The clay continued, "Government is established to regulate humans, so that the strong do not oppress the weak. And if the government itself oppresses its people, then the government is a tyrant. There is an athar that says, "The king is the shadow of Allah on earth." The Rightly Guided Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, "Undoubtedly, Allah accomplished through the man of power (Khalifa) that which He does not always acquire through the Qur’an." Even though Deen has a great connection with spiritualism, still, we find that worldly power (Khilaafat) is a great support and ally for it. Deen is the gurantee for Deeny as well as worldly reparations whereas the wordly power is the means towards acquiring a just system of organisation. Allah has mentioned in the various verses of the Quran, on the subject of granting kingdom and sovereignty indicated that a man should remember throughly that kingdom and sovereignty over land, the giving and the taking thereof is solely in Allah's Hands. For this, the history of the world's greatest emperors and tyrannical values are adequate evidence.
Allah has made a fixed law for the granting and taking away of Power, which may be called the Sunnat of Allah, that law is this, "that nations are granted power and government in two ways viz., firstly as Divine inheritance, and secondly, through 'worldly means." According to the first way, when power is granted, when the beliefs and deeds of the people are in accordance with Allah's will. In other words, they beliefs in Allah is correct and firm, and in their deeds the individual as well as the whole society are righteous as would be described as 'Saaliheen' in the Qur’an.
If the nation is such, the nation is worthy of being granted Allah's title of being "Khilafat Ilahiyya" i.e., in this world they are vicegerents of Allah and the true successors of the Prophets (alaihissalam ). And Allah’s promise is that the people who in beliefs and deeds are the heirs of the Prophets (alaihissalam) they will be the heirs of this earth as well as hereafter. Allah says,
Allah's pleasure with those who are His rigthteous servants, and if this righteousness is not found in any nation, then in spite of them being claimants to being attached to Islam, they cannot become the recipients of the heritage, and they will not be able to lay claim to ’Divine Khilaafat.' And for such a people, the promise of Allah does not fit. If a Muslim should try to bring about a change for the better in his corrupt life and adopt the ways of the righteous ones, then Allah gives them the same good news which He promises.وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الأرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ"And We have already written in the book [of Psalms] after the [previous] mention that the land [of Paradise] is inherited by My righteous servants." - [QS.21:105]
When Allah decides to appoint someone as an eminent messenger of his and to endow him with special beautiful qualities, He causes his natural ability to shine from the initial stage. It is Divine Law that the person who has reached a stage of the height of his honour, if he then admits Allah’s gifts to him and expressed thanks and gratitude, to Him, Allah will increase His bounties towards him. The whole life of Prophet Dawud, alaihissalam, is living proof and evidence of this.
From Wahb ibn Munabbih, Ibn Ishaq said that David was short, with blue eyes, little hair, and a pure and pious heart. When the Israelites surrendered rule to Talut, Allah inspired the prophet of the Israelites, "Say to Talut, let him do battle with the Midianites and not leave anyone alive, killing them all, and I shall give him victory." So he went with the troops to Midian and slew those there, except their king, whom he took prisoner; he also carried off their cattle. Allah inspired Shamwil, "Do you not wonder at Talut? I gave him My command and he violated it: he took their king prisoner and carried off their cattle. So go meet him, and say to him that I shall indeed strip dominion from his house, not to return it until the Day of Resurrection. For I only give honor to him who obeys Me, and I humble him who despises My command."
Shamwil met Talut and said to him, "What have you done? Why did you take their king as prisoner? And why did you drive their cattle?" He replied, "I drove the cattle only in order to sacrifice them." Shamwil said to him, "Allah has stripped rule from your house, and it will not return to it until Resurrection Day."
