Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem Assalamu Alaikum.
Idris (as) came from present day Iraq and migrated to present day Egypt, after which his people spread throughout north and western Africa, during his time his people built 88 cities, the first cities on earth, in those times a city was a country so that means his people established 88 civilisations.
The following is a quote from another work: Idris was the third Prophet. He came after Adam and Shith (may peace be upon them). Idris was the first to write with a pen. Fifty Books were revealed to him. He was born in Babylon, a city in Iraq. Before he received the Revelation, he followed the rules revealed to Prophet Shith, the son of Adam. When Idris grew older, Allah bestowed Prophethood on him. During his lifetime all the people were Muslim; no one associated partners with Allah.
Afterwards, Idris left his hometown of Babylon because a great number of his people committed many sins even after he told them not to do so. Some of the Muslims left with Idris. It was hard for them to leave their home.
They asked the Prophet Idris: “If we leave Babylon, where will we find a place like it?” Prophet Idris said: “If we immigrate for the sake of Allah, He will provide for us.” So the people went with Prophet Idris and they reached the land of Egypt. They saw the Nile River. Idris stood at its bank and mentioned Allah, the Exalted, by saying: “Subhanallah.”
Idris (may peace be upon him) was the first to draw for his own people the rules of designing cities.
Every group of the nation of Prophet Idris built cities in their lands. During Prophet Idri s’ time, eighty-eight (88) cities were built (they were among the first civilisations of Man).
Prophet Idris was famous for his wisdom. Among his wise statements is: “Patience is of three kinds: a) to be patient in performing what Allah made obligatory among the matters of obedience: like praying and fasting Ramadan b) to be patient in refraining from what Allah forbade: like leaving out prayers, drinking alcohol, and stealing c) to be patient when inflicted with hardships and calamities: like the pain or the harm caused by people, poverty, or sadness, along with belief, leads to success.”
After Prophet Idris died, Iblis appeared to the people in the shape of a man. He whispered to them to build five statues of five pious men who had died so that they would always remember them. Some people made the statues of those five pious men.
After a long period of time, Iblis whispered to them to blaspheme and worship these statues. Some of the people followed him.
Sometime after the death of Idris, ignorance spread among the people.
There was no Prophet among the people at that time. Iblis appeared to the people and told them: “Worship those five statues.” The people worshipped those statues and as a result, became idol worshipper. (this was not the first kufr to appear, but when people on earth began to worship other people as gods).
وَقَالُوا لا تَذَرُنَّ ءالِهَتَكُمْ وَلا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلا سُوَاعًا وَلا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا
Ayah 23 of Surat Nuh states the names of the five pious Muslims the people made statues of and worshipped. The names of those five pious Muslims were: Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasr.
After blasphemy had spread on earth, Allah sent a Prophet named Nuh, (may peace be upon him). He started calling the people to Islam; to worship only Allah and not to associate partners with Him.
The period between Idris and Nuh was one thousand years.
Our master Nuh moved among the people telling them: “O you people leave out that which you worship other than Allah: Worship Allah alone. Leave out worshipping those five statues and worship Allah alone.”
Our master Nuh, (may peace be upon him), was the first Messenger sent to the blasphemers, to call them to worship Allah alone.
For 950 years our master Nuh, may peace be upon him, moved among the people telling them to worship Allah alone. Most of them belied him, mocked him, and harmed him.
Then Allah revealed to him that no one else among his people would become believers. Those who believed already were about eighty-three (83) people.
Nuh started making supplication to Allah against them, saying:
وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ لا تَذَرْ عَلَى الأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا
Allah revealed to Nuh to build an ark, and Allah revealed how to build it. Nuh built the ark, then went on it. His three children who were believers went with him. Each one of them had his wife with him. People who believed in him from other than his relatives also went on the ark.
On the ark Nuh took a pair of each kind of animal: cows, sheep, and other than that. Allah ordered the earth to spring up its water and the sky to bring down its water. The water of the sky and the water of the earth both joined and the water covered the earth. The ark and those on it survived.
Allah, the Exalted, drowned all the humans who had belied Prophet Nuh and remained worshipping the idols.
Then the earth stopped its water from springing forth and the sky held its rain from falling down. After a while, the earth became as dry as it had been before the flood.
The ark landed on a mountain near the city of Mousil in Iraq. This mountain is called al-Judiyy. Prophet Nuh and those with him came down from the ark on to earth.
The ark landed on al-Ju diyy, and Prophet Nuh and those with him went on land once again.
