Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH]

Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH]

Allah said [And make mention of Our bondman Ayyoub [Job], when he cried unto his Lord: Lo! the devil did afflict me with distress and torment] Sad 38:41.

Before we tell his story with the illness, we should look at the verse and learn from it the politeness of the prophets with the Lord, Almighty. Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] related his illness to Satan, because it has blemish so he related it to Satan and others. But whatever has perfection he related it to Allah, Almighty. In fact all is from Allah.

It was narrated that Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] was from the Romans. He is Ayyoub ibn Aamus ibn Tareh ibn Raawil ibn Eys ibn S.d Ishaq [PBUH]. His mother was from the sons of Sd. Lout [PBUH]. Allah choose him for the prophecy and the message. He opened to him the worldly life, as he had 3000 camel, 7000 sheep, and 500 acres with 500 slave for each of them a wife and child. Ayyoub had 7 sons and 7 daughters. In some other narrations they said more about his properties, so they said: He had control over the whole land of Sham, and he had all kinds of money like no other one had of: horses, caws, sheep, donkeys, and others.

He was righteous, pious, kind to the poor, sponsoring to the widows and orphans, generous to the guests, and did of the goodness what no other one of his time did. His religion was at-Tawhied [unification] and the reforming between people. Because of his lots of worship he reached a rank that was not be reached by humans, envied by the angels.

The angels said to our Lord: Ayyoub is worshiping you because you gave him plenty of money. He said to them: No. they said: then pour affliction upon him. He poured affliction him and so his body became filled with wounds.

It was also said that the reason of his affliction is that damned Satan, when he heard the angels praying for Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] as Allah mentioned him, he envied him. He said: O, Allah, your servant Ayyoub, you bestowed on him your gifts and he thanked you. You gave him health and he praised you. You did not try him with hardness or affliction. If You tried him with affliction he would be ungrateful to you and your gifts. Allah said: Go, I give you control over his money. The damned one went away and gathered his demons and told them what happened. One of them said: I have the power to turn into a storm of fire an burn everything I touch. Damned Satan said: you take the camels and its herdsmen. He went and burned all the camels and its herdsmen. When he completed that he came and told Satan what he did.

Satan took the shape of one of the herdsmen and went to Ayyoub [PBUH] and said to him: O, Ayyoub, your Lord has burned your camels and its herdsmen. Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] said: It is His money, He lend it to me, He does what He wants with it. Satan returned back lowly, when Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] praised his Lord. Another demon said: I have the power to shout and every soul hears my voice would die. Satan told him: Go to the sheep and its shepherds. He went and shouted and it all died with its shepherds. Damned Satan went to Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] and what happened between them the first time was repeated. Satan returned back lowly again. Another demon said: I have the power to turn into a storming wind that disperses everything it comes upon. Satan ordered him to to go the acres and the arable. He went to it and made a storming wind that dispersed everything as if it was not there before.

Satan went out to Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] and what happened before was repeated. Satan kept doing what he did until he perished all the money of Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH], while he did not stop praising Allah and thanking him for a moment. Satan said: O, Allah, Ayyoub said that You did not make enjoy except himself and his children, so why do not You give me control over his children. Allah said: I give you control over his children. Satan came to them and turn the palace over them, so they dies immediately. He hurried to Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] in the shape of his children's wounded teacher, and he said: O, Ayyoub… if you have seen how they were tortured and turned upside down over their heads. He kept intensifying the description until the heart of Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] was softened and he cried. They say that he took a handful of dust and put it over his head. Satan returned very happy. But Sd, Ayyoub realized what did and repented to Allah and asked his forgiveness, and the angels ascended with his repentance to Allah, Almighty.

Satan stood lowly and said: O, Allah… Ayyoub trivialized the money and children, do You give me control over his body for me to make him a disbeliever. Allah said: I give you control over his body, but you do not have power over his tongue, heart, and mind. Satan came to Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] and found him prostrating himself. He blew in his nose so that his body flamed with illness, and from his head to his feet came out warts, and he got the itch so he kept itching his body with his nails then with the hard cloth then with the stones until his flesh showed up from under his skin. His color changed and his body got worms. So the people of the village threw him out to the garbage area and rejected him except his wife. Her name was Rahma bent Evratheim son of Sd. Yusuf [PBUH]. She stayed with him taking care of him. It was narrated that, one day, she said to him: could you ask Your Lord? He said to her: how long have we been in luxury? She said: 80 years. He said: I will be ashamed from Allah to ask him, while the length of my affliction time is equal to the length of my luxury time. It was also narrated that the worms ate all his body and left him only bones except his tongue and heart.

Damned Satan screamed and said: this servant, whom I asked Allah to give me control over him, exhausted me. The demons said to him: Did you see Adam when you got him out of paradise. You did not got to him except throw his woman. So he went to Ayyoub's wife in the shape of a kind man and said to her: Where is you husband, o, servant of Allah? She said: Here he is. He said: if he ate some food without naming Allah on it, he would be relieved from his affliction. She told Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH]. He said to her: That was the enemy of Allah, coming to you to tempt off your religion. They say that this event was the cause that Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] swore to beat her a hundred times, and they also said other things to be the cause of Sd. Ayyoub's swearing [PBUH]. But the reason for the swearing is that his wife was so late for him that ge missed the time for prayer. Allah said [And Ayyoub, when he cried unto his Lord: Lo! adversity afflicted me, and You are Most Merciful of all who show mercy] al-Anbiaa 21:83.

In the Hadith narrated about the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]; a man came to him and asked him about the saying of Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] [adversity afflicted me], the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] cried and said (by the One who sent be with the Truth, he never complained of poverty that came to him from his Lord. But he stayed in his affliction for seven years, seven months, seven days, and seven hours. Then within the following hour he tried to get to pray but he could not get up, then he said [adversity afflicted me]… etc) then he said (the worms ate most of his body until it became decayed bones. The sun almost goes into his front genital and comes out of his back hole. Nothing was left except his heart and tongue. His heart never stopped the Dhikr of Allah and his tongue never stopped praising Allah. when Allah wanted to relief him, He sent two worms: one to his heart and one to his tongue. He said: O, Lord, I do not have except those two organs with which I do Dhikr of you. And these two worms came to them to detain me from You and discover my secret).

[adversity afflicted me, and You are Most Merciful of all who show mercy] our Lord, Almighty, said in the verse 84 of Surat al-Anbiaa [Then We heard his prayer and removed that adversity from which he suffered, and We gave him his household and the like thereof along with them, a mercy from Our store, and a remembrance for the worshippers]. How was the mercy of our Lord? The Lord, Almighty, says in verses 42,43, and 44 of Surat Sad [Strike the ground with your foot. This is a cool bath and a refreshing drink ¤ And We bestowed on him his household and therewith the like thereof, a mercy from Us, and a memorial for men of understanding ¤ And take in your hand a bunch of worts and smite therewith, and break not your oath. Lo! We found him steadfast, how excellent a slave! Lo! He was ever turning in repentance]. Allah, Almighty, sent Sd. Gabriel [PBUH] to Sd. Ayyoub [PBUH] after the time of illness was up, and he said to him: strike the land with your foot. He did and a spring came out of it, so he washed and drank from it and he was cured and returned back a young man. His wife and his household came back to him and Allah increased them in number. When he wanted to fulfill his oath, Gabriel came to him and told him to take a hundred straws and make them into a bunch and hit her with them one hit.

Written by Ahmed Abbas
Translated by Samir
http://almagalla.info/2012e/jun3.htm
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