Welcome to our weekly programme "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an. We start from where we left you last Friday and here is ayahs 43 and 44 of Surah Saad.

"And We gave [back] his family to him along with others like them, as a mercy from Us and an admonition for those who possess intellect.

“[We told him:] ‘Take a faggot in your hand and then strike [your wife] with it, but do not break [your] oath.’ Indeed We found him to be patient. What an excellent servant! Indeed he was a penitent [soul]."

Last week we said God Almighty after having ascertained the firm faith and patience of Prophet Ayoub or Job through tribulations of extreme hardships including diseases and loss of family, in order to remove any doubts from the minds of the people that his righteous beliefs were merely the result of abundant material prosperity, commanded him to stomp his foot on the ground from where sprouted a spring of fresh water that enabled him to wash himself and drank in order to fully recover from his illness.

The ayahs that we recited to you now mean to say that God restored to Prophet Job divine blessings including property and children, as a sign of admonition to the people possessing commonsense. The first and the most important divine blessing, which are health, convalescence, and safety, came back to Job, followed by other favours such as material benefits and family. Accounts vary on how Job’s family were returned to him. It is said that they had passed away and Allah revived them to life. Other accounts say that as a result of the prolonged sickness of Job, his children went away, but when he regained his health, they gathered around him again. It is also said that some of them had also been afflicted by various kinds of sicknesses. So, the mercy of Allah cured them of their diseases and they lovingly gathered around him. The Qur’anic phrase “others like them”, suggests Allah caused his family gathering to become warmer than before and granted him more children. There is nothing said in these verses about Job’s wealth, but the context shows that Allah returned his properties to him in a richer form.

It is interesting to note that at the end of this ayah, the aim of returning divine merits to Job is evident by two things: one is the mercy of Allah to him, which has a personal aspect, and it is, in fact, a reward for this patient servant; and the other is giving a lesson to all those who possess intellect and understanding throughout history, so that they do not lose their patience when faced with difficulties and adversities, while being hopeful of the mercy of Allah.

The next ayah indicates that the only problem that Job had was the oath he had taken in respect to his faithful wife, Laya, which in a moment of weakness, out of concern for her husband’s had conveyed to him Satan’s offer to cure him, at which the afflicted Prophet became angry for even such a momentarily slip and vowed to punish her with whiplashes when he gets well by the Grace of God. Thus, after his convalescence, as a reward for her loyalties and services to him, he wished to forgive her, but the problem of oath and the name of Allah he had invoked, appeared as an obstacle. And since, he had not specified the type of whip in his oath, Allah the All-Merciful advised him to take a bundle of stems of wheat, barely, or a bunch of flowers and the like to strike her in a gentle manner in order to fulfill his vow. Allah, therefore praises Job as the epitome of patience and faith.

It is clear that the account of Job is a lesson and a sign for people of commonsense not be proud of their possessions, because these might be lost in a moment. This account also teaches us that we should never be disappointed of God’s mercy during hardships. Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the Divinely-Designated Vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) says: “At the extremity of hardship comes relief, and at the tightening of the chains of tribulation comes ease.”

From this ayah we learn that:

1. We should be patient in hardship and should never lose hope in Divine Mercy.
2. God, the All-Merciful, rewards the good persons and forgives the sinners when they repent, even reducing the punishment of so many people on the Day of Resurrection; so we should be forgive faults of others and appreciate their good works.
3. God the Almighty Creator has the power to restore everything to its original status and revive the dead to life.

Now we listen to or read ayahs 45 to 48 of Surah Saad:

"And remember Our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men of strength and insight."

"Indeed We purified them with the exclusiveness of the remembrance of the abode [of the Hereafter]."

"Indeed with Us they are surely among the elect of the best."

"And remember Ishmael, Elisha and Dhu’l-Kifl —each [of whom was] among the elect."

These ayahs briefly refer to six of the Prophets of God and mean to say that Abraham, his sons Ishmael and Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob, as well as Elisha and Dhu’l-Kifl were among the most virtuous and spotlessly pure servants of God, possessing strength of character and insight. They were indeed amongst the elite and blessed with constant remembrance of the blissful abode of afterlife, rather than be distracted by the deceptive glamour of worldly life. 

The rank of servitude is the first quality mentioned for them and servitude of Allah means having absolute dependence upon Him. It means to have no will against His will, and obeying His command in all conditions. Allah has blessed these prophets with the strong ability of comprehension, discrimination, and insight’ and ‘enough might for performing actions’. It means they were not some unaware persons. The level of their knowledge was very high. They had considerable information of the secrets of creation and the mysteries of life.

From the points of will, decision, and the power of action, they were not some feeble, despicable, weak and unable persons, but they were some wilful and powerful persons with strong decisive decisions. This is an example for all those who pave the path of the truth that, after the rank of servitude or sincere- most worship of Allah, they must be equipped with these two effective arms, They were always in the remembrance of the next world. Their sight in life was not limited to the few days of living in this world with its few pleasures. Beyond this temporary life, they saw the perpetual abode with its infinite bounties, and they always tried and struggled for it. In short, their faith and righteous deeds caused Allah to elevate them to the rank of prophethood

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. The accounts of the past and events of the life of the Prophets enable us to be steadfast in our faith.
2. The source of all the perfections of the prophets is worship. Therefore being sincere servant to God has been mentioned before other perfections. In other words, the prophets have reached this high status due to God's servitude.
3. Avoiding worldly and permanent attention to the hereafter provides the purity of man and his purity of worldly pollution and gives him insight and clarity.

AS/ME