• Job tried and rewarded for his patience

• The righteous ones are Rewarded

• The goodness of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Elisha, and Dhu’l-Kifl commended

• Wickedness shall be punished

• The wrangling of the wicked in Hell

Surah Saad (Sad) Verses 41 – 64

وَٱذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَآ أَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَسَّنِىَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بِنُصْبٍ وَعَذَابٍ

And remember Our servant Job, when he cried unto his Lord; “Verily, Satan hath caused me an affliction and pain.” (38:41)1

ٱرْكُضْ بِرِجْلِكَ هَـٰذَا مُغْتَسَلٌۢ بَارِدٌ وَشَرَابٌ

(Said We unto him); “Stamp thou with thy foot” thou this (spring) is (for thee) to wash with, (it is) cool, and a (refreshing) drink” (38:42)

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥٓ أَهْلَهُۥ وَمِثْلَهُم مَّعَهُمْ رَحْمَةً مِّنَّا وَذِكْرَىٰ لِأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ

And gave him his family and the like of them with them, a mercy from Us and a reminder for those with understanding. (38:43)2

وَخُذْ بِيَدِكَ ضِغْثًا فَٱضْرِب بِّهِۦ وَلَا تَحْنَثْ إِنَّا وَجَدْنَـٰهُ صَابِرًا نِّعْمَ ٱلْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُۥٓ أَوَّابٌ

And (it was said unto him) “Take in thine hand a bunch of (thin) stick (like fibre) and strike thou (thy wife) with it, and break not thine oath. Verily We found him steadfast; an excellent servant (was he): Verily he was oft-turning (unto Us). (38:44)3

وَٱذْكُرْ عِبَـٰدَنَآ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ أُو۟لِى ٱلْأَيْدِى وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرِ

And remember thou Our servants, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, men of strength and insight. (38:45)

إِنَّآ أَخْلَصْنَـٰهُم بِخَالِصَةٍ ذِكْرَى ٱلدَّارِ

Verily We freed them (from sinning) with a distinction of remembrance of the (eternal) abode. (38:46)4

وَإِنَّهُمْ عِندَنَا لَمِنَ ٱلْمُصْطَفَيْنَ ٱلْأَخْيَارِ

Verily, they are with Us, of the chosen ones, the good ones. (38:47)

وَٱذْكُرْ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَٱلْيَسَعَ وَذَا ٱلْكِفْلِ وَكُلٌّ مِّنَ ٱلْأَخْيَارِ

And remember Ishmael and Elisha and Dhu’l-Kifl; they all were of the good ones. (38:48)5

هَـٰذَا ذِكْرٌ وَإِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ لَحُسْنَ مَـَٔابٍ

This is a reminder; and verily, for the pious ones there is an excellent resort, (38:49)6

جَنَّـٰتِ عَدْنٍ مُّفَتَّحَةً لَّهُمُ ٱلْأَبْوَٰبُ

Gardens of eternal bliss, opened for them are the doors (thereof). (38:50)7

مُتَّكِـِٔينَ فِيهَا يَدْعُونَ فِيهَا بِفَـٰكِهَةٍ كَثِيرَةٍ وَشَرَابٍ

Reclining therein, calling therein for many a fruit and drink. (38:51)8

وَعِندَهُمْ قَـٰصِرَٰتُ ٱلطَّرْفِ أَتْرَابٌ

And with them shall be of modest gaze, equals in age. (38:52)9

هَـٰذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْحِسَابِ

This is what ye are promised for the Day of Reckoning. (38:53)

إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَرِزْقُنَا مَا لَهُۥ مِن نَّفَادٍ

Verily, this is Our sustenance; for it there is no end, (38:54)

هَـٰذَا وَإِنَّ لِلطَّـٰغِينَ لَشَرَّ مَـَٔابٍ

This (for the righteous); and verily for the wicked ones there a wretched resort, (38:55)

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا فَبِئْسَ ٱلْمِهَادُ

Hell, they shall enter it, and so evil is the place, (38:56)

