended their [kufur] disbelieve became more intense. It was at this juncture that Allah Almighty sent them Iddriss as the Prophet, who warned and advice against Idol worship.
Hakim narrated in his "Mastadrak", that: "Iddriss was white, tall, heavy set with broad chest. He has small hair on his skin and huge hair on his head…Some scholars are with the opinion that, Iddriss was born in Babylon in Iraq, and other say, he was born in Egypt. But the most authentic view is he was born in Babylon, in Iraq.
However, in spite of the advice and warning by Iddriss, their Idol worship intensified until when Allah sent Prophet Noah and the great flood incident happened. The strong tidal waves of the flood carried away these Idols from the land and evacuated it to the land where the present day Jeddah[in Makkah] is located.
Iddriss was named as such[from the Arabic root word "daras", because he was the first to teach the wahyi or revelation of Allah in a written form. And according to Ibn Abbass, the third prophet of Allah was Iddriss [Peace of Allah be Upon him]. And his people used to worked for him more than they would work for the entire children of Adam in a year. Then the devil[Satan] became jealous of him and tempted his people to rebel him. Allah then raised him to a lofty rank and place him in Paradise.
And it was narrated that: "Four of the prophets of Saryanoon are: Adam, Sheethu, Iddriss and Noah".
Historians say: Allah had informed Iddriss about the life of his grandfather Adam, by then Adam had already spent 622 years. He revealed on him three scriptures, he called his people, preached to them and commanded them to obeyed Allah and disobeyed the devil[Satan].He advised them not to mingle with the children of Qabil, but they disobeyed him and he fought them and took some of them as captives.
He was the first to write with a pen, cut a cloth and sew it. So Allah took him up to Paradise when he was 365 years of age, while his father was alive. And he[the father] lived 135 years after he was taken up to Paradise. This was after his people rebel against him and refused to abide by dos and don'ts in the scriptures revealed to him.
According to a narrative by Zaid bun Aslam: People used to work for Iddris as they used to work for the rest of the children of Adam. Then an Angle of death appeared to him and sort permission to reside closer to him, and he granted him that permission. He once appeared to him in the image of Adam, in a[sujud] prostrated manner. When he noticed him[the Angel], he said to him: I need something from you, he asked him what and Iddris said: I want to have a taste of death, to know its severity so that, I would be well prepared for it. Then Allah suddenly commanded the Angel to snatch his soul for one hour and bring him back to life. And when he came back to life he asked him: How did you see it? He said: More severe than I knew about it. And he said: I want you to show me the Hell Fire. The Angle carried him and showed it to him. And he again asked him to show him Paradise. He showed it to him and he entered and began wandering and roaming around in it. Then the Angel commanded him: Get out! And he said: "Wallahi! laa akhruj hattah yakuna laha ta'lay akhrujni", "By Allah! I will not get out, unless Allah Himself took me out of it". Then Allah sent an Angel to judge between them. He asked the Angel of death what happened and he narrated his story and asked Iddris to give his account also. Iddris said: Allah Almighty said in Qur'an chapter 3 verse 185 that: "Each soul shall taste death" and I have tasted it, and he also said in Qur'an chapter 19 verse 71 that: "And there is none of you except he will come to it". and He also said to the companions of Paradise in Qur'an chapter 15 verse 48 that: "They[people of Paradise would not be removed". So by Allah! I will not get out until Allah himself took me out. And he[the Angel] heard a voice from above him echoing: "Be iznii dakhal, wa be amrii fa'al, fa khali sabilahu!", that, "He entered [Paradise] with my permission, and did what he did, so move away from him!"And they will never be removed from it." And someone says, where did Iddris got this verse? The answer is: Allah knows what would have happen, and He prohibited moving out from Paradise, and above all, he inspired him to say these direct verses from the Qur'an.
Husseini Yushau BabalWaiz, is the Research & Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Media & Peace Initiatives Inc. New York, Author of three books, including "Islam Promotes Tolerance & Prohibits Terrorism-Reviving the Islamic Advocacy of Mercy and Magnanimity to Mankind" & Tutor in Arabic & Islamic Studies in New York, babalwaiz71@gmail.com
NB: Folks, this is the third in the new series entitled: "Delving Deep Inside the Islamic Historic Memory Lane", which will be running for months, even years, aimed at showcasing the amazing historical phenomena that happened in the pre and post Islamic world. Next week, our discourse will dwell on Prophet Noah. Inform your colleagues, families and friends to follow me on facebook [husseini baba alwaiz] and twitter[@babalwaiz], weekly.
References:
Al-Bidayah Wal-Nihayah, [The Beginning & The End] by Abil Fadah, Imam Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Al-Muntazim-Fii Tareekhil Umam Wal-Mulook, [Periodical on the History of[medieval] Societies & Kingdoms] by, Abil Faraj, Abdul Rahman Bun Aliyi Bun Muhammad Ibnil Jawzi
Qisasil Anbiyah,[Stories of the Prophets] by Abil Fadah, Imam Hafiz Ibn Kathir
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