Lessons From The Life of Prophet Ayyub (AS) - Shaykh Mohammed Ishtiaq | Islamic Lessons

Lessons From the Life of Prophet Ayyub (AS)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Alhamdulillah. Unfortunately, Mufti Sahib could not make it today, so keep him and his family in your du'as — last minute something came up. Alhamdulillah, I've been given this task of sharing a few words with you.

This series of talks is about the hidden treasures of the Qur'an. And the question which is going to lead up to the story I want to share from the Qur'an today is: how do we manage the difficulties that pile up in our lives? Sometimes you think, alhamdulillah, that was pretty difficult, but we're done with it now. Let's move on. And then all of a sudden, something else happens. So how do we deal with these difficulties that come up in our lives?

Some answers: patience — especially when you hear about something difficult at the beginning. Having that patience. Making du'a to Allah to keep our hearts firm. And seeking help from other people around you.

I was talking to one of my friends. I told him when I was at the University of Michigan as a chaplain, I had a few of my close friends — even Muslim professors from the university — as advisors. If something would happen at the university, the first people I would reach out to were them. It's very, very important to have that support with you. We have a friend from Chicago who himself has a PhD in psychology. He himself has another friend that he turns towards every week for therapy — and he's a professional himself. It's very, very important to have people around you to give naseeha to. Very, very important to have that good, strong support. You can go and sit with them and just listen to some words of wisdom.

Do we have friends and families that, when they're going through difficulties, they start questioning Allah? Most definitely. Making istighfar — we're going to come to that. And life is a process. Nobody can say that they went through life and they had no issues.

The Story of Prophet Ayyub (AS)

We're going to be speaking about a story in the Qur'an about a certain prophet who was known for his patience. A prophet who had it all. But then started to lose one thing after another. Trials upon trials. Until nobody was around him. And Allah talks about him and his patience. What was the name of this prophet? Sayyiduna Ayyub, alayhi salam.

One thing that as parents we don't want is for our children to go through any trials. You don't want them to get hurt — that's how our parents wanted us to go through life, without any trials. But we are going to go through trials. So don't put your children into difficult trials, but let them fall. Let them hit their heads on the walls. Don't worry about it. Let them get a couple of scars, and then they'll come back stronger.

I've been blessed to have taught in many beautiful places — at Huda School, at Beverly Hills Academy, and as the chaplain at the University of Michigan. I'm a teacher and the assistant principal at the academic wing here at Michigan Islamic Institute. I've been blessed to be around young people, and it is beautiful.

And Prophet Ayyub, alayhi salatu wasalam, through all these trials, turns to Allah. Because he knows Allah is always there.

His Background and Blessings

Prophet Ayyub, alayhi salatu wasalam, was from the descendants of Sayyidina Ishaq, alayhi salam, and he came from a family of prophets — from the family of Ibrahim, alayhi salam. His mother was a descendant of Prophet Lut, alayhi salam, and his wife was also a direct descendant of Prophet Yusuf, alayhi salam. He had a large amount of livestock. He was sent to the people in the south of Syria, a place called Huran — the Golan Heights.

He was blessed with abundant wealth and land. He was blessed with many children. He was a healthy, strong man. He was respected amongst his people. He was a prophet, and prophets were known for their striking beauty. They had a presence. You see that with scholars — when they walk into the room, everybody goes quiet. He had all of this.

The Trials Begin

And then, slowly, slowly, Shaytan said to Allah: "This servant of yours is worshipping You only because You have blessed him with all these things. You start taking these things away from him, and he's not going to remember You."

And the first thing that was taken away from him was his wealth. He had nothing. Did he stop remembering Allah? He kept remembering Allah. The second thing taken away from him was his family. And then the last thing — he lost his health.

Everybody says this: when you have your own children, you realize what your parents went through for you. He had a small fever, can't go to sleep at night. The other day he got a virus — we took him to the ER and our mother-in-law nearly passed out when they put the IV. So take your parents as a ghanima — take your parents as a blessing. Because one day you may be far away from them.

So he lost everything — in terms of wealth, in terms of family, in terms of health. But what did he not lose? He did not lose hope. He did not lose Allah.

