The Real Story of Dawoud (PBUH)

The Real Story of Dawoud (PBUH) - Khutbah by Nouman Ali Khan

Opening Prayer and Introduction

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed. My Lord, expand for me my breast and ease for me my task and untie the knot from my tongue that they may understand my speech. Amen, O Lord of the worlds. And remember Our servant David, possessor of strength. Indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back [to Allah].

The Purpose of This Story

After seeking refuge in Allah from Satan and praising Allah in His Noble Book, I want to explain to you a story from Surah Saad. I think it's an important lesson for all of us to remember for a number of reasons. The first of them is that in the Quran, Allah tells the Israelites a lot of things that they themselves disagreed about, meaning the Bible says many things about prophets and the Quran actually sets the record straight.

The Biblical Account vs. The Quranic Truth

One of the prophets that the people of the Hebrew scripture glorify a lot - they really look up to him - is who they call David, who the Quran calls Dawoud. The Hebrews call him David, and even though they consider him a great leader and speak very highly of him, they've also said some pretty horrible things about him and accused him of many immoral acts.

In doing so, a lot of times unfortunately in the tafsir literature of the Muslims, sometimes we actually made tafsir of some ayat based on what has been said in the Israeliyat, meaning what they have in their books. We interpreted what we have and we assume that that's what it's talking about. But a careful study of the Quran actually reveals that Allah is actually correcting what they said about their prophet.

The False Story from Israelite Sources

What they essentially said was that Dawoud (peace be upon him) had many wives - 99 actually - and he became interested in another woman who was already married. He saw her from his palace, he saw her on a balcony and became interested in her. He wanted to marry her so that he would have a hundred wives now. But he found out that woman was already married to one of his military commanders, because he was the commander, he was the ruler, and one of his generals - that was his wife.

So he purposely sent him into a battle position where he knew that he would be compromised and he would be killed, so he could get killed and he could marry the widow. That's the essential story that the Israelites recount. The Quran has a completely different picture of this scenario.

Allah's Support for His Messenger

Before we go there, the first thing I want to highlight is that sometimes Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him) is given examples of previous prophets as role models. If Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him) is going through a particularly difficult time and he needs hope, Allah might refer to him and say:

"We have not sent down to you the Quran that you be distressed."

And then further down will say:

"Has there reached you the story of Moses?"

In other words, you'll find inspiration in Musa (peace be upon him). Similarly, in this passage in Surah Saad, Allah gives our Prophet inspiration by making him remember the legacy of Dawoud.

The True Character of Dawoud

Allah says:

"Be patient over what they say and remember Our servant David, the possessor of strength; indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back [to Allah]."

Allah didn't just say Dawoud. He said "Our servant Dawoud," and in calling him a slave, it's already an indication that he's an obedient, subservient slave of Allah - a great honor. Then he mentions that Dawoud (peace be upon him) was a person possessing great might - he was powerful. And then he adds "innahu awwab" - and he's certainly someone that keeps coming back to Allah, keeps making tawbah. In other words, his power did not get to his head. His power did not make him an arrogant human being. Despite his power, he kept going back to Allah and repenting to him.

Dawoud's Special Powers

Now Allah will describe how he is powerful:

"Indeed, We subjected the mountains [to praise] with him, exalting [Allah] in the late afternoon and [after] sunrise. And the birds were assembled, all with him repeating [praises]."

Allah says that he made mountains humble along with him - that when he would make the praise of Allah, the mountains would do that along with him in the daytime and in the evenings, and birds would gather around. And all of them would come back to him, meaning he had this deep, profound connection with nature, and actually when he would praise Allah, nature along with him would actually praise Allah too.

Dawoud's Wisdom and Leadership

Then he says:

"And We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and discernment in speech."

We gave him a very powerful kingdom and we granted him a great deal of wisdom. That already is a defense - that what he does is full of wisdom, and wisdom that is granted by Allah. So any such story which definitely contradicts even the least sense of wisdom and justice can't be true about Dawoud (peace be upon him).

And then he says "wa fasla al-khitab" - that he made him very articulate in making his point. He was a phenomenal speaker and a phenomenal judge and an arbiter. If people came to him with disputes, he would know how to convince both sides and set the matter straight. This is part of the meaning of fasla al-khitab.

The True Story Begins

But now the story itself - this is the Quran's version of the story I mentioned to you in the beginning that is quite honestly offensive to a believer. But on the other hand, what Allah describes is actually quite remarkable and beautiful.

He says:

"And has there come to you the news of the adversaries, when they climbed over the private chamber?"

Has the news of those who are arguing with each other - meaning two factions, two groups - they have an argument among each other - has the story of them reached you? But then Allah says here's where the story begins: "ith tasawwarul mihrab."

