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Al-Yasa has been mentioned twice in the Holy Qur'an:
And commemorate Ismail, Elisha and Dhul-kifl; each of them was
of the company of! the good. (58:48)
And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Ilyas all in the ranks of
the righteous; and Ismail and Elisha (Al-Yasa) and Jonas and
Lot; each have We preferred above the nations. (To them) and
their fathers and progeny and brethren, We chose them and We
guided them to a straight way. (6: 85-87)
The commentators give no account of him except that he was the
son of Ukhtub. The Bible says that his father was Shaphat.
Al-Yasa was the cousin and spiritual successor of the Prophet
Ilyas (peace be upon him).
One day Ilyas (peace be upon him) passed through the fields
while the owner (Al-Yasa) was busy in ploughing. No sooner had
the owner seen the Prophet than he abdicated his own work and
approached Ilyas (peace be upon him) in hot haste. Al-Yasa began
to follow him. The Prophet was much surprised and remarked: Why
do you accompany me after leaving your own work? Al-Yasa
retraced his steps and fetched his ox. He slaughtered it, lit
the fire and cooked the beef. He fed Ilyas, his companions and
many other guests to seek the pleasure of Allah. The Prophet was
much pleased with the host for his sincerity, hospitality and
righteousness. When Ilyas(peace be upon him) was about to
depart, Al-Yasa expressed his keen desire to live in the company
of his honourable guest during the rest of his life and serve
him whole heartedly as a humble servant. As the noble attitude
of Al-Yasa had enamoured Ilyas (peace be upon him), the latter
accorded him permission without hesitation. When the Prophet
Ilyas (peace be upon him) was on his death-bed, he wished to bid
him farewell. AL-Yasa was not prepared to leave him. Then Ilyas
(peace be-upon him) asked him to express any of his desires to
be fulfilled. Al-Yasa said: I wish that Allah may bestow
blessings upon me in the same way as He has blessed you. The
Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) supplicated and invoked
blessings of Allah upon his successor. His prayer was granted.
Allah chose Al-Yasa as His Prophet after the death of Ilyas
(peace be upon him). He derived spiritual magnificence from the
company of his guide and became the favourite of Allah.
After some time he proceeded to Yariha to preach the religion of
Allah. The inhabitants of that locality gave him a warm
reception. At that time they were under the spell of starvation.
The land was barren and water was not available. Al-Yasa (peace
be upon him) supplicated to Allah to show mercy to the
famine-stricken people. His prayer was granted and Allah
showered his bounties upon them.
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