His Wife's Question and His Response

Ayyub's wife said to him, "How long are you going to face this torture? Are we going to remain without wealth, without children, without friends forever? Why don't you call to Allah to take away this suffering?"

And Ayyub, alayhi salam, said to her, "It looks like Iblis is whispering in you." He said to her, "How many years did we enjoy health and riches and our children?" She replied, "Eighty years." He said, "How long have I been ill like this?" She said, "Seven years." He said, "So I've got a few more years left."

And when his wife said that, he made a cry to Allah — but he was still in a state of being ashamed to ask Allah for himself. And so in Surah al-Anbiya, ayah 83 and 84, Sayyidina Ayyub, alayhi salam, when he called out to his Lord:

"Indeed, adversity has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful." And then Allah says: "And We responded to him and removed what affected him of adversity. And We gave him back his family and the like thereof with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers of Allah."

Which other prophet said "You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy" when he made du'a — at Ta'if? Our Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, when he was bleeding, when he had nobody around, when he was ousted from Makkah and the people of Ta'if had done that to him.

Allah may take something away from us, and — without us even knowing — He is going to replace it with something better.

Trials as Expiation of Sins

When Allah puts you through trials, He is forgiving your sins. As the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5641; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2573)

"There is no calamity that befalls a Muslim but Allah expiates sins thereby, even a thorn that pricks him."

And the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, also told us that the path to Jannah is camouflaged by hardship, and the path to Hell is camouflaged by ease.

The Verse of Ease After Hardship

What is the famous ayah in the Qur'an? Allah repeats it — twice. This was revealed when the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was going through heartache after heartache:

"Verily, with hardship comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease." No hardship will last forever.

The Test — and the Glad Tidings for the Patient

And Allah reminds us in Surah al-Baqarah:

"We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits — but give glad tidings to the patient." وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ. Allah carries on: those who, when disaster strikes them, say:

"Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return." So remind yourselves of that.

Lessons and Reminders

1. In Times of Dire Need, Turn to Allah

In the time of dire need, we should turn to salah. We should turn to dhikr. We should turn to du'a. We should turn to each other. And we should turn to reading about the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and sending salutations upon him.

Our teachers taught us:

And they would say, when you say habibi — "my beloved" — mean it. Set yourself a litany — 50, 100, 1,000, or even 70,000 if you wish. One of our teachers from Syria was over the age of 100, and he had spent all his life there. He did not let go of two things: the Qur'an, and the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — especially salutations upon him. When the turmoil happened in Syria and he was displaced, about 102 years old, where did he go? Madinah. He spent a couple of years there and passed away in Madinah, buried in Baqi'. So learn about the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Continue with salutations. Write down today how many salutations you are going to do.

2. Remember — Allah Loves You

We see in churches where the priest always says, "Jesus loves you." Have you ever heard a khatib say that? Even the word love — we don't hear it in our khutbas. When the Paris attacks happened, I was still at Huda School. Our science teacher — a non-Muslim who has read the Qur'an many times and keeps extensive notes in his copy — sat there and said to me, "Sheikh Ishtiaq, whenever these kinds of attacks happen, why do you guys go on the defensive and talk about Islamophobia? Why don't you talk about Islamophilia?"

I was called at the Unity Centre to give a khutbah. The topic they gave me was Islamophobia, but I spoke about Islamophilia. I said: say to somebody today, like the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, who held the hand of Sayyidina Mu'adh, radhiAllahu anhu, and said to him:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1522; also recorded in Sunan al-Nasa'i)

"By Allah, I love you, O Mu'adh." And don't forget to say after each salah:

"O Allah, help me to remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You in the best of manners." Say to each other today — brothers with brothers, sisters with sisters — "Wallahi I love you for the sake of Allah."

3. No Hardship Will Last Forever

Allah restored Ayyub's health. Gave him more children. Gave him wealth again. And the lesson is clear: no hardship will last forever. We're all going through difficult times. Keep people in your du'as — and don't forget to make du'as for yourself as well.

Closing Du'a

We will conclude with the du'a for concluding a gathering of knowledge:

"Glory be to You, O Allah, and all praise. I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You."