upon him)? I heard that one of the vulnerable people asked him for
protection and he did not give it to him, so Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, punished him for that. Is this story true?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The apparent meaning of the Holy Qur'an indicates that Allah's trial
of His Prophet Ayyoob (peace be upon him) was not by way of punishment
for a sin or act of disobedience; rather it was for reasons known to
Him, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps one of those reasons is
that it was in order to raise him to high status by virtue of his
patience, so that he might attain thereby a lofty status on the Day of
Judgement.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, praises him for his patience,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):"Truly! We found him
patient. How excellent (a) slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in
repentance (to Us)" [Saad 38:44]. This is the context of praise and
commendation, and raising in status, which is different from the
context of rebuke that is mentioned in the story of Yoonus (peace be
upon him), where Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Then a (big) fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame.
Had he not been of them who glorify Allah,
He would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day
of Resurrection.
But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick"
[as-Saaffaat 37:142-145].
Secondly:
In the Prophet's Sunnah there is a report which indicates that Ayyoob
(peace be upon him) was innocent of any sin that could have been a
cause for the sickness that befell him.
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said:
"Verily Ayyoob, the Prophet of Allah, suffered his trials for eighteen
years, when he was shunned by relatives and strangers alike, except
for two of his brothers who were among the closest of his brothers.
They used to come to him in the morning and in the evening. One of
them said to his companion: Do you know, by Allah, that Ayyoob must
have committed a sin that no one else ever committed? His companion
said: Why is that? He said: For eighteen years, Allah has not shown
mercy to him or granted him relief.
When they went to him in the evening, the man could not keep from
telling him about that. Ayyoob said: I do not know what he is talking
about, but Allah knows that I passed by two men who were arguing, and
they mentioned Allah, I would go back to my house and offer expiation
on their behalf, because I did not want Allah to be mentioned except
in a proper manner…
Narrated by Abu Ya'la inal-Musnad, 6/299; Ibn Hibbaan in hisSaheeh,
7/159; al-Haakim inal-Mustadrak, 2/635
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan. Al-Haakim said: (It
is saheeh) according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim,
although they did not narrate it. This was also stated by adh-Dhahabi
inat-Talkhees. InFath al-Baari, 6/421, Ibn Hajar described it as being
the soundest report on this topic. It was classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no 17. Some of the scholars
thought it was flawed. See:Ahaadeeth Mu'allah Zaahiruha as-Sihhah, p.
54. See also:al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah, 1/254-259
Thirdly:
The scholars stated that the wisdom behind the trials of the Prophets
is to raise them in status and enhance their image and reputation.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tests His slaves with good
times and bad, hardship and ease. He may test them thereby to raise
them in status and enhance their image and reputation, and multiply
the reward for their good deeds, as He did with the Prophets and
Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) and the
righteous among His slaves. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "The most sorely tested of people are the Prophets,
then the next best and the next best." Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2398.
So if any of the righteous slaves of Allah is tested with sickness and
the like, this is akin to the tests of the Prophets and Messengers,
and serves to raise one in status and increase the reward, so let him
be an example to others of patience and seeking reward with Allah.
End quote from Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 4/370-371
On our website we have previously discussed in detail the various
reasons behind the trials of the Prophets, and we have quoted the
explanation of this issue given by al-'Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim. And
Allah knows best.
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