[Surah al-Sāffāt (37): verse 130]
“Peace be upon Ilyāsīn.” (130)

There are two readings of this verse.

The first is Ilyāsīn, following the pattern of Ismā'īl. This has two explanations:

First, it is another name for the prophet Elijah: Ilyās and Ilyāsīn, like Mīkāl and Mīkā'īl.

Second, it is a plural. This, in turn, has two explanations:

The first is that it is the plural of Ilyās, originally Ilyāsiyyīn, with two yā letters, like ʿIbrāniyyīn. One of the two yā letters was dropped for ease of pronunciation, giving Ilyāsīn. What is meant is his followers, as in the form al-Ashʿarūn reported by Sībawayh, and similarly al-Aʿjamūn. The second is that it is the plural of Ilyās with the yā omitted.

The second reading is, “Peace be upon the family of Yāsīn.” This has several explanations:

First, Yāsīn is his father’s name, and āl is therefore annexed to it, just as one says Āl Ibrāhīm—the family of Abraham.

Second, Āl Yāsīn means Elijah himself. Thus āl is annexed to Yāsīn, but what is meant by āl is Yāsīn himself, as those mentioned earlier explained.

Third, the yā of the suffix denoting affiliation has been omitted, so that Yāsīn is said in place of the original Yāsiyyīn, as explained above. Their āl are those who follow their religion.

Fourth, Yāsīn is the Quran, and its āl are the people of the Quran.

Fifth, it is the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his āl are his relatives and followers, as will be explained. All these interpretations are weak.

What led their proponents to adopt them was their difficulty in explaining the annexation of āl to Yāsīn when his name is Ilyās or Ilyāsīn, together with their transmission of its spelling as separate words in the Quranic codex. Some reciters have read it as “Ālyāsīn.” A group of them therefore said that he has several names: Yāsīn, Ilyāsīn, and Ilyās.