He is described in the Qur'an as "trustworthy" and "patient"[7] and the Qur'an also says that he was "exalted to a high station".[8][9] Because of this and other parallels, traditionally Idris has been identified with the biblical Enoch,[10] and Islamic tradition usually places Idris in the earlyGenerations of Adam, and considers him one of the oldest prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, placing him betweenAdam andNoah.[11] Idris' unique status[12] inspired many future traditions and stories surrounding him inIslamicfolklore.
The nameIdris (إدريس) has been described as perhaps having the origin of meaning "interpreter," a claim consistent with the three-letter root of the name,darasa (Arabic:ﺩَﺭَﺱَ,lit.'to study')[16] Traditionally, Islam holds the prophet as having functioned an interpretive and mystical role and therefore this meaning garnered a general acceptance. Later Muslim sources, those of the eighth century, began to hold that Idris had two names, "Idris" and "Enoch", and other sources even stated that "Idris' true name is Enoch and that he is called Idris inArabic because of his devotion to the study of the sacred books of his ancestorsAdam andSeth".[17] Therefore, these later sources also highlighted Idris as either meaning "interpreter" or having some meaning close to that of an interpretive role. Several of the classical commentators on the Quran, such asAl-Baydawi said he was "calledIdris from the Arabicdars, meaning "to study", from his knowledge ofdivinemysteries".[18]
Later, in surah 21,al-Anbiya, Idris is again praised:
And (remember)Isma'il, Idris, andDhu al-Kifl,[19] all (men) of constancy and patience; We admitted them to Our mercy: for they were of the righteous ones.
According to later Muslim writings, Idris was born inBabylon, a city located in present-dayIraq. Before he received the Divine Revelation, he followed the rules revealed to ProphetSeth, the son of Adam. When Idris grew older, God bestowed Prophethood on him. During his lifetime, the people were not yet Muslims. Afterwards, Idris left his hometown of Babylon because a great number of the people committed many sins even after he urged them against it. Some of his people left with and accompanied Idris, hard as it was for them to leave their home.
They asked Prophet Idris: "If we leave Babylon, where will we find a place like it?" Prophet Idris said: "If we immigrate for the sake of Allah, He will provide for us". So the people went with Prophet Idris and they reached the land ofEgypt. They saw theNile River; Idris stood at itsbank and mentioned Allah, the Exalted, by saying: "SubhanAllah" (Arabic:سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰه,lit.'glory be to God').[20]
Islamic literature narrates that Idris was made a prophet at around 40—which parallels the age whenMuhammad began to spread the Prophetic Message—and lived during a time when people had begun to worship fire.[21] Exegesis embellishes upon the lifetime of Idris, and states that the prophet divided his time into two. For three days of the week, Idris would preach to his people and for four days he would devote himself solely to the worship ofGod.[21] Many early commentators, such asal-Tabari,[22] credited Idris with possessing greatwisdom andknowledge.
Islamictafsir narrates that Idris was among "the first men to use the pen as well as being one of the first men to observe the movement of the stars and set out scientific weights and measures".[21] These attributes remain consistent with the identification ofEnoch with Idris, as these attributes make it clear that Idris would have most probably lived during theGenerations of Adam,[21] the same era during which Enoch lived.Ibn Arabi described Idris as the "prophet of the philosophers" and a number of works were attributed to him.[23] Some scholars wrote commentaries on these supposed works,[24] all while Idris was also credited with several inventions, including the art of making garments.[23]
The Islamic prophet Idris in Paradise from a 1577Qisas al-Anbiya manuscript.
The commentatorIbn Ishaq narrated that he was the first man to write with apen.[25] In his commentary on the Qur'anic verses19:56–57, the commentatorIbn Kathir narrated "During theNight Journey, the Prophet passed by him [i.e. Idris] in the fourth heaven. In a hadith,Ibn Abbas asked Ka'b what was meant by the part of the verse which says, "And We raised him to a high station". Ka'b explained: Allah revealed to Idris: 'I would raise for you every day the same amount of the deeds of all Adam's children' – perhaps meaning of his time only. So Idris wanted to increase his deeds and devotion. A friend of his from the angels visited and Idris said to him: 'Allah has revealed to me such and such, so could you please speak to the angel of death, so I could increase my deeds'. The angel carried him on his wings and went up into theheavens. When they reached the fourth heaven, they met theangel of death who was descending down towards earth. The angel spoke to him about what Idris had spoken to him before. The angel of death said: 'But where is Idris?'. He replied, 'He is upon my back'. The angel of death said: 'How astonishing! I was sent and told to seize his soul in the fourth heaven. I kept thinking how I could seize it in the fourth heaven when he was on the earth?'. Then he took his soul out of his body, and that is what is meant by the verse: 'And We raised him to a high station'.[26]
Early accounts of Idris' life attributed "thirty portions of revealed scripture" to him.[18] Therefore, Idris was understood by many early commentators to be both a prophet as well as amessenger. Several modern commentators have linked this sentiment withBiblical apocrypha such as theBook of Enoch and theSecond Book of Enoch.[18]
Idris is generally accepted to be the same asEnoch, thepatriarch who lived in theGenerations of Adam. Many Qur'anic commentators, such asal-Tabari andQadi Baydawi, identified Idris with Enoch. Baizawi said, "Idris was of the posterity of Seth and a forefather of Noah, and his name was Enoch (Ar.Akhnukh)".[18]Bursalı İsmail Hakkı's commentary onFuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam byIbn Arabi.[27]
Modern scholars, however, do not concur with this identification because they argue that it lacks definitive proof. As translatorAbdullah Yusuf Ali says in note 2508 of his translation of theQur'an:
Idris is mentioned twice in the Quran, viz., here and in Chapter 21, verse 85, where he is mentioned as among those who patiently persevered. His identification with the Biblical Enoch, may or may not be correct. Nor are we justified in interpreting verse 57 here as meaning the same thing as inGenesis, v. 24 ("God took him"), that he was taken up without passing through the portals of death. All we are told is he was a man of truth and sincerity, and aprophet, and that he had a high position among his people.
