The stories in the Quran are not intended for entertainment.  Rather, they serve several purposes including: teaching lessons and moral values and also expanding the readers’ cognitive capacity because they require analysis and creativity to connect the key events of the story together. The Quran reveals key events that serve as scenes in the story that require the reader to develop a realistic scenario of the story by connecting the key scenes.   Therefore, each time a serious reader reads the same story, he/she can develop a different scenario and derive new lessons.  The only time we would know the exact scenario is when we meet the key righteous participants in the story and those in almost all the stories are Prophets.   This should motivate us to do our utmost to be with them in Paradise.

Verses 17 to 26 Surat Sad (38) describes a story involving Prophet Dawud (David).  These verses present an introduction to a story involving Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), followed by four scenes involving Prophet Dawud and then an ending with a command form Allah to Prophet Dawud.

The story starts with Allah advising Prophet Mohammad to be patient and informing him about Prophet Dawud’s kingdom and superior logic that Allah granted to him.  The introduction is given in verses 17-20

ٱصۡبِرۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَٱذۡكُرۡ عَبۡدَنَا دَاوُ ۥدَ ذَا ٱلۡأَيۡدِ‌ۖ إِنَّهُ ۥۤ أَوَّابٌ (١٧) إِنَّا سَخَّرۡنَا ٱلۡجِبَالَ مَعَهُ ۥ يُسَبِّحۡنَ بِٱلۡعَشِىِّ وَٱلۡإِشۡرَاقِ (١٨) وَٱلطَّيۡرَ مَحۡشُورَةً۬‌ۖ كُلٌّ۬ لَّهُ ۥۤ أَوَّابٌ۬ (١٩) وَشَدَدۡنَا مُلۡكَهُ ۥ وَءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُ ٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَفَصۡلَ ٱلۡخِطَابِ (٢٠)

(O Mohammad) have patience at what they say, and remember Our slave Dawud (David), endued with power. Surely, he was ever turning to Allah. (17) We subjugated the mountains to glorify Our Praises with him at evenings and sunrise. (18) And the birds as well, assembled, all were turning to Allah with him. (19) And We made his kingdom strong and gave him the wisdom and decisive speech. (20)

The first scene describes Prophet Dawud in his sanctuary which was not accessible to the public. Two men broke in the sanctuary scaring him but they gave him the excuse that they wanted him to judge between them in a dispute. This scene is presented in verses 21 and 22.

وَهَلۡ أَتَٮٰكَ نَبَؤُاْ ٱلۡخَصۡمِ إِذۡ تَسَوَّرُواْ ٱلۡمِحۡرَابَ (٢١) إِذۡ دَخَلُواْ عَلَىٰ دَاوُ ۥدَ فَفَزِعَ مِنۡہُمۡ‌ۖ قَالُواْ لَا تَخَفۡ‌ۖ خَصۡمَانِ بَغَىٰ بَعۡضُنَا عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ۬ فَٱحۡكُم بَيۡنَنَا ِٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا تُشۡطِطۡ وَٱهۡدِنَآ إِلَىٰ سَوَآءِ ٱلصِّرَٲطِ (٢٢)

Has the story of the litigants reached you? When they climbed over the wall of the sanctuary (21) When they entered in upon Dawud, he was scared of them. They said: “Don’t be scared, (we are) two litigants, one has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth, and do not cross the limits, and guide us to the Right path. (22)

The second scene is a presentation of the dispute that involved their ewes. One of them owned 99 ewes and the other owned only one ewe. The one who owned the one ewe made the presentation regarding how he one who owned the 99 ewes kept pushing him to give him his one ewe to raise it with his ewes.  This scene is presented in verse 23.

إِنَّ هَـٰذَآ أَخِى لَهُ ۥ تِسۡعٌ۬ وَتِسۡعُونَ نَعۡجَةً۬ وَلِىَ نَعۡجَةٌ۬ وَٲحِدَةٌ۬ فَقَالَ أَكۡفِلۡنِيہَا وَعَزَّنِى فِى ٱلۡخِطَابِ (٢٣)

This is my brother, has ninety-nine ewes (female sheep), while I have a single ewe. He said: “Entrust it to me, and he overpowered me in speech.” (23)

The third scene shows Prophet Dawud listening only to the one who has the one ewe and, on that basis, he made a ruling siding with that man. This scene is presented in verse 24

قَالَ لَقَدۡ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعۡجَتِكَ إِلَىٰ نِعَاجِهِۦ‌ۖ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبۡغِى بَعۡضُہُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَقَلِيلٌ۬ مَّا هُمۡ‌ۗ

[Dawud] said: “He has certainly wronged you by demanding your ewe to be added to his ewes. Indeed, many partners oppress one another, except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and they are few.” (24)

The fourth scene is of Prophet Dawud apparently feeling bad for some reason and thus asked Allah for forgiveness and Allah forgave him. This scene presented in verses 24 and 25.

