The Holy Quran says: Also mention in the Book the case of Idris: He was a man of truth (and sincerity), (and) a prophet: And We raised him to a lofty station. (19:56-57)
Idris the prophet was one of the great grandsons of Prophet Sheth, and in the 5th generation of the Prophet Adam. He was born a century after the death of Prophet Adam, in Babylon. He was the third Prophet of Almighty God. He was called Idris because he used to teach about the wisdom of Almighty God, by inviting people to worship the Unique God and avoid committing sins. He preached the true religion (Islam). It has been stated that Prophet Idris introduced the art of writing and the art of stitching (Tailoring). He was the first man to make weapons. He also explained measuring the weights by a balance, unknown to the people. It was Prophet Idris who spoke to the people about the mysterious knowledge of the planets. He explained to them about the earth, the sky, the phenomenal creation, the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds and instructed them to worship the Creator of all these things.
In his early Prophethood, a cruel oppressing king was ruling over Idris’s tribe. He forcefully and oppressively dispossessed people of their lands and properties. Once, when the king went out of his palace for merrymaking, he happened to reach a green beautiful meadow. So he asked his ministers:
“Who is the owner of this meadow?”One of his ministers replied, “Your Highness, it is possessed by a faithful man who believes in the Unique God. He lives some where around here.”
King: “Anyway, it's a nice land, and we shall possess it.”
Minister: “You shall have whatever you wish, Your Majesty.”
King: “Bring him to my presence but right away.”
The agents of the king found the faithful man and brought him to his presence. The king, giving him a glance proudly, said: “Is this land yours?”
Faithful man replied: “Yes, it is.”
King: “All right, you must cede this land to me.”
Faithful man: “But I have a family who needs it and its benefits much more than you do.”
King: “So sell it to me and get the money.”
Faithful man: “I can’t, my whole family depends on this land.”
The more the king insisted on buying the land, the stronger rejected the idea. Finally the King got angry and ordered to kill the faithful man and dispossessed his land. The news of this event was over spread until Prophet Idris was also informed of that. Coming to know that, he went to the King and said, “Was not it enough to kill a subject of God? You then dispossessed him of the land, his only property, and put his family into misery too. Beware! For Almighty God will take revenge on you and you shall be deprived of your kingdom.”
The king said: “Get out of here before I order to kill you too!” Prophet Idris left, but the queen decided to send some men after him to kill him. Prophet Idris learnt that his life was in danger so he left the town and hid himself. He took shelter in a cave on a mountain and an angel used to provide him with food. He prayed to Almighty God saying, “My God! Send not your blessings unto this land until I shall request you to.” Prophet Idris’s prayer was granted and Almighty God punishment descended on the king. He lost his throne and died a shameful death. His capital was destroyed and his wife’s flesh was eaten by wild dogs. The kingdom passed into the hands of another cruel king.
Twenty (20) years passed after the disappearance of Prophet Idris. During this time not even a drop of rain fell and the people suffered terribly, because of the famine and drought. They realized that their troubles were due to the curse of Prophet Idris and they prayed to Almighty God to forgive them. The remorseful people went to Prophet Idris and repented in his presence and promised that they would obey him and worship God. Prophet Idris then asked Almighty God to send down rain on them. After his prayers, there came a productive rain and the drought ended. And Prophet Idris took the responsibility of leading his tribe thereafter.
Prophet Idris and his followers left Babylon for Egypt. There he carried on his mission, calling people to what is just and fair, teaching them certain prayers and instructing them to fast on certain days and to give a portion of their wealth to the poor for many years. Finally, Prophet Idris did not die but was taken bodily to paradise to spend eternity with God where he is alive even today, after spending three hundred and fifty six (356) years on earth.
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