Prophet Daniel – The Righteous And Courageous Prophet

(Cite: Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin & Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran. (2018), Prophet Daniel , Encyclopedia of Muhammad , Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 241-244.)

The Muslims consider Daniel as a prophet, though he is not mentioned in the Holy Quran. It was he who preached in Babylonian 'Iraḳ—that is to say, Chaldea—exhorting the people to return to God. He lived during the reigns of the Persian king Lahorasp and of Cyrus, and taught these two princes the unity of God and the true religion. When Daniel announced his prophethood, Cyrus made him the chief of all his kingdom in order that he might teach his people the true religion. The prophet asked the king to let him go back to Palestine and build the Temple. Cyrus consented to the reconstruction of the sanctuary, but refused to let him go, saying, "If I had a thousand prophets like thee, I should have them all stay with me." There is another tradition, to the effect that Daniel was king of the Israelites after their return from captivity. ¹

Ancient texts discovered at Ugarit in Syria during the 20th century reveal that, well before any of the Bible was written, the Canaanites knew a legend, a hero named Daniel. ² The pronunciation ‘Dani'el’ " (God is my Judge) is more probable than "Dan'el" (God is a Judge). The hiatus between the vowels "i" and "e" gave rise to the prouunciation "Daniyel”. According to rabbinical tradition Daniel was of royal descent; and his fate, together with that of his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, was foretold by the Isaiah to King Hezekiah.

Daniel used to interpret dreams and receive apocalyptic visions. In the book of Ezekiel, Daniel is described as:

وَكَانَ فِيهَا هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلثَّلَاثَةُ: نُوحٌ وَدَانِيآلُ وَأَيُّوبُ، فَإِنَّهُمْ إِنَّمَا يُخَلِّصُونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِبِرِّهِمْ، يَقُولُ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ. ³

Even if those three men, Noah, Danel undefined and Job, were living there, their goodness would save only their own lives.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

وَفِي وَسْطِهَا نُوحٌ وَدَانِيآلُ وَأَيُّوبُ، فَحَيٌّ أَنَا، يَقُولُ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ، إِنَّهُمْ لَا يُخَلِّصُونَ ٱبْنًا وَلَا ٱبْنَةً. إِنَّمَا يُخَلِّصُونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِبِرِّهِمْ. ⁴

Even if Noah, Danel, and Job lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their own children. Their goodness would save only their own lives.”

هَا أَنْتَ أَحْكَمُ مِنْ دَانِيآلَ! سِرٌّ مَا لَا يَخْفَى عَلَيْكَ. ⁵

You think you are wiser than Danel undefined that no secret can be kept from you.

These verses prove that Daniel did exist, was a righteous man, and was known for his wisdom. the Book of Chronicles portrays him as the son of David . and states:

وَهَؤُلَاءِ هُمْ بَنُو دَاوُدَ ٱلَّذِينَ وُلِدُوا لَهُ فِي حَبْرُونَ: ٱلْبِكْرُ أَمْنُونُ مِنْ أَخِينُوعَمَ ٱلْيَزْرَعِيلِيَّةِ. ٱلثَّانِي دَانِيئِيلُ مِنْ أَبِيجَايِلَ ٱلْكَرْمَلِيَّةِ. ⁶

Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess.

However, as per the authentic source (the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad given below), it is established that he was a messanger of Allah.

Allah Saves Daniel From The Lions

According to Muhammad ibn Jarir, it was Nebuchadnezzar who ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lion's den. ⁷ This incident is mentioned in the hadith as:

قَالَ: ضَرَّى بُخْتَنَصَّرُ أَسَدَيْنِ، فَأَلْقَاهُمَا فِي جُبٍّ، وَجَاءَ بِدَانِيَالَ، فَأَلْقَاهُ عَلَيْهِمَا فَلَمْ يُهَيِّجَاهُ، فمَكَثَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ، ثُمَّ اشْتَهَى مَا يَشْتَهِي الِآدَمَيُّونَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى إِرْمِيَا، وَهُوَ بِالشَّامِ: أَنْ أَعْدِدْ طَعَامًا وَشَرَابًا لِدَانِيَالَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، أَنَا بِأَرْضِ الْمُقَدَّسَةِ وَدَانِيَالُ بِأَرْضِ بَابِلَ مِنْ أَرْضِ الْعِرَاقِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ: أَنْ أَعْدِدْ مَا أَمَرْنَاكَ، فَإِنَّا سَنُرْسِلُ إِلَيْكَ مَنْ يَحْمِلُكَ وَيَحْمِلُ مَا أَعْدَدْتَ، فَفَعَلَ، فَأَرْسَلَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى مَنْ حَمَلَهُ وَحَمَلَ مَا أَعَدَّ، حَتَّى وَقَفَ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْجُبِّ، فَقَالَ دَانْيَالُ: مَنْ هَذَا؟ قَالَ: أَنَا إِرْمِيَا، قَالَ: مَا جَاءَ بِكَ؟ قَالَ: أَرْسَلَنِي إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ، قَالَ: وَقَدْ ذَكَرَنِي؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، فَقَالَ دَانْيَالُ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَنْسَى مَنْ ذَكَرَهُ، وَالْحَمْدُ (ص:76) لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَخِيبُ مَنْ دَعَاهُ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي مَنْ وَثِقَ بِهِ لَمْ يَكِلْهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يَجْزِي بِالْإِحْسَانِ إِحْسَانًا، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يَجْزِي بِالصَّبِرِ نَجَاةً، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هُوَ يَكْشِفُ ضُرَّنَا بَعْدَ كَرْبِنَا، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هُوَ ثِقَتُنَا حِينَ يَسُوءُ ظَنُّنَّا بِأَعْمَالِنَا، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هُوَ رَجَاؤُنَا حِينَ تَنْقَطِعُ الْحِيَلُ عَنَّا. ⁸

