ভূমিকা

“(We told him:) ‘Stamp with your foot, here is a cool washing-place and a drink’.” The history of the great men should not be forgotten. The history of the Divine prophets is instructive even for the friends of Allah: because being acquainted with others’ difficulties may strengthen patience and perseverance.

In the former verses the words were about Solomon and his glory which showed the god-given power and this itself was a glad tiding for the Prophet of Islam (S) and the Muslims of Mecca who were in a serious pressure at that proper time.

These verses are about Job, the sample of patience and perseverance in order to teach the Muslims of that day, today, and tomorrow to show perseverance in the face of difficulties of life, and to invite them to assistance and to make the good end of this patience clear.

Job is the third prophet a part of whose life story has been mentioned in this Surah, and our great Prophet was enjoined to remember his life story and to reiterate it for the Muslims so that they would not fear from tiresome difficulties and never become hopeless from the grace and favour of Allah. The name or the life story of Job has been mentioned in several Suras of the Qur’an: in Surah An-Nisa’, No. 4, verse 163; and in Surah Al-’An‘am, No.

6, verse 84 where only his name has been mentioned in the row of other Divine prophets in order to confirm the rank of his prophethood. It is contrary to the existing Torah which has not counted him among the Divine prophets, but it introduces him as a rich righteous servant of Allah who had a lot of properties and children. There is a short explanation about his life in Surah Al-’Anbiya’, No.

21, verses 83 and 84, but his biography has been mentioned in the verses under discussion through four verses more in details than any other place of the Holy Qur’an. The verse says: “And remember Our servant Job, when he called to his Lord ‘Verily, Satan has afflicted me with toil and torment’.” The Qur’anic terms /nusb/ and /nasb/ both mean: toil and torment.