A glimpse from the lives of the Prophets of Allah (Peace and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

#SundayGathering with Shaykh Omar Khan A glimpse from the lives of the Prophets of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon Them all) 03/03/19 – Sayyiduna Dawood & Sulaimaan (Peace be upon Them) www.SundayGathering.co.uk

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Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

• Sayyiduna

Dawood (peace be upon him) remained on the Earth for one hundred years.

• Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) was

born five hundred and ninety nine years after Sayyiduna Musa. There are other narrations in relation to this as well.

• Sayyiduna Dawood’s son is Sayyiduna Sulaimaan

(peace be upon them both). Sayyiduna Sulaiman remained on the Earth for fifty nine years.

The Blessings of Allah upon Sayyiduna Dawood

• ‘And remember Our bondman Dawood, the
• ne blessed with favours; he is most inclined.’

Surah Saad 38:17

• Amongst the interpretations of the above

Verse is that Sayyiduna Dawood was blessed with bounties and power from Allah the

• Almighty. The power granted to Sayyiduna

Dawood was the power to carry out righteous deeds.

The Worship of Sayyiduna Dawood

• Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

would fast every second day.

• Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

would stand in the Court of the Almighty in voluntary worship during the first half of the

• night. He would sleep during a portion of the

second half and spend a portion of that in worship as well.

Allah granted Prophethood to Sayyiduna Dawood and his son, Sayyiduna Sulaimaan (peace be upon them)

• ‘And We indeed bestowed great knowledge to

Dawood and Sulaiman; and they both said, “All praise is to Allah, Who bestowed us superiority

• ver

many

• f

His believing bondmen.” Surah An Naml 27:15

The Kingdom of Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

• “O Dawood! We have indeed appointed you as a Viceroy in the Earth, therefore judge between

mankind with the truth, and do not follow desire, for it will lead you astray from Allah’s path; indeed for those who stray away from Allah’s path is a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.” Surah Saad 38:26

• Sayyiduna Dawood was granted Prophethood and Kingdom.
• The prohibition from following desires was in essence directed at the nation of Sayyiduna Dawood

(peace be upon him) as the address to the Innocent Prophet of Allah, Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) made it clear to the nation that they were most certainly to avoid following desires. As Saawi – footnote on Al Jalalain

• It is mentioned in At Tafseer Al Kabeer that a leader from Banu Marwaan stated in front of

Sayyiduna Omar Ibn Abdil Azeez (Allah shower mercy upon him) that the leaders will not be taken to account on the Day of Judgement. Sayyiduna Omar Ibn Abdil Azeez (Allah shower mercy on him) recited the above Verse and made clear how Allah the Almighty made the importance of avoiding the following of desires by addressing the Prophet of Allah, Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) so that no leader felt free from being taken into account for his actions when he sees this address to Allah’s Beloved Prophet, Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

• Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) was a just leader through whom all leaders can learn that

in order to establish justice one should not follow desires but rather one should uphold the truth.

Allah made the mountains and birds subjected in the court of Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

• ‘Indeed We subjected the hills to say the

praise with him, at night and at morn. And birds gathered together, they were all

• bedient to him.’ Surah Saad 38:18-19

The Power of Sayyiduna Dawood’s Kingdom and Speech

• ‘And We strengthened his kingdom and gave

him wisdom and just speech.’ Surah Saad 38:20

Metal would become soft in the blessed hands

• f Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)
• ‘And indeed We gave Dawood the utmost

excellence from Us; “O the hills and birds, repent towards Allah along with him,” and We made iron soft for him. “Make large coats of armour and keep proper measure while making; and all of you perform good deeds; I am indeed seeing your deeds.” Surah Saba 34:10-11

The Two Disputants

• ‘And did the news of the two disputants reach you? When they scaled over the

wall into Dawood’s place of worship.’ Surah Saad 38:21

• ‘When they entered upon Dawood, so he feared them – they said, “Do not fear!

We are two disputants, one of whom has wronged the other, therefore judge fairly between us and do not judge unjustly – and show us the right way.” Surah Saad 38:22

• “This is my brother; he has ninety nine ewes and I have one ewe; and he now says,

“Give that one also to me” – and he is very demanding in speech.” Surah Saad 38:23

• ‘Dawood said, “He is indeed being unjust to you in that he demands to add your

ewe to his ewes; and indeed most partners wrong one another, except those who believe and do good deeds – and they are very few!”

• Sayyiduna Dawood is mentioned in the rest of the above Verse to have realised

that this matter was a test from Allah the Almighty and he sought forgiveness falling into prostration.

• ‘We therefore forgave him this; and indeed for him in Our presence are, surely,

proximity and an excellent abode.’ Surah Saad 38:25

The Tafseer of two disputants arriving

• Al Imam Fakhruddin Ar Raazi (Allah shower mercy on him) has negated the false and fabricated

statements that attribute a major sin to Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) as well as the statement that attributes a minor sin towards Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him).