Now the word "tasawwarul" comes from the word "sur," which is also like the surah of the Quran, but actually originally means the giant wall outside of a castle or the giant wall outside of an ancient city. They made these walls so long and so large so that enemies could not scale on top of them. This was the old defense of ancient cities and castles and forts. So those kinds of walls are called "sur."

Now if somebody's scaling those walls - because there's no normal way to scale those walls, you have to grapple or you have to do some crazy measures to get up there - and of course anybody that's getting up over those walls is someone who means to do the inhabitants of the castle some harm. This is some enemy force that's trying to penetrate and overcome this wall.

Now Allah begins by saying: Did you ever hear the news of the two sides that were arguing as they climbed up? They scaled this massive wall and entered a mihrab - a mihrab are the inner quarters, the private quarters of Dawoud (peace be upon him). Meaning Dawoud (peace be upon him) is the king of the time, he's the ruler of the time, up on top of this castle, way high up in the most secure area of the castle. He's got his private quarters, and now all of a sudden inside his private chambers, these strangers that apparently have a case to bring to him have scaled the wall and come into his private space.

So his first impression is going to be: these people are here to assassinate me or to kill me. Because why wouldn't they come through the proper channels? And why not just make an appeal to see the judge and have a court date and all of that, right? These people have clearly made a military move to come and see Dawoud (peace be upon him).

Dawoud's Fear and the Visitors' Explanation

"When they entered upon David and he was alarmed by them..."

When they came into the company of Dawoud, when they entered into his company, the Quran says then as a result of that he became terrified of them. Now "fazza" in Arabic is one of the words for fear, but it's particularly a word for fear - the kind of fear that throws you off your senses. You panic and you become reactionary and you just act on impulse. That's "fazaa."

There's a fear where it's kind of slowly brewing. There's a fear - you heard a crash and all of a sudden your body jerks react. That's a reactionary move. Similarly, you heard something like "I have to do something, I have to do something" and you immediately take an action and then later realize maybe I acted too quickly. I shouldn't have been so quick to make a reaction. I should have thought through this and not have jumped the gun, right?

So the kind of fear that makes you react without thinking - that's actually "fazaa." So when he says "ith fazzi'a minhum," this is important to note. It's not just that he was terrified of them - he's kind of thrown off balance. This is important to remember.

"They said, 'Fear not...'"

They said: "No, no, we're not here to kill you. Don't be afraid." In other words, now they're saying: "I know we scaled over this wall and have breached these quarters and yes, we have trespassed, but no, no, we're not here to kill you. Don't be afraid."

"We are two adversaries, one of whom has wronged the other..."

"We just have a case of two people that have argued against each other. We've got one of them has violated the other's rights. We actually have a criminal case we wanted for you to discuss because you're the judge. You're not just the ruler, you're the Supreme Court judge. We wanted to discuss a criminal case."

It's ironic - they can see they commit a crime and they want to discuss a criminal case. But the important thing here is they said there are two parties that have had an argument with each other. The ayah, however, did not say "ithnan" (two), it said "khasman" - the plural form was used. In other words, it's two people that have an issue, but there's a legion with them. So they all came together, but they want to discuss the case of these two people now.

"So judge between us with truth and do not exceed [it] and guide us to the even [i.e., right] path."

"So make judgment between us rightfully. Be just, be just and truthful in the way you're going to do judgment. And don't overpower us and don't use your position to dismiss us."

Like we came all the way here - as if to say that if they came through proper channels, you wouldn't have considered them: "Get out of my sight, I don't have time for you." So don't do that, don't dismiss us now. And now they're in a position almost to kill him. First they said "don't be afraid" and now they're saying "la tushtat."

That also means actually - like when you overprice something, unfair pricing - so it actually means: look, be fair in judgment and don't be unfair and don't be biased towards one side against the other. Because, you know, the idea is: look, you live in a castle. One of the people that is going to present the case is going to be poor, the other one's going to be rich, and because you're rich yourself, you might be siding towards the rich party.

A judge who's a business owner may feel more sympathy for a plaintiff who's also a business owner. A judge who's a husband who went through a divorce may feel more sympathy towards the husband in

front of him who's went through a divorce. A woman may feel more sympathetic towards a woman. So whoever you side with - there might be something in his heart to say "I'm gonna go easier on this guy and harder on that one." There may be a bias in you, so "la tushtat" also means don't be biased.

"Wa ahidna ila sawa as-sirat" - and guide us to the most even of all paths. In other words, be fair, be clean and down the middle.

The Case of the Two Brothers

So now the case itself - what is this case that they had to climb over a wall to discuss?

"Indeed this, my brother, has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe; so he said, 'Entrust her to me,' and he overpowered me in speech."

