The Prophet Known for Patience

Now the story of a prophet of Allah (swt) who is not mentioned with reference to his daʿwah. When Allah (swt) spoke about Nūḥ, it was the daʿwah of Nūḥ; when He spoke about Hūd, it was the daʿwah of Hūd; Ṣāliḥ, the daʿwah of Ṣāliḥ. But with this particular prophet, Allah (swt) did not speak about his daʿwah at all. It is Ayyūb (peace be upon him).

When Allah (swt) spoke about Ayyūb, He did not mention his daʿwah to his people. But Allah (swt) did mention the story of his ṣabr, his patience — and that alone earned his story a place in the Qur'an twice. So it later became a proverb: ṣabr Ayyūb, the patience of Ayyūb. Whenever we want to describe patience, we say: the patience of Ayyūb. He became the symbol of ṣabr, of patience.

And remember Our slave Ayyūb, when he invoked his Lord, saying: truly, Shayṭān has touched me with distress and torment. And Allah (swt) says in Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ:

And remember Ayyūb, when he cried to his Lord: truly, distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.