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After the death of Prophet Sulaiman (peace be upon him) his
kingdom was dismembered. There was virtually the rule of Satan
all around. The religious people were mocked at. The ruler of
Somaria killed a large number of learned people. When the evil
reached the saturation point, God sent the Prophet Ilyas (peace
be upon him) to reform mankind during the reign of the king Ahab
of Israel. He tried his best to save the people from polytheism.
He forbade them to worship the Tyrian Bal. He advised the people
to ward off evil and worship One God. When his efforts bore no
fruit he suddenly appeared before the king and foretold him that
severe draught and famine would overtake his kingdom. He added
that the Tyrian Bal would be powerless to avert it. The people
paid no heed to his warnings and did not mend their ways. The
prophecy of the Prophet Ilyas (peace de upon him) turned out to
be true and whole of the kingdom came under the sway of famine.
The people began to starve. After three years the Prophet Ilyas
(peace be upon him) supplicated to show mercy to the famine
stricken people. They acknowledged the authority of God and felt
penitence. Soon after the rain ended the draught and God lifted
his curses After this he was directed by God to call upon al-Yasa
to be his successor. The Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) did
so in obedience to His command and disappeared mysteriously. The
Holy Qur'an makes mention of Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him)
in the following Verses:
"And commemorate Ismail, Ilyas and Dhul Kifl. Each of them was
the companion of the good." (38:48)
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