وَظَنَّ دَاوُ ۥدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّـٰهُ فَٱسۡتَغۡفَرَ رَبَّهُ ۥ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعً۬ا وَأَنَابَ ۩ (٢٤) فَغَفَرۡنَا لَهُ ۥ ذَٲلِكَ‌ۖ وَإِنَّ لَهُ ۥ عِندَنَا لَزُلۡفَىٰ وَحُسۡنَ مَـَٔابٍ۬ (٢٥)

And Dawud realized that We have tested him, so he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell down prostrating and turning (to Allah) in repentance. (24) So, We forgave him that, and surely, he had access to Our presence, and a beautiful place of (final) return (Paradise). (25)

The ending of the story involves commands from Allah to Prophet Dawud.  This ending is presented in verse 26.

يَـٰدَاوُ ۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَـٰكَ خَلِيفَةً۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَٱحۡكُم بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ ٱلۡهَوَىٰ فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ لَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ۬ شَدِيدُۢ بِمَا نَسُواْ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡحِسَابِ (٢٦)

O Dawud! We have indeed made you a vicegerent on earth, so judge between the people with truth and do not follow your desire for it will mislead you from the path of Allah. Surely, those who deviate from the Path of Allah shall have a severe torment, because they had forgotten the Day of Judgment. (Sad 38:26)

Analysis of the Story

In interpreting this story, an important question to ask is whether the ewes (female sheep) are real or metaphors for something else. In this talk I’ll, inshallah, present four scenarios and the lessons drawn from each one and it is up to you, the reader, to decide which one is the more likely. And obviously, you may identify another scenario for the story as you study it further.

The first scenario is unfortunate, and it is copied from the Israelite accounts (الإسرائيليات) in the Old Testament.  This scenario attributed to Prophet Dawud grave sin by assuming that the ewe is a metaphor for woman and that he has 99 wives and decided to acquire a wife that was married to one of his army commanders. This scenario can be rejected because 1) it is totally inconsistent with the account in the Quran, 2) it does offer any moral lesson and 3) it is not befitting for a great prophet of Allah.

The second scenario assumes that the ewes were real animals and the reason that Prophet Dawud asked Allah for forgiveness was due to his mistake of listening to only one claimant and not both before announcing his judgment. Based on this scenario the lesson is that a judge should listen to all claimants before ruling.  It is hard to accept that Prophet Dawud would make such a naive mistake because Allah granted him wisdom and sound speech (ۥ وَءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُ ٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَفَصۡلَ ٱلۡخِطَابِ) as in verse 20.

The third scenario also assumes that the ewes were real.  As soon as Prophet Dawud listened to the first claimant who owned only one ewe, he recognized that the conflict occurred because the agreement was not clear to him.   The dispute may have resulted after that one ewe delivered a baby sheep and the question became who owns it.  Prophet Dawud felt that the blame should fall on the one who had more business experience by the virtue of owning 99 ewes.  Therefore, he said:

وَإِنَّ كَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبۡغِى بَعۡضُہُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَقَلِيلٌ۬ مَّا هُمۡ‌ۗ

Many partners oppress one another, except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and they are few.” (Sad 38:24)

The lesson to be drawn here is to always establish a clear agreement among the partners on all possible outcomes before entering into a business.   The lesson also could be that the responsibility of the more experienced partner is to identify all the possible issues that may arise regarding splitting the gains or losses to avoid any future conflict.

While this scenario is possible, it does not explain why prophet Dawud needed to repent and ask Allah for forgiveness.    Here a possible justification for Prophet’s Dawud’s need to repent.

