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9. PROPHETS’ DU’A (PRAYER) IN THE QUR’AN (4) 7. Job (Ayyῡb) Prophet Job (Ayyūb) a.s. is mentioned in the Qur’an by name four times (Q. 2:163; 6:84; 21:83; and 38:41). He is mentioned very briefly in the Qur’an, whereas in the Old Testament the story of Prophet Job was mentioned in the Book of Job containing 42 chapters, although mostly contain discourses between him and his friends. He lived in an area South of Damascus in Syria or West of the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, or north-east corner of Palestine. He was one of the descendants of the Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and a nephew of Prophet Ya‘qub a.s. He was sent by Allah to advise people to do good and shun evil. Prophet Job (Ayyūb) a.s. was a wealthy man with firm faith in Allah. Allah gives us an excellent example of a person who had the utmost patience upon the trial with his wealth, family and health.1 He had plenty of livestock, cattle and crops, beautiful houses and children, and a healthy body, and then he lost all of them. With his wealth: thieves attacked his big farm, killing many of his servants and taking away his crops and cattle; with his family: the roof of his houses fell down crushing many members of his family; with his health: he suffered from skin disease. Parts of his body were covered with loathsome sores. His friends attributed his calamities to his sins. People abandoned him for the ugly looking ulcers on his face and hands. He was left alone on the edge of the city, and no one took care of him except his wife. In his extremely pathetic condition, he prayed to Allah as mentioned in the Qur’an as follows: َ َفاس َت َجب َناَلَ َه.َِين ََ تَأَر َحمََالرَّ ا ِحم ََ ِيَالضُّرََُّ َوأَن ََ ُّوبَإِذََ َنادَىَ َربَّهََأَ ِّنيَ َم َّسن ََ َوأَي َ َف َك َشف َناَ َماَ ِب َِهَمِنََضرََ َوآ َتي َناهََأَهلَهََ َومِثلَهمََ َم َعهمََ َرح َمةََمِنََعِ ن ِد َناَ َوذِك َرى )34-38:ِينَ(األنبياء ََ َلِل َع ِابد And (remember) Ayyῡb (Job), when he cried to his Lord: 1
According to the Old Testament he “had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:2-3)