Then Allah inspired Shamwil, "Go to Jesse, and let him present his sons before you. Anoint the one whom I command you with the holy oil to be king over the Children of Israel." He went on from there until he came to Jesse and said, "Present your sons before me." Jesse called the eldest of his sons, a husky man of handsome appearance. When Shamwil looked at him, he was impressed with him and said, "Praise be to Allah! Lo! Allah is Seeing of His servants." But Allah inspired him, saying, "Your eyes see what is apparent, but I observe what is in the hearts. Not this one." So Shamwil said, "Not this one. Present another before me." So he had six more pass before him, and for all of them, he said, "Not this one. Bring me another one." Finally he said, "Do you have another son besides these? " Jesse replied, "Yes, I have a red-headed boy who is herding the flocks ." Shamwil said, "Send for him!" When David, a red-headed youth, came, Shamwil anointed him with the holy oil and said to his father, Jesse, "Hide this youth, for if Saul sees him, he will slay him."
Jalut and his people journeyed toward the Israelites and made camp, while Talut traveled with the Israelites and made camp. They prepared for battle, and Jalut sent to Talut, saying, "Why should my people and yours be slain? Come forth to me in single combat, or send someone out to me, whomever you want. If I slay you, dominion will be mine, while if you kill me, dominion will be yours." Talut sent a crier among his troops calling, "Who will go forth to duel with Jalut?"
Al-Suddi said that when they went into battle against Jalut, on that day, David's father, along with thirteen sons of his, was among those who crossed over. Now David was his youngest son. He had come to this father one day and said, "O my father! Whatever I throw at with my sling, I knock it down." His father said, "Rejoice at that, O my son. Allah has placed your sustenance in your sling." Then he returned to him another time and said, "O my father! I went among the hills and found a crouching lion. I mounted it, taking hold of its two ears, and it did not throw me off." His father replied, "Rejoice at that, O my son! That is a virtue that Allah grants you." Then he came to him another day and said, "O my father! Verily I was walking in the hills, glorifying Allah, and no hill remained that did not glorify with me." So he said, "Rejoice, O my son! That is a virtue that Allah has given you."
David was a shepherd, and on that day, his father had left him behind to bring food to him and his brothers. Prophet Shamwil brought a horn in which there was oil and a Tannur of iron. He sent them to Talut saying, "Verily, your companion who kills Jalut will have this horn placed on his head, and it will boil over until he will be anointed by it. But it will not flow into his face, it will just remain on his head in the shape of a crown. He will also be put in this Tannur and fill it."
Talut called the Israelites and tested them with the horn, but none fit the description. When they were finished, Talut said to David's father, "Do you have another son who has not presented himself to us? " He replied, "Yes, there remains my son David, who brings us food." When David was returning to this father], he passed by three stones on the road, and they spoke to him, saying, "Take us, O David, and you will kill Jalut with us!"
He picked them up and placed them in his provision bag. Talut had said, "I will marry my daughter to whoever kills Jalut, and I shall also entrust his seal with my dominion." When David arrived, they placed the horn on his head, and it boiled over until he was anointed by it. He put on the breastplate, and he filled it, even though he was a sickly, pale man. Anyone who put it on shook loosely in it, but when David put it on the breastplate was so tight on him that it cracked.
Then he went to Jalut. Jalut was one of the stoutest and strongest of men, yet, when he looked at David, fear of him was cast into his heart. So he said to David, "O boy! Go back! I pity you lest I kill you." But David said, "No, on the contrary. I shall kill you." He took out the stones and placed them in the sling. Every time he picked up one of those stones, he gave it a name. He said, "This one is named for my father Abraham, the second for my father Isaac, and the third for my father Israel." Then he whirled the sling, and the stones became one stone. He sent it off, and it struck Jalut between the eyes, piercing his head. It killed him and kept on killing every man it struck, piercing right through him until no one remained in front of it. Then the Israelites routed them.
When David slew Jalut and his army was routed, people said, "David has slain Jalut and has deposed Talut," and the people turned to David instead of Talut, until no mention of Talut could be heard.
When the Israelites gathered around David, Allah revealed the Psalms to him. Allah revealed the Psalms to David which is such an anthology of words in which Allah is praised and thanked and in which the humility and servitude of men are admitted and recognised. In these verses of the Psalms there are also valuable advices and admonitions. But like they did with the Torah and Injeel, Bani Israel also changed the wordings of the Psalms, knowingly.
