During Tough Times* [[--Seventh Outing--]]

 *During Tough Times*

[[--Seventh Outing--]]
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*Continuation of episode six:*

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Satan approached Allah and informed Him that Ayyub was not a sincere servant of His and was only glorifying Him in fear of losing all his wealth. He, Satan, suggested, “If You remove his wealth then You will find that his tongue will no longer mention Your name and his praying will stop.” Allah, the All-Knowing, did not believe Satan, for He knew that Ayyub was among His most sincere believers and did not worship his Lord for mere material possessions. But He agreed to test Ayyub to show Satan the absolute sincerity of His loyal servant. Overjoyed, Satan set out to destroy Prophet Ayyub’s wealth.

As time passed, Prophet Ayyub’s wealth began to diminish—his land, livestock, servants, and money slowly evaded him until he was left with nothing.

Immensely satisfied with Ayyub’s ordeal, Satan, disguised as a wise old man, approached the Prophet and said, “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 Allah. Others say that Allah has brought this upon you in order to please your enemies. If Allah had the capacity to prevent harm, then He would have protected your wealth.”

Ayyub (as) replied, “Allah gives whom He wills, and Allah takes from whom He wills. And all of the wealth that I have belongs to Allah, so He has every authority to take it back from me”. Ayyub then turned around and continued to thank and praise Allah.

Feeling rather frustrated, Satan returned to Allah and said, “I have stripped Ayyub of all his possessions, but he still remains grateful to You. However, he is only hiding his disappointment. The real test of a parent is through his children. You will see how Ayyub will reject You.” Allah still knew that Ayyub’s faith and love for his Lord will not waver, but He agreed to test Ayyub further.

Before long, the building in which Ayyub’s children lived crashed killing all fourteen of his young, beautiful children. Satan once again visited Ayyub disguised as sympathising bystander, and remarked with sorrow, “The circumstances under which your children died were sad. Surely, your Lord is not rewarding you properly for all your prayers.”

Ayyub (as) responded, “Allah gives me what is good for me, and takes away what Allah sees that is displeasing for Him and for me. Allah sees that all of these children may be a strong test & trial for me, so Allah took them away from me. Whether a thing is beneficial or harmful to me, I will remain firm in my belief and remain thankful to my Creator.”

Satan rushed back to Allah and said, “O my Lord, Ayyub’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 hopes 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.”

Allah granted his request but instructed, “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.”

Soon after, Ayyub’s health began to deteriorate. He was so ill that the skin of his body used to fall off revealing his muscles and bone. But as Allah instructed, the only two organs that functioned in his body were his heart and tongue—which he continued to use to glorify Allah. Ayyub suffered through severe pain, but he never allowed himself to complain or falter in his belief in Allah.

The people of the city began discussing, “If Ayyub (as) was a good person, Allah wouldn’t have done this to him”. And eventually, they abandoned him— his relatives, friends, and everyone who loved and respected Ayyub deserted him, except for Rahma, his beloved wife.

TO BE CONTINUED