1. Verse 21 presents a scene that implies desperate:

وَهَلۡ أَتَٮٰكَ نَبَؤُاْ ٱلۡخَصۡمِ إِذۡ تَسَوَّرُواْ ٱلۡمِحۡرَابَ (٢١)

“Has the story of the litigants reached you? When they climbed over the wall of the sanctuary.” (Sad 38:21)

1. We have a situation in which the claimants had an urgent issue. They needed Prophet Dawud, who was their king and their judge, to settle their dispute.  However, they did not have access to him.  One can imagine that he instructed his guards to prevent anyone from disturbing him.
2. Therefore, the claimants had no choice but to climb up the walls of the sanctuary to reach him. Probably, the risk they took in forcing their way in, made Prophet Dawud feel that he failed in serving his people when they urgently needed him.
3. His desire to spend a lot of time in the sanctuary in worship made him fail in his responsibility of handling the affairs of his subjects. This incident made him recognize his unfairness to his subjects and thus he fell in prostration, repenting to Allah and seeking His forgiveness.   Allah accepted His repentance and reminded him of his prime responsibility as Khalifa on earth.

يَـٰدَاوُ ۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَـٰكَ خَلِيفَةً۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَٱحۡكُم بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ ٱلۡهَوَىٰ فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ

“O Dawud! We have indeed made you a vicegerent on earth, so judge between the people with truth and do not follow your (Hawa) desires for it will mislead you from the path of Allah.” (Sad 38:26)

 Allah is emphasizing that the prime responsibility of a ruler/khalifah is to establish justice and peace. Allah is forewarning against getting distracted from this prime responsibility by any desire. Even if the desire is to spend most of his time in worshiping if this results in neglecting his responsibilities towards the people.  Those who fail to fulfill their responsibility using the excuse of spending time in worshipping Allah should remember what Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said:

عن ابن عمر: أن رجلًا جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: يا رسول الله، أي الناس أحب إلى الله؟ وأي الأعمال أحب إلى الله؟ قَالَ أَحَبُّ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعَهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ، وَأَحَبُّ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَى اللَّهِ سُرُورٍ تُدْخِلُهُ عَلَى مُسْلِمٍ، أَوْ تَكْشِفُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً، أَوْ تَقْضِي عَنْهُ دِينًا، أَوْ تَطْرَدُ عَنْهُ جُوعًا، وَلِأَنْ أَمْشِيَ مَعَ أَخٍ لِي فِي حَاجَةٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَعْتَكِفَ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ، يَعْنِي مَسْجِدَ الْمَدِينَةِ، شَهْرًا، وَمَنْ مَشَى مَعَ أَخِيهِ فِي حَاجَةٍ حَتَّى أَثْبَتَهَا لَهُ ، أَثْبَتَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدَمَهُ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ يَوْمَ تَزِلُّ فِيهِ الْأَقْدَامُ ) المعجم الأوسط للطبراني(

“The most beloved person to Allah is the one who is most beneficial to people. The most beloved deed to Allah is to bring happiness to a Muslim, or to remove one of his difficulties, or to forgive his debt, or to feed his hunger.

If I would walk with a brother regarding a need is more beloved to me than secluding myself in this mosque (in Medina) for a month. Whoever walks with his brother regarding a need until he secures it for him, Allah Almighty will make his footing firm across the bridge on the day when the footings are shaken.” (Al-Tabarani).

This interpretation is quite logical, and the lesson form it is compelling. However, how does it comfort Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and encourages him to be patient since   Verse 17 states:

ٱصۡبِرۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَٱذۡكُرۡ عَبۡدَنَا دَاوُ ۥدَ ذَا ٱلۡأَيۡدِ‌ۖ إِنَّهُ ۥۤ أَوَّابٌ (١٧)

(O Mohammad) have patience at what they say, and remember Our slave Dawud (David), endued with power. Surely, he was ever turning to Allah. (Sad 38:17)   

This suggests that the story of prophet Dawud was intended to offer some comfort to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) regarding the rejection he was facing from the people of Mecca.  Allah informs us of this situation in the start of Surat Sad that the people of Mecca were rejecting prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and giving lame excuses for their rejection:

وَعَجِبُوٓاْ أَن جَآءَهُم مُّنذِرٌ۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ‌ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ هَـٰذَا سَـٰحِرٌ۬ كَذَّابٌ (٤) أَجَعَلَ ٱلۡأَلِهَةَ إِلَـٰهً۬ا وَٲحِدًا‌ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىۡءٌ عُجَابٌ۬ (٥) وَٱنطَلَقَ ٱلۡمَلَأُ مِنۡہُمۡ أَنِ ٱمۡشُواْ وَٱصۡبِرُواْ عَلَىٰٓ ءَالِهَتِكُمۡ‌ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىۡءٌ۬ يُرَادُ (٦) مَا سَمِعۡنَا بِہَـٰذَا فِى ٱلۡمِلَّةِ ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ إِنۡ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا ٱخۡتِلَـٰقٌ (٧) أَءُنزِلَ عَلَيۡهِ ٱلذِّكۡرُ مِنۢ بَيۡنِنَا‌ۚ