“Nebuchadnezzar captured two lions and threw them into a pit. He then brought Daniel and threw him at them; yet they did not pounce on him; rather, he remained as Allah wished. When he required food and drink, Allah revealed to Jeremiah , who was in (Palestine/Syria): "Prepare food and beverages for Daniel ." Jeremiah said: "O Lord I am in Jerusalem while Daniel is in Babylon (Iraq)." Allah revealed to him: "Do what I have commanded you to do, and I shall send you the one who will carry you and what you have prepared." Jeremiah did so, and Allah sent him something that would carry him until he arrived at the brink of the pit. Then Daniel asked: "Who is this?" He answered: "I am Jeremiah ." He asked: "What brought you?" He answered: "Your Lord sent me to you." He said: "And so my Lord has remembered me?" He said: "Yes." Daniel said: "Praise be to Allah Who has never forgotten me! And Praise be to Allah Who never forgets those who appeal to Him! And Praise be to Him Who compensates good with good, rewards patience with safety, dispels harm after distress, assures us when we are overwhelmed, and is our hope when skill fails us." ⁹

Other details regarding Daniel are scarce. We only know what is mentioned in the hadith of Prophet Muhammad , and the Christian and Jewish religious texts. Hence his date of demise is unknown, and his grave is unmarked.

Body of Daniel

Abul Aa'lia said: "When Tastar was invaded, we found, in the treasure house of Al-Harmazan, a bed on which lay a dead man, with a holy script at his bedside. We took the scripture to Umar Ibn Al Khattab. He called Ka-b and he translated it into Arabic, and I was the first Arab to read it. I read it as I read the Qur'an." Here, I (Khalid Ibn Dinar) said to Abul Aa'lia: "What was in it?" He said: "Life history, annals, songs, speech, and what is to come." I asked: "And what did you do with the man?" He said: "We dug in the river bank thirteen separate graves. At nightfall we buried him and leveled all the graves in order to mislead people for they would tamper with him." I asked: "And what did they want from him?" He said: "When the sky was cloudless for them, they went out with his bed, and it rained." I asked: "Who did you think the man was?" He said; "A man called Daniel." I asked: "And for how long had he been dead when you found him?" He said: "Three hundred years." I asked: "Did not anything change on him?" He said: "No, except for the hairs of his face (beard, and mustache); the skin of the prophets is not harmed by the earth, nor devoured by hyenas."

The chain of citation from Abul Aa'lia is good. However, if the date of the dead man's death was really three hundred years, he was not a prophet but a saintly man. As there was no prophet between Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad , according to the hadith in Bukhari. It could be that he had died eight hundred years earlier, which would be near to Daniel's time, so there is a possibility that it could be Daniel . However, the body could still have been somebody else’s, either a prophet or a saint. Yet the truth is more likely he was Daniel, because he had been taken by the King of Persia and remained imprisoned. (As mentioned above).

Daniel’s Ring

Ibn Abu Dunya also reported, by a chain of citations, that a ring was seen on the hand of Ibn Abu Barda Ibn Abu Musa . The gem was carved with two lions with a man among them, whom they were licking. Abu Barda said: "This is the ring of that man whom the people of this town say is Daniel . Abu Musa took it the day he was buried. The learned people of the town told Abu Musa that soothsayers and astrologers told the king in Daniel’s time that a boy would be born who would destroy him and his kingdom. So the king swore to kill all the baby boys, except that they threw Daniel in the lions' den, and the lion and lioness began to lick him and did not harm him. His mother came and took him. Abu Musa said: "and so Daniel carved his image and the image of the two lions into the gem of his ring, for him not to forget Allah's blessing upon him in this.'" ¹⁰

Regarding the scrolls revealed upon Daniel , no authentic information is available. Hence his prophecies regarding Prophet Muhammad will be cited from the Bible.

• ¹  Isidore Singer (1902), The Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnalis Company, New York, USA, Vol. 4, Pg. 426-429.
• ²  Robert S. Ellwood, Gregory D. Elles (1998), The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Facts on File Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 102-103.
• ³  The Bible, Ezekiel 14: 14
• ⁴  The Bible, Ezekiel 14: 20
• ⁵  The Bible, Ezekiel 28: 3
• ⁶  The Bible, 1 Chronicles 3: 1
• ⁷  Isidore Singer (1902), The Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnalis Company, New York, USA, Vol. 4, Pg. 429.
• ⁸  Ibn Abi Al-Dunya (1988), Al Farajo Ba’ad Ashiddhah, Dar ul Riyan Lil Tarath, Egypt, Pg. 75.
• ⁹  Abul Fida Ismail Ibne Kathir, Stories of the Prophets (Translated by Muhammad Mustapha), Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 165.
• ¹⁰  Abul Fida Imaduddin Ibn-e-Kathir (2003), Qasis-ul-Anbiya (translated, English), Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 520.