Concerning divination by drawing lines in the sand, the Messenger of Allah—may blessings and peace be upon him—said:
“There was a prophet who practised it; so whoever’s lines coincide with his, that is acceptable.” (1)
Many scholars of Qur’anic exegesis and jurisprudence claim that Idrīs was the first to speak on this subject, and they call him Hermes Trismegistus, leader of the Hermetics. They attribute to him many false tales, just as they have fabricated stories about other prophets, scholars, sages, and saints.
Regarding the Almighty’s words, “And We raised him to a lofty station” (Maryam 19:57), the sound report in the two Ṣaḥīḥs relating the Night Journey states that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—passed by him in the fourth heaven.
Ibn Jarīr (3) narrated—through Yūnus, ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, Ibn Wahb, Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim, al-Aʿmash, Shumr ibn ʿAṭiyyah, and Hilāl ibn Yasāf—that Ibn ʿAbbās once asked Kaʿb while I was present: “How do you understand Allah’s words about Idrīs, ‘And We raised him to a lofty station’?” Kaʿb replied:
“As for Idrīs, Allah revealed to him: ‘Each day I shall raise for you a record equal to the deeds of all the children of Adam’—apparently those of his own time. Idrīs therefore wished to increase his good works. A close friend of his from among the angels visited him, and Idrīs said, ‘Allah has revealed such-and-such to me; speak to the Angel of Death on my behalf so that I may add to my deeds.’ The angel lifted him upon his wings and ascended with him to the heavens. When they reached the fourth heaven they met the Angel of Death descending. The angel spoke to him about Idrīs’s request.
“The Angel of Death asked, ‘Where is Idrīs?’
“He answered, ‘Here, upon my back.’
“The Angel of Death exclaimed, ‘How astonishing! I was sent and told, “Take the soul of Idrīs in the fourth heaven,” and I wondered, “How am I to take his soul in the fourth heaven while he is on earth?”’ So he took his soul there, and that is the meaning of Allah’s words, ‘And We raised him to a lofty station.’”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim (4) transmitted a similar account in his commentary, adding that Idrīs said to the angel: “Ask the Angel of Death how much of my life remains.” The angel asked while Idrīs was with him, “How much of his life remains?” He replied, “I do not know until I look.” Then he said, “You are asking me about a man whose life now amounts to no more than the blink of an eye.” The angel looked beneath his wing at Idrīs and behold, his soul had already been taken, while he was unaware.
This narration is one of the Israelite reports, and parts of it are objectionable.
Ibn Abī Najīḥ related from Mujāhid (5) that concerning the verse “And We raised him to a lofty station,” he said: “Idrīs was raised without dying, just as Jesus was raised.” If he intended that Idrīs has not died up to the present day, that is debatable; but if he meant that Idrīs was raised alive to the heaven and then died there, it does not contradict the account transmitted from Kaʿb al-Aḥbār. Allah knows best.