- ʿAbdullāh narrated to us; he said, “My father narrated to me; Abū al-Mughīrah narrated to us; Ṣafwān informed us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Jubayr reported:
When the Prophet Job, peace be upon him, was tested in his wealth, his children, and his very body, he was thrown onto a rubbish-heap. His wife used to go out and earn something with which to feed him. Satan grew jealous of that. He would go to the bakers and meat-roasters who were giving her charity and say, ‘Drive away this woman who comes to you—she nurses her husband and touches him with her own hand. Because of her, people shrink from eating your food. She visits you and mixes with you.’ So they kept her at a distance, saying, ‘Stay away from us; we will feed you, but do not come near.’
She informed Job of what had happened, and he praised Allah for it. Whenever she left the house, Satan would meet her, pretending to be distressed by Job’s plight, and would say, ‘Rescue your husband!’ Yet Job would accept nothing but what Allah had decreed. By Allah, had he uttered a single word, every hardship would have been removed, and his wealth and children would have been restored. She would return and tell Job, peace be upon him, what Satan had said, and he would reply, ‘The enemy of Allah has met you and taught you those words. When Allah granted us wealth and children we believed in Him, and now that He has taken back what is His, should we disbelieve in Him? By Allah, if Allah raises me up from this illness, I will surely give you one hundred lashes.’
It is about this that Allah the Exalted revealed: “Take in your hand a bundle of twigs, strike with it, and do not break your oath” (Surah Ṣād 38:44)—the “bundle” (ḍigth) refers to a fistful of broom-sticks.