Calling Islam

He was a noble descendant of Abraham's offspring as God Almighty declared:

"That was Our proof which We gave Abraham against his people. We raise whom We will in degrees. Certainly your Lord is All-Wise, All Knowing. And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, each of them We guided and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron. Thus do We reward the good doers. (Qur'an 6:83-84)

God the Almighty praised His worshipper Job in His Glorious Qur'an:
Indeed! We found him patient. How excellent a servant! Verily, he always turned to his Lord for help! (Qur'an 38:44)

Job (pbuh) was repentant, remembering his Lord with thankfulness, patience, and steadfastness. This was the cause of his rescue and the secret of God's praising him.

A group of angels were discussing God's other human creatures, how those who were humble earned God's pleasure, while those who were arrogant incurred His displeasure. One of the angels remarked: "The best creature on earth today is Job, a man of noble character who displays great patience and always remembers his Generous Lord. He is an excellent model for the worshippers of God. In return, his Lord has blessed him with a long life and plenty of servants, as well as the needy and the poor share in his good fortune; he feeds and clothes the poor and buys slaves to set them free. He makes those who receive his charity feel as if they are favoring him so kind and gentle he is."

Iblis became annoyed overhearing all of this. He planned to tempt Job to corruption and disbelief, so he hastened to him. He tried to distract Job from his prayers by whispering to him about the good things in life but Job was a true believer and would not let evil thoughts tempt him. This disturbed Iblis even more; thus he began to hate Job even more.

Iblis told that although he was continuously glorifying God he was not doing so out of his sincerity but to satisfy God 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."

Almighty God told Iblis that Job was one of His most sincere devotees and that if Satan tries to test Job in his wealth and told Iblees that he will see Job's sincerity and patience.

Iblis was very happy. He gathered his helpers and set about destroying Job's cattle, servants and farms until he was left with no possessions. Rubbing his hands in glee, Iblis appeared before Job in 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 charity and that you are wasting your time with your continuous prayers to God. Others say that God has brought this upon you in order to please your enemies. If God had the capacity to prevent harm, then He would have protected your wealth."

True to his belief in the all-encompassing will of God, Job replied: "What God 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, Job again prostrated to his Lord. *Job doesn't know that it is Iblees who is putting him through this, but what he does know that nothing can happen except by the permission of God and that a believer is satisfied with whatever God decrees. Thus mastering the test of life.

When Iblis saw this, he felt frustrated, so he again addressed God: "I have stripped Job 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. You will see how Job will reject You."
God permitted Iblis, but warned him that it would not reduce Job' faith in His Lord nor his patience.

Iblis again gathered his helpers and set about his evil deeds. He shook the fountain of the house in which Job's children were living and sent the building crashing, killing all of them. Then he went to Job disguised as a man who had come to sympathize with him. In a comforting tone he said to Job: "The circumstances under which your children died were sad. Surely, your Lord is not rewarding you properly for all your prayers." Having said this, Iblis waited anxiously hoping Job was now ready to reject God.

But again Job disappointed him by replying: "God 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 Job prostrated to his Lord. At this Iblis was extremely vexed.

Iblis called on God. "O my Lord, Job's wealth is gone, his children are dead, and he is still healthy in body, and as long as he enjoys good health he will continue to worship You in the hope of regaining his wealth and producing more children. Grant me authority over his body so that I may weaken it. He will surely neglect worshipping You and will thus become disobedient."

In God's deep wisdom for sending His Prophets he wants us to take lessons from the great examples of divine guidance lesson. Here Job was a was a devoted patient servant to his Lord so He granted Iblis his 3rd request but placed a condition: "I give you authority over his body but not over his soul, intellect or heart, for in these places reside the knowledge of Me and My religion."

