It was likewise reported, in substance, by Ibn ʿAsākir.(1) It is said that he entrusted his estate to his son “Ḥawmal,”(2) and that after him the charge was carried by his son “Bishr” ibn Ayyub, whom many people claim to have been Dhul-Kifl—Allah knows best. This son, they assert, was a prophet and died at the age of seventy-five. Let us now recount the story of Dhul-Kifl, for some have maintained that he was the son of Job (peace be upon him).

The story of Dhul-Kifl—whom some allege to be Job’s son

After relating the story of Job, the Exalted says in Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ:

“Ismaʿil, Idris, and Dhul-Kifl—each of them was among the steadfast; and We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed, they were of the righteous.” (Al-Anbiyāʾ 21:85–86)

He likewise says, following the story of Job in Sūrat Ṣād:

“Remember Our servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—men of strength and insight. We purified them with a pure quality: remembrance of the Abode. And in Our sight they are surely among the chosen and the excellent.” (Ṣād 38:45–47)

From Dhul-Kifl’s being mentioned in the Noble Qur’an with praise, side-by-side with these eminent prophets, the apparent sense is that he himself was a prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and this is the view most widely held.

Others, however, have maintained that he was not a prophet but rather a righteous man and an equitable, just judge. Ibn Jarīr suspended judgment on the matter; Allah knows best.

Ibn Jurayj(3) and Ibn Abī Najīḥ narrated from Mujāhid that Dhul-Kifl was not a prophet but a righteous man who undertook for his people to manage their affairs and judge between them with justice; hence he was called “Dhul-Kifl,” the guarantor.(4)

Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim transmitted—through Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind—that when Elisha grew old he said, “Would that I could appoint someone over the people during my lifetime, so that I might observe how he conducts himself.” He therefore assembled the people and declared, “Whoever guarantees me three things I will appoint in my stead: he must fast by day, stand in prayer by night, and never become angry.”

A man whom the eyes looked down upon stood up and said, “I will.”

Elisha asked, “Will you fast by day, stand in prayer at night, and never become angry?” He replied, “Yes.”

Elisha dismissed them that day and repeated the same words the following day. The people remained silent, but that same man rose and said, “I will.” So he appointed him as his successor. He said—