With this identification, Idris's father becomes Yarid (يريد), his mother Barkanah, and his wife Aadanah. Idris's sonMethuselah would eventually be the grandfather ofNuh (Noah). Hence Idris is identified as the great-grandfather of Noah.[29]
Antoine Faivre, inThe Eternal Hermes (1995), has pointed out thatHermes Trismegistus (asyncretic combination of the Greek godHermes and the Egyptian godThoth)[30] has a place in theIslamic tradition, although the nameHermes does not appear in the Qur'an.Hagiographers and chroniclers of the first centuries of the IslamicHijrah quickly identified Hermes Trismegistus with Idris,[31] the Prophet mentioned by the Qur'an in 19:56–57 and 21:85, whom theArabs also identified with Enoch (cf. Genesis 5.18–24). Idris/Hermes was termed "Thrice-Wise" Hermes Trismegistus because he had a threefold origin. The first Hermes, comparable toThoth, was a "civilizing hero", an initiator into the mysteries of the divine science and wisdom that animate the world; he carved the principles of this sacred science inEgyptian hieroglyphs. The second Hermes, inBabylon, was the initiator ofPythagoras. The third Hermes was the first teacher ofalchemy. "A faceless prophet", writes the IslamicistPierre Lory, "Hermes possesses no concrete or salient characteristics, differing in this regard from most of the major figures of the Bible and the Quran".[32] A common interpretation of the representation of "Trismegistus" as "thrice great" recalls the three characterizations of Idris: as a messenger of god, or a prophet; as a source of wisdom, orhikmet (wisdom fromhokhmah); and as a king of the world order, or a "sultanate". These are referred to asmüselles bin ni'me.
Due to the linguistic dissimilarities of the name "Idris" with the aforementioned figures, several historians have proposed that this Quranic figure is derived from "Andreas", the immortality-achieving cook from the SyriacAlexander romance.[34][35][36] In addition, historian Patricia Crone proposes that both "Idris" and "Andreas" are derived from theAkkadianepic ofAtra-Hasis.[37]
^Erder, Yoram, “Idrīs”, in:Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
^P. S. Alexander, "Jewish tradition in early ☪️ The case of Enoch/Idrīs," in G. R. Hawting, J. A. Mojaddedi and A. Samely (eds.),Studies in Islamic and Middle Eastern texts and traditions in memory of Norman Calder ( jss Supp. 12), Oxford 2000, 11-29
^W.F. Albright, Review of Th. Boylan,The hermes of Egypt, inJournal of the Palestine Oriental Society 2 (1922), 190-8
^H. T. Halman, "Idris," inHoly People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2004), p. 388
^Encyclopedia of Islam, "Idris", Juan Eduardo Campo, Infobase Publishing, 2009, pg. 344
^Encyclopedia of Islam, Juan Eduardo Campo, Infobase Publishing, 2009, pg. 559
^Encyclopedia of Islam, Juan Eduardo Campo, Infobase Publishing, 2009, pg. 344: (His translation made him) "Islamic tradition places him sometime between Adam and Noah."
^Encyclopedia of Islam, Juan Eduardo Campo, Infobase Publishing, 2009, pg. 344: (His translation made him) "a unique human being."
^Zaid H. AssfyIslam and Christianity: connections and contrasts, together with the stories of the prophets and imams Sessions, 1977 p122
^Abdullah Yusuf Ali,The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary C2508. Idris is mentioned twice in the Quran, viz.; here and in 21:85, where he is mentioned among those who patiently persevered. His identification with the Biblical Enoch, who "'walked with God' (Gen. 5:21-24), may or may not be correct. Nor are we justified in interpreting verse 57 here as meaning the same thing as in Gen. 5:24 ("God took him"), that he was taken up without passing through the portals of death. All we are told is that he was a man of truth and sincerity, and a prophet, and that he had a high position among his people. It is this point which brings him in the series of men just mentioned; he kept himself in touch with his people, and was honoured among them. Spiritual progress need not cut us off from our people, for we have to help and guide them. He kept to truth and piety in the highest station.
^Çakmak, Çenap. Islam: A World Encyclopedia, Vol. 1: A-E. 2017. p 674-675.
^Brown, John Porter. The Darvishes: Or Oriental Spiritualism. Edited by H. A. Rose. 1968. p 174, footnote 3.
^Brinner, William M. The History of Al-Tabari, Vol. III. Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater. 1991. p 415, footnote 11.
^Crone, Patricia. Islam, the Near East, and Varieties of Godlessness: Collected Studies in Three Volumes, Vol. III. Edited by Hanna Siurua. 2016. p 49-70.
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