“So, they (the idolators) wonder that a Warner has come to them from among themselves! And the disbelievers say: This is a sorcerer, a sheer liar. (4) “Has he made all the gods into one God? Truly this is a strange thing! (5) And the leaders among them walked out (saying) “Walk away (from the prophet) and remain firm on (adhering to) your gods! For this is truly a plot (against your gods). (6) We never heard of this in the last religion, this is nothing but an invention. (7) What! Has the Message been sent to him (of all people) among us?” (Sad 38:4-8)

After this, Allah told Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) to be patient and to remember the story of Prophet Dawud (David).  Therefore, we need to reexamine the story and develop a fourth Scenario to identify what part of the story offered such comfort.  By reexamining the story, you may notice the following:

1. his was the last story in which Prophet Dawud’s name was mentioned in the Quran. This may suggest that it occurred at the end of his reign as a king and prophet.
2. Prophet Dawud was a king and thus his sanctuary would have been in a fortified place that would not be easily accessible.  Probably, this is the reason that the verse used the term “Mehrab” (مِحۡرَابَ) which is derived from the word “Harb” (حرب) “war”, indicating that this place was fortified.
3. Prophet Dawud was a strong and courageous man. In his youth, he killed one of the fiercest fighters, Goliath. So, he would not be easily threatened or get scared.  But verse 21 states that he was scared, and those two men comforted him by saying “do not be scared” (فَفَزِعَ مِنۡہُمۡ‌ۖ قَالُواْ لَا تَخَفۡ‌ۖ).  This may suggest that the two who entered were not common subjects, maybe they were angels sent by Allah to teach Prophet Dawud an important lesson.
4. The person who owned the one ewe stated that his brother overpowered him by his reasoning (وَعَزَّنِى فِى ٱلۡخِطَابِ). This may imply that he was forceful and not offering him choices. Prophet Dawud immediately recognized the problem and thus reached the conclusion quickly.  But what did he understand?

May be the ewes were a metaphor for people who are under the governance of Prophet Dawud.  While 99% of the people were Muslims, following the religion of Prophet Dawud, there were still 1% of his subjects refusing to accept his religion.  Prophet Dawud was not satisfied with the 99% who followed his religion and thus could not tolerate the rejection by this minority.  Therefore, he started using his authority and power of persuasion to convince them, but they were feeling as being forced to accept his religion.

As soon as the issue of the one ewe was mentioned and the commitment of the one who already owned 99 ewes to acquire it, Prophet Dawud recognized the message that was being sent to him. He recognized that his relationship with his subjects is a relation of partnership. Yes, Allah has granted him power, knowledge, and wisdom that he was able to use to convince the majority of his subjects to follow his religion.  But accepting the religion of Allah is a matter of free choice by everyone and thus he cannot use the power and wisdom that Allah granted him to force the remaining minority to follow his religion.

As soon Prophet Dawud recognized his mistake of trying to compel people to become believers contrary to the commands of Allah, he fell prostrating, repenting, and seeking Allah’s forgiveness.

From this story Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) realized that he needs to be patient, his role is only to deliver the message and not to be so concerned about those who reject his message.  The Prophet (PBUH) also learnt that even though Dawud was a Prophet whom Allah gave him wisdom and convincing speech and he was also a king who ruled over a powerful kingdom, there were still some people under his rule who remained rejecting his message.

So, the story comforted the Prophet (PBUH) by informing his that he is in the early stages of delivering the message and that he still has no governance power.  Therefore, He should not be concerned and depressed about those who reject his message. This story supports the commands that Allah gave to him not be saddened by people’s rejection, as Allah pointed out in several verses such as:

لَعَلَّكَ بَـٰخِعٌ۬ نَّفۡسَكَ أَلَّا يَكُونُواْ مُؤۡمِنِينَ (الشُّعَرَاء )

“(O Prophet) It may be that you are tormenting yourself with grief, because they do believe” (Al-Shuara 26:3)

Ignoring the first scenario, I offered three possible scenarios for the story that to different degrees seem possible.  I hope that as you study this story further, you may be able to come with others that will enrich the lessons that we can learn from the story.