Prophet Jeremiah, known as Aramaya, was a descendant of the House of Levi Ibn Jacob. His father was Hilkiah. Some have claimed he was the same figure as Al Khidr, a view related by Al Dahak from Ibn Abbas, but this is not considered correct.
Traditions About Jeremiah
Ibn Asakir reported that according to some old scrolls, Jeremiah once stood over the blood of John Ibn Zechariah as it flowed and said, "O blood, you have enlightened the people, so take a rest." The blood stopped flowing, condensed, and disappeared.
Another tradition tells that Jeremiah once asked Allah which of His servants was most beloved to Him. Allah answered that it was those who remembered Him far more than they thought about His creation, who did not dwell on death or claim eternal life, who turned away from worldly riches when tempted by them, and who remained content even when they lost such things. Allah said these were the ones He loved, and that He would reward them beyond what they desired.
Allah's Warning to the Children of Israel
Allah declares in the Qur'an: "And We gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guidance for the children of Israel, saying, take not other than Me as your Protector, O offspring of those whom We carried in the ship with Noah, verily he was a grateful slave. And We decreed for the children of Israel in the Scripture that indeed you would cause corruption in the earth twice, and you would become tyrants and extremely arrogant. So when the promise came for the first of the two, We sent against you slaves of Ours given to terrible warfare, and they entered the innermost parts of your homes, and it was a promise completely fulfilled. Then We gave you once again a return of victory over them, and We helped you with wealth and children, and made you more numerous. And We said, if you do good, you do good for yourselves, and if you do evil, you do it against yourselves. Then when the second promise came to pass, We permitted your enemies to make your faces sorrowful, and to enter the mosque of Jerusalem as they had entered it before, and to destroy with utter destruction whatever fell into their hands. It may be that your Lord will show mercy to you, but if you return to sin, We shall return to punishment, and We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers." (Ch 17:2–8)
Allah's Message Through Amos
Wahb Ibn Munbah reported that as sin increased among the Israelites, Allah revealed to a prophet named Amos that he should stand before the people and rebuke them for being hard hearted, blind, and deaf. Allah told him to remind them that He was merciful to them for the sake of their forefathers, and to ask them whether disobedience had ever truly benefited anyone, or obedience ever truly harmed anyone. Even animals remembered their homelands and returned to them, yet these people had forgotten why they had been favored for their forefathers' sake, and had abused the kindness shown to them. Their reciters worshipped other than Allah, their women had learned nothing useful, and their rulers had lied against Him and His messengers, their hearts and mouths full of falsehood. Allah swore that He would send against them a people of strange speech and strange faces, merciless even at the sight of tears, along with a cruel and tyrannical king whose army would be as vast as clouds, whose flags would resemble eagles' wings, and whose horses would cover great distances swiftly. They would reduce buildings to dust and leave villages abandoned, and Allah would not even look upon the faces of the people if they cried out to Him.
A Fuller Account of the Warning
Ibn Asaker recorded a related account through Ishaaq Ibn Bishr, who reported from Idris, who reported from Wahb Ibn Munbah, that Allah sent Jeremiah to the children of Israel when their situation had grown even worse, marked by disobedience, the killing of prophets, and greed. Allah had decided to take vengeance upon them and revealed to Jeremiah that He intended to destroy Jerusalem, instructing him to go to the Dome of the Rock to receive His commands and revelations.
Jeremiah, overwhelmed, tore his clothes, covered his face in ashes, and fell in prostration, crying out that he wished he had never been born rather than be the last prophet of Israel to witness Jerusalem's destruction in his lifetime. Allah told him to raise his head. When he did, weeping, he asked who Allah would send against them. Allah answered that it would be fire worshippers who feared no punishment and hoped for no reward from Him. Allah told Jeremiah to stand and listen to what would happen to Israel, reminding him that he had been chosen, favored, and honored even before this calling, and instructed him to accompany the king and offer him guidance and protection.
Jeremiah was told to deliver Allah's message to the people. He expressed his own weakness and asked for strength, and Allah reassured him that all things were under His control, that He had no equal, and that He would remain with Jeremiah so that no harm would come to him. Allah then told him to remind the people that He remembered them for the sake of their forefathers' good deeds, just as animals remember their homelands and return to them, yet the people had forgotten the purpose of His generosity and had squandered His favor. Their scholars and priests had strayed and turned to worshipping other than Him. Their kings and princes had been given great blessings yet believed themselves safe from His judgment, abandoning His Book and killing His prophets. Their teachers and jurists taught only what pleased them, and the children of former prophets, oppressed and led astray, desired the status of their fathers without their fathers' discipline, patience, piety, or kindness.
