We bestowed Solomon on David who was an excellent devotee, for he turned to God in penitence.
And We bestowed Sulaiman to Dawud; what an excellent bondman! He is indeed most inclined.
And We gave unto David Solomon; how excellent a servant he was! He was a penitent.
AND UNTO DAVID We granted Solomon [as a son - and] how excellent a servant [of Ours he grew up to be]! Behold, he would always turn unto Us -
And We vouchsafed Unto Da-ud Sulaiman. How excellent a bondman! j Verily he was oft-returning.'
And to Dawud (David) We gave Sulaiman (Solomon). How excellent (a) slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!
And We granted David, Solomon, an excellent servant. He was penitent.
We bestowed upon David (an illustrious son), Solomon. How excellent a servant (of Ours he was)! Indeed he constantly turned to Us in devotion.
And to Dawud We gave Sulayman. How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever turning in repentance (to Us)!
And We bestowed on David, Solomon. How excellent a slave! Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (toward Allah).
And to David We gave Solomon—what an excellent servant he was! Indeed, he was a penitent [soul].
We gave Solomon to David; and he was an excellent worshiper, he was penitent.
And to David We gave Solomon. An excellent servant, indeed he was one repeatedly turning back [to Allah].
We granted Solomon to David, a blessed servant of Ours and certainly the most repentant person.
And We gave to Dawood Sulaiman, most excellent the servant! Surely he was frequent in returning (to Allah).
Wawahabn<u>a</u> lid<u>a</u>wooda sulaym<u>a</u>na niAAma alAAabdu innahu aww<u>a</u>b<b>un</b>
We gave David Solomon. He was an excellent servant who always turned to God.
To David We gave Solomon (for a son),- How excellent in Our service! Ever did he turn (to Us)!
وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُۥدَ سُلَيْمَٰنَ نِعْمَ ٱلْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُۥٓ أَوَّابٌ
And I granted David his son Solomon, as a favour from Me to him and a grace so that he is pleased. What an excellent servant Solomon was. He would abundantly repent and turn to Allah.
And I granted David his son Solomon, as a favour from Me to him and a grace so that he is pleased. What an excellent servant Solomon was. He would abundantly repent and turn to Allah.
<p>Commentary</p><p>In these verses, an event relating to Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) has been mentioned. The gist of the well known Tafsir of this event is that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was so engrossed in the inspection of the horses that he missed to perform the Salah of Al-` Asr at his usual time. Later, when he was alerted to this loss, he slaughtered all those horses as the unfortunate interference in the remembrance of Allah took place because of them.</p><p>This missed Salah could be a nafl salah. Given this situation, there should be no difficulty in understanding what Sulayman (علیہ السلام) did, for the noble prophets try to make amends for even this much of negligence. And it is also possible that the Salah concerned was obligatory (fard) and his engrossment in the inspection might have caused him to forget. Although if someone forgets to perform the fard (obligatory) Salah, it does not cause a sin to have been committed, but Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، in view of his high station, expiated for that too.</p><p>This Tafsir of the cited verses has been reported from several leading authorities among the commentators. Even a great scholar of Ibn Kathir's stature has preferred this Tafsir. Then, it is also supported by a marfu' Hadith (attributed to the noble Prophet ﷺ) reported by 'Allamah Suyuti with reference to the Mu'jim of Tabarani, Ismaili and Ibn Marduwayh.</p><p>عن ابی کعب ؓ عن النّبی ﷺ فی قولہٖ فطفق مسحاً بالسّوق والاعناق قال قطع سوفھا و أعناقھا بالسیف</p><p>From 'Ubaiyy Ibn Ka'b , from the Holy Prophet ﷺ : About the word of Allah: (and he started passing his hands over the shanks and the necks.), he said: "Cut their legs and necks with the sword."