"This right here for sure - this actually is my brother. He owns 99 sheep." Now you remember the word 99 came up again in the Israelite tradition about him having 99 wives. We're not talking about 99 wives now we're talking about 99 sheep. "My brother's got 99 sheep. And I only have one. He's got 99, I only own one. And he says just give it to me. Let me have my 100. My brother says to me give me your one sheep to make 100. And he's very authoritative and mean and bullying when he talks to me. He's intimidating me and forcing me to give up my one sheep and add to his 99 already."

Now this on the side is a commentary also on how big business can intimidate small businesses and take over, right? And they can use the authorities, they can use government, they can use their lawyers, they can use lobbyists to run small businesses out of business. But anyway, that's a side issue.

He says - and of course the one speaking is the one who only owns one sheep - and he says: "I've got one, he's got 99, and he's mean to me. He keeps telling me to give mine up to him."

Dawoud's Quick Judgment

"[David] said, 'He has certainly wronged you in demanding your ewe [in addition] to his ewes. And indeed, many associates oppress one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds - and few are they.'"

And now Dawoud (peace be upon him) speaks and he says: "He has done wrong to you. Your brother has certainly done wrong to you by asking for your one sheep to add to his sheep."

"And it happens a lot, quite a bit, that people that are very close together - meaning family members that are close together, business partners that are close together, co-workers that are close together - people that you interact with a lot are called 'khulata.' Khalata literally means to mix, so the people you spend a lot of time with are khulata. So it's not just a reference to business partners, but family relations, friendship relations, co-workers, things like that. It happens quite a bit that people that are so close to each other end up doing wrong to one another more so."

Dawoud (peace be upon him) says: "Except those who truly believe and do good deeds." Now Allah is teaching us that belief and good deeds is not just prayer and dua, but it's actually - good deeds are with the people that are closest to you that you have a lot of interaction with, that you don't do wrong by them, that you don't oppress them and things like that.

"And how few those people are - how few the people are that realize that their faith should inspire them not to wrong the people closest to them."

The Realization of the Test

"And David became certain that We had tried him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing [in prostration] and turned in repentance [to Allah]."

And at that very moment, Dawoud realized that Allah was only testing him - meaning they disappeared, this entire group - poof! They just disappeared and he realized that he was just being put to the test. This was a very difficult trial for him.

Now some interpreted this to mean Dawoud (peace be upon him) realized: "This wasn't about 99 sheep. This was about 99 wives and that extra wife, and by the sheep example he was being taught a lesson that if you think this is unfair, how do you think what you're doing is unfair?" Which I'm humbly suggesting to you is absolutely the incorrect way of looking at these ayat.

Understanding What Really Happened

Let's try to understand what's actually happened in this story. Dawoud (peace be upon him) was by himself in his quarters. These strangers jumped in, kind of ambushed him. Then they said "don't be afraid," but it's already been said "fazzi'a minhum" - he's off his game, he's a little thrown off, he's reactionary at this point.

They're also intimidating him and telling him: "We've got a case. You better be fair and you better give us the right judgment and you better not be biased." And they've already kind of made him reactionary and also defensive because they're almost accusing him that he might be this way. And then on top of that, they give him this case and the victim speaks, and the victim's only got one poor sheep.

And now Dawoud (peace be upon him) also doesn't want to be seen as the one who sides with the wealthy one. And when the one speaks, Dawoud (peace be upon him) immediately says: "This one has done wrong to you."

But the problem with that is when you're a judge, you have to hear both sides. You have to hear both sides before you pass any judgment. This one said "I only have one sheep and they're trying to take it away" and all of that, but - well, let's hear your side of the story. What do you have to say about this? That didn't happen, did it? He didn't ask the second side what their version of it is, and he quickly passed judgment.

And actually even gave a sermon about how this happens quite a bit - like a lot of times, and of course the idea is a lot of times those that are more wealthy or more powerful tend to take advantage of those that are not. But does that mean that that's always the case? Is it possible that someone who's not wealthy or not in a position of power may be doing wrong also? Is that possible? Certainly.

The Lesson from Musa's Story

Like for instance, in the case of Musa (peace be upon him), from a distance he saw two people fighting, and he saw one was a member of Bani Israel and the other was from the Egyptian rulers. And the Israelites were slaves, they were mistreated all the time. So when he sees an Egyptian soldier beating up a slave, he says: "Look, this is here again. You see the same oppression that you see a thousand other times all the time. They beat up these poor Muslims - those were the Muslims of the time. They oppressed them, they beat them, they torture them, and here it's happening again."

He went and he tried to help the situation. He punched the soldier, the soldier died. Long story short, it turns out that the Muslim brother that he helped was a crook. He was a crook. In other words, you have this impression: "Oh, these Egyptians, they're always trying to do wrong to these poor believers," or "these wealthy people, they're always trying to take advantage of poor people," or "these leaders, they're always trying to take advantage of their followers," etc., etc., etc.

