Elisha

الْيَسَعُ

Successor of Ilyas

📍 Region

Historic Palestine (Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasa)

⏳ Period

9th–8th century BCE

📖 Mentions

2× in the Quran

✦ Summary

Al-Yasa' succeeded Ilyas in prophethood among the Banu Israil. He is mentioned twice in the Quran among the excellent prophets. Islamic traditions link him to Elisha of the Hebrew Bible, disciple and successor of Elijah. His mention in two distinct lists of remarkable prophets confirms his high rank before Allah.

Banu Israilsuccessionprophethoodexcellencefaith

Chapter 1 — Recognized Excellence

Al-Yasa' appears in two important surahs among lists of prophets that the Quran honors in a special way. In Al-An'am (6:86), he is cited with Ismail, Yunus, and Lut as "preferred above all beings" (faddalnahum 'ala al-'alamin). In Sad (38:48), he is cited with Ismail and Dhul-Kifl as among "the best" (akhyar). These two mentions underscore that his excellence was recognized by Allah, even though the details of his story are not developed in the Quran. Islamic commentators have often noted that the brevity of a Quranic account does not diminish the prophet's rank — Allah intended the essential point to be his classification among the chosen.

📖 Quranic verse

﴾ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا ۚ وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿

Wa Ismā'īla wal-Yasa'a wa Yūnusa wa Lūṭan wa kullan faḍḍalnā 'ala l-'ālamīn

🇫🇷 Et Ismaïl, Al-Yasa', Jonas et Lot — Nous les avons tous préférés entre tous les êtres

🇬🇧 And Ishmael, Al-Yasa', Jonah and Lot — We preferred all of them above the worlds

Al-An'am 6:86

1 / 1

💡 Lessons

🌱Being named among Allah's chosen is worth more than any human account — divine recognition is the ultimate tribute.

🔥Succession in da'wa is a prophetic sunnah: every prophet trains and prepares the one who follows him.

📜 Sources

Quran · Tafsir Ibn Kathir · Qisas Al-Anbiya · Al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya · Sahih Al-Bukhari · Sahih Muslim

← PREVIOUS

Elijah

إِلْيَاسُ

Jonah

يُونُسُ