وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ مِنْ رَحْمَتِنَا أَخَاهُ هَارُونَ نَبِيًّا ﴿۵۳﴾ وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَبِيًّا ﴿۵۴﴾ وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ وَكَانَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيًّا ﴿۵۵﴾ وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِدْرِيسَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا نَبِيًّا ﴿۵۶﴾ وَرَفَعْنَاهُ مَكَانًا عَلِيًّا ﴿۵۷﴾

﴾53﴿ Wa wahabnaa lahoo mir rahmatinaaa akhaahu Haaroona Nabiyyaa
﴾54﴿ Wazkur fil Kitaabi ismaa'eel; innahoo kaana saadiqal wa'di wa
﴾55﴿ Wa kaana ya'muru ahlahoo bis Salaati waz zakaati wa kaana 'inda Rabbihee mardiyyaa
﴾56﴿ Wazkur fil Kitaabi Idrees; innahoo kaana siddeeqan Nabiyyaa
﴾57﴿ Wa rafa'naahu makaanan 'aliyyaa

﴾53﴿ And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron (Harun), as a prophet
﴾54﴿ And mention in the Book (the story of) Ishmael (Isma'il), indeed he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet
﴾55﴿ And he enjoined upon his followers prayer and zakah (charity), and he was pleasing to his Lord
﴾56﴿ And mention in the Book (the story of) Idris; indeed, he was a truthful man and a prophet
﴾57﴿ And We raised him to a high station

[54,55] This is the answer to the fifth misconception, which arose because the polytheists of Makkah had placed an image of Isma‘il (peace be upon him) in the Ka‘bah, holding divining arrows (azlām) in his hand.
They believed he had authority and control over destinies and divisions of fate.
The essence of the response is to highlight his servitude (ʿubūdiyyah) and dependence on Allah, by mentioning five attributes:
1. “Ṣādiq al-waʿd” (truthful in promise) – this is a quality of all prophets, but it was emphasized for Isma‘il (peace be upon him) due to specific events, such as his promise to his father to be patient with the sacrifice (ṣabr ʿala al-dhabḥ), and a narration in Abu Dawud where he waited for three days to fulfill a promise made to someone.
2. “Rasūlan Nabiyyā” – this proves that being a rasūl does not require the possession of a new book, only that he was tasked with delivering revelation. This also highlights his honor over Ishaq (peace be upon him), as the title rasūl was not mentioned for Ishaq.
3. “He used to enjoin his people” (yakmuru ahlahu) – his “people” here refers to his entire community, mainly from the tribe of Jurhum.
4. This shows that he had a deep love for calling others to the worship of Allah, and was constantly engaged in it.
Each of these attributes emphasizes Isma‘il’s devotion, not control—refuting the claim that he had any share in divine authority.
[56,57] This is the answer to the sixth misconception, which concerns false stories spread by the Jews about Idris (peace be upon him).
Some among the Sufis have also claimed that Idris is the same as Ilyas (Elijah) and that, like Khidr (peace be upon him), he is still alive and roams the earth fulfilling people's needs.
Such tales have led some to believe that he possesses divine powers and control.
The essence of the response is that Idris (peace be upon him) possessed qualities of servitude—specifically ṣiddīqiyyah (truthfulness and righteousness) and nubuwwah (prophethood).
Even in his elevation, he was dependent on Allah:
“And We raised him to a high position” (wa rafaʿnāhu makānan ʿaliyyā) refers either to his elevated rank in the sight of Allah, known only to Him in its full measure,
or it refers to the incident of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace) seeing Idris in the fourth heaven during the Miʿrāj.
As for other tales, like him entering Paradise with an angel and remaining there, these are Isrā’īliyyāt—unverified stories from Jewish tradition and should not be relied upon.
Benefit: From the apparent wording of the Qur’an, it seems that Idris (peace be upon him) came after Ibrahim (peace be upon him), though the well-known opinion is that his name was Akhnūkh, and he was the great-grandfather of Nuh (peace be upon him) from the seventh generation.
However, this latter view is not confirmed with strong evidence.