الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله تعالى من شرور أنفسنا، وسيئات أعمالنا، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

Although the Quran can be typed in less than 300 pages, it addresses many broad subjects that include: 

The basics of Aqida by providing very concise account of the articles of belief

1. The key elements of Shariah focusing on the fundamental laws
2. History of the rise and fall of past civilization
3. Information on future technologies and scientific discoveries
4. Account of the unseen such as the creation of the universes, the Hereafter
5. Accounts of past Prophets with focus on those prophets whose lives have been falsely presented and whose righteousness has been attacked in previous religious books such as the Old testament. Two of those Prophets are Prophet Dawud (David) and Prophet Suliman (Solomon) and they will be the subject of this talk, Insha’Allah.    

Unfortunately, some of these false accounts in the Bible creeped into books of Tafseer which is unfortunate because it clearly violates the Prophet’s command.    It is reported that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said to the Prophet (PBUH):

عن جابر – رضي الله عنه – عن النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – حين أتاه عمر فقال : إنا نسمع أحاديث من يهود تعجبنا ، أفترى أن نكتب بعضها ؟ فقال : أمتهوكون أنتم كما تهوكت اليهود والنصارى ؟ ! لقد جئتكم بها بيضاء نقية ، ولو كان موسى حيا ما وسعه إلا اتباعي ” . ) أحمد ، والبيهقي(

“We hear talks from Jews that we like, do you agree that we write some of them.

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Do you want to be the same as the Jews and Christians!” I came to you with a pure clear message, and if Moses was alive, he could not have done anything but to follow me”.

Ibn Abbas (ابن عباس) said: 

عن عبيد الله بن عبد الله أن ابن عباس قال كيف تسألون أهل الكتاب عن شيء  وكتابكم الذي أنزل على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أحدث تقرءونه محضا لم يشب وقد حدثكم أن أهل الكتاب بدلوا كتاب الله وغيروه وكتبوا بأيديهم الكتاب وقالوا هو من عند الله ليشتروا به ثمنا قليلا ألا ينهاكم ما جاءكم من العلم عن مسألتهم لا والله ما رأينا منهم رجلا يسألكم عن الذي أنزل عليكم)  صحيح البخاري(

“How can you ask the people of the book for anything and the book that was revealed to the messenger of Allah (PBUH) is the most recent and you read it pure without any alternation and it informed you that the people of the book substituted and changed the book of Allah and they wrote the book with their hands and said it is from Allah to gain trifling price.  Didn’t the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them”. 

But why one needs any other source than the Quran to explain what is in it since Allah said:

وَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ تِبۡيَـٰنً۬ا لِّكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةً۬ وَبُشۡرَىٰ لِلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ (٨٩)

We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition/explanation of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims. (Al-Nahl 16:89)

However, in order to study any subject in the Quran we are required to assemble all the verses related to the subject and harmonize them to provide coherent understanding of the subject.    We can include in this effort the authentic hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) to complement our understanding and fill any gaps  

One of the important styles that the Quran uses is storytelling and the Prophet (PBUH) used to use it too by telling stories to reinforce certain moral concepts.  But the Quran does not provide the story in details, may be the exception is the Story of prophet Yousef.   The Quran’s strategy is to provide basic accounts that will require the reader to stitch them together to basically write the script of the story.    This may be the reason why there no accurate tafseer of the Quran because different interpreters can write different scripts for the same story.   However, all of them must honor the proper linguistic meaning and structure of the words and verses of the Quran.

This approach represents a fascinating teaching strategy of the Quran because it promotes curiosity, analytical capability and logic of Muslims and these are important human trait and key catalysts for all human advancement.   Albert Einstein said: “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”.  This passionate curiosity is what the Quran encourages Muslims to develop.   

This approach of giving key elements of the story and encouraging the reader to write the script has the advantage of expanding the Muslim’s cognitive capacity from young age and this is essential if Muslims were to advance in all areas of sciences.   This approach should be the one we use when teaching children the Quran because it expands their intellectual abilities and makes the study of the Quran enjoyable.

The Quran provides fascinating accounts of Prophet Dawud (David) and Soliman (Solomon) that corrects many false ideas that people has about them from their stories in the Bible. These two prophets were unique in three ways: 

1. They were not only prophets but they were also kings.
2. Prophet Soliman is the only prophet who inherited both the prophethood and the kingdom from his father.
3. During their time, many amazing things happened that did not happen to other prophets and this may explain why many false accounts were made regarding them.