Of those who went out of the ark, none had children–except for Sam, Ham, and Yafith — the three sons of Nuh. Those three had children and from them humans spread: the Arabs, Romans, Indians, Africans and others. All people on earth today are offspring of Nuh’s three Muslim sons.
A long period of time after Prophet Nuh, some people started to associate partners with Allah and worship other than Allah. Allah sent a Prophet among the Arabs who was in Yaman. His name was Hud.
Prophet Hud started calling the people to Islam, telling them: “O people, worship Allah alone and leave out that which you worship other than Allah.” Some believed in him and others belied him.
Some people believed in Hud, may peace be upon him and others belied him, so Allah destroyed them with the wind.
Allah, the Exalted, directed a strong wind on them for seven nights and eight days. The wind blew them in the air and dropped them down on earth with their heads separated from their bodies. All people of Aad (Aad is the name of Hud’s tribe) died– except for the believers.
(End of Quote)
Idris (as), Noah (as) and Time
According to the documentary hypothesis (one of four models used to explain the origins of the first five books of the Bible, and is the most widespread and commonly agreed upon hypotheses), the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch/Torah), including Genesis, were collated during the 5th century BC from four main sources, which themselves date from no earlier than the 10th century BC.
That means the prophet Nuh (as) is said to have lived before the 10th and 11th century BC, the dates are not exact but that is the time scale we are speaking about.
The people of Idris (as) met their end with the flood Allah sent during His (as) time, looking at this period scientifically it coincided with some significant dates.
For example, “the end of the Younger Dryas (period) has been dated to around 11,550 years ago, occurring at 10,000 BP”, BP means before the year 2000. “The International Commission on Stratigraphy put the start of the Greenlandian stage, and implicitly the end of the Younger Dryas, at 11,700 years before 2000.”
The Antarctic Cold Reversal appears to have started a thousand years before the Younger Dryas and has no clearly defined start or end. The Huelmo/Mascardi Cold Reversal in the Southern Hemisphere ended at the same time.
The world has gone through drastic changes which some modern Islamic scholars question their validity because of how they interpret related ahadith, believing the ahadith make it impossible to accept science.
Ibn Abbas (ra) said: “The world is seven days. Each day is like a thousand years. And The Messenger of Allah (saws) was sent at the end of that.” (Suyuti)
Anas ibn Malik (ra) said that The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The life span of the world is seven days in the afterlife days. Almighty Allah said, “a day with your Lord is equivalent to a thousand years in the way you count”. (Suyuti)
So, what do these time periods mean? the context of the statement tells you the meaning of the words, a person can say my dunya is 40 years old referring to his life, or modern society is 40 years old, in fact we often use this kind of time keeping in documenting periods, we say pre industrial or postmodern in contrast to what existed other than this, this is that manner of speaking in Arabic.
Here is alternate date from the prophet so is it contradictory or rather both are refring to different things and translators failed to understand the context of each:
“According to a hadith narrated by many scholars, including Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the great hadith scholar and founder of the Hanbali school, the Prophet (saws) refers to the beginning of a certain calendar, saying, the time that had passed in the world up until him was 5600 years:
Ahmad ibn Hanbal transmitted in his ‘Ilal: “Five thousand six hundred years have passed from this world”. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 89)”
That is about 5000BC so that hadith should read the Dunya you know is 5600 years old, this roughly coincides with the time period of Ibrahim (as) and most likely refers to the birth of the Arabs and Jews. These time periods are likely marking events in the life time the prophets and how they changed the Dunya of the world.
You will find Rasul Allah (saws) is more nuanced in His (saws) speech than modern scholars are in theirs, and give Him (saws) credit for, so don’t ascribe simplicity to someone Allah taught the nature of subatomic space to (24:35) that is at the height of all knowledge.
Rasul Allah (saws) explains what He (saws) meant by 7000 years in other ahadith.
Ibn Abd al-Hamid says in his Commentary; Muhammad ibn Fadl narrates from Hammad bin Zayd, and he from Yahya ibn Atik, and he from Muhammad ibn Sirin and he from one of the People of the Book who became a Muslim that,
Allah created the earth and sky (physical and subatomic) in six days. A day with your Lord is equivalent to a thousand years in the way you count. And (likewise) the life span of the world (you know) is six days, and the Day of Reckoning will fall on the seventh. Six days have gone by, and you are in the seventh.”
This gives a new meaning to the term lifespan that all these ahadith are talking about, 7000 years is a period in between periods, what came before it and what will come after it.
