Lives of the Prophets - Life
of Prophet Dawud*
The
best food*
According
to Ibn Kathir: Prophet Dawud* used to eat from the earnings of his manual work.
He used to make defensive armors as a device to protect people while fighting
the enemies. Allah had made the iron soft for him to the extent that he used to
mould it with his bare hands. He was the first to make chain-mail (armours). The
Prophet said in a famous hadith that the best food anybody can eat is that
which they have earned in a halal way with their own hands / effort. And then
he went on to say that Prophet Dawud* would earn his own living for his family
and himself through selling armour, and would not rely upon being king or
Prophet.
Allah
says: "We bestowed Grace aforetime on Dawud from Ourselves: 'O ye
Mountains! sing ye the Praises of Allah with him, and ye birds (also)!' And we
made the iron soft for him - (commanding), 'Make thou coasts of mail, balancing
well the rings of chain armour, and work ye righteousness; for be sure I see
(clearly) all that ye do." (Saba': 10-11)
"It
was Our Power that made the hills and birds celebrate our praises, with Dawud:
it was We who did (all these things). It was We who taught him the making of
coasts of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will
ye then be grateful?" (AI Anbiyaa': 79-80)
"And
remember Our servant Dawud, the man of strength: for he ever turned (to Allah).
It was We that made the hills declare in unison with him, Our praises, at
eventide and at break of day, and the birds gathered (in assemblies): all with
him did tum (to Allah). We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him wisdom and
sound judgement in speech and decision. "(Saad: 17-20)
"...and
gave him wisdom and sound judgement in speech and decision."
'Wisdom'
here could also mean prophethood as well as reason, understanding and
intelligence. And 'sound judgement in speech and decision' could mean the
understanding of legal cases and giving sound and true judgement for his people
as King / Prophet / Messenger. These lessons were hard learned and Allah tested
Dawud* so that he would become this great leader.
Business Partners
Once
Dawud*, peace be upon him was in his private chamber which was the best and
holiest place in his house. He had ordered that none was to invade his privacy
that day. He suddenly found two persons who had climbed over the wall of the
private chamber asking him to judge between them. Allah relates this story
saying: "Has the Story of the Disputants reached thee? Behold, they
climbed over the wall of the private chamber; when they entered to Dawud* and
he was terrified of them, they said: 'Fear not: we are two disputants, one of
whom has wronged the other: decide now between us with truth, and treat us not
with injustice, but guide us to the even Path. This man is my brother: he has
nine and ninety ewes, and I have (but) one: yet he says: 'Commit her to my care
" and he is moreover harsh to me in speech.' (Dawud*) said: 'He has
undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his flock
of ewes: truly many are the Partners (in business) who wrong each other: not so
do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?'
And Dawud* gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord,
fell down, bowing (in prostration) and turned (to Allah in repentance). So We forgave
him this (lapse): he enjoyed, indeed, a Near Approach to Us, and a beautiful
Place of (final) return." (Saad: 21-25)
We
discussed this example during our courtroom session. There are many stories
related to this but none of them are authentic from Islam so we will leave it
as already described. However, the interesting point is what Prophet Dawud* was
making just before he realised his mistake in rushing to judgement. He was talking
about how when people enter into a business partnership most of the people are
focused on making money for themselves and even ripping off their fellow
business partners the only exception, then and now, our those business partners
who are sincere to Islam and fear Allah. Hence, there is a lesson for us in
choosing the right partners when embarking upon business ventures, or any
enterprise that involves money.
Infallibility of Prophets
This
episode of the two people arguing was used by Allah to test Dawud* so that he
would learn the lessons from his mistake. Hence, whenever we make mistakes we
should try and learn from that too. We are not sure when in the life of Dawud*
this happened – before or after prophethood. However, an important aspect of
our belief as Muslims is that we have a firm conviction that Prophets cannot
sin nor make mistakes with regards to conveying the message of Allah. It would
not make sense for Allah to choose people who were flawed and prone to error as
an example for other human beings to follow. Therefore, as Muslims we reject
silly stories that are found in the Bible that disrespect our noble Prophets by
claiming that they did major sins or planned major sins.
Likewise,
as Muslims we reject the notion that Prophets (and our Prophet*) could do sin,
be led astray by shaytaan or have witchcraft done upon them. These things go
against our belief in the infallibility of Prophets and we have discussed these
topics in previous study circles.
Follow Islam not whims
Hence
Dawud* learned from his mistake and became better. This is one of the Ayahs of
Sujood in the Qur’an. Also, Allah says in the Qur’an: "O Dawud! We did
indeed make thee a vicegerent (Khalifah) on earth: so judge thou between men in
truth (and justice): nor follow thou the lust (of thy heart), for it will
mislead thee from the Path of Allah: for those who wander astray from the Path
of Allah, is a Penalty Grievous, for that they forget the Day of Account." (Saad: 26)
Although this speech of Allah
has been directed to Dawud*, yet it is also directed to all rulers and
commanders. They are all commanded to abide by justice and follow the truth
revealed by Allah, not their whims and desires. Then Allah warns them that if
they deviated from Allah's path, they would suffer a grievous chastisement on
the Day of Judgement.
Another important learning
point is that it is important to follow Islam completely and to surrender
ourselves to Islam and the rules that Allah has made for us. Unfortunately,
there are many Muslims (probably the majority) that follow their whims and
desires with regards to the laws of Islam – and that they choose what they want
to do and then look for ways that Islam could possibly justify their actions.
So they have already predetermined they would like to do and treat Islam like a
supermarket where they can pick and choose things that they like and avoid
making the tough choices.
We discussed this topic at
length previously when we have done the basics of Fiqh where is important to
sincerely ask the question of what somebody should do in a new situation and be
willing to accept whatever answer is given to us from Islam (usually by a
scholar). We should have the philosophy of “we hear and we obey” but all too
often people will go from person to person asking the same question until they
get the answer they want. This is not following Islam but this is following
your whims and desires which Allah has forbidden the verse above.
Guest Speaker: Painting of mosaic tiles for Mihrab at QE Hospital
A Mihrab is a niche usually built within the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of prayer (Qibla) so that worshippers know which way to face a in prayer. As there is not a wall facing the qibla in the prayer room of the QE's Faith and Community Centre, an innovative freestanding Mihrab is currently being created.
Incorporated within the design will be two Mashrabiya screens. This is a traditional Eastern style screening using latticework allows light to filter through. The new installation has been designed and created with local architects and artists will be unveiled in May 2015.
Muslim UHB staff and members of the local community are invited to participate in the prayerful creation of this spiritual artwork by painting a small mosaic / ceramic tile - which will be then be incorporated into the Mihrab. If you would like to be part of this artistic creation you are invited to attend a special session for the painting of one tile each during this Sundays' Study Circle.
This was is an excellent opportunity for children and families to feel part of a wonderful initiative and help create a lasting peace of artwork. In addition to inspiring young minds there may be some long-term benefit to our souls!
Some photos:
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