In the Quran the name of both Prophet Dawud (David) and Prophet Suliman (Solomon) came in 16 verses.  Prophet Dawud came by itself in 9 verses and also Prophet Suliman came by itself in 9 verses.  They came together in 7 verses.

In these 6 verses, The first to be mentioned was prophet Suliman, in verse 102 in Surat Al-Baqarah (2) and the he was also the last to be mentioned in verse 34 of Surat Sad (38).  The First mention of Prophet Dawud in the Quran came in verse 251 in Surat Al-Baqara and the last mention came in verse 30 in Surat Sad (38). 

So, Prophet Suliman (Solomon) came first to refute all the falsehoods that have been attributed to him that he ruled thru magic.  Eliminating this evil accusation sets the stage for proper interpretation of all the next verses.  The magic referenced in this context is not the sly-of-hand type but it is what being called back magic, sorcery that is intended to control and harm people. This is the type of magic that was falsely attributed to Prophet Suliman and therefore, Allah dismissed it in the beginning and explained its source and the main purpose of it. 

Linguistically, the term magic (سِحر) is derived from the Arabic word (سَحَر) which is the time prior the Fajr which is between the darkness of the night and the light of the day when the person cannot see clearly.  The secret of magic is to confuse the eye that it will see things that does not exist and confuse the mind to think of something that happened while it never happened.   

Allah says in verse 102 of surat Al-Baqara: (that we heard un the beginning)

وَٱتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتۡلُواْ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلۡكِ سُلَيۡمَـٰنَ‌ۖ وَمَا ڪَفَرَ سُلَيۡمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحۡرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَڪَيۡنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـٰرُوتَ وَمَـٰرُوتَ‌ۚ  وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ فِتۡنَةٌ۬ فَلَا تَكۡفُرۡ‌ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنۡهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيۡنَ ٱلۡمَرۡءِ وَزَوۡجِهِۦ‌ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ  وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمۡ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمۡ‌ۚ وَلَقَدۡ عَلِمُواْ لَمَنِ ٱشۡتَرَٮٰهُ مَا لَهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ مِنۡ خَلَـٰقٍ۬‌ۚ وَلَبِئۡسَ مَا شَرَوۡاْ بِهِۦۤ أَنفُسَهُمۡ‌ۚ لَوۡ ڪَانُواْ يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٠٢)

“They (the disbelievers from the Jews) followed what Satans (devils of both Jinn and men) falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. And Solomon never disbelieved but Satans disbelieved.  They (Satans) taught the people magic and (also taught them) what was sent down to the angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. 

They (the angels) never taught anyone without saying: “We are only a temptation, therefore do not disbelieve.” They (the people) learned from them (the angels) the means to sow discord between husband and wife. But they could not cause harm to anyone except by Allah’s permission.

And they (the people) learned what would harm them, not what would benefit them. And they knew that whoever would buy it (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter. And vile was the price for which they sold their souls, if they but knew!   (Al-Baqara 2:102) 

The verse clearly refutes all claims made by Satans and creeped in the knowledge of people in the past that prophet Suleiman practiced magic which is a major sin and act of disbelief “Kufr” and Allah reaffirms that Suleiman never practiced any acts of Kufr.  But the Satans whether from the Jinn and men are the ones who are disbelievers and practiced Kufr because they are teaching the people magic and also teaching them what was sent down to the two angels Harout and Marout who were sent to the people of Babylon.

Because Magic (sorcery and witchcraft) was widespread in Babylon, Allah, out of His mercy, sent two angles to teach anyone who wants to learn not the knowledge of magic but the knowledge on the nature of magic and how to eliminate its influence.  But like a pharmacist who is being taught how to neutralize the effect of a poison, he must also learn how to make poison and how it works.  The angels taught the people how to neutralize the effect of magic and also how magic works. But before teaching anyone the essence of magic, they warned the person that he is now under test because he now knew both the remedy from magic and how to do it and practicing magic is kufr. 

The verse suggests that magic is based on knowledge that can be learnt.  But Muslims are forbidden from studying this subject since it is the second most destructive sin after the shirk. The Prophet (PBUH) said: (اجتنبوا السبع الموبقات، قالوا: وما هن يا رسول الله؟) Avoid the seven great destructive sins.

