In the Name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
Bear with patience whatever they say, and remember Our servant David who was endowed with strength. He always turned to Us. We caused the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory in the evening and at sunrise, and likewise the birds in flocks: They all would echo his praise. We strengthened his kingdom; We endowed him with wisdom and decisive judgment.
Have you heard the story of the litigants who surmounted the walls of the sanctuary? When they went in to David, he was alarmed. They said: ‘Have no fear. We are but two litigants: One of us has wronged the other; so judge between us with justice, and do not be unfair. Show us the way to rectitude. ‘This is my brother: He has ninety-nine ewes and I have only one ewe. Yet he said: “Let me take charge of her,” and has been hard on me in his speech.’ Said [David]: ‘He has certainly wronged you by demanding that your ewe be added to his ewes! Thus do many partners wrong one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, but how few are they!’ Then David realized that We were only testing him. He prayed for his Lord’s forgiveness, fell down in prostration and turned to God in repentance. We forgave him that, and in the life to come he is to be close to Us and will be well received. (SAD: 38: 17-25)
Apart from prophethood and a kingdom, God also blessed Prophet David (peace be upon him) with an alert heart and a melodious voice, which he used to good effect as he sang his psalms and hymns. He would be so absorbed in his devotion that barriers between him and the universe would disappear and the mountains would echo his glorification, while birds gathered around him, all glorifying the Lord Creator. “We caused the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory in the evening and at sunrise, and likewise the birds in flocks: They all would echo his praise.” People may be speechless when they hear that the mountains, inanimate entities, should join David in his constant glorification of God as he chants his songs of praise. Not only that but the birds also flock to him, listen and join in with the chorus to his hymns. Their surprise results from the fact that it runs counter to everything they have been used to. They only know that man, birds and mountains belong to totally separate realms.
Yet, why should anyone be surprised? All these creatures, different as their races, shapes, forms and characteristics are, share in one fundamental fact: They turn to the Lord who created the whole universe with all its animate and inanimate objects. When man’s relation with his Lord attains sublime purity, barriers between different elements are removed. The whole matter is simple: God gave His servant David this unique characteristic, and caused the mountains to join him in extolling His glory morning and evening, and gathered the birds around him to echo his praises. This was simply an additional gift by virtue of God’s grace.
“We strengthened his kingdom; We endowed him with wisdom and decisive judgment.” Thus, his kingdom was strong and well established. He administered his government with wisdom and clear, decisive vision. The phrase ‘decisive judgment’ means that his views were clear, not subject to hesitation. When this is coupled with wisdom, it makes for perfect government within man’s world. However, this did not spare David from being subjected to tests and trials. Nevertheless, God continued to take care of him and guided his footsteps:
These verses tell of a test to which David was subjected. David used to devote some of his time to conducting the affairs of his kingdom and to judge in people’s disputes. The rest of his time he devoted to his worship, preferring seclusion when he sang his psalms. When he went into the sanctuary, no one was allowed in.
One day, David was surprised when he saw two people climbing over the wall into the sanctuary. He was alarmed. No good believer or trustworthy person would enter in this way.
Therefore, they immediately tried to reassure him, saying that they were in dispute and wanted him to judge between them in fairness, showing them the way to justice. One of them immediately started putting his case forward, saying that the other man, his brother, had 99 ewes while he only had one. Yet he insisted on taking charge of his single ewe, placing it with his 99.
As stated by one of the disputants, the case is one of gross injustice that cannot be condoned. Hence, David immediately started to give his judgment without speaking to the other man or asking him to give his side of the story. Instead, he told the first man that the other had been unfair in his demands, and that many people behave in this way, except those who are good believers and do righteous deeds. These, however, are few in number.
It seems that at this stage the two men disappeared. In fact, they were two angels who had come to test David, the prophet God had placed in a position of authority to judge between people in fairness, making sure who is right before passing judgment. They had put the case to him in a very sentimental way, one that invited immediate sympathy. However, a judge must not allow sentiment to take charge. He must not be hasty. Above all, he must not rely on the statement of one party, without allowing the other party to present his case and submit his evidence. Some aspects of the case, if not all of it, may then be seen in a different light. In other words, appearances can often be deceptive or incomplete.
At this point David realized that this was a test: “Then David realized that We were only testing him.” His good nature surfaced again, because he was a man always ready to accept what is right: “He prayed for his Lord’s forgiveness, fell down in prostration and turned to God in repentance.”
God’s response was to accept his repentance: “We forgave him that, and in the life to come he is to be close to Us and will be well received.” Some commentators on the Qur’an picked up some Israelite reports and made much of these which cannot be acceptable because they are incompatible and irreconcilable with the nature of prophethood. Even the reports that tried to moderate these legends accept certain parts of them. The fact is that these legends do not merit consideration, because they cannot fit with God’s assertion in reference to David: “He is to be close to Us and will be well received.”
