then Hūd, then Ṣāliḥ, then Shuʿayb, then Moses and Aaron the sons of ʿImrān, then Ilyās son of Tashbīn son of al-ʿĀzar son of Aaron son of ʿImrān son of Qāhith son of Lāwī son of Jacob son of Isaac son of Abraham, peace be upon him—so he stated, though this order is open to objection.

Makhūl reported from Kaʿb: “Four prophets are alive. Two are on earth: Ilyās and al-Khiḍr; and two are in heaven: Idrīs and Jesus.”

We have already quoted those who claim that Ilyās and al-Khiḍr meet every year in the month of Ramaḍān in Jerusalem, that they perform the pilgrimage annually, and that they drink a single draught from Zamzam that suffices them until the same time the following year. We also cited the report that they meet on ʿArafāt each year, and we showed that nothing of this is authentic; the evidence rather indicates that al-Khiḍr has died, and that Ilyās likewise has passed away.

As for what Wahb ibn Munabbih and others have related—that when his people denied and harmed him he pleaded with his Lord to take him up, whereupon a beast whose color was like fire came to him, he mounted it, and God clothed him in feathers, enveloped him in light, removed from him the craving for food and drink, so that he became an angelic human, half-heavenly and half-earthly, and that he appointed Elishaʿ ibn Akhṭūb as his successor—this is dubious. It is one of the Israelite tales that are neither affirmed nor categorically denied, but its soundness appears unlikely. Allah knows best.

Now to the ḥadīth transmitted by the ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī:
Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥākim informed us, saying: Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd al-Maʿdānī of Bukhārā related to us; ʿAbdullāh ibn Maḥmūd narrated to us; ʿAbdān ibn Sinān narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Barqī narrated to us; Yazīd ibn Yazīd al-Balawī narrated to us; Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī narrated to us, from al-Awzāʿī, from Makhūl, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

“We were travelling with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and halted at a stopping place. Suddenly a man in the valley was saying, ‘O Allah, make me of the community of Muhammad—those upon whom mercy is shown, who are forgiven, whose repentance is accepted.’ I looked into the valley and saw a man whose height exceeded three hundred cubits. He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I replied, ‘Anas ibn Mālik, servant of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.’ He said, ‘Where is he?’ I answered, ‘There he is, listening to your words.’ He said, ‘Go to him, convey my greetings, and tell him: Your brother Ilyās sends you peace.’

“I went to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and informed him. He came until he met him; they embraced and exchanged greetings, then sat down and conversed. Ilyās said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, throughout the year I eat only on one day—on the day I break my fast—so let me eat today and you eat with me.’ Then a table was sent down for the two of them…"