هَـٰذَا فَلْيَذُوقُوهُ حَمِيمٌ وَغَسَّاقٌ

Even so, Let them then taste it - boiling water and gore,10(38:57)11

وَءَاخَرُ مِن شَكْلِهِۦٓ أَزْوَٰجٌ

And other (torment) similar to it, of various sort! (38:58)

هَـٰذَا فَوْجٌ مُّقْتَحِمٌ مَّعَكُمْ لَا مَرْحَبًۢا بِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ صَالُوا۟ ٱلنَّارِ

(To their leaders it shall be said) “This army (of your followers) shall be thrown headlong with you! No welcome for them! Verily they shall enter the fire! (38:59)

قَالُوا۟ بَلْ أَنتُمْ لَا مَرْحَبًۢا بِكُمْ أَنتُمْ قَدَّمْتُمُوهُ لَنَا فَبِئْسَ ٱلْقَرَارُ

They12shall say: “Nay! ye13too! there shall be no welcome for you; Indeed ye did prepare this for us; and wretched is the abode!” (38:60)

قَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا مَن قَدَّمَ لَنَا هَـٰذَا فَزِدْهُ عَذَابًا ضِعْفًا فِى ٱلنَّارِ

They14shall say: “O’ our Lord! Whoever15hath brought this for us, increase Thou a twofold torment in the fire.” (38:61)

وَقَالُوا۟ مَا لَنَا لَا نَرَىٰ رِجَالًا كُنَّا نَعُدُّهُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَشْرَارِ

And they shall say: “What16hath happened unto us that we see not the men whom we counted among the wicked17ones?” (38:62)

أَتَّخَذْنَـٰهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا أَمْ زَاغَتْ عَنْهُمُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ

“What! was it that we (wrongly) took them to scorn, or have our eyes turned from them?” (38:63)

إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَحَقٌّ تَخَاصُمُ أَهْلِ ٱلنَّارِ

Verily, this is truth - the wrangling of one with another of the inmates of the fire. (38:64)

Commentary

Verse 41

See verses 21:83 & 21:94. There is a mention of Job in Chapter 21, but here some other details about him are given. The Holy Prophet is reminded of Job who was known for his extraordinary patience. He was the son of Ees and the son-in-law of Joseph. His wife was called Rahmat or Rahima. Job who was given abundance of wealth and issues was tested with the loss of everything he possessed. At every kind of loss Job only thanked God and remained patient. Lastly, he was tried with the sickness of his body with ulcers in it. Those who lacked faith in God suspected Job to have committed some sin to have been subjected to the tormenting sufferings and some who were good at heart said that Job as an apostle of God was being made to manifest ideal patience. At last Satan once tried to make Job lose his patience and doubt God being merciful to him. Job prayed to God against Satan’s endeavour to disturb his faith in Him (God) and referred to about people talking about his having committed some sin which had drawn the chastisement to him.

While petitioning to God, Job submitted: “Lord! did 1 ever sleep bellyful without feeding any hungry one. Did I not provide the naked with clothes? Did I not pay the debt of the debtor when he was under the pressure of the demand from the creditor? and was not Thou O' Lord! always merciful to me? A voice from heaven called him, saying, “Who was that who guided thee with the inclination to do all the good which you did?” Job felt ashamed and immediately shouted, “Thee O' Lord! it was Thee that didst guide me to do everything good.”

Job’s prayer to God was not owing to any lack of patience on his part but against the continued effect and endeavour of Satan to entice him through various methods and means. When Satan failed in every effort of his to make Job impatient and force him to pray to God for his recovery and thus to deprive him of being called the patient one in the way of the Lord, Satan thought of employing the services of Job’s wife in leading Job astray for his purpose. Once Satan appeared to Job’s wife in the form of an experienced physician and somehow convinced the lady that if she takes the sheep which he had with him and sacrifice it in his name, Job would immediately regain his health. The good-hearted Lady who was interested in Job’s welfare came over to Job and related to him the suggestion of the physician. Job warned his wife saying not to get beguiled by the man for he was none but Satan.

