Is Jeremiah one of the Prophets of Allah in whom we are obliged to believe?
Question

                Do we believe in prophet Jeremiah or is he just held by the Jews and Christians? If so that we believe in him what is his story and is the first four verses of surah Isra?
Praise be to Allah.
	Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of Allah (peace be upon 
	them) is one of the fundamentals of faith, and a person’s faith is not 
	complete unless he believes in all the Messengers of Allah. 

	Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
	meaning):

	“The 
	Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) believes in 
	what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. 
	Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They 
	say, ‘We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers’”

	[al-Baqarah 2:285]

	“And 
	Messengers We have mentioned to you before, and Messengers We have not 
	mentioned to you”

	[an-Nisa’ 4:164]. 

	So we believe in all of them, in general terms with regard to 
	those that are mentioned in general terms, and in detail with regard to 
	those that are mentioned in detail. 

	Shaykh Haafiz al-Hakami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

	Belief in the Messengers of Allah, may He be glorified and 
	exalted, is obligatory. Whoever disbelieves in one of them has disbelieved 
	in Allah, may He be exalted, and in all of the Messengers (peace be upon 
	them). 

	Allah has told us some of their stories, in which there is 
	sufficient teaching and exhortation, both in general terms and in detail, 
	then He said: “And Messengers We have mentioned to you before, and 
	Messengers We have not mentioned to you, - and to Moosa (Moses) Allah spoke 
	directly”[an-Nisa’ 4:164]. 

	So we believe in all of them, in detail where they have been 
	mentioned in detail, and in general terms where they have been mentioned in 
	general terms.

	End quote from Ma‘aarij al-Qubool (2/676-678). 

	There is no mention in the Holy Qur’an or in the Prophet’s 
	Sunnah of the name Jeremiah, and there is no affirmation that he was one of 
	the Prophets; rather this is something that was mentioned by the 
	historians. 

	In this case we are not required to believe in him, because 
	of the possibility that this may be one of the lies of the People of the 
	Book, and it is not permissible for us to disbelieve in him, because of the 
	possibility that he may indeed have been a Prophet. Rather we refrain from 
	such a decision in his case. 

	Al-Bukhaari (4485) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be 
	pleased with him) said: The People of the Book used to recite the Torah in 
	Hebrew and explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not believe the People 
	of the Book and do not disbelieve them; rather say: 
	‘We 
	believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has 
	been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), 
	Ya‘qoob (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat (the twelve sons of Ya‘qoob (Jacob)), and 
	that which has been given to Moosa (Moses) and ‘Eesa (Jesus), and that which 
	has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction 
	between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam)’ 
	[al-Baqarah 2:136].” 

	It was also narrated by Ibn Abi Haatim in his Tafseer 
	(17364), but at the end of the hadith he quoted another verse: 
	“and say (to them): ‘We believe 
	in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our Ilaah (God) 
	and your Ilaah (God) is One (i.e. Allah), and to Him we have submitted (as 
	Muslims)’” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:46]. 

	Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Baari: 

	“Do not believe the People of the Book and do not disbelieve 
	them” means: if what they tell you may be true or false, lest it is true and 
	you disbelieve it, or it is a lie and you believe it, and thus you will fall 
	into error. 

	There is no prohibition on disbelieving them in matters 
	concerning which Islam says something different, or on believing them in 
	matters concerning which Islam is in accordance with it. This was pointed 
	out by ash-Shaafa‘i (may Allah have mercy on him). 

	From this hadith we learn that we should refrain from 
	indulging in discussion of ambiguous matters or being definite about matters 
	which come under the heading of speculation. This is how we should interpret 
	the reports that have come down from the early generations concerning that. 
	End quote. 

	‘Ali al-Qaari said in Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh (1/240): 

	“do not believe” means: with regard to that which it is not 
	clear to you is true, because of the possibility that it may be a lie, 
	because they are proven to fabricate lies. 

	“the People of the Book” namely the Jews and Christians, 
	because they distorted their Book

	“and do not disbelieve them” that is, with regard to what 
	they quote from the Torah and Gospel, when it is not clear to you that it is 
	false, because of the possibility that it may be true, even if that happens 
	rarely, because the one who tells lies may say something true. 

	This indicates that we should refrain from judging ambiguous 
	matters and information, so it is not to be deemed acceptable or false. And 
	this was the way of the early generations. They used to say: I do not know. 
	This was with regard to issues of that nature that they were asked about. 
	Whoever failed to say “I do not know” could possibly say something that 
	would lead to his doom. 

	“Say (O 
	Muslims), We believe in Allah” 
	[al-Baqarah 2:136] that 
	is, we believe in and acknowledge Him, or we believe in Him with certainty

	“and that which has been sent down to us” 
	of the Qur’an.

