Ilyas, known in English as Elijah (peace be upon him), was a messenger Allah (﷾) sent to his people. The Qur'an tells us little about him: a handful of verses. This guide gives what it says, and does not fill the gaps.
It follows only the Qur'an. It is the story as Islam tells it.
At a glance
- Allah (﷾) sent him to a people who called on an idol-god, Baal.
- He asked them: will you call on Baal and forsake the Best of Creators?
- They rejected him, except the sincere and devoted servants of Allah (﷾) among them.
- Allah (﷾) left a blessing on his name among later generations: peace upon Ilyas.
- He is named among those in the ranks of the righteous.
- Sent
Allah (﷾) sends Ilyas to his people. Qur’an 37:123
- His question
He asks them why they call on Baal and forsake the Best of Creators. Qur’an 37:124–126
- Rejected
They reject him, except the sincere servants of Allah (﷾) among them. Qur’an 37:127–128
- Peace
Allah (﷾) leaves peace and a blessing on his name for all later generations. Qur’an 37:129–132
The Qur'an gives no dates for Ilyas's life, so these are the stages of his story.
Sent to a people of Baal
The Qur'an tells us little about Ilyas, and says it in a few lines. English translations often spell his name Elias. It is the same man. This is all it says, and nothing here goes beyond it.
First, that Allah (﷾) sent him: Qur’an 37:123
So also was Elias among those sent (by Us).
His people called on Baal, a god many peoples of the ancient Near East worshipped. Ilyas asked them a question: Qur’an 37:124
Will ye call upon Baal and forsake the Best of Creators
The Best of Creators, he told them, is Allah (﷾): their Lord, and the Lord of their own fathers of old. Baal made nothing. Allah (﷾) made everything, themselves included. It is the question every prophet asks: why turn to anything else, and turn away from the One who made you? Qur’an 37:126Qur’an 21:25
Rejected, and still remembered
Most of them rejected him. The Qur'an says they will be called up for punishment, except the sincere and devoted servants of Allah (﷾) among them. So some of them did believe. Qur’an 37:127–128
But Allah (﷾) did not leave Ilyas forgotten. He says He left a blessing on his name, among the generations that came after him: Qur’an 37:129
Peace and salutation to such as Elias!
And Allah (﷾) gives the reason. It is one that every believer wants to hear: Qur’an 37:131
Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. For he was one of our believing Servants.
In another place, Allah (﷾) names him among a company of prophets, together with Zakariya, Yahya (John) and Isa (Jesus), and calls them all: Qur’an 6:85
And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous
That is all the Qur'an says. It does not tell where he lived, how long he stayed among his people, or how his life ended. So this guide does not either. We know what matters: he was sent, he called to Allah (﷾) alone, and Allah (﷾) left a blessing on his name.
How the Bible tells it differently
The Bible tells of Elijah mainly in 1 Kings 17 to 19 and 21, and 2 Kings 1 to 2. The heart of it is the same: a prophet who called a people away from Baal to the Lord. But some points are different. Muslims believe that Allah (﷾) revealed the Torah to Musa, and the Injil to Isa: the Gospel Jesus himself preached in his lifetime. The Injil is not the New Testament. The four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were written by others, decades after Jesus was raised up. None of them names its author: the names were attached later. And the Torah we have today is not exactly as it was revealed. So where the Bible tells a story just as the Qur'an does, we believe it. Where it differs from the Qur'an or contradicts it, we do not. Where the Qur'an says nothing, we neither believe it nor deny it, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. Here are the main differences, with the verses. 1 Kings 17:1 (KJV)Qur’an 5:48Qur’an 5:46Which of the four Gospels did Jesus preach from?Who wrote the Gospels?Sahih al-Bukhari 4485How should a Muslim read the Bible?
The people and the king. The Bible sets the story in Israel under King Ahab, who married Jezebel and served Baal, and built an altar for him in Samaria. The Qur'an names no king and no place. It says only: his people. 1 Kings 16:31–32 (KJV)Qur’an 37:124
Mount Carmel and how the people answered. In the Bible, Elijah calls the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel: the God (﷾) who answers by fire is God. Fire falls, and the people cry: the Lord, he is the God (﷾). Later Elijah says Israel has forsaken the covenant. The Qur'an does not tell the contest. It says his people rejected him, except the sincere servants of Allah (﷾) among them. 1 Kings 18:19 (KJV)1 Kings 18:24 (KJV)1 Kings 18:38–39 (KJV)1 Kings 19:10 (KJV)Qur’an 37:127–128
How his life ended. Second Kings says Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. The Qur'an says nothing of how his life ended. It says that Allah (﷾) left peace and a blessing on his name, and that he was one of His believing servants. 2 Kings 2:11 (KJV)Qur’an 37:130–132
His successor. In the Bible, Elijah's successor as prophet is Elisha. The Qur'an names Al-Yasa' (Elisha) among the prophets in the verse after Ilyas, but does not say that one followed the other. You can read about him in Al-Yasa'. 1 Kings 19:16 (KJV)Qur’an 6:86Al-Yasa'
What we can learn
Ilyas asked one honest question: why call on something that cannot create, and leave the One who created you?
- Ask the honest question. Will you call on something that cannot create, and forsake the One who created you? Ilyas put it plainly, without insult and without fear. Qur’an 37:125
- Not everyone will listen, and that does not make the message wrong. Ilyas was rejected. Yet Allah (﷾) says He left a blessing on his name. The sincere ones among his people were spared. Qur’an 37:127–130
- The reward is for those who do right. Allah's (﷾) own words about Ilyas: thus do We reward those who do right, for he was one of our believing servants. Qur’an 37:131–132
The Lord of Ilyas is the Lord of everyone: the Best of Creators. His question is still open to all.