Sad 38:25–31

In verse 25, it was said: وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَىٰ وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ (and surely he has a place of nearness in Our presence, and an excellent resort.). By concluding this event on this verse, a hint was released towards the fact that, no matter whatever the slip of Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) would have been, once he had sought forgiveness from Allah and had passionately turned to Him, it goes without saying that the level of his communion with Allah Ta’ ala had increased further.

When warn, warn with wisdom!

Yet another aspect of this event needs to be mentioned here. Let this slip of Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) be whatever it was, it was a matter between him and his Lord who could have alerted him to it even directly through a revelation. But, rather than do something of this nature, why was a particular method used when the case of a dispute was sent in his court to alert him thereby? The truth of the matter is that this method invites deliberation. It helps us realize that it provides guidance for those who are engaged in preaching and bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair. Those who do their duty in this field should know that the conduct of a person is not to be corrected casually. It takes a lot of wisdom to do it. To alert someone to his error, it is better to take to a method that helps the concerned person realize his error on his own, without having recourse to warn him verbally. For that purpose, it is more effective to use such examples as may convey the message without hurting the addressee in the least.

Commentary

Not only that Allah Ta’ ala had made Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) a prophet, He had also placed a government and state at his command. Accordingly, in this verse, he has been entrusted with a basic guideline for the conduct of governance and politics. Three things have been said in this guideline

1. We have made you Our khalifah (caliph, deputy, successor, vicar, vicegerent) on the earth.

2. In this capacity, your basic duty is to decide matters in accordance with the truth.

3. And to accomplish this mission, abstention from following personal desires is a binding condition.

As for the sense of making someone a khalifah on the earth, it has been discussed in the commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah (please see Ma` ariful-Qur'an, English, Volume I, pages 158-171) and from it emerges the essential principle of Islamic political theory that "Sovereignty belongs to Allah Ta’ ala." All rulers of the earth are bound to operate in accordance with His injunctions alone. They cannot go out of it. Therefore, the ruler of Muslims, the consultative body or assembly might explain or codify Islamic law as such, but the reality is that they are not lawgivers, instead, are introducers of the law of Allah.

The basic function of an Islamic state is to establish truth

Secondly, it has been made very clear here that the basic function of an Islamic state is to establish truth. It is incumbent on the government that it should establish the rule of truth and justice in all its matters from administration to resolution of disputes.

Since Islam is a religion for all times to come, it has not fixed such administrative details as would have to be changed with changing circumstances. Instead of that, it has blessed its followers with the basic guidelines in the light of which administrative details can be settled according to the needs of every period of time. Therefore, no doubt, this much has been made clear here that the essential function of the government is to establish truth, but along with it, its administrative details have been left in the safe hands of sound thinking Muslims of every period.

The relationship of the Judiciary and the Executive

Accordingly, no such fixed injunction as would stand unalterable in every period of time has been given on the issue of whether the Judiciary remains separate from the Executive or remains part of it. If, in some period of time, full trust can be placed in the honesty and trustworthiness of the rulers, the duality of the judiciary and the executive branches of the government can be eliminated - and if, in a certain period, full trust cannot be placed in the honesty and trustworthiness of the rulers, the Judiciary can also be kept totally independent of the Executive.

Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) was a great prophet of Allah. Who could have claimed to be as honest and trustworthy as he was? Therefore, he was simultaneously made the head of both the Executive and the Judiciary who also had the responsibility of delivering a verdict in disputes. In addition to the noble prophets (علیہم السلام) ، the same practice continued among the rightly guided khulafa' of the Muslim community (al-khulafa' ar-rashidun) when the amirul-mu'minin (the leader of Muslims or head of the Muslim state) used to be the Qadi (judge) as well. This practice was discontinued by later Islamic governments when the amirul-mu'minin was made the head of the Executive, and the qadi-l-qudat (Chief Justice) that of the Judiciary.

