Dawud (Arabic: داود, translit.: ʾdāūd, pronounced [daːʔwd], Daud or Dawud), (circa 1043
BC - 937 BC?), known as David in
the Old Testament,
is recognized in Islam as
a prophet,
messenger (Rasul), and
lawgiver of God,
and as a righteous King of the United Kingdom of
Israel, which itself is a holy country in
Islam. David is perhaps most famous in Islam for defeating the Philistine giant
Goliath, when he was a soldier in King Saul's army.
His
genealogy goes back through Judah, the son of Jacob (Ya'qub), to Abraham (Ibrahim).
The figure of David is of extreme importance in Islam because he was one of the
few prophets to receive a named revealed book. It says in the Qur'an that the Zabur, the Biblical Psalms,
were given to David. David's son, Solomon (Sulaiman), took over the task of prophecy after his death and he was
made the subsequent King of Israel.
The Judeo-Christian and Islamic views of David, however, differ in some aspects.
Muslims do not accept the sins of adultery andmurder attributed
to David in the Hebrew Bible,
as they feel that prophets – in their belief the utmost chosen and elect
of God – would never commit such grave crimes. The story
of Bathsheba and Uriah is thus absent in David's Qur'anic narrative and plays
no role in Islamic tradition.
Historical narrative in Islam
Saul sets forth with his army
King
Saul set forth with his armies to
fight the Philistines.
There were, however, many doubtful unbelievers in his army. Thus, Godmade the wise king perform a test to see which of his
warriors were loyal and which were not.[3] They stopped by a flowing stream, and Saul, performing
a test similar to that of Gideon's before him,[4] warned
his people that whoever drank of the stream's water would not go forward with
the army. Even in the small band of warriors that remained faithful to God,
there were some that were appalled by the sheer size of the opposing Philistine army, and were startled when they saw the size and
strength of their commander, the giant Goliath. But there were a very small band of men that kept their
belief in God and were determined to fight against all odds. Among these believing
men was David.[5]
David slays Goliath
According
to Muslim tradition, Goliath challenged any soldier from Saul's
army to single combat, as was the custom of battle in those days.[6] The men were frightened, and no one had enough courage
to volunteer. The king offered the hand of his daughter in marriage to the man
who would fight Goliath, but even this offer did not change the silence among
his soldiers.[6] Then, to everyone's surprise, a youth stepped forward.
A roar of laughter echoed from the enemy's side, and even Sauls shook their
heads. The young man was David, from the city of Bethlehem.[6] David at this point was a mere youth.[5] He did not have much of a standing even in the
Israelite camp. Although he was not as experienced in warfare as some of his
contemporaries, his strong faith in God exalted him above any companion or
enemy, and his mastery of the slingshot[5] led
to the defeat of Goliath. David used his slingshot and used it to aim the
pebble at the mocking Goliath.[6] The pebble shot from the whirling sling with the speed
of an arrow and hit Goliath's head with great force. Blood gushed out, and
Goliath fell to the ground, lifeless, before he even had a chance to draw his
sword. When the rest of his men saw their mighty hero slain they ran for their
lives.[6] After David killed Goliath (Ǧālūt in the Qur'an), he became a
hero overnight, and the Israelites loved him. Before this victory, David was an
insignificant figure in the community, known only for his kind demeanour. Now,
however, the Children of Israel wanted him as the successor to King Saul(Tālūt). When David took the position, however, he became not only
the king of Israel but he was also given the gift of prophethood.
The Qur'an states:
By
the will of God they defeated them, and David killed Goliath, and God gave him
kingship and wisdom, and taught him whatsoever He pleased. If God did not make
men deter one another this earth would indeed be depraved. But gracious is God
to the people of the world.
Armor-making by David
Islamic
belief holds that God taught David the making of armour. the Qur'an says the 'iron was made soft for him', through which
David could make instruments for protection against enemies.[8] However, the rule in this story is to use weapons of
defense only in true war (e.g., if you are fighting for freedom of worship) and
not to simply use weapons for degenerate violence.[8] Later accounts in Muslim literature have references to
David's armor-making abilities. God says in the Qur'an:
We
favoured David with excellence, (and commanded): "O mountains and birds,
glorify the greatness of God with him." And We made iron pliable for him.
