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Who was Idris?
The Story of Idris is the second book in Stories of the Prophets (Qisas al-Anbiya) by Imam Ibn Kathīr, the 14th-century scholar known for his history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah and his commentary on the Qurʾan. It is a short entry, because the sources about Idris, peace be upon him, are few. The book answers the question of who Idris was, what the Qurʾan says about him, and which of the reports about him can be trusted.
Ibn Kathīr begins with Surah Maryam, where Allah calls Idris a truthful prophet and says 'We raised him to a high place.' Idris, also known as Enoch, is placed by genealogists in the lineage of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and was the first after Adam and Seth to be granted prophethood. Ibn Kathīr records the report from Ibn Ishaq that Idris was the first to write with a pen, and warns that false attributes have been attached to him, as with other prophets. He then explains 'a high place' through the hadith of the Isra, in which the Prophet passed by Idris in the fourth heaven.
The book opens with the verse and then reads it closely, asking what 'a high place' means and which reports explain it. In a few minutes the listener gets a small, complete example of Ibn Kathīr's method: quote the Qurʾan, bring the hadith, weigh the reports. Joyful Muslims also offers The Story of Idris in the Arabic original, and in editions where each passage is read in Arabic, then in English. The same Arabic-first editions are available in Indonesian, Turkish, and Urdu.
Is there an English audiobook of The Story of Idris?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Story of Idris as an English audiobook (about 4 minutes), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It is the story of Prophet Idris, peace be upon him, from Ibn Kathīr's Qisas al-Anbiya, drawn from the Qurʾan and authentic traditions.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
How long is it?
About 4 minutes. It covers the verse about Idris in Surah Maryam, his place in the lineage of the Messenger of Allah, the report that he was the first to write with a pen, and the hadith of the Isra in which the Prophet passed by him in the fourth heaven.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