The third guideline on which the heaviest stress has been laid in this verse simply says: Do not follow the desires of yourself and keep the day of Reckoning in sight all the time. The reason for such a stress is that this thing is the very foundation of any effort to establish the supremacy of truth. Only a Hakim (ruler) or Qadi (judge) who has the fear of Allah and the concern of Hereafter in his heart can establish the supremacy of truth and justice in the real sense of the term. Nothing short of this would work. You are welcome to make laws, the best you can. The ability of the desiring human self to conceal its stratagems and carve out an operational outlet through any law or system is virtually unbeatable. As long as this thing is there, the best of law and system cannot establish the rule of law, truth and justice. The history of the world and the current scenario of our time bear witness to this submission.

The first thing to watch around offices charged with responsibility is the character of the human being sitting there

Right from here we also learn that in order to place someone in a position of authority, such as an official of the government, or a judge of the judiciary (or someone in any other role of public or private responsibility), the first thing one has to look for is whether or not this person has the fear of Allah in his heart, the concern for 'Akhirah, the life to come on his mind and, of course, the state of his morals and character. If it is realized that he has nothing of the sort as the fear of Allah in his heart, instead, his desiring self sits there as the monarch of all it surveys, then, no matter how high his degrees in education, and no matter how superb his expertise and experience in the field, he is not deserving of any high office of responsibility in the sight of Islam.

Commentary

The delicate order of the verses

These verses in which the basic beliefs of Islam, particularly that of the Hereafter, have been emphatically confirmed appear in between the description of events relating to Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) with an order that is extremely delicate and sublime. Says Imam Razi, if someone is refusing to understand because of obstinacy, the wiser approach is to put away the subject under discussion aside, and start talking about something totally unrelated - and when his mind stands diverted from the first subject, he should be brought around during the flow of conversation to concede to the original proposition. At this place, it is to dwell upon and secure confirmation of the Hereafter that this very method has been used. Being mentioned before the description of the event relating to Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) there were some postures of obstinacy demonstrated by the disbelievers that concluded at the verse: وَقَالُوا رَ‌بَّنَا عَجِّل لَّنَا قِطَّنَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ (And they said, " 0 our Lord, give us our share [ of the punishment ] sooner, before the Day of Reckoning." - 38:16). The outcome of all this was to state that those people rejected the existence of the Hereafter and made fun of it. Immediately after that, it was said: اصْبِرْ‌ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاذْكُرْ‌ عَبْدَنَا دَاوُودَ (Observe patience over what they say and remember Our servant, Dawud - 38:17). By saying so, a new subject was introduced. But, the event relating to Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) has been concluded with the statement:

O Dawud, We have made you a vicegerent on earth, so judge between people with truth. (38:26).

Now, from here it is in an imperceptible manner that the Hereafter has been positively confirmed by positing that here is the supreme Being of Allah asking his deputy on the earth to establish the rule of law and justice resulting in punishment for the evil and peace for the good - when so, is it not that the same Being would necessarily establish justice and equity in this universe? Most certainly, it is the dictate of His wisdom that He, rather than herd everyone good or bad with the same stick, punishes the doers of evil and rewards the doers of good. This, then, is the purpose of the creation of this universe, and in order that it translates into reality, it is necessary that there be a Qiyamah (the Last Day) and an 'Akhirah (the Hereafter) - something that precisely corresponds to His wisdom. Those who reject the Hereafter are virtually saying that this universe has been created aimlessly, devoid of any wisdom behind it, for everyone good or bad will live his or her time and die with nobody around to ask questions - although, one who has faith in the wisdom of Allah Ta’ ala can never accept this line of reasoning.

In verse 28, it was said: أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ‌ (Shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds equal to those who commit mischief on the earth? Or shall We make the God-fearing equal to the sinners?) - that is, this can never be. In fact, the end of both will be totally different. Right from here, we learn that this difference between a believer and disbeliever is there in terms of the injunctions of the Hereafter. While living in the present world, it is quite possible that a disbeliever has a lot more comforts than a believer. Likewise, it cannot be deduced thereby that the material rights of the disbeliever cannot be equal to the rights of the believer, instead, the truth of the matter is that a disbeliever could be allowed human rights equal to a believer. Accordingly, non-Muslim minorities who live in an Islamic state under mutual pledges shall be given all human rights that will be but equal to those of Muslim.

