وَإِنَّ إِلْيَاسَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٢٣
And indeed, Elias was from among the messengers,
إِلْيَاس
Ilyas: meaning of the name
Boy Hebrew origin Ilyās
ProphetIn the QuranName of the prophet Ilyas (Elijah); in Hebrew, “my God is the Lord”
The word as it is recited in the Quran: Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary, As-Saffat 37:123.
Ilyas in Islam
Ilyas was a prophet sent to a people who worshipped the idol Baʿl: “Do you call upon Baʿl and forsake the Best of creators?” (37:125). The Quran counts him among the righteous (6:85) and the messengers (37:123), and greets him: “Peace be upon Il-Yasin” (37:130), a form of his name in the reading of Hafs; he is thus named three times.
Meaning of the name Ilyas
Ilyas is the Arabic form of the Hebrew Eliyyahu (Elijah), which reached Arabic through the Greek Elias: the name joins Eli, “my God”, and Yah, the name of the Lord in the Bible, and means “my God is the Lord”. It is therefore not an Arabic word and has no Arabic root. The name is widely given in the Muslim world: Ilyas in South Asia, İlyas in Turkey, Ilyes in the Maghreb, Elias in Europe.
- In Arabic
- إِلْيَاس إلياس
- Transliteration
- Ilyās
- Gender
- Boy
- Origin
- Hebrew
Is Ilyas in the Quran?
Yes: Ilyas is named in the Quran 3 times, in 2 surahs.
وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَإِلْيَاسَ كُلٌّ مِّنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ٨٥
And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias - and all were of the righteous.
سَلَٰمٌ عَلَىٰٓ إِلْ يَاسِينَ ١٣٠
"Peace upon Elias."
Is this name permissible?
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Ilyas in particular: the general rules of Islam apply.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.
Writing Ilyas in each language
- French
- Ilyes, Ilyas, Elias, Elyas, Ilias
- English
- Ilyas, Elias, Ilias
- Spanish
- Ilyas, Elías
- Turkish
- İlyas
- Arabic
- إِلْيَاس
Similar names
See also
- Al-Yasaالْيَسَع Name of the prophet al-Yasaʿ (Elisha); in Hebrew, “my God is salvation”
- Yasinيٰسِين The letters yā and sīn that open Surah 36; “O human being” according to Ibn ʿAbbas
- Zakariyaزَكَرِيَّا Name of the prophet Zakariyya (Zechariah); in Hebrew, “God has remembered”
- Yahyaيَحْيَى “He will live”; name of the prophet Yahya (John the Baptist)
- Isaعِيسَى Name of the prophet ʿIsa (Jesus), son of Maryam; from the Hebrew Yeshua, “God saves”