• Allah the Almighty states, ‘Indeed those who wish that slander should spread among the Muslims –

for them is a painful punishment in this world and in the hereafter, and Allah knows, and you do not know.’ Surah An Noor 24:19

• A group of enemies wished to assassinate Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him). Sayyiduna

Dawood (peace be upon him) had a specific day on which he would be engrossed in the worship of Allah the Almighty by himself. They climbed over his place of worship to attack him whilst he was busy in acts of worship. When they entered they found a group of people around Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him). These attackers therefore made out that they had attended the court of Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) to resolve a dispute.

• A reason for Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) seeking forgiveness in the Court of Allah the

Almighty has been mentioned to have been that Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) initially intended to punish these attackers but then he inclined towards pardoning and overlooking their

• error. He therefore sought forgiveness for originally intending to punish them as that was not the

most virtuous way of dealing with them.

• Another reason mentioned by scholars was that Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) felt that

this was a test from Allah the Almighty and that he should not have intended to punish them without physical evidence apart from his awareness of what they were concealing in their hearts.

• Another interpration of Sayyiduna Dawood’s seeking forgiveness is that he was seeking forgiveness

for these men from his nation.

The Noble Son of Sayyiduna Dawood – Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him)

• ‘And Sulaiman became Dawood’s heir, and he said, “O

people, we have indeed been taught the language of birds, and have been given from all things; this surely is a manifest favour.” Surah An Naml 27:16

• Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) was blessed

with nineteen sons. Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was the youngest son

• The meaning of heir is that Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace

be upon him) was blessed with Prophethood.

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was granted

the ability to understand the language of birds.

The wind was subject to the command of Sayyiduna Sulaiman

• ‘And We gave the wind in Sulaiman’s control

its morning journey equal to a month’s course and the evening journey equal to a month’s course; and We sprung a stream of molten copper for him; and from the Jinns, who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and those among them who turned away from Our Command – We shall make them taste the punishment of the blazing fire.’ Surah Saba 34:12

The armies of Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him)

• ‘And assembled together for Sulaiman were

his armies of Jinns and men, and of birds so they had to be restricted.’ Surah An Naml 27:17

Be careful of fabricated stories!

• Al ‘Allamah Al Aaloosi Al Baghdadi (Allah shower mercy on him)

stated in Ruh ul Ma’ani (summary of his words follows); The majority of narrations in this regard are not worthy of being given any attention. Therefore it is incumbent to believe in the facts mentioned within the Holy Qur’an and authentic narrations. So be careful of referring to narrations within the works of historians and story tellers that have no authenticity. Their statements consist of disgraceful exaggeration. They open up the doors to people mocking the Deen (religion). It would not be surprising if the majority of these fabricated stories were fabricated by enemies of Islam in order to cause hatred and animosity towards faith. Ruh ul Ma’ani Volume Volume 10 Page 175

Sayyiduna Sulaiman smiled upon hearing an ant

• ‘Until when they came to the valley of the ants, a she ant exclaimed, “O

ants, enter your houses – may not Sulaiman and his armies crush you, unknowingly.” He therefore smiled beamingly at her speech...” Surah An Naml 27:18-19

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman and his armies would usually travel by air but on this
• ccasion they travelled on the ground. Some of the soldiers were on foot

whilst others were riding.

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman heard the voice of an ant from a distance of three
• miles. Sayyiduna Sulaiman halted his army from proceeding until the ants

entered into their dwellings.

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) smiled because of the caution

exercised by the she ant. Another reason for his smile was the happiness brought by the ability granted to him by Allah the Almighty to hear an ant from such a large distance. Ruh ul Ma’ani, Jalalain and Madaarik ut Tanzeel

Hudhud and the situation of Bilqees’ Kingdom

• ‘And he surveyed the birds then said, “What is the matter with me that I do not

see Hudhud (hoopoe) or is he really absent? I will indeed punish him severely or slay him, or he must bring to me some clear evidence.” So Hudhud did not stay absent for long, and presenting himself submitted, “I have witnessed a matter that your majesty has not seen, and I have brought definite information to you from the city of Saba. I have seen a woman who rules over them, and she has been given from all things, and she has a mighty throne. I found her and her nation prostrating before the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds seem good to them thereby preventing them from the Straight Path – so they do not attain guidance.” Surah An Naml 27:20-24

• Al Imam Al Qurtubi (Allah shower mercy on him) derived from the above Verses

that it is necessary for a ruler to observe and care for the situation of his followers.

