Part I: The Hatred
The lands of green, a hundred sheep
They roamed upon its face
The sun that shone on his children
Delighted with its grace.
And in the massive palace sat
The owner of these goods
His wife on the other hand, she
Sat looking at the woods.
And bending in prostration, he
Kept thanking his good Lord
For he was blessed with many things -
And out his heart he poured.
Looking at this tranquility
And the good life of Job
Sat Satan spitting on the mud
"This peace, I have to rob"
Hastening to Job in prayer
He mumbled in his ears
"Oh look at all the gold you have",
"They should last you for years!"
"What use is this gratitude, when
All this was your hard work?
This wealth, belongs to you, my mate!"
Said Satan with a smirk.
But Job, the noble man he was
These words did he ignore
"They must be evil whispers from
The devil", he was sure.
Cursing and kicking, Satan went
Looking for a new plan
"This son of Adam listens not",
"I hate this foolish man"
Part II: The Wealth
The devil with his helpers had
Deviced a plan so sure
That Job would have nowhere to go
This piety they would cure!
His cattle, servants and his farms
They now set to destroy
"His wealth is what is keeping him"
This was their viscious ploy.
And rubbing his hands happily
Satan did now rejoice
He came to Job as an old man
And spoke in his wise voice.
"Oh Job! you gave up too much to
The orphans and the old
You spent your time in prayer when
They ate up all your gold!"
"Now look, if your Lord truly loved
You for all these good deeds
He would not strip you off your wealth
Deprive you from your needs"
But Job, with distant eyes he stood
And looked upon his lands
He said, "The Lord has taken back",
"The wealth into his hands".
"I was merely a trustee for
The time that He allowed,
Why should I grieve for what was not
Mine", he told himself aloud.
And kneeling down, he bent and bowed
Thanking his Lord for what
Was given to him for sometime
To others it was not.
The Devil, watching, fuming said
This man I truly hate
"I shall destroy his offspring now
So he will meet his fate!"
Part III: The Children
Happy faces, chuckling laughter
That spread across the room
Running around, Job's children looked
So far from every gloom.
Job and his wife, they sat and smiled
At their bundles of joy
As children ran around and tugged
For a small random toy.
But suddenly the building shook
Like never had they seen
Came crashing down the foundation
Where little ones had been.
And all the laughter was now dead
For little corpses lied
Where Job's children were playing once;
Each one of them had died.
Among the mourners sat Satan
So happy with his game
"This must have cured Job's righteousness
His faith has brought him shame."
He came upon Job patting him
In a comforting tone,
"I feel so bad your children died
Your Lord left you alone!"
With tears streaming down his sad cheeks
Job, he smiled and he said,
"God gives what he wills and he takes"
And thus, he bowed his head.
Vexed over this man's gratitude
Satan stood and he thought
"This malady must go away,
I'll make his body rot!".
Part IV: The Health
Job and his wife now having lost
Their wealth and their children
They set upon their farthest woods
To build their lives again.
But in the night when Job came home
Fever striking his brow
He knew this was no simple pain -
His body shook and how!
His friends, they came for days until
His body developed
Maggots and leaking fluids that
His skin now enveloped.
Left with nothing but his strong faith
And his dear, loving wife
He spent his time thanking his Lord
For these blessings in life.
Now Satan, he approached the wife
And told her "Look at you!"
"Your children and your wealth are gone,
Your husband will go, too"
Overwhelmed with pain, the wife
She sat upon Job's side
"How long can we suffer this pain?
I am dissatisfied"
"Oh Love, can you not see that this,
Is just another trial
We lived, had fun for eighty years,
Your thinking is so vile!"
"Several years we had treasures
We lived a lovely life
But now few years of suffering
Have made your pain so rife?"
"I feel ashamed to call my Lord
I have not suffered long
But if your faith has weakened then,
Be free to run along"
"For I shall never eat or drink
From hands that have no faith
Leave me alone and go away
Let Lord decide my fate"
Part V: Alone with his Lord
His wife was gone, his children too
His friends had gone away
But Job, and his good gratitude
They seemed like they would stay.
Lifting his diseased hands did Job
Then call upon his Lord,
"Oh Merciful of merciful
Help me swim through this ford"
"Indeed Satan has touched me with
Hardship and great torment,
But, my Lord, you are greater than
him; I shall not lament"
"Strike your foot against the mud"
The Lord revealed to him,
And out came a spring soft and cool
Clear water on its rim.
And when Job brought himself to bathe
In this lovely, pure stream
The locusts came as rings of gold,
Upon his garment's seam.
And just like that his family,
His wife and friends were back
It looked like there were no impact
From Satan's bad attack!
Thus was Prophet Job's story where
God praises his servant
And how Satan was smitten by
His old pride so fervent.
Where love is true and gratitude
Does rule upon the hearts
What harm can worldly losses do
Until your faith departs?
Note: This is my attempt at presenting the story of Prophet Ayyub(Job) pbuh. It is a story of patience - a quality I feel I have long lost. The real story as narrated in the Quran can be found at http://goo.gl/4HnIal