The people inquired, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! What are they?  The Prophet (PBUH) said:

الشرك بالله، والسحر، وقتل النفس التي حرم الله إلا بالحق، وأكل الربا، وأكل مال اليتيم، والتولي يوم الزحف، وقذف المحصنات الغافلات المؤمنات. )حديث الصحيحين(

Associating partners with Allah, 2) magic, 3) killing the life which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause, 4) consuming usury, 5) consuming an orphan’s wealth, 6) fleeing from the battlefield, and 7) accusing chaste believing women, who never even think of anything that would tarnish their chastity.

Note that Allah did not send prophets to teach people the nature of magic but He sent angels and the reason is that no prophet should be associated with magic whether learning it or teaching it.  The angels came in the form of normal human beings and we know that angels can come in the form of humans as happened when the holy spirit Jibreal came to the Prophet to ask him about Islam, Eman, Ihsan and the Hour.

The main function of magic is to create division between a husband and his wife by creating false images in their minds about each other.  Creating division between married couples is the primary purpose of the chief Satan, Iblis.  The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ إِبْلِيسَ يَضَعُ عَرْشَهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُ سَرَايَاهُ فَأَدْنَاهُمْ مِنْهُ مَنْزِلَةً أَعْظَمُهُمْ فِتْنَةً يَجِيءُ أَحَدُهُمْ فَيَقُولُ فَعَلْتُ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَيَقُولُ مَا صَنَعْتَ شَيْئًا قَالَ ثُمَّ يَجِيءُ أَحَدُهُمْ فَيَقُولُ مَا تَرَكْتُهُ حَتَّى فَرَّقْتُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ امْرَأَتِهِ قَالَ فَيُدْنِيهِ مِنْهُ وَيَقُولُ نِعْمَ أَنْتَ  )صحيح مسلم(

“Iblis (Satan) places his throne upon water and sends his troops. The closest to him are those who (tempt people to) commit the greatest sins. Some of them would approach him and say: we did such-and-such. Iblis would reply: You have done nothing. But one of them would approach him and say: I did not leave the man until I caused him to divorce his wife. Iblis would bring him close to his throne and would say: You are it, how great you are!” 

Magic is merely imagining things than do not exist and therefore imaginary thoughts and suspicion comes to the mind of the husband or the wife and conflicts start between them.   But, if the husband and wife are righteous, they will regularly be reading the Quran, particularly the Maudhtan (معوذتين) (chapters 113 and 114 of the Quran) and this will protect them from such harm.  There an interesting hadeath narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported in Bukhari, the Prophet (PBUH) said in this hadith: :

عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : ” َيَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مِنْ هَؤُلاءِ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ  هُمْ الَّذِينَ لا يَسْتَرْقُونَ وَلا يَتَطَيَّرُونَ وَلا يَكْتَوُونَ وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ  “. ) البخاري (

“ Seventy thousand from my nation will enter Paradise without being held for account.  They are those who: Do not seek Ruqyaa (رقية) (healing invocation), do not use evil omens (not superstitious), do not treat themselves with branding (use fire to treat diseases) and on their Lord they put their full trust.”

This hadeath discourages people from seeking Ruqyaa from anyone because those who are regular reciter of the Quran will not need it from anyone because no harm will come to them.  Reading the Quran as Ruqya for yourself and your young children is fine but going to a sheikh to do Ruqya on you is discouraged.

To close the discussion on magic (sorcery), we must realize that it cannot cause physical harm or influence a person’s destiny or fortune because Allah will never allow anyone to have control of such things; these are only in the hand of Allah.  But all magic does is to create imagination and this can be avoided by regular recitation of the Quran.

The last verse in which Prophet Suliman name was mentioned is verse 34 in Surat Sad (38) and it is followed his famous Dua.

