The Devil Afflicts Job
Remember our servant Job: he called upon his Lord, "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and pain."

Job was a prophet and servant of God. God names him among the messengers He inspired, alongside Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon (4:163), and lists him among the descendants of Noah whom He guided, with David, Solomon, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron (6:84). These are the people God gave "the scripture, wisdom, and prophethood," and whose footsteps believers are told to follow (6:89-90). The Quran does not name a particular nation he was sent to. Instead God tells him, "you shall travel the land and preach the message" (38:44), which presents him as a preacher who carried God's message from place to place. The Bible places him in the land of Uz.
His story is a test. Dr. Khalifa explained that God was proud of Job because he worshiped God alone, and people like that are rare. God pointed him out as His servant. Satan answered that Job was rich and had a family, and was under no pressure, so of course he worshiped. God allowed Satan to test him, but only within limits,. Satan then destroyed his property and his livestock. The Quran records Job's own words about it: "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and pain" (38:41). Dr. Khalifa stressed that it was not God who afflicted Job.
In the middle of this hardship, Job did not complain about God. He turned to Him: "Adversity has befallen me, and, of all the merciful ones, You are the Most Merciful" (21:83). God answered him and relieved his adversity (21:84). He told Job, "Strike the ground with your foot. A spring will give you healing and a drink" (38:42). Then God restored his family to him, "twice as many" (38:43), "even twice as much" (21:84). Dr. Khalifa summed it up this way: "So he was under the test for as long as he needed to be tested, to prove himself". After this, God sent Job out to travel and preach so he could fulfill his pledge, and praised him: "We found him steadfast. What a good servant! He was a submitter" (38:44).
The Quran says what to take from the story. It is "a mercy from us, and a reminder for the worshipers" (21:84), and "a reminder for those who possess intelligence" (38:43). Dr. Khalifa's heading over 38:43 states the principle directly: "God Makes it up to the Believers." Right after Job, the Quran praises Ismail, Idrîs, and Zal-Kifl in the same terms: "all were steadfast, patient," and God admitted them into His mercy (21:85-86). Steadfastness is the quality the whole passage honors.
Dr. Khalifa drew the lesson for believers today. Adversity is a cleansing and polishing process: like a rock in a polishing machine, it is noisy and hard, but a gem comes out at the end. In his view, a test does not leave permanent damage, and God makes up generously for what is lost once the test is passed. He described Job and Solomon as the two extremes of testing, one tested with loss and the other with great wealth. Both stayed devoted to God, and Job had everything restored and more. A believer who stays steadfast passes the test. One who gives up goes back to square one.
Verses
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Remember our servant Job: he called upon his Lord, "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and pain."
"Strike the ground with your foot. A spring will give you healing and a drink."
We restored his family for him; twice as many. Such is our mercy; a reminder for those who possess intelligence.
"Now, you shall travel the land and preach the message, to fulfill your pledge." We found him steadfast. What a good servant! He was a submitter.