• Allah the Almighty concealed the throne of Bilqees from Sayyiduna Sulaiman

(peace be upon him) out of Divine Wisdom just as the location of Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him) was hidden from Sayyiduna Ya’qub (peace be upon him). Jalalain

• The city of Saba was in Yemen – There was a distance of a three day journey

between it and Sana’a. Al Jami’ li Ahkaam il Quran (by Al Qurtubi), Mu’jam ul Buldaan

Sayyiduna Sulaiman’s response to Hudhud

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman responded to Hudhud by

saying,

• “We shall now see whether you spoke the

truth or whether you are among the liars. Go with this letter of mine and drop it upon them – then move aside from them and see what they answer in return.” Surah An Naml 27:27- 28

The reaction of Bilqees when she received the letter

• ‘The woman said, “O chieftains, indeed a

noble letter has been dropped upon me. Indeed it is from Sulaiman, and it is (begins) with ‘Allah – in the name of – the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. That ‘Do not wish eminence above me, and present yourselves humbly to me, with submission.’ Surah An Naml 27: 29-31

Bilqees sought the advice of the chiefs

• ‘She said, “O chieftains, advise me in this

matter of mine; I do not give a final decision until you are present with me.” They said, “We possess great strength and are great warriors, and the decision is yours, therefore consider what you will command.” Surah An Naml 27:32-33

Bilqees’ Decision

• ‘She said, “Indeed the kings, when they enter a township,

destroy it and disgrace its honourable people, and this is what they do. And I shall send a present to them, then see what reply the always bring.” Surah An Naml 27:34-35

• She thought best to reconcile instead of waging war as

there was a possibility of being defeated.

• In order to test Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him),

Bilqees sent gifts. She thought if Sayyiduna Sulaiman was just a King then they would manage to convince him through the gifts. If he was truly the Prophet of Allah, he would not accept the gifts and therefore it would be incumbent upon them to believe in him if Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) rejected the gifts. Ruh ul Ma’ani

Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) rejected the gift

• ‘So when the envoy came to Sulaiman, he

said, “Are you helping me with wealth? What Allah has bestowed upon me is better than what He has given you; rather it is you who are delighted at your gift. Go back to them so we shall indeed come upon them with an army they cannot fight, and degrading them shall certainly drive them out from that city, so they will be humiliated.” Surah An Naml 27:36-37

Calling for the throne to be brought into his blessed court

• ‘Sulaiman said, “O court members, which one of you can bring me

her throne before they come humbled in my presence?” Surah An Naml 27:38

• There are a few reasons mentioned by the Scholars of Tafseer

(exegesis) in relation to the wisdom behind asking for the throne to be brought in front of Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him).

• One of these is that Sayyiduna Sulaiman did this so that Bilqees

would realise the Power of Allah the Almighty that her well protected throne had been removed from its secure place and taken into another land within such a short space of time.

• Also she would recognise that Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon

him) was indeed a Prophet of Allah.

• Bilqees would realise how weak her kingdom and rule was in reality

through the relocation of her throne in this manner.

The Throne was brought into the Court

• f Sayyiduna Sulaiman by a scholar
• ‘An extremely evil Jinn said, “I will bring it in your presence before

you disperse the assembly; and I am indeed strong and trustworthy upon it.” One who had knowledge of the Book said, “I will bring it in your majesty’s presence before you bat your eyelid.” Then when he saw it set in his presence, Sulaiman said, “This is of the favours of my Lord; so that he may test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and whoever is thankful only gives thanks for his own good; and whoever is ungrateful then indeed my Lord is the Independent, the Owner of all praise.” Surah An Naml 27: 39-40

• Sayyiduna Sulaiman did not become boastful upon seeing this

power granted to his follower but rather he was grateful in the Court of Allah for this favour being bestowed upon him.

• The words of Sayyiduna Sulaiman show that the benefit of being

grateful in the Court of Allah is to ourselves – indeed Allah the Almighty is Independent.

The Discussion with Bilqees

• ‘Sulaiman said, “Disguise her throne in front of

her so that we may see whether she finds the way or becomes of those who remain unknowing.” Surah An Naml 27:41

• ‘Then when she came, it was said to her, “Is your

throne like this?” She said, “It is as if this is it! And we came to know about this incident beforehand and submit (to you).” Surah An Naml 27:42

• ‘And the thing she used to worship instead of

Allah prevented her; she was indeed from the disbelieving people.’ Surah An Naml 27:43

The Glass Hall

• ‘It was said to her, “Enter the hall” and when she saw it she

thought it was a pool and bared her shins; Sulaiman said, “This is only a smooth hall, affixed with glass.” She said, “My Lord, I have indeed wronged myself, and I now submit myself along with Sulaiman to Allah, the Lord of the creation.” Surah An Naml 27:44

• Bilqees was blessed with the wealth of Imaan – faith.
• Al Imam Fakhruddin Ar Raazi mentions that the glass hall

had been prepared to bring awe to the gathering. Bilqees bared her shins due to perceiving this to be water –

• bserving her shins was not the purpose behind preparing

this glass hall contrary to what some people have claimed in error.