وَلَقَدۡ فَتَنَّا سُلَيۡمَـٰنَ وَأَلۡقَيۡنَا عَلَىٰ كُرۡسِيِّهِۦ جَسَدً۬ا ثُمَّ أَنَابَ (٣٤) قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ لِى وَهَبۡ لِى مُلۡكً۬ا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍ۬ مِّنۢ بَعۡدِىٓ‌ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡوَهَّابُ (٣٥)

“And indeed, We tested Suliman, We threw on his throne a body after which he turned (to Us). He said, “O my Lord, forgive me, and grant me a kingdom that shall not be available to anyone after me. Surely, You are the Bestower.” (Sad 38:34-35)

This verse has to be integrated with other verses to provide a clear scenario to understand what is this body that was put on Prophet Suliman’s throne as a test for him and also why he would make such a Dua to be granted a kingdom that will not be available to anyone else.  The Dua appears to be selfish in nature but this obviously cannot be true because Suliman is a prophet and he cannot be selfish.   

I’ll skip the discussion on this verse and other verses related to Prophet Suliman but will come back to them, inshallah, in future talks because I want to discuss Prophet Dawud (David) since it will help us in explaining this verse as well others.  But I encourage you to try to develop a scenario on your own that is harmonized with other verses and consistent with the honorable character of Prophet Suliman.

Regarding Prophet Dawud his name was first mentioned in the Quran in verse 251 of Surat Al-Baqara (2) and it sets the stage for his prophethood and kingdom:

وَلَمَّا بَرَزُواْ لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ أَفۡرِغۡ عَلَيۡنَا صَبۡرً۬ا وَثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَنَا وَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٥٠) فَهَزَمُوهُم بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتَلَ دَاوُ ۥدُ جَالُوتَ وَءَاتَٮٰهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُ ۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُ‌ۗ وَلَوۡلَا دَفۡعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعۡضَهُم بِبَعۡضٍ۬ لَّفَسَدَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَلَـٰڪِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ذُو فَضۡلٍ عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٢٥١)

“And when they faced Jalut (Goliath) and his troops, they (Bani Israel) said: “Our Lord, shower us with patience, make firm our foothold and make us victorious over the disbelieving people.” (250) So, they defeated them by the will of Allah, and Dawud (David) killed Jalut (Goliath) and Allah gave him the kingdom and the wisdom and taught him what He willed. Had Allah not been repelling some people by others, the earth would have been corrupted. But Allah is All-Gracious to all that exist.” (Al-Baqara 2:250-251)

This verse explains the reason for the rise of Dawud (David) and inform us of the blessings that Allah granted to him and these are 1) kingdom, 2) wisdom and 3) special knowledge (وَعَلَّمَهُ ۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُ‌ۗ).   Note there is another entity in the Quran whom Allah taught special knowledge and this was Al-Khidr who demonstrated his unique knowledge to Prophet Musa (Moses).   

فَوَجَدَا عَبۡدً۬ا مِّنۡ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُ رَحۡمَةً۬ مِّنۡ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمۡنَـٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلۡمً۬ا (٦٥)

“Then they found one of Our slaves, on whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.” (Al-Kahf 18:65)

But before we discuss this special knowledge that Allah taught Prophet Dawud, let us reflect on several lesson from this account that started with verse 246 that mentioned the elite of Bani Israel who went to their Prophet and asked him to recommend for them a ruler, king to lead them to fight their enemies.  The verses are Al-Baqara 2: 246-251:

أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلۡمَلَإِ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مُوسَىٰٓ إِذۡ قَالُواْ لِنَبِىٍّ۬ لَّهُمُ ٱبۡعَثۡ لَنَا مَلِڪً۬ا نُّقَـٰتِلۡ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ قَالَ هَلۡ عَسَيۡتُمۡ إِن ڪُتِبَ عَلَيۡڪُمُ ٱلۡقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَـٰتِلُواْ‌ۖ قَالُواْ وَمَا لَنَآ أَلَّا نُقَـٰتِلَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَدۡ أُخۡرِجۡنَا مِن دِيَـٰرِنَا وَأَبۡنَآٮِٕنَا‌ۖ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوۡاْ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ مِّنۡهُمۡ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمُۢ بِٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (٢٤٦) وَقَالَ لَهُمۡ نَبِيُّهُمۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدۡ بَعَثَ لَڪُمۡ طَالُوتَ مَلِكً۬ا‌ۚ قَالُوٓاْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكُ عَلَيۡنَا وَنَحۡنُ أَحَقُّ بِٱلۡمُلۡكِ مِنۡهُ وَلَمۡ يُؤۡتَ سَعَةً۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَالِ‌ۚ قَالَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصۡطَفَٮٰهُ عَلَيۡڪُمۡ وَزَادَهُ ۥ بَسۡطَةً۬ فِى ٱلۡعِلۡمِ وَٱلۡجِسۡمِ‌ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يُؤۡتِى مُلۡڪَهُ ۥ مَن يَشَآءُ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ (٢٤٧) وَقَالَ لَهُمۡ نَبِيُّهُمۡ إِنَّ ءَايَةَ مُلۡڪِهِۦۤ أَن يَأۡتِيَڪُمُ ٱلتَّابُوتُ فِيهِ سَڪِينَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَبَقِيَّةٌ۬ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ءَالُ مُوسَىٰ وَءَالُ هَـٰرُونَ تَحۡمِلُهُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ‌ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَأَيَةً۬ لَّڪُمۡ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (٢٤٨) فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِٱلۡجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مُبۡتَلِيڪُم بِنَهَرٍ۬ فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنۡهُ فَلَيۡسَ مِنِّى وَمَن لَّمۡ يَطۡعَمۡهُ فَإِنَّهُ ۥ مِنِّىٓ إِلَّا مَنِ ٱغۡتَرَفَ غُرۡفَةَۢ بِيَدِهِۦ‌ۚ فَشَرِبُواْ مِنۡهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ مِّنۡهُمۡ‌ۚ فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ ۥ هُوَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ ۥ قَالُواْ لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا ٱلۡيَوۡمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦ‌ۚ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَـٰقُواْ ٱللَّهِ ڪَم مِّن فِئَةٍ۬ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتۡ فِئَةً۬ ڪَثِيرَةَۢ بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ (٢٤٩) وَلَمَّا بَرَزُواْ لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ أَفۡرِغۡ عَلَيۡنَا صَبۡرً۬ا وَثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَنَا وَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٥٠) فَهَزَمُوهُم بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتَلَ دَاوُدُ جَالُوتَ وَءَاتَٮٰهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُ ۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُ‌ۗ وَلَوۡلَا دَفۡعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعۡضَهُم بِبَعۡضٍ۬ لَّفَسَدَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَلَـٰڪِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ذُو فَضۡلٍ عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٢٥١)

I am not going to translate these verses but you can read them on your own.  But I want to highlight four important lessons that we can derive from these verses:

1. The leader of a society does not need to be the religious scholar. Bani Israel had a Prophet with them and they went to him seeking recommendation for a leader.
2. A leader can exist within a society but he may not be given the opportunity to advance because of their wrong metrics. In the case of Bani Israel, their metric for leadership was financial success.
3. The key attributes of the leader are vast knowledge and physical strength and not wealth
4. Allah’s support only comes if the team is 100% pure and this requires displacing those who are not righteous from among them. The quantity is not important, it is the quality of the team that counts. 

Allah informed us that He gave Dawud special knowledge from Him and Allah made him unique among all prophets.   The Prophet (PBUH) stated a hadeath that clearly illustrates that prophet Dawud was very unique from the time of creation of Prophet Adam.  The hadeath is reported by Imam Al-Tirmizi (الترمذي) and was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (أبي هريرة -رضي الله) and I mentioned it in my talk on the unique creation of Adam on January 26, 2020 that you can find on YouTube. The Prophet (PBUH) said:

“ لما خلق الله آدم مسح ظهره فسقط من ظهره كل نسمة هو خالقها من ذريته إلى يوم القيامة وجعل بين عيني كل إنسان منهم وبيصا من نور ثم عرضهم على آدم فقال: أي ربي من هؤلاء؟ قال: هؤلاء ذريتك فرأى رجلا منهم فأعجبه وبيص ما بين عينيه فقال: يا رب من هذا؟ قال: هذا رجل من آخر الأمم من ذريتك يقال له: داود قال: يا رب كم عمره؟ قال: ستون سنة قال: أي رب أعطه من عمري أربعين فأخذ الله عليه الميثاق”

“When Allah created Adam, He wiped his back and every soul of his offspring that Allah will create until the Day of Judgement fell from his back.  Allah put on the forehead of every one of them a flash of light, then showed them to Adam. Adam asked: “My Lord who are they?  Allah said: They are your offspring.

Adam saw one of them and he was charmed by a bright flash between his eyes. He asked: My Lord, who is this?  Allah said: he is a man from the late nations from your descendants and his name is Dawoud (David).

