What is the story of prophet elisha? Who is the prophet elisha?
The Prophet Made Superior to the Worlds ELISHA -peace be upon him-
Elisha (as) was a prophet of the Israelites. As a child, he had caught a severe illness, and was cured through the prayer of Elias (as). After that, he remained by Elias’ (as) side and learned the Torah.
Elisha (as) worked hard to set the unruly Israelites straight. At times, they complied with him, while at others they protested. The Qur’an mentions him twice:
“And remember Ismail, Elisha and Dhu’l-Kifl. Each was among the elect.” (Sad, 38: 48)
The word ‘remember’ also alludes to how we also need to reflect on the tremendous effort, patience and perseverance those prophets showed in conveying the religion of Allah (jj).
The other verse about Elisha (as) is:
“And Ismail, Elisha, Jonah and Lot. Each We graced above the worlds.” (Al-Anam, 6: 86)
During Elisha’s (as) prophethood, the tribes of Israel began to vie with one another for leadership. Ignoring Elisha’s (as) advices, they got into a tussle, with seemingly endless bouts of unrest and fighting. As a result, the Almighty set upon them the Assyrian Kingdom. Through their own doing, the Israelites had fallen remote from divine mercy. The Assyrians defeated them and consigned them to misery.
In his Mi’rat-i Kainat, Nisancizade Muhyiddin Mehmed Bey says the following on Elisha’s (as) miracles:
The drinking water in Jericho had turned sour. The people rushed to Elisha (as) and asked for help. He threw some grains of salt in the water and said ‘Be sweet!’ And with the permission of Allah (jj), the water became sweeter than before.
It is narrated that a woman, who was a widow and in debt, came to Elisha (as). She said she was in need.
“What do you have at home?” Elisha (as) asked.
“Only a handful of oil”, she replied.
“Go home and put that oil in a container!”
The woman did exactly that. Soon, she all the containers in her home were filled with oil. With that, she paid all her debt but still had plenty of oil left over.
As his death approached, Elisha (as) called Ezekiel (Dhu’l-Kifl) (as) over, and said Allah (jj) had designated him as his successor.
Peace be upon him…
Source: The History of Prophets in Light of The Qur’an, THE CHAIN OF PROPHETS, Osman Nuri TOPBAŞ, Erkam Publications
