Ayyub lost his health, his wealth and his children, and is remembered in the Quran for patience. The du'a he made is two short lines and does not actually ask for anything. Allah answered him, removed the hardship, and restored his family and more with them.
What the Quran says
There are two short passages. In Surah al-Anbiya: And Ayyub, when he called to his Lord: Indeed, adversity has touched me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful. So We responded to him and removed what afflicted him of adversity. And We gave him his family and the like thereof with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers (21:83-84).
In Surah Sad: And remember Our servant Ayyub, when he called to his Lord: Indeed, Satan has touched me with hardship and torment (38:41), followed by the instruction to strike with his foot, a spring of water to wash in and drink from, the restoration of his family, and then the verse the whole account is remembered for: Indeed, We found him patient, an excellent servant. Indeed, he was one repeatedly turning back (38:44).
Read together, that is about six verses. Everything a child needs is inside them.
The shape of the du'a
This is the part worth slowing down for, because it is unusual. Ayyub's du'a has two halves. The first states his situation: adversity has touched me. The second states something about Allah: You are the most merciful of the merciful.
There is no request in it. He does not say take it away, or fix this, or explain it. He says what is true about himself and what is true about Allah, and stops.
For a child learning to make du'a, that is a genuinely different model from the shopping list they might expect, and it is short enough to memorise in a minute. It is also useful precisely because it fits situations where you do not know what to ask for.
Patient, and turning back
The Quran's summary of him is in 38:44: patient, an excellent servant, and awwab — one who repeatedly turns back.
That last word is worth giving a child. It is not describing someone who never wavered. It describes someone who kept returning. Turning back implies having been somewhere else first, and the Quran uses it as praise.
The passage ends with restoration — his family given back, and the like of them with them. The Quran does not dwell on the suffering. It gives the du'a, the answer and the restoration, and moves on.
The one idea to leave a child with
His du'a did not ask for anything. It said what was happening and it said who Allah is — and that was enough. A child who learns those two lines has a du'a for every situation where they do not know what to ask for.
What age is this story for?
About seven. It is short and there is nothing frightening in it if you follow the Quran's own restraint. Older children, around ten, can be shown how little the Quran says and asked why they have heard so much more — which is the more valuable lesson.
Almost everything you have heard is not in the Quran
Ayyub attracts more added material than nearly any other prophet. The worms in his body, the specific number of years, the friends who abandoned him, the wife who left or was to be struck — none of it is in the Quran, and it does not come through authentic hadith.
It comes from israiliyyat, narrations from earlier communities that entered the commentary literature. Later scholars recorded them; recording is not endorsing.
There is a practical reason to leave them out beyond accuracy. The added material makes the story about how much he suffered, and children remember the horror. The Quran's version is about what he said and that he was answered, and that is a story a child can actually use the next time something goes wrong for them.
What du'a did Prophet Ayyub make?
“Indeed, adversity has touched me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful” (21:83). It states his situation and describes Allah, without making a request.
Is the story of worms in Prophet Ayyub's body true?
It is not in the Quran and does not come through authentic hadith. It comes from israiliyyat — narrations from earlier communities — and should not be taught to a child as part of the Quranic account.
What did Prophet Ayyub lose?
The Quran says adversity touched him and that his family was restored to him along with the like of them (21:84). It does not itemise his losses in detail.
What does awwab mean?
One who repeatedly turns back. The Quran uses it of Ayyub in 38:44 as praise — describing someone who kept returning, rather than someone who never wavered.
Maktab Quran