Monday 2 August 2010

Stories of the Prophets 22 - Prophet Shia (Isaiah) - peace be upon him

Prophet Shia (Isaiah) (alayhis salaam - peace be upon him)


Isaiah and Hezekiah

  Among the prophets between David and Zakariah is Isaiah (pbuh), Ibn Amoz (Amisiah). According to Muhammad Ibn Ishaaq, Isaiah (pbuh) appeared before Zakariah (pbuh) and Yahya (John the Baptist) (pbuh). He is among those who prophesied about Isa (Jesus) (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh). The king during his time was called Hezekiah (Hazkia). He listened and was obedient to Isaiah in what he advised him to do and prohibit for the good of the state. Affairs took momentum among the Israelites. The king became sick with an infected foot. While he was sick, King Sennacherib (Sinharib) of Babylon advanced towards Jerusalem with sixty thousand men.


Allah grants more life to Hezekiah

 The people were greatly terrified. The King asked Isaiah: "What did Allah reveal to you regarding Sennacherib and his army?" He replied: "He has not yet revealed anything to me." Then the revelation came down for King Hezekiah to appoint a successor, as he wished, because his end was at hand. When Isaiah told him this, the king turned to the qibla (the direction faced in prayer); he prayed, glorified Allah, invoked Him, and wept. Weeping and invoking Allah the All-Powerful and majestic with a sincere heart, trust and patience, he said: "O Lord of lords, and God of gods! O, Benevolent and Merciful One Whom neither sleep nor nodding can overpower, remember me for my deeds and my just judgment over the children of Israel; and all that was from You, and You know it better than I do, my open acts and my secrets are with You."

 Allah answered his prayers had compassion on him. He revealed to Isaiah to tell him the glad tidings that He had compassion for his weeping and would extend his life for a further fifteen years and save him from the enemy, Sennacherib. When Isaiah told this to Hezekiah, his disease was healed. Evil and sadness departed, and he fell prostrate, saying: "O Lord, it is You Who grants kingship to whomsoever You wish and dethrones whomsoever You wish and elevates whomsoever You wish and degrades whomsoever You wish, Knower of the unseen and the evident. And lo! You are the First and the Last; the Manifest and the Perceived; You grant mercy and answer the prayers of the troubled ones."

 When he raised his head, Allah revealed to Isaiah to command the king to extract the water of the fig and apply it to his sore, and he would be whole and cured. He did so and was cured.


Allah destroys Hezekiah's enemies

 Then Allah sent death upon the army of Sennacherib. In the morning they were all corpses, except Sennacherib and five of his companions, among them Nebuchadnezzar (Bukhtanasar). The king of Israel immediately sent for them, put them in shackles and displayed them in the land for seventy days to spite and insult them. Every day each of them was fed a loaf of barley bread; after seventy days he confined them in prison. Allah then revealed to Isaiah that the king should send them back to their country so that they might warn their people what would happen to them. When they returned, Sennacherib gathered his people and told them what had happened to them. The priests and magicians said to him: "We told you about their Lord and their prophets, but you did not listen to us. It is a nation which, with their God, nobody can overcome." So, Sennacherib was afraid of Allah. He died seven years later.


Israel after Hezekiah's death

 Ibn Ishaaq also reported that when King Hezekiah of Israel died, the Israelites' condition deteriorated; there was political confusion, and their wickedness increased. Isaiah preached to them what Allah revealed to him, directing them to righteousness and warning them of Allah's severe punishment. His preaching made him their enemy and they decided to kill him, so he escaped from them.


Isaiah's death

 Ibn Ishaaq also reported an Israelite interpolation which said that when Isaiah was passing by a tree, it opened, and he entered therein; but Satan saw him and held onto the loop of his garment so that it stuck out. When they saw it, they brought a saw and sawed the tree, and him with it. Indeed, from Allah we come and to him we return.


(From 'Stories of the Prophets' by Imam Ibn Kathir)

Stories of the Prophets 01- Prophet Adam (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 02 - Prophet Idris (Enoch) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 03 - Prophet Nuh (Noah) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 04 - Prophet Hud (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 05 - Prophet Salih (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 06 - Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 07 - Prophet Isma'il (Ishmael) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 08 - Prophet Ishaq (Isaac) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 09 - Prophet Yacub (Jacob) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 10 - Prophet Lut (Lot) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 11 - Prophet Shu'aib (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 12 - Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 13 - Prophet Ayoub (Job) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 14 - Prophet Dhul-Kifl (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 15 - Prophet Yunus (Jonah) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 16 - Prophets Musa (Moses) (a.s.) and Harun (Aaron) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 17 - Prophet Hizqeel (Ezekiel) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 18 - Prophet Elyas (Elisha) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 19 - Prophet Shammil (Samuel) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 20 - Prophet Dawud (David) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 21 - Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 22 - Prophet Shia (Isaiah) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 23 - Prophet Aramaya (Jeremiah) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 24 - Prophet Daniel (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 25 - Prophet Uzair (Ezra) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 26 - Prophet Zakariyah (Zechariah) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 27 - Prophet Yahya (John) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 28 - Prophet Isa (Jesus) (a.s.)
Stories of the Prophets 29 - Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)