Allah swore that He would send upon them a punishment beyond understanding, replacing their comfort with hardship, chains, and imprisonment, and their palaces with dust. He would humiliate their women. He explained that He created His creatures with mercy, and that if they accepted His guidance, His mercy would be completed for them, but that when He grew displeased, His anger followed, and nothing survived His anger.
Jeremiah Pleads for His People
According to Ka'b, Jeremiah responded to Allah, acknowledging his own weakness before such a task, but noting that Allah had spared him despite living among a disobedient people. He said that if punished, he deserved it, but if spared, he hoped for Allah's kindness. He asked whether Allah truly intended to destroy the land that held His prophets and revelations, the mosque and homes that had praised Him, and to punish the descendants of Abraham, His faithful friend, and David, His chosen one. He asked which town or worshipper could hope to escape punishment if even they could not.
Allah answered that whoever disobeyed Him would not escape punishment, and that He had honored the Israelites because of their obedience, but if they turned to disobedience, He would count them among the disobedient until His mercy chose to rescue them.
Jeremiah reminded Allah of His covenant with Abraham and the salvation of Moses, who had also pleaded that the people not be abandoned or given over to their enemies. Allah answered that He had honored Jeremiah even in his mother's womb and chosen him ever since. He said that had the Israelites cared for orphans, widows, the helpless, and the stranded, He would have remained their Sustainer, and they would have flourished like a blessed garden. Instead, He lamented that despite being their kind shepherd, only those who honored His command received His honor, while others who displayed empty devotion in temples, marketplaces, hills, and under trees had moved even the heavens, earth, and creatures to wonder at their outward acts, yet it had changed nothing in their hearts, and even His Book had failed to reach them.
The People Refuse to Listen
Ka'b reported that when Jeremiah delivered this warning, the people accused him of lying, refusing to believe that Allah would destroy the land, the temple, His Book, His worship, or the practice of His Oneness. They seized Jeremiah, bound him, and threw him into prison. In response, Allah sent Nebuchadnezzar against them. He marched into the country with his troops and laid siege to the city, and when the siege dragged on, the people finally surrendered, opening the gates to his forces.
Nebuchadnezzar's Rule
Nebuchadnezzar ruled the conquered Israelites with great cruelty. He killed a third of the population, took a third captive, and spared only the elderly and disabled. He trampled the people with his cavalry, tore down their homes, dragged away their youth, and forced their women to stand guard in the marketplaces. He terrorized the population, destroyed their fortresses and temples, and burned the Torah. He asked after the prophet Daniel, who had once written to him, but learned Daniel had already died. Daniel's family produced the letter he had left behind, and among his relatives were his youngest son, also named Daniel, along with Azariah and Mishael. This younger Daniel would go on to succeed the elder one. Nebuchadnezzar then marched through Jerusalem into Syria, killing so many of the Israelites that they were nearly wiped out, before returning to Babylon with vast plunder, including seventy thousand captives, among them young princes and the children of priests.
Nebuchadnezzar Meets Jeremiah
Ibn Ishaaq Ibn Bishr reported, through Wahb Ibn Munbah, that after the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar learned that there had been a man among the Israelites who had accurately predicted everything that would happen, describing the king and foretelling the deaths of their warriors, the capture of their children, and the destruction of the temple and the Torah. The people had called this man a liar and imprisoned him. Nebuchadnezzar ordered him released. When Jeremiah was brought before him, the king asked whether he had warned his people of what would happen. Jeremiah confirmed it, and the king said he already knew this was true. Jeremiah explained that Allah had sent him to warn them, but they had accused him of lying, beaten him, and imprisoned him.
Nebuchadnezzar, struck by this, called the Israelites a wicked people for rejecting their own prophet and their Lord's message. He offered to honor Jeremiah and free him, inviting him to join his own court, or alternatively to remain in his homeland if he preferred. Jeremiah replied that he had remained under Allah's protection all along, since he had never left the country, and added that if the Israelites themselves had not left the land, they would have had nothing to fear from Nebuchadnezzar or anyone else. Hearing this, Nebuchadnezzar left him in peace, and Jeremiah went to live in Elia, also known as Elat.
