Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:84

"So We responded to him and removed what he had of harm." Then he was clothed in a garment and sat in an elevated place. His wife did not know of this, but tenderness for him overcame her, and she said to herself, "Even if he drove me away, shall I leave him until he dies of hunger and the beasts eat him? I shall surely return." When she returned, she saw neither that refuse heap nor that former state. She began to circle where the refuse had been, weeping, and she feared to approach the owner of the garment to ask him. Ayyub (peace be upon him) called out to her, saying, "What do you want, O handmaid of God?" She wept and said, "I seek that afflicted one who was cast upon the refuse heap." He said to her, "What was he to you?" She wept and said, "My husband." He said, "Would you recognize him if you saw him?" She said, "Could he be hidden from me?" He smiled and said, "I am he." She recognized him by his smile and embraced him.

"And We gave him his family and the like thereof with them." The apparent meaning is that it is a conjunction to "We removed," which necessitates that it be included within the scope of detailing the response to the supplication. There is ambiguity in this, as it is not evident that the aforementioned "giving" was explicitly requested in the supplication. If it is a conjunction to "We responded," that necessity does not arise.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about this verse. Ibn Marduwayh and Ibn 'Asakir narrated through the chain of Juwaybir from al-Dahhak from Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both), who said: I asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the saying of God Almighty, "And We gave him..." and he said: "God Almighty returned his wife to him and increased her youth until she bore him twenty-six sons." Thus, the meaning, according to this, is that We gave him in this world his family with an additional equal number. Ibn Mas'ud, al-Hasan, and Qatadah said regarding the verse: God Almighty brought back to life for him his children who had perished during his affliction, and he was given the like of them in this world. It is apparent that this "likeness" was also from his own loins (peace be upon him). It is also said that they were grandchildren.

It came in a report that he (peace be upon him) had two threshing floors: one for wheat and one for barley. God Almighty sent two clouds; one poured gold onto the wheat threshing floor until it overflowed, and the other poured silver onto the barley threshing floor until it overflowed. Ahmad, al-Bukhari, and others narrated from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "While Ayyub (peace be upon him) was bathing naked, locusts of gold fell upon him, and Ayyub (peace be upon him) began to gather them into his garment. His Lord, glory be to Him, called to him, 'O Ayyub, have I not enriched you beyond what you see?' He replied, 'Yes, by Your might, but I have no independence from Your blessing.'"

He (peace be upon him) lived after his release from the affliction—as reported from Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both)—for seventy years. It appears from this, along with the view that he was seventy years old when the affliction struck him, that the duration of his life was well over ninety-three years. When he (peace be upon him) died, he bequeathed his affairs to his son Harmal, as narrated from Wahb. The verse is clear that "the family" does not refer [only] to the wife.

"As a mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers." That is, and We gave him what was mentioned as a mercy to Ayyub (peace be upon him) and as a reminder to others among the worshippers, so that they may be patient and be rewarded as he was rewarded. "Mercy" is in the accusative case as a maf'ul lahu (an object for the sake of which the action is done), and "for the worshippers" is connected to "reminder." It is permissible that "mercy and reminder" are both objects of a mutual verb, in the sense of: "We gave to the worshippers—among whom is Ayyub (peace be upon him)—mercy, and We reminded them of Our benevolence and that We do not forget them." Abu al-Baqa permitted the accusative case for "mercy" as an infinitive (masdar), and it is as you see.