"Make long coats of mail," (We said), "and fix their links, and do the right. I surely see whatsoever you do."
"Make long coats of mail," (We said), "and fix their links, and do the right. I surely see whatsoever you do."
Remembrance of God
David
was a man of superb strength, slaying Goliath in his raw youth. But God
afterwards had bestowed upon him various gifts, including those of kingship and prophethood. Thus, the wise king would frequently
praise God, in unison with the nature around him. Many scholars believe he was
given the gifts of music as well, and would sing his prayers too, as he was
blessed with great eloquence. The Qur'an mentions David's praise of God:
Bear
with patience what they say, and remember Our votary David, man of strength. He
surely turned to Us in penitence.
We subjugated the chiefs (of tribes) to struggle day and night with him,
And the levied birds. They were all obedient to him.
We subjugated the chiefs (of tribes) to struggle day and night with him,
And the levied birds. They were all obedient to him.
Disputants of the chamber
David
would retire to his prayer chamber at various times in the day, to express his
devotion to God. One day, however, his privacy was invaded by two men, who had
obtained access into his palace by climbing over a wall. David was
frightened, by this supposed apparition.
But the two men soon told the king that they were brothers who had come to ask
him to resolve an argument between them. One of the brothers was more grieved
than the other. He told David that his brother had ninety-nine ewes while he only had one. He went onto describe his
brother's greed and told David that his brother wanted his ewe as well. The circumstances seemed mysterious to David,
as he was puzzled at why the unjust brother would risk climbing into his palace
and then not take any part in the argument. Nonetheless, he took the two men
literally and began preaching about the falsehood and fraud of men, who should
be content with what they have, but who always envy others. Although David, in
his mind, thought he was doing the right thing, he soon realized that this
whole vision was a test to see his wisdom and he fell down in prostration,
praising God.
The
two men were angels and send by God to test David. David did not hear both
sides to the story, and this was his mistake.
The Book of David
The Zabur was the Holy Book attributed to David by God, just
as Musa (Moses) got the Tawrat (Torah), Isa (Jesus)
got the Injil (Gospel) and Muhammad received the Qur'an. In the current Hebrew
Bible scriptures, the Zabur is
known as the Psalms.
However, like other scriptures of the past, the Psalms are believed to have
been corrupted over time, with some of the original message gone. Nonetheless,
Muslims are told to treat the present Psalms with immense respect because, in
their original form, they too were an inspired Book
of God. The Qur'an states:
Your
Lord knows whoever is in the heavens and the earth. We exalted some of the
prophets over the others; and to David We gave the Book of Psalms.
The
term Zabur is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew Zimra, meaning "song/music." It, along
with Zamir ("song") and Mizmor ("Psalm"),
is a derivative of Zamar, meaning "sing", "sing
praise", "make music". Thus, David is also usually attributed
the gifts of music and song.
Importance of David in Islam
David
is one of the few Islamic
prophets who received kingship as well.
While other prophets preached during the reign of kings, David, in his time,
was the king. Thus, he received an extremely large task, of making sure that
the people of Israel were
not only held in check spiritually but that the country itself remained strong
as well. His place as both leader and prophet is revered by all Muslims as one
of extremely high rank. The figure of David, together with that of his
prophetic son Sulaiman (Solomon),
are iconic of people who ruled justly over their land.
God
frequently mentions David's high rank as a prophet and messenger in the Qur'an.
He is often mentioned alongside other prophets, to show emphasize how great he
was. For example, God says:
And
We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided them, as We had guided Noah before them,
and of his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and
Aaron. Thus We reward those who are upright and do good.
When
the caliph Umar visited Jerusalem, the Patriarch Sophronius accompanied him on the Temple
Mount, while he searched for the Mihrab
Dawud (David's prayer-niche) to perform a prayer. Later
commentators identified this site with the Tower
of David. In a hadith, the prayer and fasting of David is mentioned to be dear to
God.
Narrated
Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As: Allah's Apostle told me, "The most beloved
prayer to Allah is that of David and the most beloved fasts to Allah are those
of David. He used to sleep for half of the night and then pray for one third of
the night and again sleep for its sixth part and used to fast on alternate
days."
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