A Variant Account of Their Meeting
According to Hisham Ibn Al Kalbi, when Nebuchadnezzar marched on Jerusalem, its king, a descendant of David who had built the city for the Israelites, made peace with him. Nebuchadnezzar took hostages and departed, but upon reaching Thahria, he learned that the Israelites had risen up and killed their own king for having made peace with him. In response, Nebuchadnezzar beheaded all the hostages in his custody, returned to invade the city, killed its warriors, and captured their families.
It was during this invasion that he found Jeremiah in prison and freed him. Jeremiah told him his story and the warnings he had given concerning him. Nebuchadnezzar remarked on what a wicked people they were to disobey the prophet of Allah, and he set Jeremiah free and honored him. Jeremiah then gathered around him the remaining, weakened survivors of Israel.
The People Fail to Repent
Jeremiah told the survivors that they had disobeyed Allah and must repent for what they had done, promising to pray that Allah accept their repentance. He prayed accordingly, but Allah revealed to him that their repentance would not be accepted unless they remained in the land. When Jeremiah relayed this, the people objected, asking how they could remain in a town that had been devastated and was under Allah's anger, and they refused to stay.
Ibn Al Kalbi noted that from this point on, the children of Israel scattered across the world. Some went to the Hijaz, Ta'if, and Medina, others settled in Wadi al Qura, and still others went to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar demanded that Egypt's king hand over those who had fled there, but the king refused, so Nebuchadnezzar marched his army against him, defeated him, and captured their children. He then advanced as far as Morocco before returning through Egypt, Jerusalem, Palestine, and Jordan with many captives, among them Daniel, though Ibn Al Kalbi noted this was likely the younger Daniel, son of Ezekiel, rather than the elder one mentioned by Ibn Munbah. Allah knows best.
Jeremiah Sleeps for a Hundred Years
Hashim Ibn Al Kalbi reported that Allah revealed to Jeremiah that He intended to rebuild Jerusalem and instructed him to go there. When Jeremiah arrived, he found the city in ruins and wondered aloud how and when Allah would restore it to life.
He then fell asleep, along with his donkey, for seventy years, a period during which Nebuchadnezzar and the king who ruled over him, Laharasab, who had reigned for one hundred and twenty years, both passed away. Laharasab was succeeded by his son Bashtaasib, identified by some as King Cyrus of Persia mentioned in the Bible. News of Nebuchadnezzar's death reached Bashtaasib from Syria, which lay in ruins, its wildlife having multiplied across an empty Palestine. Bashtaasib then announced that any of the Israelites in Babylon who wished to return to Syria and Palestine could do so. A man from the House of David was placed in charge and ordered to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, and the people returned to do so.
It was then that Jeremiah opened his eyes, waking from his seventy year sleep, and saw the city being rebuilt around him. He continued to sleep on and off until a full hundred years had passed. When Allah finally woke him completely, he believed he had slept for only an hour, since he still remembered the city as a wasteland. Seeing it now rebuilt and full of people, he exclaimed the words later recorded in the Qur'an: "He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and he to whom wisdom is granted is indeed granted abundant good, but none will receive admonition except men of understanding." (Ch 2:269)
Israel After Its Rebuilding
Ibn Al Kalbi related that the Israelites resettled Jerusalem, and Allah restored their former glory. This lasted until the era of the tribal kings, when Rome conquered them, and they lost their community and authority following the rise of Christianity.
Ibn Jarir, in his History of Jerusalem, described Laharasab as a just and diplomatic king, respected and obeyed by his people, chiefs, and fellow kings, and gifted in building cities, canals, and institutions. When he grew too weak to rule after more than a hundred years, his son Bashtaasib succeeded him. It was during Bashtaasib's reign that the religion of Zoroastrianism emerged, founded by a man named Zoroaster, who had once been a companion of Jeremiah but angered him, leading Jeremiah to curse him. Zoroaster became afflicted with leprosy and traveled to Azerbaijan, where he joined Bashtaasib, forced people to accept his new religion, and killed many who refused. After Bashtaasib, his son Barman took the throne. All three were counted among the famous and heroic kings of Persia, with Nebuchadnezzar having served as a deputy under each of them throughout his long life.
Ibn Jarir concluded that the traveler who passed through the ruined village in this account was Jeremiah, though others hold that it was in fact the prophet Hosea, a view shared by both earlier and later scholars. Allah knows best.