	“and that 
	which has been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq 
	(Isaac), Ya‘qoob (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat (the twelve sons of Ya‘qoob 
	(Jacob)), and that which has been given to Moosa (Moses) and ‘Eesa (Jesus)” 
	that is, of the Torah and Gospel. This is the point of our discussion, and 
	what is meant is to put an end to the dispute, i.e., that we believe in 
	general terms in what was sent down to them (of the Torah and Gospel).

	“and that 
	which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord” 
	this is a general statement after mentioning specific Prophets.

	“We make 
	no distinction between any of them” 
	that is, in terms of believing in them and in their books

	“and to 
	Him” that is, to Allah, 
	or to what has been sent down

	“we have 
	submitted (in Islam)” 
	that is, we are obedient, or we comply with it.

	End quote. 

	Thirdly: 

	More than one of the historians have stated that Jeremiah 
	(peace be upon him) was one of the Prophets of the Children of Israel. It 
	was said that he was ‘Uzayr, or al-Khadir, but the correct view is that he 
	was neither of them. 

	Al-Haafiz ibn ‘Asaakir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Jeremiah son of Hilkiah (Irmiya ibn Halqiya), of the tribe of 
	Levi son of Jacob (Laawi ibn Ya‘qoob) was one of the Prophets of the 
	Children of Israel. End quote. 

	Tareekh Dimashq 
	(8/27). 

	Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	He was Jeremiah son of Hilkiah (Irmiya ibn Halqiya), of the 
	tribe of Levi son of Jacob (Laawi ibn Ya‘qoob). It was said that he was al-Khadir, 
	as was narrated by ad-Dahhaak from Ibn ‘Abbaas, but this is ghareeb and is 
	not saheeh. End quote. 

	Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah 
	(2/360). 

	The historians said: 

	Allah, may He be exalted, sent revelation to Jeremiah (peace 
	be upon him) when sins became prevalent among the Children of Israel, and 
	they committed major sins, and they killed the Prophets, telling him: Go to 
	them and admonish them, remind them of the blessings that Allah has bestowed 
	upon them, tell them about their sins and warn them of the punishment of the 
	Lord, in a lengthy and eloquent admonition. 

	And they said: 

	When Jeremiah conveyed to them the message of their Lord, and 
	they heard what it contained of warnings and punishment, they disobeyed him, 
	disbelieved him and made accusations against him. They said: You are lying 
	and fabricating a grave lie against Allah, claiming that there will come a 
	time when Allah’s land and His places of worship will be devoid of His books 
	and devoid of anyone to worship Him and affirm His Oneness. So who would 
	worship Him when there is no worshipper, place of worship or book in the 
	land? You have fabricated a grave lie against Allah and you must be 
	possessed! Then they took him, tied him up and imprisoned him. 

	At that point, Allah sent Nebuchadnezzar against them, who 
	came marching with his troops and he besieged them, and it was as Allah, may 
	He be exalted, said: “and 
	they wrought havoc throughout the land” 
	[al-Isra’ 17:5]. 

	When the siege had gone on for a long time, they agreed to 
	accept his terms, so they opened the gates and (Nebuchadnezzar’s troops) 
	rampaged throughout the city. He subjected them to the rule of ignorance and 
	punished them like a tyrant. He killed one third of them and took one third 
	captive, leaving the chronically ill and old men and women, then he trampled 
	them with horses. He destroyed the Temple, captured the young boys and 
	carried them off, paraded the women bareheaded in the marketplace, killed 
	the men of fighting age, destroyed the fortresses, destroyed their places of 
	worship, and burned the Torah. 

	After he did what he did, it was said to him: They have a man 
	who warned them of what has befallen them; he described you to them and told 
	them what you would do to them, that you would kill the men of fighting age, 
	take their children captive, destroy their places of worship and burn their 
	synagogues. But they disbelieved him and made accusations against him; they 
	beat him, tied him up and imprisoned him. 

	So Nebuchadnezzar issued orders that Jeremiah be brought out 
	of prison, and he said to him: Did you warn these people about what has 
	befallen them?

	He said: Yes. 

	He said: I knew that.

	He said: Allah sent me to them, but they disbelieved me.

	He said: Did they disbelieve you, beat you and imprison you?

	He said: Yes.

	He said: What a bad people they are who disbelieve their 
	Prophet and reject the message of their Lord. Will you join me, and I will 
	honour you and take care of you, and if you want to stay in your own land, I 
	will grant you protection?

	Jeremiah said: I have been under the protection of Allah all 
	my life, and have never been without it for a moment. If the Children of 
	Israel had not chosen to disregard Allah’s protection, they would never have 
	feared you or anyone else, and you would never have gained any power over 
	them. 

	When Nebuchadnezzar heard these words from him, he left him 
	alone, and Jeremiah stayed where he was in the land of Aelia (Jerusalem). 

	See: Tareekh at-Tabari (1/538-589); Tareekh Dimashq 
	(8/29-41) and al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah (2/361-372) 

	Ibn Katheer said:

	This is a wondrous story in which there is wisdom, 
	exhortation and many beneficial things. 

	And Allah knows best.