You've got this impression in your head because you've seen it a thousand times, so it must be true the thousand and first time, so you don't even bother hearing the other side. And that's exactly what happened with Musa (peace be upon him), and now that's exactly what's happening with Dawoud (peace be upon him) - that he was quick to pass judgment.

And as soon as they disappeared, he realized he should have - he shouldn't have been thrown off, he shouldn't have been reactionary, he should have taken his time, calmed down, listened to both sides, and not be intimidated by what he's hearing. Because when they already told him "you're probably gonna be biased anyway," then he's like "well, no, no, no, I'm not, I'm gonna be with the poor guy." But that's not the right way to go.

So Dawoud (peace be upon him) realized that that test was one to make him realize this role of leadership is not an easy one. He has to side with the truth whether it's popular or not, populist or not.

Allah's Guidance for Leadership

"O David, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth..."

"Dawoud, we have made you a leader upon the earth. We have put you in charge on the earth." And he says: "Judge between people rightfully."

If this ayah was about himself, then Allah would have said "you be fair yourself." If this ayah was - the sheep are being used as a reference to his own personal life - then Allah would have said: "You have been made a Khalifa, you should be an example of justice first before anybody else." That's not what's said.

Allah says: "From here on, make sure when you pass judgments between people, do so with justice, do so rightfully. Hear both sides out."

Lessons for All Judges and Leaders

By the way, we also learned here that a judge, if he's in a position of being intimidated or scared or shocked - in any of those situations, a judge needs to recuse himself and say: "This is not the time. I'm not going to be able to pass this judgment." He has to be able to say: "I'm not qualified at this time."

You know what happens in many corrupt societies? There are, you know, like for example, there's all these news about what's happening in some parts of South America or whatever. You have judges that are there's some drug dealers or whatever they're on trial, and then the judge's family is called: "If you want your family to be okay, we know your child goes to school here or that. If you don't pass the judgment the right way, if you don't let this guy go, then you're not gonna see your kids again." And they get intimidated.

If you get intimidated, you're not going to be able to pass judgment. If you carry a bias, you're not going to be able to pass judgment. If you have any kind of "fazaa" impacting judgment, judgment itself is not going to be fair.

Application Beyond the Courtroom

That's not just about the courtroom now. It's actually about all situations. You have a situation in your family - there's a dispute inside of your family and you're in a position to pass judgment. But you're afraid that if you go against this person, even though they're wrong, they're gonna come after you, or they're gonna be angry with you and you don't want to deal with that. So you either stay quiet or you don't do anything because now you're a victim of "fazaa." You're not standing up for the right thing because you

don't want to speak out against somebody who's more influential than you are or that they have something holding over you. And as a result of that, you're holding back from justice.

So this isn't just about a ruler. This is actually about the principle of justice as it applies across life.

The Final Warning

So Dawoud (peace be upon him) is then told: "Judge between people rightfully."

"...and do not follow [your own] desire, as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah."

"Don't follow empty, vain desires. Don't become a person of whim." And whim here suggests that don't become impulsive - that's the idea behind "al-hawa" here. "And if you do so, then it will take you away, it'll mislead you from Allah's correct path."

"Indeed, those who go astray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment for having forgotten the Day of Account."

What a profound ending to this story! He says: "No doubt, those who have gone from the path of Allah, they're going to have pretty intense punishment because of what they forgot" - because of what they forgot. In other words, they forgot that they are a judge right now and they're not being fair as a judge. When a time is coming when there's going to be a judge over them, and they're going to be standing before Allah - the day on which the accounting is being done of them. They've forgotten about the court date that they have, they've forgotten about the judgment that they must face.

And so Allah ties all of that together for all people. Generally, and so in doing so, Allah preserved the remarkable dignity of a great prophet and has reminded us that we have to maintain the integrity of prophets. But in doing so, he's also reminded us that we shouldn't be quick to pass judgment. We should hear both sides, and we should be calm when we pass judgment, and we should remember that our judgments are actually - our judgments themselves are going to be evaluated before Allah.

Final Reflections on Justice and Relationships

We should also remember that partners, when partners wrong each other - and you know the statement still holds true:

"And indeed, many associates oppress one another..."

So many people that interact closely with each other end up wronging each other. That we have to be mindful of that - are we the one doing wrong? Are we being wronged? Which one is it? May Allah make us conscious of that, because that is a matter of our Iman, and that is actually part of our righteous deeds.

When Allah says:

"Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds - and few are they."

How few those people are who understand their good deeds tied to that is their sense of justice to those that are closest to them. May Allah make us people that are just and people that do right by those that are closest to us.

Closing Prayer

"Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving [help] to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. And fear Allah. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times. Establish salah, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do."