سورة الأنبياء

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Dawud (peace be upon him), besides Sulayman (peace be upon him), had nineteen sons, and his lifespan was one hundred years, and the duration of his rule extended to forty years.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the lifespan of Adam (peace be upon him) came to an end, the Angel of Death descended upon him to take his soul. Adam (peace be upon him) said to him: "O Angel of Death! Thirty years of my life still remain." The Angel of Death said to him: "Did you not assign it to your son Dawud (peace be upon him) the Prophet?! And when the names of the prophets from among your descendants were presented to you and their lifespans were shown to you, you reduced that [thirty years] from your own lifespan, and at that time you were in the land of Dakhna." Adam (peace be upon him) said: "O Angel of Death! I do not remember this." The Angel of Death said to him: "O Adam (peace be upon him), do not be ignorant! Did you not ask Allah to record it for Dawud (peace be upon him) in the 'Zabur', and He reduced it from your lifespan and erased it from the Book of 'Dhikr'?"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse وَ داود وَ سُلَیْمانَ إِذْ یَحْکُمانِ فِی الْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِیهِ غَنَمُ الْقَوْمِ [And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement concerning the field when the people's sheep pastured therein by night]. He said: 'The word نَفَشَتْ refers only to the grazing of livestock at night. The farmer must guard [his field] during the day, and the livestock owner is not obliged to watch his animals during the day; rather, in the day he pastures them and feeds them, and whatever damage they cause during the day is not upon him (the livestock owner). Likewise, the livestock owner must prevent his animals at night from entering the fields of people. Any damage they cause at night is upon him, and this is nafsh — that is, the damage caused by sheep grazing at night. Dawud (peace be upon him) ruled that the sheep should belong to the person whose field had been ruined, but Sulayman's (peace be upon him) judgement was that the owner of the sheep should give the milk and wool (al-risl and al-thalla) of that year to the owner of the land.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'What is meant by وَ دَاوُودَ وَ سُلَیْمَانَ إِذْ یَحْکُمَانِ فِی الحَرْثِ [And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement concerning the field]? And was there a [particular] case being raised when they gave judgement about that field?' He said: 'This is a ruling which Allah revealed to all the prophets (peace be upon them) before Dawud (peace be upon him), until it was his turn, and it is this: any sheep that enter a farmer's field at night, the sheep must be given to the owner of the land; and nafsh refers only to grazing at night. The farmer must guard his land during the day, and the owner of the sheep must guard his sheep at night. So Dawud (peace be upon him) ruled according to the ruling of the prophets (peace be upon them) before him. Then Allah revealed to Sulayman (peace be upon him): any sheep that enter a farmer's field at night, only what is in the bellies of the sheep is allotted to the owner of the field. And after Sulayman (peace be upon him) the sunnah became such, and this is the meaning of the verse وَ کُلًّا آتَیْنَا حُکْمًا وَ عِلْمًا [And to each We gave judgement and knowledge]; and so each of these two prophets (peace be upon them) judged according to the ruling of Allah.'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ دَاوُودَ وَ سُلَیْمَانَ إِذْ یَحْکُمَانِ فِی الحَرْثِ [And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement concerning the field]; they did not issue a judgement, they were only holding a discussion, so We made Sulayman understand [the true ruling of] it.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ahmad ibn Umar al-Halabi said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about this verse: وَ داود وَ سُلَیْمانَ إِذْ یَحْکُمانِ فِی الْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فیهِ غَنَمُ الْقَوْمِ وَ کُنَّا لِحُکْمِهِمْ شاهِدینَ [And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement concerning the field when the people's sheep pastured therein by night, and We were bearers of witness to their judgement]. He said: "The opinion of Dawud (peace be upon him) [was] that the sheep should be given to the owner of the field in return for the crop that had been ruined. And what Allah says We taught to Sulayman (peace be upon him) was this — that the sheep should remain the property of their owner, but their benefit from milk and wool should be given to the owner of the field until the land grows anew and the field returns to its former state."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ... وَ دَاوُودَ وَ سُلَیْمَانَ إِذْ یَحْکُمَانِ فِی الحَرْثِ [And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement concerning the field]; among the Bani Israil there was a man who had a vineyard, and the sheep of another person from the Bani Israil entered it at night and chewed and destroyed all the vines. The owner of the vineyard came to Dawud (peace be upon him) and complained before him against the owner of the sheep. Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "Go to Sulayman (peace be upon him) so that he may judge between you." The two went to Sulayman (peace be upon him) and he said to them: "If the sheep have eaten the trunk and the branches, the owner of the sheep must give the sheep and what is in their bellies to the owner of the vineyard, and if they have eaten only the branches and have not touched the trunk, the owner of the sheep must give the offspring of his sheep to the owner of the vineyard." Such was the judgement of Dawud (peace be upon him). By this act he wanted to make the Bani Israil understand that after him, Sulayman (peace be upon him) would be his successor, and the judgement of the two was not contrary to one another, for had it been so, Allah would have said: وَ کُنَّا لِحُکْمِهِمَا شَاهِدِین [and We were bearers of witness to the judgement of the two of them].

Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): It was a vineyard whose clusters had appeared, and Dawud (peace be upon him) ruled concerning it that the sheep should belong to the owner of the vineyard. Then Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "O Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)! Change this ruling." Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "Then what is the ruling?" He replied: "The vineyard must be handed over to the owner of the sheep so that he restores it to its former state, and the sheep must be given to the owner of the vineyard so that he may benefit from them until the vineyard returns to its original condition. After this period, each of the two must return the property of the other party."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): In the dispute in which they had come to Dawud and Sulayman (peace be upon them) for judgement, and one person's livestock had entered the other party's crop, Sulayman (peace be upon him) ruled that the owner of the livestock must guard it at night and the owner of the crop must guard it during the day.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muawiya ibn Ammar said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "The Imamate is a covenant and pledge from Allah the Mighty and Majestic, established for named men. The Imam has no right to divert it from the one who is to come after him. Indeed, Allah the Blessed and Exalted revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him) to choose a successor (wasi) from his family, for it has been decreed in My knowledge that I do not send any prophet without there being for him a successor from his family." Dawud (peace be upon him) had many children, and among them was a young lad whose mother was with Dawud (peace be upon him) and whom Dawud (peace be upon him) loved. When this revelation reached Dawud (peace be upon him), he went to that woman and said to her: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic has revealed to me and commanded me to choose a successor from my own family." His wife said to him: "It would be good if it were my son." Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "That is what I too desire." But it had been decreed in Allah's prior and definite knowledge that his successor would be Sulayman (peace be upon him). Allah the Blessed and Exalted revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): Do not hasten in this matter until My command reaches you. It was not long before two men came to Dawud (peace be upon him) and disputed about sheep and a vineyard [for the sheep of one had eaten the vineyard of the other]. Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): Gather your sons; whoever renders the correct judgement in this case is your successor after you. Dawud (peace be upon him) gathered his sons, and when the two disputants told their story, Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "O owner of the vineyard! When did this man's sheep enter your vineyard?" He said: "At night." Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "O owner of the sheep! I rule that the lambs and wool of your sheep this year belong to the owner of the vineyard." Dawud (peace be upon him) said to him: "Why did you not rule that he give the sheep themselves, given that the scholars of the Children of Israel have appraised it and the value of the vineyard is equal to the value of the sheep?" Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "The vines have not been uprooted from their roots; only their fruit has been eaten, and next year they will bear fruit again." Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): "The judgement in this case is what Sulayman (peace be upon him) has issued. O Dawud (peace be upon him), you wanted one thing and We wanted another (you wanted that son of yours for succession, and We wanted Sulayman (peace be upon him))." Dawud (peace be upon him) went to his wife and said: "We wanted one thing and Allah the Mighty and Majestic wanted another, and nothing comes to pass except what Allah wills. We are content with the command of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and submit to it." And such is the matter of the successors and Imams (peace be upon them): they too have no right to transgress the command of Allah and give the Imamate from its rightful owner to another.