Again the Devil appeared as a beautiful young man riding a horse and said: “I am the monarch of the earth, and since thy husband worshipped not me but God, the King of Heavens, I caused the loss of thy children and all thy wealth and if thou prostrate before me once I shall grant thy husband his lost health and restore all his lost wealth to him.” The godly lady said that she would consult her husband and act as he would bid her to do. Satan said, “If this he not possible, I would be content if you make thy husband avoid mentioning ‘Bismillah’, (i.e., I begin in the name of God) before he starts taking his food saying ‘Alhamdu-lillah’ (i.e. All praise and thanks be only to God and to none else). I shall cause thy husband regain his health and wealth as before.” When the lady reported the matter to Job, Job got angry and said, “Thou hast been listening to Satan all the day. If God grants me my health, I shall strike a hundred sticks on thee.” The poor lady departed sorrowful and when Job was left alone and could not himself stand up to pray, it is said that it was then that he prayed to God saying ‘Indeed affliction hath affected me.”

There is another version which in its nature is sure to affect any respectable one, that once when there was no food for Job, his wife went to fetch something for the apostle of God. A man struck with the attractive curling locks of her head agreed to give the provision only in return for it. The poor lady could not avoid the condition and brought food in exchange for the locks of her head. The custom of the age was that locks of the woman who commits fornication were removed. When Job saw his wife losing the locks, he felt very much and said that if God grants his health, he would strike her a hundred sticks and prayed to God in the words of this verse. When Job was ill, even during his illness he used to pray for the sick who resorted to him for the prayer for their recovery and Job’s prayer got incurable patients, the cure they needed. But when people asked him why he did not pray for himself, he said: “I have enjoyed God's grace and bounty for eighty years and it would be unbecoming of me to complain to Him when I have been made to taste this distress for a time.” It is said that Job suffered the illness for seven years, and only against Satan’s continuous efforts to entice him did he complain to God and not for the loss of his health or wealth.

Let any student of the Holy Qur’an compare the suffering of Job which was only of ill-health, to those of Husayn at Karbala and what his son Ali Ibn Husayn suffered from Karbala to Kufa and Kufa to Damascus and then judge whether these two holy ones of the Ahl Al-Bayt were not the pride of Job. No doubt Husayn and his son Ali Zayn al-Abidin and the other Imams were no other than the heart and soul of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the unique excellence of patience and fortitude which these godly souls manifested, was only that which they had inherited from their grandsire Muhammad the Last Apostle of God.

Ascribing affliction and pain to the Devil, may be a figurative meaning that the amount of the trouble he had undertaken in the cause of righteousness was due to the opposite power and as Satan here may be a reference to the opponent of righteousness who afflicted him with and torment and he had leave them to a lonely place, where none but his wife attended on him. (A.P.).

Verse 42

Job was commanded by God to strike at the rock and out of it gushed forth two springs, one of hot water for Job to wash his body of all physical ailments, and the other of cold water for him to drink and refresh his soul. Job was cured and his health was restored in full and he was once again a healthy fresh youth.

Verse 44

Job had taken an oath that he would punish his wife for listening to Satan, with a hundred stripes. To be true to his solemn commitment in God’s holy name, Job was commanded by God to strike her with a bundle of hundred sticks just to fulfil the oath.

Verse 46

Freed from all other objects of life - keeping up a pure quality, i.e., keeping in mind only the ultimate abode. (A.P.).

Verse 49

The whole chapter continues, reminder after reminder about the chosen servants of God. The verse clearly indicates that remembrance and the commemoration of the lives of the chosen servants of God, is commendable in the view of God. (A.P.).

• 1. Refer to verse 21:83.
• 2. Refer to verse 21:84. He was blessed more than before.
• 3. Refer to note on verses 21:83 & 21:84.
• 4. The quality required for Imamat. Refer to note on verse 2:247.
• 5. Refer to verse 21:85.
• 6. Refer to note verses 56:9-39.
• 7. Refer to note verses 56:9-39.
• 8. Refer to note verses 56:9-39.
• 9. Refer to note verses 56:9-39.
• 10. The dirty wash from rotten wounds in a body.
• 11. Refer to verses 10:4 & 78:24.
• 12. The followers.
• 13. The leaders.
• 14. The followers.
• 15. The leaders.
• 16. This is what the inmates of the hell will say - among themselves.
• 17. Vicious.