The Story of Prophet Ayyub (Job) - Peace Be Upon Him

 

Summary:

 Prophet Ayyub, a descendant of Prophet Ibrahim, was among the prophets who received divine revelation. He was blessed with wealth and many children, but God tested him by taking all of it away. He was afflicted with various ailments for 13 or 18 years, during which people abandoned him except for his wife, who remained patient and worked to provide for their daily needs. Eventually, God healed him and restored everything he had lost. Hence, Ayyub is often cited as an example of patience and endurance. It is narrated that God will use Ayyub as an example for those who were afflicted on the Day of Judgment.

His Life:

 The patience of this great prophet has become proverbial. Whenever someone faces a severe trial, they are advised to be patient like Ayyub. God praised His servant Ayyub in the Quran: “Indeed, We found him patient, an excellent servant. Indeed, he was one repeatedly turning back [to Allah]” (Quran 38:44). Ayyub was constantly turning to God with remembrance, gratitude, and patience. His patience was the reason for his salvation and God’s praise. The Quran does not specify the nature of his illness, and many legends have been woven around his sickness.

Ayyub’s Illness: There are many stories and legends about Ayyub’s illness, with many of these narratives influenced by Israeli traditions. Here are some of the most famous ones:

Prophet Ayyub (Job) was a man of great wealth and many children. He lost his wealth and children and was afflicted with a severe illness for thirteen years. During this time, he was abandoned by everyone except his wife and two friends. His wife worked for wages to provide food for Ayyub. When people stopped hiring her because she was Ayyub’s wife, she sold one of her braids to buy food. Ayyub, suspicious of the source, refused to eat until she revealed the truth. She then uncovered her head, showing her shaved hair, which led Ayyub to pray: “My Lord, indeed adversity has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.” He vowed to strike her with a hundred lashes if he recovered.

It is said that Ayyub’s wife met a doctor who offered to heal Ayyub if he acknowledged the doctor as his healer. Recognizing the doctor as Satan, Ayyub refused and vowed to strike his wife a hundred times.

Ayyub’s two friends visited him regularly. One suggested that Ayyub must have committed a great sin to suffer so much. This saddened Ayyub, and he prayed to God. One day, while relieving himself, his wife held his hand, but she delayed returning. God then instructed Ayyub to strike the ground with his foot, causing a spring to gush forth. He bathed in it and was healed. When his wife returned, she did not recognize him. He revealed himself, and God blessed him with wealth, symbolized by a cloud pouring gold and silver into his granaries.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that while Ayyub was bathing, a swarm of gold locusts fell upon him, and he gathered them in his garment. God asked, “O Ayyub, have I not made you rich enough?” Ayyub replied, “Yes, my Lord, but I cannot do without Your blessings.”

God instructed Ayyub to take a bundle of thin branches and strike his wife once to fulfill his vow without breaking it. God rewarded Ayyub for his patience by restoring his family. Some say God revived his children, while others believe He compensated Ayyub with new children and reunited him with his family in the afterlife. Some scholars mention that God restored his wife’s youth, and she bore him twenty-six sons.

This is the most famous account of Ayyub’s trial and patience. It does not mention his flesh falling off or being left with only bones and nerves, as some ancient legends suggest. Such descriptions are inconsistent with the dignity of prophethood.
Ayyub’s prayer, “Indeed, Satan has touched me with hardship and torment,” may reflect his complaint to God about Satan’s audacity in thinking he could lead Ayyub astray. Ayyub did not believe his illness was caused by Satan, which aligns with the infallibility and perfection of prophets.

According to Al-Tabari, Ayyub lived for ninety-three years, spending ten years in good health after his recovery. He entrusted his affairs to his son Hawmal, and his son Bishr succeeded him, who is believed by many to be Dhul-Kifl. God knows best.