Story of Success [[- Part One -]]

 Story of Success

[[- Part One -]]
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بسم الله الرحمان الرجيم

Ayyub was a Prophet who was immensely blessed by Allah— he was strong and healthy, had large plots of land, abundant livestock, and a righteous and beautiful family; he was also a community leader who was highly respected and loved by his people. Despite his status and wealth, Ayyub was never arrogant; he was always humble, he readily helped the deprived, and constantly thanked and glorified Allah (swt) for everything he was blessed with.

One day, high up in the heavens, the angels began discussing about the best of humans who lived on earth. An angel amongst them said,

“The best creature on earth today is Ayyub, a man of noble character who displays great patience and always remembers his Generous Lord. He is an excellent model for the worshippers of Allah (swt)..."

Satan, who was in the vicinity, overhead the discussion and became very angry. He immediately began plotting to lure Ayyub away from the worship of Allah. He whispered evil thoughts to Ayyub about the many pleasures of life that a man such as Ayyub could easily enjoy; but the Prophet was a sincere servant of Allah and was not easily faltered—this enraged Satan further.

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 (a.s.) 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.”

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