The story of Prophet Ayyoob -I

His Lineage
Imaam Ibn Is-haaqstated that Prophet Ayyoob's full name was Ayyoob,
Ibn )son of( Mose, Ibn Razeh, Ibn Esau, Ibn Isaac )Is-haaq(, Ibn
Abraham)Ibraaheem(, may Allaah exalt the mention of them all. Others
stated that he was Ayyoob, Ibn Mose, Ibn Rimil, Ibn Esau, Ibn Isaac
)Is-haaq, Ibn Jacob )Ya'qoob(all. There have also been other
statements on his lineage. Imaam Ibn 'Asaakirnarrated that Prophet
Ayyoob's motherwas a daughter ofLot. It was said also that Prophet
Ayyoob's father was one who believed in Ibraaheemwhen he was cast into
the fire.
The first opinion is the most plausible, because Prophet Ayyoobwas
adescendant of Ibraaheem's offspring, asAllaah Almighty declares in
the Quran )what means(:"And that was Our]conclusive[ argument which we
gave Ibraaheem against his people. We raise by degrees whom We will.
Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing. And We gave to him ]i.e.,
Ibraaheem[ Is-haaq ]Isaac[ and Ya'qoob]Jacob[ – all ]of them[ We
guided. And Nooh ]Noah[, We guided before; and among his descendants,
Daawood ]David[ and Sulaymaan ]Solomon[ and Ayyoob ]Job[ and Yoosuf
]Joseph[ and Moosaa ]Moses[ and Haaroon]Aaron[. Thus do We reward the
doers of good."]Quran 6:83-84[
Allaah Praises Him
Allaah the Almighty praised His worshipper Ayyoobin His GloriousQuran,
Saying )what means(:"…Indeed, We found him patient, an excellent
servant.Indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back ]to
Allaah[."]Quran 38:44[
Ayyoobwas repentant, remembering Allaah with thankfulness, patience,
and steadfastness. This was the cause of his rescue and the secret of
Allaah's praising him.
A group of angels were discussing Allaah's other human creatures, how
those who were humble earned Allaah's pleasure, while those who were
arrogant incurred His displeasure. One of the angels remarked: "The
best creature on earth today is Ayyoob, a man ofnoble character who
displays great patience and always remembers his Generous Lord. He is
an excellent model for the worshippers of Allaah. In return, his Lord
has blessed him with a long life and plenty of servants, as well as
the needy and the poor sharing in his good fortune; he feeds and
clothes the poor and buys slaves to set them free. He makes those
whoreceive his charity feel as if they are favouring him,so kind and
gentle is he."
Satan's Envy of Him
Iblees )Satan( overhearing all of this, became annoyed. He planned to
entice Ayyoobto corruption and disbelief, so he hastened to him. He
tried to distract Ayyoob from his prayers by whispering to him about
the good things in life, but Ayyoob was a true believer and would not
let evil thoughts tempt him. This disturbed Iblees even more; thus he
began to hate Ayyoob with even greater fervour.
Iblees complained to Allaah about Ayyoob. He said that although he was
continuously glorifying Allaah, he was not doing so out of his
sincerity but to satisfy Allaah so that his wealth should not be taken
away. It was all a show, all out of greed. "If You remove his wealth,
then You will find that his tongue will no longer mention Your name
and his praying will stop," he said to Allaah.
Allaah told Iblees that Ayyoobwas one of Hismost sincere devotees.
Hedid not worship Him because of the favours; his worship stemmed from
his heart and had nothing to do with material things. But to prove to
Iblees the depth of Ayyoob's sincerity and patience, Allaah allowed
him to do whatever he and his helpers wished with Ayyoob's wealth.
Iblees was ecstatic. He gathered his helpers and set about destroying
Ayyoob's cattle, servants and farms until he was left with no
possessions. Rubbing his hands in glee, Iblees appeared before
Ayyoobin the guise of a wise old man and said to him: "All your wealth
is lost; some people say that it is because you gave too much in
charity and that you are wasting your time with your continuous
prayers to Allaah. Others say that Allaah has brought this upon you in
order to please your enemies. If Allaah had the capacity toprevent
harm, then He would have protected your wealth."
True to his belief, Ayyoobreplied: "What Allaah 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." With these words,
Ayyoobagain prostrated to his Lord.
When Iblees saw this, he felt frustrated, so he again addressed
Allaah:"I have stripped Ayyoob of all his possessions, but he still
remains grateful to You. However he is only hiding his disappointment,
for he places great store by his many children. The real test of a
parent is through his children. Youwill see how Ayyoob will reject
You."
Allaah again granted Iblees authority, but warned him that it wouldnot
reduce Ayyoob's faithin His Lord nor his patience.
Iblees again gathered hishelpers and set about his evil deeds. He
shook the fountain of the house in which Ayyoob's children were living
and sent the building crashing, killing all of them. Then he wentto
Ayyoobdisguised as a man who had come to sympathise with him. In a
comforting tone he said to Ayyoob: "The circumstances under which your
children died were sad. Surely, your Lord is not rewarding you
properly for all your prayers." Having said this, Iblees waited
anxiously, hoping Ayyoobwas now ready to reject Allaah.
But again Ayyoobdisappointed him by replying: "Allaah 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." Then
Ayyoobprostrated to his Lord. At this, Iblees was extremely vexed.