His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And remember Our servant Job when he called to his Lord, 'Indeed, Satan has touched me with hardship and torment.'﴾ ﴿'Stamp your foot; this is a cool bath and a drink.'﴾ ﴿And We granted him his family and the like of them with him, as a mercy from Us and a lesson for people of reason.'﴾ ﴿And take in your hand a bunch of grass and strike with it, and do not break your oath. Indeed, We found him patient. Excellent is the servant. Indeed, he was oft-returning.'﴾

Job is a prophet from the Children of Israel, from the descendants of Jacob, peace be upon him. He is the one who was tested in his body, wealth, and family, while his belief and religion remained intact.

It has been narrated that Allah subjected Satan to him to tempt him away from his religion. Satan afflicted him in his wealth and said to him: 'If you obey me, your wealth will return.' But he did not obey him. Then he afflicted him in his family and children, and they all perished. He said to him: 'If you obey me, they will return.' But he did not obey him. Then he afflicted him in his body, and Job remained steadfast in the command of Allah for seven years and seven months. This was said by Qatadah, and Anas narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that Job, peace be upon him, remained in his trial for eighteen years, during which his flesh fell off until the people became tired of him, and only his wife remained patient with him. It has been narrated that the reason for which Allah tested him was that he entered upon one of the kings and saw something wrong but did not change it. It has also been narrated that the reason was that he slaughtered a sheep, cooked it, and it was eaten in his presence while his neighbor was hungry, and he did not give him anything from it. It has been narrated that when Job's trial and patience reached their limit, two men who knew him passed by and reproached him, saying: 'You have committed a sin that no one else has committed.' He understood from them that they were gloating over him, so at that point, he called out and cried to his Lord.

And his saying, peace be upon him: ﴿Satan has touched me﴾ can refer to his being touched when Allah subjected him to Satan as we have mentioned. It may also mean his being touched at the beginning of the matter to commit the sin for which the trial was: either the neglect of changing the wrong in front of the king or the neglect of supporting his neighbor. It has been said that he referred to his being touched when he was tempted regarding his family and was asked to associate partners with Allah. Job had complained about this act, and it was harder on him than his illness.

And the majority of people read: ﴿(Indeed)﴾ with the hamzah opened, while 'Isa ibn Umar broke it. It is in the position of being accusative by dropping the preposition. The majority of people read: ﴿'with hardship'﴾ with the noon pronounced and the sad silent. Hubayrah read from Hafs from Asim with it opened, which is the reading of al-Jahdari and Ya'qub. It has been narrated from al-Hasan and Abu Ja'far. Abu 'Amarah read from Hafs from Asim 'with hardship' with the noon and sad pronounced, which is the reading of Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' and al-Hasan, with a difference from him. Hubayrah also narrated from Hafs from Asim with the noon opened and the sad silent. All of this has one meaning, which is: hardship. The term 'nassab' is often used for the hardship of fatigue. Some people differentiated between these terms, but the correct view is that they are dialects from their saying: 'The matter has made me tired and has burdened me,' as in the poet's saying:

You have been afflicted by a burden from Umaymah, one who is appointed. And from it is the saying of Al-Nabighah: "Relieve me of my concern, O Umaymah, appointed one." The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It has been said regarding this verse that "appointed" means "one who is appointed," and that it is based on lineage, meaning one who has a burden. Here in the verse, there is much that is omitted, the estimation of which is: So he responded to him and said to him: "Strike the ground with your foot." (p-353) And striking is hitting with the foot, and the meaning is: Strike the ground. It has been narrated from Qatadah that this command was in the Jabiyah of the land of Sham. It has been narrated that Ayyub, peace be upon him, was commanded to strike the ground, so he struck it and a spring of clear, cold water gushed forth for him. He drank from it, and every illness within his body departed. Then he bathed, and what was on the surface of his body also went away. It has been narrated that he struck twice, and two springs gushed forth for him: he drank from one of them and bathed in the other. Nafi', Shaibah, Asim, and Al-A'mash read: "And a punishment, strike" with a dammed noon of the tanween, and the majority of the readers of Basrah read it with a kasrah. And "a place of washing" means: a place of washing, and the water of washing, as you say: This matter is considered, and this water is a washing place like it. It has been narrated that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, granted him his family and wealth in this world, and returned those who died among them, and what was lost of his livestock, and then blessed all of that, and children were born to him until his condition multiplied. It has been narrated that all of this is a promise in the Hereafter, meaning: Allah will do that for him in the Hereafter. The first is more prevalent in the sayings of the interpreters. And "a mercy" is in the accusative as a source, and His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And a reminder" means: an admonition and reminder by which those of understanding take heed, and they take inspiration from his patience in hardships, and they do not despair of the mercy of Allah in any situation. It has been narrated that Ayyub, peace be upon him, had a wife who, during his illness, would visit him, and the devil would meet her in the form of a doctor, and at times in the form of an advisor, and in other forms, saying to her: If this sick man were to prostrate to such and such idol, he would recover; if he were to sacrifice a goat to such and such idol, he would recover, and he would present to her faces of disbelief. She would sometimes present that to Ayyub, and he would say to her: Did you encounter the enemy of Allah on your way? When she angered him with this and similar things, he swore to her that if he recovered from his illness, he would strike her one hundred lashes. When he recovered, Allah commanded him to take a bundle containing one hundred rods. And "the bundle" is a large handful of rods and similar things from fresh trees, as said by Al-Dahhak and the people of language, so he would strike with it one strike and his right hand would be absolved. And from it is their saying: "A bundle upon a pile of firewood," and the pile of firewood is a bundle of wood. The poet said: (p-354) "And beneath me is a tied bundle, and I threw a bundle of fragrant khala."

This is a ruling that has come in our Sharia from the Prophet similar to that regarding the punishment of a man who is chronically ill due to adultery. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, ordered a palm branch containing one hundred fronds or something similar. He was struck with it. Abu Dawood mentioned the hadith, and some of the jurists of the Ummah have said this. However, Malik and his companions do not see this, and likewise, the majority of the scholars hold that the punishments and the righteousness in oaths do not occur except with the completion of the number of strikes.