The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Elias, Elisha, Ishmael and Balaam: Some of The Conditions of a Group of Prophets (PUT)
Some of The Conditions of a Group of Prophets (PUT)
Elias (Elijah), Alyasa` (Elisha), Ðul-Kifl, Ishmael,
Bal`am (Balaam)
God did say: Recite unto them the tale of him to whom We gave Our revelations,
but he sloughed them off, so Satan overtook him and he became of those
who lead astray(Al-A`râf:175), and this phrase was revealed about
Bal`am ben Ba`urâ' (Balaam ben Beor) and he was one of the Israelites
and was given the Great Name and he used to pray with it and his prays
are answered and so the pharaoh was inclined to him, and when the pharaoh
opposed Moses while Moses was calling him to the faith and leaving the
idols and also asking him to release the Israelites, and he (Moses) was
accompanied with miracles that made the pharaoh afraid, so the pharaoh
asked Balaam ben Beor to pray against Moses and his folks to keep him away
from him, so when he went to pray against Moses, his she-ass denied to
go, so he came along and struck her to let her keep on going wth him, so
then God made her speak and she said: woe to you Balaam why beating me?
Want me to come with you to pray against the prophet of God and his faithful
folks? But he did not stop and did not listen to her and kept on like that
until he killed her, and when he did so, the Great Name sloughed off from
him and his tongue could not mention it, and it is the saying of God: but
he sloughed them off, so Satan overtook him and he became of those who
lead astray. And had We willed We could have raised him by their means,
but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust. Therefor his likeness
is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attackest him he panteth with his
tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out(Al-A`râf:175-176)
and that was an example given by God to everyone that has the same characteristics
as him, for while he was a faithful man and his prays and calls are answered,
suddenly he turns to be an enemy for God and deserved the shame and wrath
from God, so God gave him His holy phrases and made hospitality towards
him and people asked for him to release them from adversities, and then
he turned to be a pain for the creatures and his tongue went out over his
chest, and he is the one who said when his tongue went out over his chest:
now life and after-life escaped away from me and nothing remained but plotting
and tricks.