Dhu al-Kifl; A Prophet Who Was Given Lots of Blessings
He was one of the messengers of God who succeeded Prophet Moses (AS). He spent a lot of time worshipping God and that is why God gave him lots of blessings.
According to a Hadith from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Dhu al-Kifl was from Hadhramaut in Yemen. It has been said that the mother of Dhu al-Kifl did not have any children and prayed to God to give her a child when she was an old woman and God accepted her prayers.
His real name is said to be Ouwaidia ibn Idrim. Some say his name was Ezekiel. Others believe he was Ilyas, Yehoshua or one of the sons of Prophet Job (AS). Meanwhile, according to some stories about prophets, Dhu al-Kifl was the son of David (AS) and a brother of Suleiman (AS).
when Dhu al-Kifl was a young man, Yasa’ was the messenger of God. One day, Yasa’ told his people: “Who wants to be my successor so that he would guide people after me, provided that he would not get angry, would fast in the days and worship God at nights?” Ouwaidia rose to his feet and said, “I would do these”. Yasa’ repeated his question three times and every time it was Ouwaidia who responded to his call. After some time Yasa’ passed away and Ouwaidia was appointed to prophethood by God.
Dhu al-Kifl is generally understood to mean ‘one of a double portion’. Some scholars have suggested that the name means ‘the man with the double recompense’ or rather ‘the man who received recompense twice over’.
There are different views as to why he became known as Dhu al-Kifl. According to one of them, for instance, he defended and protected 70 prophets of Bani Isra’il and saved them from being killed. Others believe God gave him a lot of blessings and rewards because of his abundant acts of worship. It is also said that he received those blessings because he fulfilled his promise to Yasa’.
Dhu al-Kifl is mentioned in the Quran twoice in Surahs Al-Anbiya and Saad along with other messengers of God like Ismail (AS) and Idris (AS).
Dhu al-Kifl, like Prophet David (AS), judged among the people. He is also said to have been a very righteous, pious and patient man.
There is a grave in the southwestern Iranian city of Dezful which is attributed to Dhu al-Kifl. There is also a grave near the city of Najaf, Iraq, attributed to him.