David used to complete a full recitation of the Psalms in such a short time that he used to start it as he started tying the saddle to his horse and finished the reading just as he finished tying the saddle. He also had the ability to pronounce words so fast that what another person would require hours to read and pronounce, he would do so in very little time, much less that the ordinary person.
In actual fact, Allah had granted special honour and rank to all Prophets and bestowed numerous favours on all His Prophets and Messengers. But in the granting of special qualities. He has made various ranks for them, one above the other. These are the ranks by which some are superior to others. Allah also taught David ironworking, making it supple for him. Qatadah said, "David was the first person to make an iron armor that was previously only thin metal." Ibn Shandhab said, "At that time, David every day made armor that he sold for six thousand dirhams." Narrated Al-Miqdam, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
مَا أَكَلَ أَحَدٌ طَعَامًا قَطُّ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ مِنْ عَمَلِ يَدِهِ، وَإِنَّ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ دَاوُدَ ـ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ ـ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ مِنْ عَمَلِ يَدِهِ
"Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one's own hands. The Prophet of Allah, David, used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor." - [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Allah also ordered the mountains and the birds to sing praise with him when he sang. Allah said,References :
Allah did not give anyone of His creation a voice like his. So when David recited the Psalms, wild beasts would gaze at him with delight, until they were lined up, intently listening upon hearing his voice. The demons invented flutes, lutes, and cymbals with only his voice as a model. David was extremely diligent, constant in worship, and wept much. Allah said,وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُدَ مِنَّا فَضْلا يَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِي مَعَهُ وَالطَّيْرَ وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِيدَAnd We certainly gave David from Us bounty. [We said], "O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well]." And We made pliable for him iron, - [QS.34:10]
أَنِ اعْمَلْ سَابِغَاتٍ وَقَدِّرْ فِي السَّرْدِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ"[Commanding him], "Make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links, and work [all of you] righteousness. Indeed I, of what you do, am Seeing." - [QS.34:11]
Both David and his son, Solomon, were granted from Allah’s side one more special gifts in that both of them were given the knowledge of the speech of birds.إِنَّا سَخَّرْنَا الْجِبَالَ مَعَهُ يُسَبِّحْنَ بِالْعَشِيِّ وَالإشْرَاقِ"Indeed, We subjected the mountains [to praise] with him, exalting [ Allah ] in the [late] afternoon and [after] sunrise." - [QS.38:18]
وَالطَّيْرَ مَحْشُورَةً كُلٌّ لَهُ أَوَّابٌ"And the birds were assembled, all with him repeating [praises]." - [QS.38:19]
The Tasbeeh of the animlas and birds and the mountains used to declare silently in their manner that everything in this universe and their forms and every atom in them bear witness to the existence of their creator. Allah says,
In this respect two things become clear: firstly, everything in the Universe perform the Tasbeeh of Allah and, secondly, men and Jinn are unable to perceive their Tasbeeh. This means that in actual fact these parts of the Univers is busy singing Allah praises. But this Tasbeeh cannot be perceived by men. But sometimes such Tasbeeh is made to been seen and heard by the Prophets (alaihissalam) as a sign of a miracle to them. This was one of David specialities.تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالأرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَكِنْ لا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا"The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [ Allah ] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving." - [QS.17:44]
Qatadah said that David was granted power in worship and understanding in submission (Islam). There is athar of Abdullah bin Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu that David has for the sake of division of work, divided them into four days, one solely for Ibaadah, one day forjudging cases in disputes, one day for himself and one day for preaching and guidance of Bani Israel. David would stay up at night and fast half of the time, four thousand men guarded him every day and night. It was narrated from 'Amr bin Aws that he heard Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-'As said, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
