Draft:David's Judgment Between Two Brothers
David's Judgment Between Two Brothers is a narrative included among the Qur'anic Stories. In this account, a man complains to Prophet David (a) that his brother, who possesses ninety-nine ewes, seeks to claim his solitary ewe[1] (female sheep[2]) as well.[3] The plaintiff implores David (a) to render judgment without wrongdoing.[4] Upon hearing the plaintiff's statement, David (a) issues a verdict against the defendant[5]—without soliciting a defense or requiring witnesses[6]—characterizing the latter's actions as unjust.[7] This narrative is recorded in Sura Sad.[8]
Exegetes note that this petition arose while David (a) was engaged in worship,[9] when certain individuals suddenly[10] intruded upon him.[11] Their abrupt entrance, bypassing the guards,[12] caused David (a) alarm[13] and led him to issue a hasty judgment without a comprehensive investigation.[14] Citing evidence from the verse, some scholars posit that the disputants were two groups rather than two individuals.[15] Opinions differ regarding the identity of the visitors; Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah identifies them as angels,[16] whereas Mughniyya[17] regards them as human. Similarly, Shaykh al-Tusi argues that the apparent meaning of the verse indicates they were humans.[18]
David's (a) error is interpreted as a lapse in judicial etiquette;[19] in judgment, the testimony of both parties must be weighed, yet he condemned the respondent without hearing his plea.[20] Fakhr al-Razi suggests that David's (a) verdict may have been conditional on the truthfulness of the plaintiff and the actual injustice of the defendant.[21] Other commentators characterize David's (a) action as leaving the better (tark al-awla) rather than a sin[22], given that Prophets (a) are infallible and immune to committing sins.[23] Consequently, David (a) sought forgiveness from God,[24] and God granted him His pardon.[25]
Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah interprets this incident as an allegory intended to prepare David (a) for future adjudications. In this view, no sin was committed, and his repentance was merely an expression of humility before God.[26]
This judgment is recognized as a trial for David (a),[27] who had previously been endowed with hikma and "decisive speech" (fasl al-khitab)[28]—discourse that distinguishes truth from falsehood[29]—prior to this event.[30] It is narrated from Imam al-Rida (a) that David (a) presumed himself to be the most knowledgeable being, prompting God to test him through this judgment.[31] Additionally, Imam al-Sadiq (a) is reported to have stated that Imam al-Mahdi (a), following his reappearance, will judge among the people in the manner of David (a).[32]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 17, p. 192.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i Dirakhshān, 1404 AH, vol. 14, p. 109.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i Dirakhshān, 1404 AH, vol. 14, p. 109.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 17, p. 192; Mudarrisī, Min Hudā l-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 11, p. 339.
- ↑ Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 466.
- ↑ Mudarrisī, Min Hudā l-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 11, p. 340.
- ↑ Qur'an 38:24.
- ↑ Qur'an 38:21-25.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 6, p. 372.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 19, p. 246.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 466.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 19, p. 245.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 19, p. 246.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 466.
- ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 8, p. 551; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 11, p. 231.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 19, p. 249.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 6, p. 373.
- ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 8, p. 552.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 19, p. 248.
- ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 8, p. 553.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, 1420 AH, vol. 26, p. 384.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 11, p. 235.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 17, p. 194.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 19, p. 248.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 19, p. 249.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 19, p. 249.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 19, p. 244.
- ↑ Qur'an 38:20.
- ↑ Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 466.
- ↑ Qirā'atī, Tafsīr-i Nūr, 1383 Sh, vol. 10, p. 93.
- ↑ Qumī, Tafsīr al-Qumī, 1404 AH, vol. 2, p. 233.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1429 AH, vol. 2, p. 632.
References
- Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān. Beirut: Dār al-Malāk li-l-Ṭibā'a wa al-Nashr, 1419 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. 'Umar. Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā' al-Turāth al-'Arabī, 1420 AH.
- Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Sayyid Muḥammad. Tabyīn al-Qur'ān. Beirut: Dār al-'Ulūm, 1423 AH.
- Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Anwār-i Dirakhshān. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Bihbūdī. Tehran: Kitābfurūshī-yi Luṭfī, 1404 AH.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Ya'qūb. al-Kāfī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1429 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i Nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī. Min Hudā l-Qur'ān. Tehran: Dār Muḥibbī al-Ḥusayn, 1419 AH.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. al-Kāshif. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1424 AH.
- Qirā'atī, Muḥsin. Tafsīr-i Nūr. Tehran: Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Dars-hā-yī az Qur'ān, 1383 Sh.
- Qumī, 'Alī b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr al-Qumī. Edited by Sayyid Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazā'irī. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1404 AH.
- Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā' al-Turāth al-'Arabī, n.d.
- Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭayyib, Sayyid 'Abd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Islām, 1378 Sh.