2. Prophet Ayoub (Alaihi-salam – May be peace and
blessings of Allahbe upon him) was one of Allah’s very
sincere worshippers. We find in his story many lessons
that we can reflect upon to assess our relationship with
Allah. This story especially should make us question
whether all our sincerity and worship for Allah is
dependent on His blessings on us.
The following story was documented by Ibn Kathir.
Prophet Ayoub (A) was Allah’s thankful, repentant,
patient and steadfast worshipper. Allah the Almighty
has praised Him in the Quran :
3. "Truly! We found him patient. How excellent a
slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in
repentance to Us" (Saad 38:44).
Ayub was repentant, remembering Allah with
thankfulness, patience and steadfastness. This was the
cause of his rescue and the secret of Allah's praising
him.
4. Allah had blessed Ayoub with long life and plenty of riches,
yet he was never haughty or selfish. His family, servants,
the needy and the poor, all had a share in his good fortune.
He bought slaves to set them free and made those who
received his charity feel as if they were doing him a favor.
Iblis (Satan)became annoyed and planned to tempt Ayoub
(A) and lead him to disbelief. First, he tried to distract him
from his prayers by whispering to him about the good
things in life, but as a true believer, Ayoub would not let
evil thoughts tempt him. Iblis, then tried to attribute
ulterior motives to his constant glorification of Allah,
projecting his worship as being motivated from greed to
safeguard his wealth.
5. Test:1
But, he found that Ayoub was one of Allah’s most
sincere devotees whose worship stemmed from his
heart and had nothing to do with material gifts or
favors granted to him.
Allah wanted to test the depth of Ayoub’s sincerity and
patience, and He allowed his possessions to be
destroyed to see what will be his reaction.
Iblis seized upon this opportunity to drive Ayoub out
of faith, wispering to him:
6. "All your wealth is lost. Some people say that it is because
you gave too much charity and that you are wasting your
time with your continuous prayers to Allah. Others say that
Allah has brought this upon you in order to please your
enemies. If Allah had the capacity to prevent harm, then
He would have protected your wealth.“
Steadfast in his faith, Ayoub (A) replied: "What Allah has
taken away from me belongs to Him. I was only its trustee
for a while. He gives to whom He wills and withholds from
whom He wills,” and he prostrated before his Lord.
7. Test:2
After stripping his possessions, Allah wanted to test
Ayoub through his children to see if this will reduce
his faith.
Iblis again approached him wispering:
"The circumstances under which your children died
were sad. Surely, your Lord is not rewarding you
properly for all your prayers."
8. The faithful believer of Allah replied, disappointing
Iblis once again:
"Allah sometimes gives and sometimes takes. He is
sometimes pleased and sometimes displeased with our
deeds. Whether a thing is beneficial or harmful to me,
I will remain firm in my belief and remain thankful to
my Creator."
9. Test: 3
The final test after taking away his wealth and children, was
to afflict his body by a disease .
Ayoub suffered severe pain yet remained strong in faith,
and patiently bore all the suffering without complaints.
Hopeful of Allah’s Mercy, he neither despaired nor turned
to others for help. Although he had lost all his children and
was deprived of his wealth and physically afflicted, he still
continued to glorify Allah the Almighty day and night. His
disease lasted for a long time. His friends felt disgusted and
his close relatives deserted him. The sole companion and
comforter through many years of his suffering was his kind
and loving wife.
10. Iblis became desperate. He consulted his helpers but
they asked him:
"How is it that your cleverness cannot work against
Ayoub (A), yet you succeeded in misleading Adam, the
father of man, out of paradise?"
Iblis went to Ayoub (A)’s wife in the form of a man.
"Where is your husband?" he asked her.
She pointed to an almost lifeless form crumpled on the
bed and said: "There he is, suspended between life and
death."
11. Iblis reminded her of the days when he had enjoyed
good health, wealth and children. The painful memory
of years of hardship overwhelmed her. She burst into
tears and asked her husband:
"How long are you going to bear this torture from our
Lord? Are we to remain without wealth, children or
friends forever? Why don’t you call upon Allah to
remove this suffering?"
12. Ayoub (A) sighed, and replied softly:
"Iblis must have whispered to you and made you
dissatisfied. Tell me, how long did I enjoy good health
and riches?"
She replied, "For eighty years."
Then he asked, "How long have I been suffering like
this?"
She said, "Seven years."
13. Then he told her: "In that case I am ashamed to call on my
Lord to remove the hardship, for I have not suffered longer
than the years of good health and plenty that I enjoyed.
Your faith seems to have weakened and you are dissatisfied
with the fate decreed by Allah. If I ever regain health, I
swear I will punish you with a hundred strokes! From this
day, I shall not eat or drink anything from your hand. Leave
me alone and let my Lord do with me as He pleases."
Crying bitterly, with no other choice, she left with a heavy
heart. In his helpless state, Ayoub (A) turned to Allah, not
to complain but to seek His mercy:
14. "And (remember) Ayyub (Job), when he cried to his
Lord: ‘Verily, distress has seized me, and You are
the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy.’ So
We answered his call, and We removed the distress
that was on him, and We restored his family to
him (that he had lost) and the like thereof along
with them as a mercy from Ourselves and a
Reminder for all those who worship Us” (Al-
Anbiya 21:83-84).
Almighty Allah further says in the Quran:
15. "And remember Our slave Ayyub (Job), when he
invoked his Lord (saying): ‘Verily Shaitan (Satan)
has touched me with distress (by ruining my
health) and torment (by ruining my wealth)!’
(Allah said to him): "Strike the ground with your
foot: This is (a spring of) water to wash in, and a
cool and (refreshing) drink." And We gave him
(back) his family, and along with them the like
thereof, as a Mercy from Us, and a Reminder for
those who understand (Sad 38:41-43).
16. Ayoub (A) obeyed Allah’s instructions, and almost
immediately his good health was restored. Meanwhile,
his faithful wife who could no longer bear to be parted
from her husband returned to beg his forgiveness, and
to serve him. On entering the house, she was amazed
at the sudden change she saw. Ayoub (A) had regained
his health! She embraced him and thanked Allah for
His mercy.
17. Ayoub (A) was now worried about the oath he had
taken to punish her with a hundred strokes if he
regained health. He did not wish to hurt her but could
not break a promise to Allah. Therefore, Allah in His
wisdom and mercy, came to the assistance of His
faithful servant, and instructed him:
"And take in your hand a bundle of thin grass and
strike therewith (your wife), and break not your
oath" (Sad 38:44).
18. Thus Allah the Most Merciful rewards His faithful and
grateful servants.
Source: Ibn Kathir
This story should remind us that we should never
make our worship and sincerity toward Allah
contingent on our perceived blessings. Allah tests us in
many ways and we should, therefore, be steadfast in
His worship constantly.
Taken from the website of:
www.iqrasense.com