At-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabir says: Ahmad ibn Nadr al-Askari and Jaffar Ibn Muhammad al-Faryabi (with the full history of its transmission) narrated. They said from Daqqaq Ibn Zaid Al-Juhani that:
I had a dream and told it to Messenger of Allah (saws). He spoke the words inside him: O Messenger of Allah, I am with you on a seven-stepped pulpit, and you are on its highest degree. He (saws) said: As for the seven-stepped pulpit, I am on the highest step, the life of the world is seven thousand years. And I shall be in the last thousand.
Because of this hadith it is impossible for the 7000 years in the first ahadith to have meant this is how long the earth has existed for, or this is how long man has been on earth, or this is how much time exactly man has left on earth, because we are in the year 1439 hijri and the thousandth year in these ahadith finished in the year 1000 hijri.
So, every hadith that mentions 7000 years for this world that time period has already expired.
What Rasul Allah (saws) meant by 7000 years is that, the world you know will exist for 7000 years, the world has changed because of climatic events on a global scale a number of times, this has forced human migration and habits.
That means the Dunya we know that has existed on earth has changed and the last one we know, its current image (shape) will last for 7000 year before the hour is established and new events occur that will end the universe, (which will also take their own time to occur), so the number 7000 is neither exact or means the history of the world, but the lifespan of how the world looks, most likely under the influence of the children of Abraham who Allah made a covenant with to shape the earth:
“God asks Abraham to do certain things, in return for which he will take special care of them. The covenant between God and Jews is the basis for the idea of the Jews as the chosen people. The first covenant was between God and Abraham. Jewish men are circumcised as a symbol of this covenant.”
“You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Genesis 17)
Anas ibn Malik narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: The lifespan of (Your Dunya) is seven days in the days of the afterlife. Almighty Allah has said: One day in the sight of your lord is like a thousand years. Allah will ascribe the equivalent of good deeds of the seven thousand years of the age of this world to the one who meets the need of any of his brothers in the faith on the path of Allah as if he spends his days in fasting and his nights in worship. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 88)
That means the original time for Qiyamah was in the year 1000 hijrah, But of course, as is well known, later the messenger of Allah (saws) said “I hope my community will not fail to maintain their position in the sight of their Lord if He delays them half a day (beyond the thousand). Sa’d was asked: How long is half a day? He said: It is five hundred years”. (Sahih, Abu Dawud, Al-Hakim, Imam Ahmad and Abu Nai’m)
The Prophet (saws) said, “Allah will not fail to detain this community for less than half a day (500 years)”. (Abu Dawud, Sahih)
Imam Tirmidhi (ra) narrates in his Jamii from Asim who narrated from Zirr who narrated from ‘Abdullah who narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) who said: “A man is coming from the people of my family whose name agrees with my name.” ‘Asim said: “Abu Salih narrated to us from Abu Hurairah, who said: ‘If there did not remain in the world but one day (1000 years Hijrah), then Allah would extend that day (the half day mentioned above) until he comes (to 1500 years Hijrah, we are now in 1439 Hijrah).’” (Hasan, Vol. 4, Book 7, Hadith 2231)
The Messenger of Allah said, “Even if there remains from this world a single day (1000 years), Allah will send a man from us who will fill it with justice, just as it was filled with oppression.” (Ahmad) And in another narration, ‘Ali related that the Messenger of Allah said, “The Mahdi is from us — the family of the Prophet, Allah will rectify him in a single night.” (Ahmad) And “The world will not pass away before the Arabs are ruled by a man (referring to Imam Mahdi) of my family whose name will be the same as mine” (Abu Dawood)
Imam Al-Bukhari narrates 6 Ahadith in his Sahih in which the prophet (saws) gives an Analogy about the lifespan of Islam on Earth, the knowledge of this subject was well known and discussed.
Abu Musa (ra) said, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed labourers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, ‘We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.’ The man said to them, ‘Don’t quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.’ But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, ‘Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.’ So, they worked till the time of `Asr prayer. Then they said, “Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.’ The man said to them, ‘Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,’ but they refused. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 37, Hadith 11)
If you understand this analogy then you understand that the existence of the universe and life in it is at the expense and discretion of the Muslim Ummah, the Muslims are doing the work of keeping this universe “alive”.
