Idris (a): Difference between revisions

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About the cause of naming Idris, there are different opinions, including that he (a) was busy with teaching and scientific activities. According to Tafsir of [['Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi]], [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] says: "He was named Idris for he read and taught books a lot".{{enote|lesson, learning and teaching in Arabic all are brought from the root {{ia|درس}}}}

Some considered his name adopted from Hermes who was the medium between gods and humans in the ancient Greece.

According to one opinion, he (a) was Enoch in the Bible and his father was Jared b. Mahalalel and since the name "Idris" is taken by Arabs from the Torah and the pronunciations in Arabic are different from Hebrew, his name has become different. Accordingly, some considered his name Enoch which is mentioned in the Torah.

About the life of Idris and the end of his life, there are different opinions and available documents are not very reliable, many of which are among [[Isra'iliyyat]].

In some Islamic sources, Idris is mentioned in the lineage of [[the Prophet (s)]], while some sources have not accepted it and believe that because Idris (a) called the Prophet Muhammad (s) "al-Akh al-Salih" [the righteous brother] in the night of [[Mi'raj]] [Ascent], then he (a) cannot be among the ancestors of the Prophet (s).

Other sources have mentioned him among the ancestors of prophet [[Nuh (a)]]. In ''[[Majma' al-bayan]]'', [[al-Tabrisi]] said, "he [Idris] is the forefather of Nuh (a), his name in the Torah is Enoch and there are many [[hadiths]] about his ascent to heavens."

In the Bible, chapter Genesis, part 5, about the fathers of Nuh (a), it is said, "When Jared had lived one hundred sixty-two years, he became the father of Enoch.… he became the father of Methuselah… he became the father of Lamech… he became the father of a son; he named him Noah" (Gen. 5:18-28) This supports ''Majma' al-bayan'' which says that Idris was the great-grandfather of Noah.

Some considered Memphis in [[Egypt]] the birthplace of Idris and some others said that he (a) was born in Babylon and became the prophet (a) two hundred years after Prophet [[Adam (a)]] and prior to his [[prophethood]], he studied before the Egyptian Ghadhimun who was sent to guide the people of Greece and Egypt.

It is said that Idris (a) was sent to guide descendants of [[Qabil]] (Cain) who committed wrong deeds, drank wine, were polytheist and idol-worshippers. He (a) invited people to the Truth and Unity of God and asked them to follow the religion of Adam (a) and [[Shayth (a)]], to be fair toward each other, to help the weak, to be ready for [[jihad]] against enemies of religion, to pay [[zakat]] to help the poor and do not forget fasting in certain days. But, when they did not accept his call, they were afflicted by God's wrath and were perished.

God sent Idris (a) revelations and called him and his companions to worship and they continued to worship God with Idris (a) until God raised the soul of Idris toward Himself.

About his destiny, some said that, when he (a) saw the sins of descendants of Qabil, he (a) asked God to take him to Himself and God accepted and now he (a) lives in the sky 4th or 5th. Some said that he (a) ascent to sky 4th and there, he (a) passed away and some said that he (a) entered the paradise alive and never exited there.

According to historical reports in Islamic books, Idris was the first person who did tailoring and put on clothes and until then, people put on skins of animals. He (s) was the first person who used pen for writing and studied astronomy and mathematics; so, Idris (a) is considered the first teacher of human being and they attribute the principles of every science to him. Thus, human beings are indebted to him in astronomy, geometry, philosophy, mathematics and logic.

According to some verses and hadiths, some believe that God raised him to some higher skies and thus, it is mentioned in the Qur'an, "and We raised him to a station exalted." (19:57) Some others believe that raising even with to highest locations cannot be a merit; thus, by "a station exalted", one of the stations of closeness to God is meant and from the context of stories mentioned in this chapter and the blessings of prophethood and [[wilaya]] are mentioned which are spiritual positions, the mentioned interpretation can be proved.

In the verses "and Zechariah, John, Jesus and Ilyas, - each of them among the righteous" (6:85) and "And indeed Ilyas was one of the apostles" (37:123), some exegetes believe that [[Ilyas (a)]] is actually Idris and have mentioned the characteristics and stories about Idris in their comments for these verses for Ilyas. Some have recited "'Peace be to Ilyas!'" (37:130) as "peace be to Idris".

However, it seems that Ilyas is different from Idris, because in chapter An'am, it is mentioned, "This was Our argument that We gave to Abraham against his people. We raise in rank whomever We wish. Indeed your Lord is all-wise, all-knowing. * And We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided each of them. And Noah We had guided before, and from his offspring, David and Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron —thus do We reward the virtuous— * and Zechariah, John, Jesus and Ilyas, —each of them among the righteous" (6:83 – 85) In these verses, the preposition in "from his offspring" goes back to either [[Ibrahim (a)]] or Nuh (a), and thus Ilyas would not be Idris, because Ilyas would either be among the descendants of Ibrahim (a) or Nuh (a), while Idris was before Nuh (a) and was among his ancestors.

Narrations suggest that Idris chose from among his followers 7 people to pray and others said Amen. Then, God accepted their prayers and thus chose Idirs as His messenger.

It is mentioned in hadiths that, the cause of raising Idris to skies was that an angel gave him the good news of acceptance of his deeds and forgiveness for his slips. He thus wished to live an eternal life. The angel asked him, "why do you wish for an eternal life?" Idris said, "to praise God, because during my life, I prayed that God accepts my deeds and now that I have achieved what I prayed for, I want to thank and praise God for it." That angel opened his wings and embraced him and raised him to skies.

In answer to a question of [[Abu Dhar]] about the number of books God revealed to His prophets, [[the Prophet (s)]] answered, "104 books, 50 of which were revealed to [[Shayth (a)]], 30 to Idris (a), 20 to Ibrahim (a) plus the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms and Furqan." He (s) then added that, "the first person who wrote with pen was Idris (a)."

It is mentioned in narrations that Idris (a) was pious and ascetic and prayed to God a thousand times a day. His house is considered to be [[al-Masjid al-Sahla]] and that he (a) did tailoring. [[Imam Ali (a)]] said, "God raised Idris (a) and he (a) enjoys the foods of paradise after he (a) passed away."

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[fa:ادریس (پیامبر)]] ادریس (پیامبر)}} in Farsi Wikishia.