Assalamu Alaikum Walaikum Assalam Are you going to tell me
the story of Prophet’s today? Yes of course!
You sound so excited! I love hearing these stories baba Mashallah! That’s great. Today I will tell you
the story of Prophet Ayub (as) Who is he Baba ? Ayub (as) is a Prophet in Islam, and his name is mentioned
in the Quran. The Quran also describes the Prophet
as a righteous servant of Allah, who had to undergo the test of
Allah for a very long period of time! Now listen carefully! Bismillah! The Story of Prophet Ayub (as) A long long time ago, there lived
a man named Prophet Ayub (as). He was one the grandsons
of Prophet Yusuf (as). He had a wife named Rahma.
Both of them led a very happy life. Allah (swt) blessed the Prophet
with many sons and daughters. He was a wealthy man, and
he owned plenty of land. He owned a large number
of cattles as well. He was one of the sincere
worshippers of Allah (swt). He was thankful to Allah for all
the blessings endowed upon him. He loved the poor, and he
gave them food and clothes. He always invited an orphan or
a poor person to eat with him. One day it so happened that the Angels were discussing
about Allah’s faithful servants. “The best creature on earth
today is Ayub” said one of the angels. “He is a man of noble character, and he always remembers
his generous Lord. He is an excellent model
for the Allah’s followers” Then another angel said “In return, Lord has blessed him with a
long life and plenty of servants”. “He helps the poor and the needy.
He also buys the slaves, and set them free!
He is a very generous man” Added another angel.
Shaytan overheard their conversation, and he became very annoyed.
He decided to go to the Prophet and tempt him to go
against his God. First, he tried to distract him
from his prayers by whispering about all the
good things in life! But Ayub (as) was a true believer, and the evil thoughts did not
tempt him at all! When his trick failed,
Shaytan got really angry!! Shaytan then complained to Allah
about Ayub. He said that although the Prophet
kept praying to God, he was not a sincere person. Shaytan said that the Prophet
was trying to satisfy Allah, so that God wont take his
wealth away from him! “If you remove his wealth,
then you will find that he will no longer mention
Your name! He will even stop praying
to you!” But Allah told Shaytan that Ayub was one of His most sincere devotees. The Prophet, He said, did not
worship Him because of the favors he received. Allah wanted to show Shaytan the depth of the Prophet’s sincerity. So He allowed Shaythan to do
whatever he wished with Ayub’s wealth. Shaytan was very happy now! He gathered his helpers and
started destroying all that the Prophet owned!
He burned his farms, cattles and he didn’t leave
his house as well! Then he destroyed all
of Prophet’s servants. Ayub (as) was now left
with no possessions. Rubbing his hand in glee, Shaytan then approached the
Prophet disguised as an old man! “All your wealth is lost”
He said to the Prophet. Some people say that this is because you gave too much to others as charity. Some are saying that you are
wasting your time with your prayers! “If Allah had the power to prevent
you from getting harmed, He would have protected you” But the Prophet’s faith was
not shaken even a little bit. “What Allah has taken away,
belongs to Him” He replied. “I was only a caretaker
of all of His possessions. He gives to whom who He wills, and withholds from whom He wills” With these words, the Prophet
again prostrated to his Lord When Shaytan saw this,
he felt frustrated! So he addressed Allah (swt) again! “I have stripped Ayub of
all of his possessions, but still he remains grateful to You!” He said to the Lord. “The real test
of a parent is through his children! You will see how he rejects you,
when he loses his children” Allah gave Shaytan the authority
to do what he wanted. He also warned him that the Prophet’s
faith and patience will not reduce, inspite of whatever Shaytan
had planned for. Shaytan again gathered his helpers and set out to destroy the Prophet’s children. He destroyed the house in
which the sons and daughters lived, killing all of them! Then he went to the Prophet, disguised as a man who came
to sympathize with him. He said to the Prophet in
a comforting tone “The circumstances under which your children died were really sad. Surely, your Lord is not rewarding
you properly for all your prayers” Then the Shaytan waited anxiously hoping the Prophet was
now ready to reject Allah (swt) But the Prophet said “Allah
sometimes gives, and sometimes takes. He is sometimes pleased,
and sometimes displeased with what we do. Whatever happens, I will remain firm in my belief and remain
thankful to my creator” And then, the Prophet
prostrated to his Lord. Shaytan was very angry
when he saw that. Shaytan called to Allah again! “Oh lord” He said.
“Ayub has lost all of his wealth, and his children are dead. As long as he remains healthy,
he wil continue to worship You, hoping that he can produce
more children. Grant me authority over
his body so that I may weaken it. He will then surely neglect worshipping, and
he will turn disobedient.” Allah (swt) wanted to teach
Shaytan a lesson. So He granted his third request, but one one condition.
