Question

I am wondering about these two different ways, apparently, of writing the name of the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him)... by the English under it it would seem to be the same word but spelt very differently in the Great Qur'an.  Jazakumu Allahu khairan

 

  And verily, Iliyâs (Elias) was one of the Messengers.

  

 Salaamun (peace) be upon Ilyâsîn (Elias)!"

Answer

Wa iyyakum wa-lmuslimeen.

There are two ways of reading the second of the two aayaat.  Please notice that there is separation in the writing between the first two letters  and the second part  .  Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim reads it  with a kasrah on the hamzah, but three others, namely Naaf’, ibn ‘Aamir, and Ya’qoob read the first part as ,  meaning family.  This leads to different but all encompassing meanings, which one of the beauties of the different qira’aat.  Since the qira’aat are all transmitted to us from the Prophet, , they help give deeper understanding of the Qur’an.  The recitation    is the way certain names are pronounced in the “language” of the people of Bani Asad.  Just as they pronounce and read the name     (without the wow at the beginning) as   .  The “weight” of both differences in both names are the same in the Arabic language.  Those that read it this way consider one word. 

The reading of aayah 130 as    carries the meaning of the family of Yaseen (he and those who followed him), which in the tafseer of Ibn Katheer is stated to be another name for Ilyaas, who is also thought to be the same as Idrees; or as the tafseer also states that the father of Ilyaas was Yaseen, so that the family of Yaseen includes the father.  Those that read it this way consider the  to be one word and to be another word.

 A note for added interest: Ibn Thakwaan reads the name in aayah 123 as:     with a hamzah wasl and laam of the definite article “the” at the beginning, meaning the name is , and before it is “the”.  All of these are different ways of saying the same name. 

 And Allah knows best.

Jazakum Allahu khairan for the good question.