Armed with this new authority, Iblis began to take revenge on Job's body and filled it with disease until it was reduced to mere skin and bone and he suffered severe pain. But through all the suffering Job remained strong in his faith, patiently bearing all the hardships without complaining. God's righteous servant did not despair or turn to others for help but remained hopeful of God 's mercy. Even close relatives and friends deserted him. Only his kind, loving wife stayed with him. In his hour of need, she showered her kindness on him and cared for him. She remained his sole companion and comforter through the many years of suffering.

Ibn Asaker narrated: "Job was a man having much wealth of all kinds; beats, slaves, sheep, vast lands of Haran and many children. All those favors were taken from him and he was physically afflicted as well. Never a single organ was sound except his heart and tongue, with both of which he glorified God Almighty all the time day and night. His disease lasted for a long time until his visitors felt disgusted with him. His friends kept away from him and people abstained from visiting him. No one felt sympathy for him except his wife. She took good care of him, knowing his former charity and pity for her."

Therefore Iblis became desperate. He consulted his helpers, but they could not advise him. They asked : "How is it that your cleverness cannot work against Job, yet you succeeded in misleading Adam the father of man, out of Paradise?"
Iblis went to Job's wife in the form of a man. "Where is your husband?" he asked her. She pointed to an almost lifeless form crumbled on the bed and said: "There he is, suspended between life and death."

Iblis reminded her of the days, when Job had good health, wealth and children. Suddenly, the painful memory of years of hardship overcame her, and she burst into tears. She said to Job: "How long are you going to bear this torture from our Lord? Are we to remain without wealth, children or friends forever? Why don't you call upon God to remove this suffering?"

Job sighed, and in a soft voice replied : "Iblis must have whispered to you and made you dissatisfied. Tell me how long did I enjoy good health and riches?"
She replied: "80 years."
Then Job replied: "How long am I suffering like this?"
She said: "7 years."
Job then told her: "In that case I am ashamed to call on my Lord to remove the hardship, for I have not suffered longer than the years of good health and plenty. It seems your faith has weakened and you are dissatisfied with the will of God. If I ever regain health, I swear I will punish you with a hundred strokes! From this day onward, I forbid myself to eat or drink anything by your hand. Leave me alone and let my Lord do with me as He pleases."

Crying bitterly and with a heavy heart, she had no choice but to leave him and seek shelter elsewhere. In this helpless state, Job turned to God, not to complain but to seek His mercy:

'Indeed! adversity has afflicted me and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.' So We answered his call, and we removed his affliction, and We restored his family to him (that he had lost), and the like thereof along with them as a mercy from our blessing and a Reminder for all who worship Us." (Qur'an 21:83-84)

Almighty God also instructed: "Remember Our slave Job, when he invoked His Lord saying:

"Verily! Satan has touched me with distress (by losing my health) and torment (by losing my family and wealth)!" God said to him: "Strike the ground with your foot: This is a spring of water to wash in and cool and a refreshing drink." And We gave him back his family, and along with them the like thereof as a Mercy from Us, and a reminder for those who understand. (Qur'an 38:41-43)

Job unconditionally obeyed and immediately his good health was restored. Meanwhile, his faithful wife could not longer bear to be parted from her husband and returned to him to beg his forgiveness, desiring to serve him. On entering her house, she was amazed at the sudden change: Job was again healthy! She embraced him and thanked God for His mercy.

Job was not worried, for he had taken an oath to punish her with a hundred strokes if he had regained health but he had no desire to hurt her. He knew if he did not fulfill the oath, he would be guilty of breaking a promise to God. Therefore in His wisdom and mercy, God came to the assistance of His faithful servant and advised him: "take in your hand a bundle of thin grass and strike therewith your wife, and break not your oath."

Indeed! We found him patient. How excellent a servant! Verily, he always turned to his Lord for help! (Qur'an 38:44)

The two lessons of this story is that arrogance and pride leads one to ignorance and foolishness and that a believer is thankful to his Lord during grace and ease and in times of trial and affliction he is steadfast adn patient being completely satisfied with the Decree of the Almighty.

May God's Peace and Blessings be upon Job and all those who followed him.