Dawood (AS)

Prophet Dawood AS was a young man from the tribe of Judah, from the city of Bethlehem. This was the time in history, when prophet Samuel or Shamil made Talut or Saul the king of Bani Israel by Allah’s command. Talut formed an army to fight the Philistines. Dawood AS’s elderly father had chosen three of his sons to join Saul's army. He had instructed the youngest one, Dawood AS, not to take part in the fighting but to help the army in other ways and to report to his father daily on what was happening on the war front. About 80,000 people from Bani Israel joined Talut’s army. Talut was a very intelligent man. He realized that he had a problem. When he inspected his army most of the people who had joined the army were not fit for fighting and were cowardly. The battle that was to be fought was in a very hot season. Talut knew there was very little discipline in his army, so he applied a test to find out who was competent and who was not. The army had to cross a river to get to the enemy army. It is said that it could have been the Jordon river which they had to cross. So, Talut announced to his army that no one will drink from the river, when crossing the river. The soldiers are allowed only a handful of water to drink from the river in an extreme case. It was instructed that if anyone drinks more than that he would be thrown out from the army. When they crossed the river the bulk of the army drank lots of water from the river and disobeyed their leader. It is said that 76000 of them drank from the river. People who could not control their thirst for a little while, could not be trusted to keep discipline in the face of the enemy. So as a result, most of the people were dismissed from the army. After they crossed the river, Talut now had a real army of brave and disciplined people. When they crossed the river, they found the enemy waiting for them. The Philistines were huge and powerful people and on the other side Talut had a small army. People in the army who had crossed the river and had patience and Emaan knew that if they remained steadfast and trusted in Allah SWT, they could overcome huge armies. The army of Talut made a dua`. They prayed, "Our Lord, bless us with fortitude, make firm our foothold and give us victory over the unbelieving host." There was one man among the Philistines who was strong and much powerful than the rest. His name was Jalut or Goliath. It is said that he was 10 feet tall. It was the custom in those days that the battle started with a one on one fight between its most powerful soldier and usually the morale of the army depended on who would win. At the start of the battle, Goliath arrogantly came out and challenge the opponents as to who will fight him? Dawood AS was just an ordinary young man and who carried with him his sling-shot. When he heard this challenge from Jalut, he went to Talut and asked his permission to fight against Jalut. Talut reluctantly agreed because Dawood AS appeared to him as a very young and inexperienced boy. The soldiers tried to put body armour on him but Dawood AS was so skinny, he could not carry it. Dawood AS refused all arms and armour and only took his sling shot with him and picked smooth pebbles on his way to face the enemy. When Jalut or Goliath came to attack him he simply put a pebble in his slingshot, aimed and shot straight at Goliath’s forehead. The stone entered Goliath‘s forehead and killed him instantly. Then quickly Dawood AS came forward and cut off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword. The Philistines were horrified. They got so scared to see this they fled the battlefield. Talut’s army chased the Philistines and fought bravely and won the battle. Some of this narration is a Hebrew narration. Since they do not go against the Quran, so, we take it. One of the Israeli rawayat is that Talut married his daughter to Dawood AS after the victory over the Philistines. With this event began Dawood AS’s rise to prominence; so much so, that after the death of Talut he was first elected king of Judah in Hebron, and then a few years later he was made king over all the tribes of Israel. He took Jerusalem and made it the capital of the kingdom of Israel. It was under his leadership that for the first time in history a God-worshiping kingdom was established, whose boundaries extended from the Gulf of `Aqabah to the western banks of the River Euphrates. Allah SWT had blessed Prophet David with countless favors. Dawood AS was a prophet, a king and a judge over his people. In addition to these favors, he was further graced with Divine bounties in the form of knowledge and wisdom, and the qualities of justice and mercy and devotion to the truth. Allah says ‘We gave Dawood (AS) gifts’. Among them was Tasbih. Mountains and Birds were told to engage in Tasbih with Dawood AS. Allah SWT says ‘We strengthened his kingdom and told the mountains and birds to come under him’. Creatures such as the plants, birds, beasts, and even the mountains responded to his voice glorifying Allah SWT. Allah had chosen Dawood AS to be a prophet and revealed the Psalms or Zaboor to him. As He the Almighty said: “And to Dawood We gave the Psalms” (17:55 Quran). Dawood AS's sincerity was not the only factor responsible for the birds and beasts joining with him in glorifying Allah, nor was the sweetness of his voice. It was a miracle from Allah SWT. This was not his only miracle, for Allah SWT also endowed him with the faculty of understanding the languages of birds and animals. Dawood AS fasted every other day. Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn Al-As narrated: Allah's Apostle SAW said to me: "The most beloved fasting to Allah was the fasting of the Prophet Dawood AS, who used to fast alternate days. And the most beloved prayer to Allah was the prayer of Dawood AS, who used to sleep the first half of the night, and pray for one third of it and again sleep for a sixth of it.'" (Sahih Al-Bukhari). Allah SWT says he was a righteous man, a noble slave of Allah. He was a king as well as a prophet of Allah. Allah SWT had granted Dawood (AS) great influence. His people had a great number of wars in their time, but they had a problem in that the iron body armor they used was too heavy for the fighter to move and fight as he wished. So, Allah SWT made metal soft for Dawood AS. One day Dawood AS was sitting with a piece of metal in his hand. He was thinking as to how he can design a better armour for his soldiers. The body armour his soldiers were using was very heavy and they couldn’t fight easily in a battle with its weight. Suddenly, the metal piece that Dawood AS was holding in his hands became so soft that his hand started sinking in it. Allah SWT informed Dawood AS that We have made metal soft for you, so you can make whatever you want from it. Allah had made Dawood AS an expert in the use of iron and had especially taught him the art of an armourer for defence purposes. Dawood AS developed a certain type of armour which was very different from the type of armour being used in those times. This armour was the best of the times and his soldiers used this armour in the battles and Allah SWT granted Dawood AS victory after victory. Allah SWT strengthened the dominion of Dawood AS and made him victorious. His kingdom was strong and great; his enemies feared him without engaging in war with him. Prophet David was a just and righteous ruler who brought peace and prosperity to his people, and whom Allah SWT honored as a Messenger. He delivered Allah's message to the people through the precious gift of his melodious voice. When he recited the Psalms or Zaboor, it was as if the rest of creation chanted with him. People used to watch in amazement as if in a trance. In other places in the Quran Allah SWT mentions the stars and the trees also praised Dawood (AS). As humans we don’t know how the creatures and the mountains praise Allah SWT. This is from the unseen and it could be that they don’t know how humans praise Allah (SWT) with our tongues. The messages Dawood (AS) delivered are famous and well remembered. They are known in the Bible as the Psalms or Songs of David. Dawood (AS) divided his working day into four parts: one to earn a living and to rest, one to pray to his Lord, one to listen to the complaints of his people and judge between them, and the last part to deliver his sermons. He also appointed deputies to listen to his subjects' complaints so that in his absence people's problems might not be neglected. Allah SWT gave Dawood AS the gift of sound Judgement. So, Dawood (AS) was at the same time a Judge, a King and a prophet. Although a king, he did not live on the income of his kingdom. Being well-experienced in the craft of weapon-making, he made and sold weapons and lived on that income. Now it is important for us to make it clear that Hebrew scripture is foreign to us. If the Quran confirms what is in the Hebrew scripture we believe it and accept it. If the Quran rejects what the Hebrew scripture says we reject it. If there is something in the Hebrew scripture regarding matter of history, we don’t reject it or accept it. Sadly, most of the Israeli stories in the Hebrew scripture are blasphemous. We as Muslims should be very careful. A lot of Muslim scholars who have written different Tafseers of the Quran have been influenced by these Hebrew stories. Quran tells the Israelites that in a lot of things they themselves differ in their scripture. Quran always sets the record straight. Let’s see what the Israeli version say about Dawood (AS). Firstly, the Torah and the Bible do not even accept Dawood (AS) and his son Sulaiman (AS) as prophets, but only as kings. Next, they say that David had 99 wives. They call him an adulterer and a murderer. Their version says that David saw a woman named Bathsheba from the balcony of his palace and he wanted to marry her. She was the wife of one of his