Adam asked:  My Lord, what is his age?  Allah said: sixty years.

Adam said: My Lord give him from my age 40 years.  Allah took the covenant from Adam that this is his demand.

This hadeath illustrates the uniqueness of Prophet Dawud (David) and there are verses in the Quran that suggest that Prophet Dawud was given unique book, unlike any other revelation.  This should raise our curiosity to understand what type of revelation prophet Dawud received that made him very unique because it may explain other verses in the Quran.   Allah informs us that Prophet Dawud (David) received a book called Zabur and the term Zabour came three times in the Quran.  Linguistically Zabour means a book but an engraved book, whether engraved on metal or rocks.  

The term Zabour is mentioned in the Quran twice as the book given to prophet Dawud in the indefinite form, i.e., it does not have the definite article “the” (Arabic “Al”) to indicate its specificity.  The way it is listed in these two verses indicate its uniqueness.  Allah says in verse 163 in Surat Al-Nisa (4):

إِنَّآ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ كَمَآ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ۬ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ‌ۚ وَأَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ وَٱلۡأَسۡبَاطِ وَعِيسَىٰ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَـٰرُونَ وَسُلَيۡمَـٰنَ‌ۚ وَءَاتَيۡنَا دَاوُ ۥدَ زَبُورً۬ا (١٦٣)

“Surely, We have revealed to you (Mohammad) as We have revealed to Nuh and to the prophets after him; and We have revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and to Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and as We gave to David Zabour.” (Al-Nisa 4:163)

Note that verse started with Allah affirming that He revealed to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as He revealed to other Prophets and listed their names but Allah made a specific mention of what is given to David which is Zabour. Note that Allah said We gave to David and did not say We revealed to David as He said for the other Prophets. 

The specific mention of Zabur came again in verse 55 in Surat Al-Isra (17):

وَرَبُّكَ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۗ وَلَقَدۡ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ۬‌ۖ وَءَاتَيۡنَا دَاوُ ۥدَ زَبُورً۬ا (٥٥)

“Your Lord is fully aware of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. We have exalted some Prophets above the others in ranks, and We gave David Zabour”. (Al-Isra 17:55)

Here also we note the specific attention given to what Allah gave to Prophet David.  Allah mentions that He exalted in ranks some Prophets over others and then Allah specifically mentions David and what was given to him.   (As a side note: This verse addresses the Question whether there is intelligent life in space, it says Yes.)

We also note that there is no verse in the Quran in which Allah reveals what was the purpose of this book Zabour while Allah mentioned the purpose of the other revelations such as the Torah, the Injil and the Quran as books of guidance and laws.  So, the question is what was in this book Zabour?

There one verse in the Quran in which the term Zabour came with the definite article “Al” (Al-Zabour) (The Zabour).  This is verse 105 in Surat Al-Anbiya and it reads:

وَلَقَدۡ ڪَتَبۡنَا فِى ٱلزَّبُورِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ٱلذِّكۡرِ أَنَّ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحُونَ (١٠٥) إِنَّ فِى هَـٰذَا لَبَلَـٰغً۬ا لِّقَوۡمٍ عَـٰبِدِينَ (١٠٦)

“And We have certainly written in Al-Zabour after the Dhikr (reminder) that the land will be inherited by My righteous slaves. (105) Surely, in this there is a plain message to people who are worshippers (of Allah).” (Al-Anbiya 21:105-106)

Several interpreters suggest that Al-Zabour in this verse refers to all the revealed books such as the Taurât (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and the Qur’an, and the Dhikr is the book in “The Preserved Tablet “(اللوح المحفوظ،).  Thus, the verse means that we have written in all the revealed books from what was written in the preserved tablet that the land will be inherited by the righteous servants of Allah.  Some interpreters say that Al-Zabour here is the book of David and the Dhikr is the book that was revealed before it which is the Torah.  So, this verse does not clear for us what is included in Zabour that Allah uniquely gave to Prophet Dawud (David).  

The confusion in the books of Tafseer came because almost all the interpretations considered the book Zabour is the Book of Psalms (سفر المزامير) in the Old Testament but the association is very difficult to justify for at least 4 reasons. 