Commentary

In these verses, an event relating to Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) has been mentioned. The gist of the well known Tafsir of this event is that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was so engrossed in the inspection of the horses that he missed to perform the Salah of Al-` Asr at his usual time. Later, when he was alerted to this loss, he slaughtered all those horses as the unfortunate interference in the remembrance of Allah took place because of them.

This missed Salah could be a nafl salah. Given this situation, there should be no difficulty in understanding what Sulayman (علیہ السلام) did, for the noble prophets try to make amends for even this much of negligence. And it is also possible that the Salah concerned was obligatory (fard) and his engrossment in the inspection might have caused him to forget. Although if someone forgets to perform the fard (obligatory) Salah, it does not cause a sin to have been committed, but Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، in view of his high station, expiated for that too.

This Tafsir of the cited verses has been reported from several leading authorities among the commentators. Even a great scholar of Ibn Kathir's stature has preferred this Tafsir. Then, it is also supported by a marfu' Hadith (attributed to the noble Prophet ﷺ) reported by 'Allamah Suyuti with reference to the Mu'jim of Tabarani, Ismaili and Ibn Marduwayh.

عن ابی کعب ؓ عن النّبی ﷺ فی قولہٖ فطفق مسحاً بالسّوق والاعناق قال قطع سوفھا و أعناقھا بالسیف

From 'Ubaiyy Ibn Ka'b , from the Holy Prophet ﷺ : About the word of Allah: (and he started passing his hands over the shanks and the necks.), he said: "Cut their legs and necks with the sword."

` Allamah Suyuti has declared its rating as Hasan. (ad-Durr-ul-Manthur, p. 309, v. 5) and quoting this Hadith in Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, ` Allamah Haithami says:

'Tabarani has reported this in al-Awsat. Said Ibn Bashir is one of the narrators there. He has been called trustworthy by Shu'bah and others. Ibn Ma'in and others call him weak. The rest of the men reporting are trustworthy.' (Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, p. 99, v. 7, Kitabu-t-Tafsir)

Because of this Hadith, this Tafsir becomes fairly strong. But, it generally lends to the doubt that the horses were a gift of Allah and wasting one's property in that manner does not seem to befit the station of a prophet. Commentators have answered it by saying that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) owned these horses, and the sacrifice of horses was also permissible in his code of law very similar to that of cows, goats and camels. Therefore, he never wasted the horses, in fact, sacrificed them in the name of Allah. Just as the act of sacrificing a cow or goat is not tantamount to wasting it, instead, it is an act of ` ibadah, the sacrifice of horses offered by him was nothing but an act of ` ibadah (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).

Most commentators have explained this verse in this very manner. But, there is another Tafsir of these verses reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ where the description of the event differs. A gist of the Tafsir is that the horses presented before Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) were specially prepared for Jihad. Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was pleased to see them while he also said that the attachment he had to those horses was not because he loved worldly life, rather it was because of his remembrance of Allah in that these were prepared for Jihad, and Jihad was an act of worship at its highest. In the meantime, that lineup of horses went out of his sight. He asked that they be brought back again. Accordingly, when they appeared before him once again, he started stroking and patting their necks and legs with affection.

According to this Tafsir, the word: عَن (an: from or because) in: عَن ذِكْرِ‌ رَ‌بِّي ) ’ an dhikri-rabbi: from or because of the remembrance of my Lord) is the 'an of cause' عَن سَببیّہ ( ‘an sababiyah), and the pronoun in: تَوَارَ‌تْ (tawarat: disappeared) is invariably reverting to horses, and: مَسحُ (mash) does not mean to cut, instead, it means to pass or wipe hands (over the body of the horses) with affection.

Classical commentators like Hafiz Ibn Jarir Tabari, Imam Razi and others have preferred this very Tafsir, because it is free from any possible doubt about property being wasted.

In terms of the words of the noble Qur'an, there is room for both explanations. But, since a marfu' Hadith has appeared in favor of the first Tafsir, a Hadith that is hasan (good) as regards its authority, therefore, it has become weightier and more acceptable.