Ayoub (Job) 2
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
A harder divine test for the prophet Ayoub
The Torah narrates a more difficult divine test for prophet Ayoub. According to the Torah, after the failure of Satan in misleading Ayoub, asks God for permission to suffer him more:
Satan: “Man is ready to give everything he has to save his life. Hurt his body, then you will see that he will openly disbelieve you!”
God replied: “Do whatever you want with him, but don’t kill him.”
Satan went out from the presence of God and afflicted Ayoub with painful turmoils from head to toes. Ayoub sat in the ashes and took a piece of clay to scratch him with it.
His wife said to him: “Are you still faithful to God despite all these calamities that God has brought upon you? Curse God and die!”
But Ayoub replied: “You talk like a stupid woman! Should only good things reach us from God and not bad things?”
Despite all these calamities, Ayoub did not say a word against God.[1]
Rebukes from Prophet Ayub’s friends
According to the Torah, three of Ayoub’s friends came to visit him and express their sympathy, but their mouths were closed due to the horror of the scene they saw and the severity of Job’s physical problem:
When three of Ayoub’s friends named Elifaz Timani, Baladad Shuhi, and Sofar Nemati learned about the calamities that had befallen on him, decided to go to Ayoub and sympathize with him and console him. When they saw Job from a distance, they could hardly recognize him. They cried loudly and tore their clothes and poured dirt on their heads. They sat on the ground beside him for seven days and nights without uttering a word, because they saw that his pain was too intense to be soothed by words.[2]
The Torah narrates that the silence of Ayoub’s friends continued until Job himself spoke. He told about his problems and wished that he had not been born in the first place, or that he had not lived until now, and he asked God for death.
Finally, Ayoub opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born from his mother:
Damn the day I was born and the night I entered my mother’s womb! May the memory of that day be forgotten forever and may God not remember it. I wish that day would sink into eternal darkness…
Why didn’t I die at birth time? Why did my mother put me on her knees and breastfeed me?
I wish I was born dead! I had never breathed and had never saw the light; …
My food is sorrow, and sighs and groans flow from me like water. Something I was always afraid of has happened to me. I have no peace and comfort and my sufferings are endless.[3]
The Torah narrates the words of Ayoub’s godly and monotheistic friends in detail. They thought that Job’s sufferings were the result of his sinfulness, and they advised him to repent. Ayoub insisted that he had not committed a sin to repent:
Then Elifaz Timani answered:
Ayoub, will you allow me to speak a few words? Because I can no longer remain silent…. Think for a while and see if you have ever seen an honest and innocent person to get perished? Experience shows that you reap what you sow. Those who sow sin and evil reap the same. They will be destroyed under the mighty hand of God…
Then Beldad Shuhi answered:
Ayoub, how long will you continue these words? … Does the almighty God violate justice and fairness? Your children sinned against God and He punished them rightly. But now you pray to Almighty God. If you are a pure and good person, he will hear your prayers and answer you and bless your property….
After a long argument between Ayoub and his ignorant friends, Ayoub still insisted on his monotheistic belief and insisted on his innocence:
Ayoub continued his discussion and said:
I swear to the almighty living God… that as long as I am alive and God gives me breathe, no false words will come out of my mouth and I will not tell a lie with my tongue. I do not confirm your words in any way; and I swear to my innocence until the day I die. I have said many times and I will say again that I am not guilty. Until the end of my life, my conscience is clear and easy.[4]
At the end of Job’s story in the Torah, God affirms Ayoub’s purity and innocence, instructing those three friends of Job, “Now take seven calves and seven rams and go to my servant Ayoub and sacrifice them for your sin; and my servant Ayoub will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer and spare you from your punishment.”[5] And the Torah continues, “After Job prayed for his friends, God returned his lost wealth and happiness to him. In fact, God gave him double what he had before.”[6]
The holy Qur’an refers to Ayoub’s glory and complaint to God regarding his sufferings and problems: وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا أَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الشَّيْطَانُ بِنُصْبٍ وَعَذَابٍ؛ And remember Our servant Job [in the Quran]. When he called out to his Lord, ‘The devil has visited on me hardship and torment,’ (Sad: 41)
And the holy Qur’an then mentions God’s order that was issued to treat Ayoub’s skin disease. The water had flowed with divine power and Job had to wash his body with it to cure the disease: ارْكُضْ بِرِجْلِكَ هَذَا مُغْتَسَلٌ بَارِدٌ وَشَرَابٌ؛ [We told him:] ‘Stamp your foot on the ground; this [ensuing spring] will be a cooling bath and drink.’ (Sad: 42)
And the reward of this patience, tolerance, religiousness, and high faith was that وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ أَهْلَهُ وَمِثْلَهُمْ مَعَهُمْ رَحْمَةً مِنَّا وَذِكْرَى لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ؛ We gave [back] his family to him along with others like them, as a mercy from Us and an admonition for those who possess intellect. (Sad: 43)
[1] Bible, Job 2, verses 4-10
[2] Bible, Job 2/11-13
[3] Bible, Job 3/1-26
[4] Bible, Job 1-9-4, Job 1-6-8, Job 1-6-27
[5] Bible, Job 42/8
[6] Bible, Job 42/10