generals. So, he purposely sent that general to the battle field and gave the general a position in the battle which was sure to get him killed. Eventually the general got killed and David married Bathsheba. In the Ayah’s of Surah Suad Allah (SWT) is correcting what the Bani Israel say about Dawood (AS). Allah asks Prophet Mohammed SAW that did the story of the two people come to you? Now Dawood (AS) used to pray in a Mehrab. This was a secluded place in his well guarded palace where nobody was allowed to come and disturb him whilst he was praying. One night while he was praying he saw people climb over the wall and come to him. He was shocked to see them. How could these people have entered the Mehrab when it was well guarded by his guards and was in the inner area of his palace. He was a bit worried and thrown off balance that maybe they had come to assassinate him. He was slightly frightened too as their arrival was very unexpected. The strange men told Dawood (AS) to not worry. They said we are here only to seek your judgement so don’t dismiss us or be biased in your judgement. We want you to judge with the truth and not be unfair or unjust in your judgement and guide us to the right way. One of them said pointing to the other that this is my brother. He has 99 sheep and I have only one sheep. We are partners. Now he wants my one sheep too for his flock to make it 100. He is intimidating me and bullying me to give my one sheep. Without listening to the other side, immediately Dawood (AS) said this is oppression. How can he do this to you? Dawood (AS) said that it happens that people that are close together or are partners end up doing wrong with each other. There are very few people left that are just and conscious of Allah. Most partnerships bring trouble. Now as Dawood (AS) is saying these words and he looks around, the men have disappeared. Dawood (AS) at once realized that he is being tested by Allah SWT and those men were angels in human form. He at once fell into prostration. Allah wanted to test his judgement. A judge is meant to judge by seeing the evidence and listening to both sides and not to judge according to one’s emotions. Any adverse condition the judge is not allowed to judge. Dawood (AS) realized that he was too quick to pass this judgement as he had sympathized with the weaker man rather than siding with the truth. We are taught in the Shariah of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) whilst a judge is angry, he is not allowed to pass judgement and he must hold back his decision. If a judge is hungry or thirsty it is haram for him to judge. If he is emotional, again, not allowed to judge. This is the beauty of Allah’s rules. Judges are supposed to be the best of the people and nobody allowed to bribe them or influence them. We lose our sense of justice because the Shaytan comes over us. Only if we fear Allah then we will have the sense of justice. After Dawood (AS) had sought forgiveness from Allah (SWT), Allah forgave Dawood (AS) and admonished him for his way of judgement and told him to be very careful next time. Then Allah (SWT) granted Dawood (AS) a good place, a successor on the earth. Allah (SWT) gave Dawood (AS) a gift, his son Sulaiman (AS), another great prophet. Dawood (AS) was very possessive of his wives. He had a castle where his wives lived, and this castle was surrounded by a wall all around it. No man was allowed inside the castle wall. One day his wives noticed a man standing in the courtyard inside the wall. At once Dawood (AS) was notified so this man can be dealt with. Dawood (AS) came and asked this man as to how come he is standing here where no man is allowed. The man said I am the One whom no one can stop, whether you have a wall or not. Dawood (AS) at once recognized him as the angel of death. He welcomed the angel and said I am ready to go. At that time Dawood (AS) had so much wealth, so much power and authority and a huge kingdom. A lot of Allah’s creatures used to obey him, and he controlled the most powerful army of the time and now just like this he is ready to leave everything behind and ready to go. Here is a man so humble, so loved by his people and so powerful and ready to go. Prophet Dawood used to engage in so much ibadah. Prophet Mohammed himself said, his prayer was the best prayer and his fast was the best fast. He did not allow the Dunya to make him forget where he came from and where he was headed to. Then he told the angel to take his soul. The angel took his soul. It is reported that in his funeral tens of thousands of people came. The birds also came. It was a very hot day, so Sulaiman (AS) who became the next prophet and king told the birds to make a shade for the people. Just imagine thousands upon thousands of birds hovering over people to give them shade. This was the funeral of a great man, A very just judge, a powerful king and a great prophet. Citation: From the lecture of Mufti Ismail Menk from Ibne Kathir.