Job

The Quran places Job (Ayyub) in a continuous lineage of revelation, grouping him with Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and David as a direct recipient of divine communication (4:163). He is positioned among the guided descendants who received God's reward for doing good (6:84). Yet, rather than detailing his preaching or encounters with a rejecting nation, his distinct presence in the text centers entirely on his severe physical affliction and his exact words from the depths of his weariness.

How did Job pray during his affliction?

When Job speaks in the text, he does not demand an immediate cure or question his fate. He cries out to his Lord, stating simply, "Suffering has truly afflicted me, but you are the Most Merciful of the merciful" (21:83). He attributes the crushing physical toll to an external adversary, telling God, "Satan has afflicted me with weariness and suffering" (38:41).

Classical commentators recorded varying traditions regarding the length of this suffering; as al-Baghawi notes (Tafsir al-Baghawi, 5/340), reports ranged from Anas stating the trial lasted eighteen years, to Ka'b suggesting seven, while Wahb recorded it as exactly three. The Quran itself leaves the duration unstated, focusing instead on the strict etiquette of his plea: he presents his ruined state while simultaneously affirming God's absolute mercy.

How was Job healed and his family restored?

The divine response to Job’s polite supplication is immediate and intensely physical. God commands the exhausted prophet: "Stamp your foot! Here is cool water for you to wash in and drink" (38:42). The earth itself, upon the strike of his foot, yields the sudden means of his bodily purification and internal relief.

Following this physical cure, the text states that God restored his family to him, doubling their number with "many more like them" (38:43). This act of sheer multiplication is framed not merely as compensation for a specific man, but as a deliberate "sign of Our mercy and a lesson to all who understand."

What was the oath with the bundle of grass?

Following his physical restoration, God intervenes to resolve a harsh vow Job had made during the height of his illness. He is instructed: "Take a small bunch of grass in your hand, and strike [her] with that so as not to break your oath" (38:44).

Explaining the origin of this vow, Ibn al-Jawzi notes (Zad al-Masir, 3/577) that Iblis had intercepted Job's wife disguised as a physician, offering to cure her husband. When she entertained the false doctor's offer out of desperation, Job swore an oath to strike her. Rather than forcing Job to break his word or inflict harm on his devoted wife, God provides a precise legal concession: a single strike with a bundled handful of grass fulfills the vow.

The text seals its account of Job with a direct divine commendation of his character. God declares, "We found him patient in adversity; an excellent servant!" (38:44). The narrative ends not just with a man relieved of his physical weariness, but with the enduring image of a servant who, having washed in the cool water of his healing, always turned back to his Lord.