Horses – a blessing of Allah

• ‘And We bestowed Sulaiman to Dawood, what an excellet

bondman! He is indeed most inclined. When fast steeds were presented to him at evening. Therefore Sulaiman said, “I cherish the love of these horses, out of remembrance of my Lord; he then ordered them to be raced until they vanished in a curtain out of sight.’ Surah Saad 38:30-32

• Al Imam Fakhruddin Ar Raazi (Allah shower mercy on him)

explained in At Tafseer Al Kabeer that the immense love that Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) had for horses was for the remembrance of Allah – not out of personal desire.

• Horses would be used to defend the lands during warfare

The Kingdom granted to Sayyiduna Sulaiman

• ‘He said, “My Lord! Forgive me and bestow upon me a

kingdom which shall not benefit anyone after me; indeed only You are the Great Bestower.” We therefore gave the wind under his control, moving steadily by his command wherever he wished. And made the demons subservient to him, all builders and divers. And other demons bound in chains. “This is Our bestowal – you may therefore bestow favours or withhold them. You will not be questioned.” And indeed for him in Our presence is certainly, proximity and an excellent abode.’ Surah Saad 38:35-40

The ability to judge fairly

• And remember Dawood and Sulaiman, when they were deciding the dispute of a field, when some

people’s sheep had strayed into it at night, and We were Present at the time of their deciding. And We explained the case to Sulaiman; and to both We granted kingdom and knowledge; and subjected the hills to proclaim the Purity along with Dawood and also the birds, and these were Our works. And We taught him to make a garment for you, to protect you from your hurt, so will you be thankful? And we subjected the fast wind for Sulaiman, which moved by his command towards the land in which We have placed blessings; and We know everything. And among the devils were those who dived for him and did works other than this; and We kept them restrained.’ Surah Al Ambiyaa 21:78-82

• The dispute was based on sheep entering the field of a man in the night and eating his crops. The

case was brought before Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) who decided that the sheep be given to the owner of the land as the value of the crops was equal to the value of the crops. Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) who was eleven years old at the time, put forward another solution which Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) preferred – Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) suggested that the sheep be given to the owner of the land only for the purpose of his consuming milk from the sheep. Meanwhile the shepherd be told to work in the land and plant crops equivalent to the amount of crops that had been consumed by the sheep. When the land returns to its previous state, the sheep be returned to the shepherd and the landowner take benefit from the crops.

• Sayyiduna Mujaahid states that the original decision of Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him)

was in accordance to the religious law at that time whilst the suggestion by Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was a way of bringing reconciliation between the disputing parties.

The judgment of Sayyiduna Sulaiman in relation to the dispute of two women

A Hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah is mentioned in Sahih Muslim;

• The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated that there were two

women who had two children with them. The child of one woman was devoured by a wolf. The women had a dispute as each claimed that the child taken by the wolf was not hers. These women came to Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) in order to resolve their dispute. Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) ruled in favour of the woman who was older in age – ruling that the child who was not taken by the wolf is her child. When both women departed from the court of Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him), they came before Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him). The women informed Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) of the decision made by his noble father. Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) said, “Bring a knife to me so I can distribute the child between you both.” The younger woman said, “No. Allah shower mercy on you. He is her son.” (She could not bear to see her child being cut into pieces). Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) ruled that the child who survived was in actuality the son of the younger woman.

• Al Imam An Nawawi (Allah shower mercy on him) has explained in his commentary upon Sahih

Muslim that Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) did not override the decision made by Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) but rather there are a few possible explanations:

• 1) The decision made by Sayyiduna Dawood was not final
• 2) Sayyiduna Dawood did not make a judgement (Qadhaa) but merely issued a religious ruling

(Fatwa) therefore it was possible for Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) to come to a different conclusion based on the state of the questionner

• 3) Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him) formed a plan to make the truth manifest. When the

truth became clear, Sayyiduna Dawood (peace be upon him) retracted his former judgment.

The Jinns would obey Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him)

• ‘And We gave the wind in Sulaiman’s control – its

morning journey equal to a month’s course and the evening journey equal to a month’s course; and We sprung a stream of molten copper for him; and from the jinns, who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and those among them who turned away from Our command - We shall make them taste the punishment of the blazing fire.’ Surah Saba 34:12

• They made for him whatever he wished - synagogues

and statues, basins like ponds, and large pots built into the ground; “Be thankful, O the people of Dawud!” And few among My bondmen are grateful. Surah Saba 34:13

The passing away of Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him)

• ‘So when We sent the command of death

towards him, no one revealed his death to the jinns except the termite of the earth which ate his staff; and when he came to the ground, the truth about the jinns was exposed - if they had known the hidden, they would not have remained in the disgraceful toil.’ Surah Saba 34:14