It was that Shaytan will have authority over
the Prophet’s body but not over his soul or intellect. Shaytan was very happy,
as he knew that the Prophet was surely going to give
up on his God this time. Armed with this new authority Shaytan began to afflict the body
of the Prophet with diseases After sometime, the Prophet was
reduced to mere skin and bones! But the Prophet stayed strong
in his faith amidst all the sufferings. He did not despair or turn
to others for help, and remained hopeful
of Allah’s mercy. His close relatives, and even
friends deserted him. Only his kind and loving
wife stayed with him. She showered her kindness
on the Prophet, and cared for him in this hour of need. Shaytan had now become desperate, so he decided to approach
the Prophet’s wife this time. He went to her in the form of a man, and asked her “Where is your husband?” She pointed to an almost lifeless form on the bed and said “There he is, hanging between
life and death” Shaytan then reminded her of the days when the Prophet was in good health, and when he had all
his wealth and children. She was suddenly overcome with
he pain of years of hardship, and she burst into tears. “How long are you going to bear this torture from our Lord” she asked him crying. “Are we
going to remain without wealth, children or friends forever?. Why don’t you call upon Allah to
remove this suffering? The prophet sighed and
replied in a soft voice “Shaytan must have whispered
to you and made you upset. Tell me how long did I enjoy
good health and the riches?” He asked “Seventy years”
she replied. “How long have I been
suffering like this now?” He asked her again “Seven years” she replied The Prophet then told her “In that case, I am ashamed to call on my Lord
to remove the hardships. I have not suffered longer than the
years of good health and prosperity!” He then told her “It seems
your faith has weakened and you are dissatisfied with our Lord If I ever regain my health, I swear I will punish you with a
hundred strokes” The Prophet then ordered her to leave the house and never come back again. The Prophet’s wife cried bitterly and with a heavy heart left the house. In this helpless state,
the Prophet prayed to Allah, not to complain, but to
seek His mercy. “Oh lord” he prayed “Harm has inflicted me, and You are the Most Merciful” Allah (swt) accepted the
prayer of the Prophet, and turned to him with mercy. He commanded the Prophet to
strike the earth with his foot. The Prophet obeyed the order, and suddenly a spring
arose from the ground!! He took a bath in the water
as God ordered him, and suddenly he was cured!! Meanwhile, his faithful wife could no longer bear to be
parted from her husband, so she returned to him with
a desire to serve him. she was amazed to at
the sudden change! The Prophet was healthy again! She embraced him and
thanked Allah for His mercy. Ayoub (as) was now worried
about the oath he had taken. In his anger, he had taken
an oath to punish her with a hundred strokes,
if he regained his health. He did not want to hurt her but he could not break a promise
made to Allah as well! Allah (swt), in His wisdom and mercy, came to solve the dilemma of
His faithful servant. God asked him to take
a bundle of thin grass, and gently strike his wife
with the bundle. This way the Prophet didn’t
have to break his oath!! The Prophet soon regained his wealth, and his children were
raised from the dead! It is said that Prophet Ayoub (as)
lived till the age of 93 years!! This story should remind us
that Allah (swt) would test is in many ways.
We should, therefore, remain strong in our faith,
and worship Him constantly Mashallah! That was such
a wonderful story! Now are you ready for the questions? Yes, I am! Alright, now tell me how did the Shaytan
try to distract the Prophet, in his first attempt? he tried to distract him from his prayers by whispering about all
the good things in life! And did the Prophet get distracted? No.. The Prophet was a true believer, and he didn’t get distracted at all! That’s correct! Now tell me how did he test
the Prophet, the second time? Shaytan said that the Prophet
was trying to satisfy God so that God wont take away
his wealth from him! He then burned down all the
possessions of the Prophet! Mashallah! That’s right again! And did the Prophet stop
worshipping Allah this time? No.. The Prophet said that it was God
who gave him all his possessions, so it didn’t really matte
r when God took it back Very good! Now tell me how did
Shaytan test him the third time? Shaytan took God’s permission to kill
all of the Prophet’s children! And did the Prophet stop praying
to Allah after his children were killed? No, the Prophet did not stop praying
to God, and this made Shaytan very angry! And how did he test the
Prophet for the final time? Shaytan took permission from God,
and afflicted the body of
the Prophet with diseases. And did this make the Prophet
stop worshipping God? No.. the Prophet stayed strong in his
faith amidst all the sufferings He did not despair or turn
to others for help, and remained hopeful of God’s mercy Mashallah! All your answers were correct
Very good! Thank you ! Alright, I will see you again tomorrow
with another story. Good night my son! Good night !