The world the kufar built is from the light of Muhammad (saws) and because of it, Allah states this clearly in the Quran when He tells them what they have achieved is only Allah’s promise to teach them about the entire universe:
“In time We shall make them (the kufar) fully understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within themselves [the microscopic and subatomic], so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth.” [Qur’an 41:53]
This is the understanding and acceptance of the Mala’ikah, who have all lowered their heads and prostrated to this reality that the universe only exists because of the Muslim Ummah.
What more proof is there than the fact Allah extended the lifespan of this universe for Imam Mahdi (as) so He (as) can rectify what the kufar planned from the time the Muslims entered Jerusalem and the Christians started the work of corrupting them away from their Ihsan generation after generation, Allah’s curse be upon them.
Why would Allah extend the life of the universe just so justice can be seen in it? this is because each creation is responsible for bringing into existence something of Allah’s knowledge, the creatures with freewill choose what they want to embody in this life, the people of good bring good into existence the people of evil bring evil.
Imam Mahdi (as) will spread Justice on earth in the exact same measure as we are seeing evil spread today, that is His (as) choice and achievements in life and for that Allah will extend the life of the entire universe so that kind of justice has a chance to exist, so it can be known, so nature (taste) of Allah’s qualities in it can be seen, the Muslim Ummah will help Him (as) do this work.
“Do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction” (2:195), because they want to remove Islam from earth the Mala’ikah have taken this verse upon themselves and made it haram for them to hand over the reins and future of what Allah created to the Kufar, lest Allah ask them if they had a hand in ending their own lives.
Because of this “hole” the kufar have taken the world into, this is now the new reality:
“It is He who expelled the ones who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah ; but [the decree of] Allah came upon them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts [so] they destroyed their houses by their [own] hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision.” (59:2)
This is why in the bible it is Europe, one faction of the ruling class, that will dismantle America and the west and only after that will the major wars of the end begin.
These ahadith about Allah extending the lifespan of the universe by half a day are not saying the world will end in 1500 hijra, the prophets (saws) statements are general descriptions in a conversation, not exact and precise scientific statements in a research paper, we invented that language and its connotations, so learn how people normally spoke in the ancient world to understand these ahadith, don’t make them speak how you think.
When Allah revealed this to Rasul Allah (saws) He (saws) then said “The life of my community WILL NOT EXCEED 1500 YEARS.”
(Suyuti, Al-Kashf ‘an Mujawazat Hadhihi al-Ummah al-Alf, ‘Al-Hawi lil-Fatawi’, Suyuti. 2/248, Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan. Bursawi 4/262, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-`Ilal, p. 89)
He also said (saws) “I CAME AT THE AFTERNOON PRAYER OF MANKIND”. (Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Kitab al-`Ilal p.89).
When you read what else He (saws) said is to occur after this time you will understand, our work The Lifespan Of Islam On Earth gives a complete account of these ahadith.
The Knowledge Of Idris (as)
Through History among non-Islamic civilisations Idris (as) was known as Hermes;
Abu Maˁshar in his Book of Thousands writes: Hermes is a title, like Caesar or Khusrau. Its first bearer, who lived before the Flood, was whom the Persians call Abanjhan, the grandson of Jayumart (= Kayumart), the Persian Adam; and he whom the Hebrews call Khanukh (Enoch), whose name in Arabic is Idris. The Harranians call upon his wisdom (declare his prophethood).
Ibn Abi Uṣaibiˁa, Uyun al-anba said: He (= Asclepius) was a pupil of Hermes the Egyptian. Abū Maˁshar says: “There were three persons called Hermes (in history). Hermes the First, he upon whom the threefold Grace was conferred (the prophet), lived before the Flood. The meaning of Hermes is appellative, as is the case of Caesar and Khusrau. The Persians, in their historical books, call him Hoshang, that is, the Righteous, and it is he whose prophecy the Harranians (People of Harran) mention. The Persians say that his grandfather was Kayomarth, that is, Adam. The Hebrews say that he is Akhnukh (Enoch), that is, Idris in Arabic.
We have written about the Prophet Idris’s knowledge of the universe recorded in the Book of Enoch elsewhere, here is another sample of the prophet’s knowledge about subatomic space from his words recorded in the Emerald tablets of the prophet Idirs (as), this work was the basis for the fabled philosophers stone, it was thought in the prophets words lay the formula for the compound that would turn base metals into gold, we are giving it its proper tafsir here.
The prophet Idris (saws) in a tafsir from the dawn of man, dating back more than 12000 years, gives a scientific explanation of the sun’s subatomic reaction, explaining in detail how it works.