But among those days, most importance was granted to the day set aside solely for worship of Allah. In actual fact no other day of his was ever completely devoid of Ibaadat, but one day was specially set out for it. During that day no other work was touched. David used to close the doors around him as he proceeded with glorifying Allah and praising His name, so that there can be no disturbance. In other words, there was only one day when it was extremely difficult to reach him as he was completely cut off from Bani Israel, when as on the other days there was always a chance to meet him in cases of unforseen circumstances.أَحَبُّ الصِّيَامِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ صِيَامُ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ كَانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا وَأَحَبُّ الصَّلاَةِ إِلَى اللَّهِ صَلاَةُ دَاوُدَ كَانَ يَنَامُ نِصْفَ اللَّيْلِ وَيَقُومُ ثُلُثَهُ وَيَنَامُ سُدُسَهُ'The most beloved of fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud, peace be upon him. He used to fast one day and not the next. And the most beloved of prayer to Allah, is the prayer of Dawud. He used to sleep half the night, spend one-third of the night in prayer and sleep for one-sixth of it.'" - [Sunan an-Nasa'i; Sahih]
Even though the setting aside of a special day for Ibaadat is in itself a praiseworthy deed, in such a manner that a person has no contact at all with other human beings, yet is it something which would be against the aims and objects of being "a Prophet” or of being ” a Khalifa on earth.” Moreover Allah did not create David to be secluded ascetic, but instead made him a prophet and granted him vicegerency and sent him for the leadership and guidance of his people. Similarly his life's main aim was "guidance of his people” and of worship "service .”
Hence, Allah wanted to test him by sending two angels, in human form, who requested admission to his presence. But they found that this was his day of worship, and the guards prevented them from entering. So the two scaled the wall of his private apartment to reach him. He was not aware of their arrival while he was praying, but suddenly the two were sitting in front of him. Allah said,
At this stage the Qur'an turns away from the judgement as it seems logical to anyone with thinking faculties, that David's judgement was correct, and only emphasized and highlighted that part of the story which dealt with guidance viz performing an injustice on others by force of your might. Anyway, after giving judgement, David immediately became aware of the fact that Allah had tested him. He immediately understood and repented with sincerity, prostrating to Allah and begging for forgiveness. Allah accepted his plea for forgiveness and gave him this advice,وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ"And We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and discernment in speech." - [QS.38:20]
وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ نَبَأُ الْخَصْمِ إِذْ تَسَوَّرُوا الْمِحْرَابَ"And has there come to you the news of the adversaries, when they climbed over the wall of [his] prayer chamber." - [QS.38:21]
إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَى دَاوُدَ فَفَزِعَ مِنْهُمْ قَالُوا لا تَخَفْ خَصْمَانِ بَغَى بَعْضُنَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَلا تُشْطِطْ وَاهْدِنَا إِلَى سَوَاءِ الصِّرَاطِ"When they entered upon David and he was alarmed by them? They said, "Fear not. [We are] two adversaries, one of whom has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth and do not exceed [it] and guide us to the sound path." - [QS.38:22]
إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً وَلِيَ نَعْجَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَقَالَ أَكْفِلْنِيهَا وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ"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." - [QS.38:23]
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ"[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 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 ]." - [QS.38:24]
فَغَفَرْنَا لَهُ ذَلِكَ وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِنْدَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ"So We forgave him that; and indeed, for him is nearness to Us and a good place of return." - [QS.38:25]
Then the clay said, "O my brothers and sisters, there is absolutely no doubt therein that to worship Allah and to glorify Him and to praise Him, is the main objective in the life of any Muslim. However, for those whom Allah had chosen for the guidance of mankind or for the service of mankind, it is better to remain busy with delivering the duty for which they had been chosen, than to be busy with secluding themselves from the rest of mankind, spending their whole life in worship, or busy spending time maintaining their power, then ultimately abandoning their duties. And Allah knows best."يَا دَاوُدُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الأرْضِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا نَسُوا يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ"[We said], 'O David, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow [your own] desire, as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah.' Indeed, those who go astray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment for having forgotten the Day of Account." - [QS.38:26]
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الأرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا يَعْبُدُونَنِي لا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا وَمَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ"Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient." - [QS.24:55]
- The History of al-Tabari, The Children of Israel, Volume III, Translated by William M. Brinner, SUNY Press.
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