1. The mention of Zabour in the Quran indicates that is something very special.
2. The book of Psalms includes 150 individual psalms. However, Jewish and Christian scholars only attribute 73 psalms to David and there are even some highly critical modern scholars who don’t accept the authorship of David to any of the psalms.
3. The title Psalm is derived from the Greek translation, psalmoi, meaning “instrumental music” and, by extension the book of Psalms means, “the words accompanying the music” and this cannot be appropriate for Allah’s revelation.
4. Some of the Psalms in the book of Psalms is similar to the books of Tasbeeh and Dhikr that are used by many Sofi followers and does not even rise in quality in either words or rhythms to what exist in Islamic tradition.

The following is an example form the Book Psalms that clearly show that it cannot be revealed by Allah:

Lord, how many are my foes!    How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance.  May your blessing be on your people.

So, it is very reasonable to conclude that Zabour is not the book of Psalms but it is rather a very unique book that Allah gave especially to Prophet Dawud (David).  Keep in mind of verse 251 in Surat Al-Baqara in which Allah said that He taught special knowledge to Dawud (وَعَلَّمَهُ ۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُ‌ۗ).   The Intriguing question is what is in this book, Zabour.  There is one clue that may lead us to speculate on the nature of this book.

You recall that before Prophet Adam was created, Allah told the angles about His plan to create Khalifa (Vicegerent/deputy/representative) in earth.  This term khalifa came in the Quran only twice;  the first in verse 30 in Surat al-Baqara (2) and the second in verse 26 in Surat Sad (38):

وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬‌ۖ (٣٠)

And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels, “Verily, I am going to make khalifa (vicegerent/deputy/representative) in earth.  (Al-Baqara 2:30)

يَـٰدَاوُ ۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَـٰكَ خَلِيفَةً۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ

“O Dawud (David), Verily, We have made you khalifa (vicegerent /deputy/ representative) in earth.” (Sad 38:26) 

Could this give us the clue on the nature of Zabour, it is the manual that Prophet Dawud (David) would need to fulfill his role as a deputy of Allah in earth.  Being a deputy of Allah means that he must have the knowledge to control and communicate with everything in earth. 

Let us make this hypothesis that the book Zabour that Allah gave to prophet Dawud is the book that includes the secrets to control everything in earth.    To prove the validity of this hypothesis, we can use it to assess whether it will be able to explain all the other verses related to Prophet Dawud and his son Suliman (Solomon).  I am including Suliman because it is very likely that some of the knowledge of this book Zabour was transmitted to him since he inherited both the prophethood and the kingdom from his father. 

There is no time in this talk to perform this analysis but you can do it on your own.   But, you must be curious about knowing some of what is this book.  Let me make another speculation that the Quran contains all the information if we can only derive it.  What is the basis for this hypothesis? It is the first verse that I read in this talk about the content of the Quran, Allah says:

وَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ تِبۡيَـٰنً۬ا لِّكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةً۬ وَبُشۡرَىٰ لِلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ (٨٩)

We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition/explanation of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims. (Al-Nahl 16:89)

Another support of this assumption is a hadith reported in Bukhari that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ ( خُفِّفَ عَلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ القُرْآنُ ، فَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ بِدَوَابِّهِ فَتُسْرَجُ ، فَيَقْرَأُ القُرْآنَ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُسْرَجَ دَوَابُّهُ )البخاري(

“The Quran was lightened on Dawud (David) peace upon him, he would order for his animals to be saddled and he would be able to read the Quran before they are saddled.”

This hadith imply that Prophet Dawud has only received part of the Quran that allow him to read in this relatively short time. Can this part have the content of Zabour, can we identify this part in the Quran?  The answer is: it is possible but there is a prerequisite that we may be able to identify from verse 12 in Surat Al-Mugadala (58):

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِذَا نَـٰجَيۡتُمُ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُواْ بَيۡنَ يَدَىۡ نَجۡوَٮٰكُمۡ صَدَقَةً۬‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ لَّكُمۡ وَأَطۡهَرُ‌ۚ فَإِن لَّمۡ تَجِدُواْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ (١٢)

“O you who believe! When you seek discourse privately with the Messenger, offer something in charity before your private discourse. That will be better and purer for you. But if you do not find the means, then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Al-Mugadala 58:12)

The time had already run out on this talk, so I’ll stop here but I gave enough information to do research on your own.  We pray to Allah to grant us the wisdom to be regular reader of the Quran and grant us the ability to understand it.  

DUA