Speaking about subatomic particles and the forces of the universe that affect them, He (as) said:
Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
That which is below (the earthly, the physical) is like that which is above (the spiritual, the subatomic) & that which is above is like (is influenced by) that which is below (it is a two-way relationship) to do the miracles of one only thing (to do the miracles Allah the one, the force of the universe).
And as all things have been & arose (where created) from one (particle) by the meditation of one (the intervention of the force of the universe): so all things have their birth from this one thing (the particle) by adaptation (from it; All Things Are Created From particles, Atoms).
The Sun is its father (the sun is a giant subatomic reaction), the moon its mother (the moon reflects the suns forces and affects earth subatomicaly), the wind hath carried it in its belly (weather on earth is a result of atmospheric pressure and energy, it influences how these particles move and behave on earth), the earth is its nurse (the earth nurtures the creations that come from it and helps them grow).
The father of all perfection in the whole world is here (perfection comes subtleness, And Angels do the work of subtleness/perfection in the universe, giving it to man, and by extension the kingdom of God, “Allah is the light (particles) of the heavens and the earth” (24:35), hence the father of all prophethood is here).
Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth (Subatomic particles become physical matter, hence it takes all forces in the universe to create physical matter).
Separate thou the earth (physical) from the fire (subatomic), the subtle (Latif) from the gross sweetly with great industry (science. This is how you will find the subatomic, in other words differentiate between the physical and subatomic with science through your work, through experiments, through chemistry, scholars through history understood this much and created the science of Alchemy to achieve this).
It (particles) ascend from the earth to the heaven (space) & again it (they) descend to the earth & recieves the force (influence) of things superior & inferior (particles are influenced by the forces in nature. The balance on earth influences the balance of the universe and vice versa, Allah teaches this and the Philosophers stone in Surah al Rahman).
By this means, (the subatomic world), you shall have the glory of (power over) the whole world (Allah says in Surah al Mulk, “Blessed/Elevated Is He in whose hand is the Dominion (control over the Universe), Who Has Power to do All things (67:1)).
& thereby all obscurity (veils of perception) shall fly from you (you will understand the nature of things, the nature of the universe, the nature of creation, the nature of Allah, (41:53), the nature of prophethood).
Its (subatomic) force is above all (earthly) force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing (subatomic thing) & penetrates every solid thing (subatomic forces manipulate subatomic particles and these particles and forces pass through all solid objects).
So was the world created (from this).
From this are & do come admirable adaptations (all things, creations by variation, the particles combining with each other to create everything) whereof the means (process) is here in this (reality).
Hence, I am called Hermes Trismegist (thrice blessed), having the three parts of the philosophy (science) of the whole world (that explains the entire universe).
That which I have said of the operation of the Sun (how it works) is accomplished & ended.
(I have taught you how the sun works, fulfilled my duty to Allah to spread the knowledge He has given to me. You will find similar statements in the Book of Enoch). (End of Quote)
These precise explanations of Idris (as) are not unique in the least among his teaching, the Book of Enoch (Idris) contains similar explanations about all the celestial bodies including blackholes, in it the Mala’ikah promise to preserve the book for future generations just like Allah promised to preserve the Quran.
The text of the Smaragdine Tablet its author is Hermes Trismegistus (“Hermes the Thrice-Blessed”), it dates back to sixth and eighth century Arabic texts, the veracity of the text is well established by the reality of its contents and the fact its author signed it at the end as Idris (as), this translation was done by Isaac Newton a translator well versed in science and language.
The oldest documentable source of the text is the “Kitab Balaniyus al-Hakim fi’l-`Ilal Kitāb sirr al-ḫalīqa” كتاب سر الخليقة و صنعة الطبيعة أو كتاب العلل للحكيم بلنياس (book of Balinas the wise on the Causes (of the Universe)) written in Arabic between the sixth and eighth centuries. “Balinas” (or Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana) in his book, Balinas explains that the Emerald Tablet is ancient Hermetic wisdom, he discovered the text in a vault below a statue of Hermes in Tyana (In Anatolia), and that, inside the vault, an old corpse on a golden throne held the emerald tablet (a king wishing to be buried with his treasured knowledge).
Following Balinas, an early version of the Emerald Tablet appeared in Kitab Sirr al-Asrar: (Book of the Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature), itself a composite of earlier works, and in Kitab Ustuqus al-Uss al-Thani (Second Book of the Elements of Foundation) attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan. The text is also in an enlarged thirteenth century edition of Secretum Secretorum (also known as Kitab Sirr al-Asrar).