Surah Al-Anbya, Ayah 86

The Prophet Ayyub Allah tells us about Ayyub (Job), and the trials that struck him, affecting his wealth, children and physical health.

He had plenty of livestock, cattle and crops, many children and beautiful houses, and he was tested in these things, losing every thing he had. Then he was tested with regard to his body, and he was left alone on the edge of the city and there was no one who treated him with compassion apart from his wife, who took care of him. It was said that it reached the stage where she was in need, so she started to serve people (to earn money) for his sake. The Prophet said:

«أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ بَلَاءً الْأَنْبِيَاءُ، ثُمَّ الصَّالِحُونَ، ثُمَّ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَل»

(The people who are tested the most severely are the Prophets, then the righteous, then the next best and the next best). According to another Hadith:

Commentary

Whether Sayyidna Dhul-Kifl was a prophet or a saint and his strange story

Three persons are mentioned in the above two verses. Out of these three there is no doubt about the prophethood of Sayyidna Isma1 (علیہ السلام) and Sayyidna Idris (علیہ السلام) as they are mentioned in the Qur'an as such several times. Ibn Kathir is of the opinion that the mention of the name of Sayyidna Dhul-Kifl along with the other two prophets in the above verse shows that he too was a prophet. However, some other versions do not include him in the category of prophets. They say that he was a saint or a pious person.

Ishmael (Isma‘il) was the Prophet Abraham’s son. Some commentators (of the Quran) have held that Idris is the prophet who has been mentioned in the Bible by the name of Enoch. Similarly, Dhul Kifl is perhaps that prophet who has been mentioned in the Bible by the name of Hizti-El. The prophets are refered to as patience personified. The reason for this is that the root of all God-worshipping actions is patience. Patience means abstaining from reaction. A person who is unable to refrain from reaction can never maintain himself on the path of the God-favoured life in this world of trial. The fact is that patience is the door leading to all God’s mercies, in this world as well as in the life after death.