Prophet Dhul-Kifl is one of the prophets whose name appears in the Qur'an with almost no narrative attached to it. He is mentioned only twice, and in both places he is listed among the patient and the righteous.
What the Qur'an Says
Allah says, "And mention Ishmael and Elisha and Dhul-Kifl. All were of the outstanding" (38:48). And in Surah Al-Anbiya: "And Ishmael and Idris and Dhul-Kifl; all were of the patient. And We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed, they were of the righteous" (21:85–86).
These two verses are the whole of the revealed account. Both place him in the company of prophets already known for endurance, and both praise the same quality: patience held steady over a long time.
The Meaning of His Name
The name Dhul-Kifl means the one of the double portion, or the one who took on a pledge. Scholars have explained it in different ways. Some said he was given a double reward for the work he carried, others that he undertook a solemn commitment before Allah and kept it, and others that he guaranteed his people's affairs and judged among them justly.
What Scholars Have Said About Him
The classical commentators differed over his identity. Ibn Kathir records the view that he was a righteous man of the Children of Israel who committed himself to fasting by day, praying by night, and judging without anger, and who kept that commitment for the rest of his life. Others held that he was a prophet sent after Ayoub (Job), and some reports connect him to Ayoub's own family.
A further group of scholars considered him a righteous servant rather than a prophet, since the Qur'an does not explicitly call him a messenger. The safer position, and the one most commonly taken, is that he was a prophet, because Allah names him alongside Ishmael, Idris, and Elisha, and because a later verse in Surah Sad describes the whole group as chosen.
Why His Story Is Left Short
The details of his mission, his people, and his time were not preserved in revelation, and the reports that circulate about them come from later material rather than from the Qur'an or authentic hadith. For that reason Muslim scholars have generally declined to fill in the gaps, and there is nothing further that can be stated with confidence.
What remains is the point Allah chose to record. Dhul-Kifl was patient, he was admitted into Allah's mercy, and he was among the righteous. The lesson of his mention is that a life of quiet, faithful endurance is worth naming in the Qur'an even when nothing else about it is told.