سورة سبإ

Ali ibn Ibrahim: وَلَقَدْ آتَیْنَا دَاوُودَ مِنَّا فَضْلًا یَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِی مَعَهُ [And certainly We gave Dawud excellence from Us: O mountains! sing praises with him], meaning glorify Allah. وَ الطَّیْرَ وَ أَلَنَّا لَهُ الحَدِیدَ [and the birds; and We made iron pliant for him] — when Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) would move through the wildernesses reciting the Book of Zabur, the mountains, birds and wild beasts would glorify Allah along with him, and Allah made iron soft like wax in his hands so that he could make from it whatever he wished.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hisham ibn Salim narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), in a hadith in which he mentions the story of Dawud (peace be upon him), said: "Dawud (peace be upon him) went out while reciting the Zabur, and whenever he recited the Zabur, no mountain, stone or bird remained but that it answered him back."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) concerning the words of Allah وَ لَقَدْ آتَیْنا داوُدَ مِنَّا فَضْلًا [And certainly We gave Dawud excellence from Us] [said]: "Dawud (peace be upon him) went out alone at night to a mountain for worship. He was in intimate converse with his Lord when [suddenly] a feeling of loneliness came over him." Allah the Exalted said: یا جِبالُ أَوِّبی مَعَهُ وَ الطَّیْر [O mountains! sing praises with him, and the birds], and they (the mountains and birds, together with him) glorified Allah and proclaimed His oneness (tahlil). It occurred to his mind to pelt the mountains and birds with stones, but an angel took hold of his arm and brought him to the shore and struck the sea with his foot. The sea split open and fish appeared. He pushed the fish aside and a rock became visible upon which was a worm. He said: "O Dawud (peace be upon him)! Allah surely hears [the sound of] the breath of this worm which is in this place."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) — an argument from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) with one of the Jews: The Jewish scholar said: "This is Dawud (peace be upon him), for whom Allah made iron pliant so that he fashioned shields from it." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It is so, and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was given something better and greater than that. Allah made hard, solid rock pliant for him and turned it into a cave, and beneath the blessed hands of that Prophet in Bayt al-Maqdis rock became as soft as dough. We witnessed this and touched it beneath his banner." The Jewish scholar said: "This is Dawud (peace be upon him), who wept over his sin such that, out of fear, the mountains moved along with him." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It is so, and to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) something greater than that was granted. When he stood for prayer, from the intensity of his weeping there was heard from his chest and belly a sound like the sound of a copper cauldron full of water set upon a blazing fire, boiling and bubbling. And this was despite the fact that Allah had secured him from His punishment. By this weeping, that Prophet wished to display humility before Allah, and he is the Imam and exemplar of all. That noble Messenger, out of servitude to Allah, stood on the tips of his toes worshipping the Lord of Might for ten years, until his blessed feet became swollen and thickened and his blessed complexion turned yellowish, and he continually performed the night prayer, until he was reproached by Allah the Mighty and Majestic: طه ما أَنْزَلْنا عَلَیْکَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقی [Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Qur'an to you that you should be distressed] (Ta Ha/2), but rather that you should be made happy through it. And he would weep so much that at times he would faint. One day one of the companions said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah! Is it not so that Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?' He said: 'Yes — should I then not be a grateful servant of Allah?!' And just as the mountains moved with Dawud (peace be upon him) and glorified [Allah], with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) something greater than that took place. We were with him on Mount Hira when suddenly the mountain began to tremble. That Prophet said to the mountain: 'Be still, for none stands upon you save a prophet, a wasi, or a truthful martyr!' So the mountain became still, obeying his command. And one day we were passing with him by a mountain when suddenly drops of tears came out from some parts of it." That Prophet said to the mountain: "Why are you weeping?" It said: "O Messenger of Allah! Christ (al-Masih) passed by me, and he was warning people of a Fire whose fuel is people and stones. I fear that I may be among those stones." The Prophet said to it: "Do not fear — that stone is brimstone." So the mountain became still and settled and quiet.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) there were three qualities which no one other than him possessed: he had no shadow [because his light was not overshadowed by the sun]; he did not pass along any road but that whoever passed there two or three days later would know, by his sweet fragrance, that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had passed by; and he did not pass by any stone or tree but that it prostrated to him.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: The people would not leave Makkah until Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) had left. One year I came out of Makkah in his company. He alighted at one of the stopping places and prayed two rak'ahs, and in his sujud he glorified the Lord, and every tree and plant that was around him joined him in tasbih (glorification). I was frightened at hearing the sound of their tasbih. He raised his head and said: 'Sa'id, were you frightened?' I said: 'Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah!' He said: 'This is al-tasbih al-a'zam (the greatest glorification).'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ask for your needs on Tuesday, for it is the day on which Allah made iron pliant for Dawud (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever finds the fulfilment of his needs difficult [and does not attain what he wants] should ask them from Allah on Tuesday; for Tuesday is the very day on which Allah made iron pliant for Dawud (peace be upon him).

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Ja'far says: A man came to my brother Imam Musa al-Kazim (peace be upon him) and said to him: 'May I be your ransom! I want to set out on a journey. Pray for me.' He said: 'When are you leaving?' ... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: 'Shall I not guide you to a good day and an easy day for the journey?! The very day on which Allah made iron pliant for Dawud (peace be upon him).' The man said: 'Yes, may I be your ransom!' He said: 'Set out [for your journey] on Tuesday.'

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Saduq narrates from Imam Rida (peace be upon him) that he said regarding the verse وَ أَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِیدَ [And We made the iron pliant to him]: "What is meant by iron is battle armour. And 'al-sard' means placing one ring after another ring."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): "What an excellent servant you would be, if only you did not eat from the public treasury (bayt al-mal) and worked with your own hands [and busied yourself with some craft and lived from its earnings]." Because of this, Dawud (peace be upon him) wept for forty days, and Allah revealed to the iron: "Be soft for My servant Dawud (peace be upon him)." So Allah the Mighty and Majestic made the iron pliant for Dawud (peace be upon him), and each day he would make a coat of mail and sell it for a thousand dirhams. In the end he made three hundred and sixty coats of mail and sold them for three hundred and sixty thousand dirhams, and he became independent of eating from the public treasury.