</p><p>` Allamah Suyuti has declared its rating as Hasan. (ad-Durr-ul-Manthur, p. 309, v. 5) and quoting this Hadith in Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, ` Allamah Haithami says:</p><p>'Tabarani has reported this in al-Awsat. Said Ibn Bashir is one of the narrators there. He has been called trustworthy by Shu'bah and others. Ibn Ma'in and others call him weak. The rest of the men reporting are trustworthy.' (Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, p. 99, v. 7, Kitabu-t-Tafsir)</p><p>Because of this Hadith, this Tafsir becomes fairly strong. But, it generally lends to the doubt that the horses were a gift of Allah and wasting one's property in that manner does not seem to befit the station of a prophet. Commentators have answered it by saying that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) owned these horses, and the sacrifice of horses was also permissible in his code of law very similar to that of cows, goats and camels. Therefore, he never wasted the horses, in fact, sacrificed them in the name of Allah. Just as the act of sacrificing a cow or goat is not tantamount to wasting it, instead, it is an act of ` ibadah, the sacrifice of horses offered by him was nothing but an act of ` ibadah (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).</p><p>Most commentators have explained this verse in this very manner. But, there is another Tafsir of these verses reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ where the description of the event differs. A gist of the Tafsir is that the horses presented before Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) were specially prepared for Jihad. Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was pleased to see them while he also said that the attachment he had to those horses was not because he loved worldly life, rather it was because of his remembrance of Allah in that these were prepared for Jihad, and Jihad was an act of worship at its highest. In the meantime, that lineup of horses went out of his sight. He asked that they be brought back again. Accordingly, when they appeared before him once again, he started stroking and patting their necks and legs with affection.</p><p>According to this Tafsir, the word: عَن (an: from or because) in: عَن ذِكْرِ‌ رَ‌بِّي ) ’ an dhikri-rabbi: from or because of the remembrance of my Lord) is the 'an of cause' عَن سَببیّہ ( ‘an sababiyah), and the pronoun in: تَوَارَ‌تْ (tawarat: disappeared) is invariably reverting to horses, and: مَسحُ (mash) does not mean to cut, instead, it means to pass or wipe hands (over the body of the horses) with affection.</p><p>Classical commentators like Hafiz Ibn Jarir Tabari, Imam Razi and others have preferred this very Tafsir, because it is free from any possible doubt about property being wasted.</p><p>In terms of the words of the noble Qur'an, there is room for both explanations. But, since a marfu' Hadith has appeared in favor of the first Tafsir, a Hadith that is hasan (good) as regards its authority, therefore, it has become weightier and more acceptable.</p>
CommentaryIn these verses, an event relating to Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) has been mentioned. The gist of the well known Tafsir of this event is that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was so engrossed in the inspection of the horses that he missed to perform the Salah of Al-` Asr at his usual time. Later, when he was alerted to this loss, he slaughtered all those horses as the unfortunate interference in the remembrance of Allah took place because of them.This missed Salah could be a nafl salah. Given this situation, there should be no difficulty in understanding what Sulayman (علیہ السلام) did, for the noble prophets try to make amends for even this much of negligence. And it is also possible that the Salah concerned was obligatory (fard) and his engrossment in the inspection might have caused him to forget. Although if someone forgets to perform the fard (obligatory) Salah, it does not cause a sin to have been committed, but Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، in view of his high station, expiated for that too.This Tafsir of the cited verses has been reported from several leading authorities among the commentators. Even a great scholar of Ibn Kathir's stature has preferred this Tafsir. Then, it is also supported by a marfu' Hadith (attributed to the noble Prophet ﷺ) reported by 'Allamah Suyuti with reference to the Mu'jim of Tabarani, Ismaili and Ibn Marduwayh.عن ابی کعب ؓ عن النّبی ﷺ فی قولہٖ فطفق مسحاً بالسّوق والاعناق قال قطع سوفھا و أعناقھا بالسیفFrom 'Ubaiyy Ibn Ka'b , from the Holy Prophet ﷺ : About the word of Allah: (and he started passing his hands over the shanks and the necks.), he said: "Cut their legs and necks with the sword."` Allamah Suyuti has declared its rating as Hasan. (ad-Durr-ul-Manthur, p. 309, v. 5) and quoting this Hadith in Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, ` Allamah Haithami says:'Tabarani has reported this in al-Awsat. Said Ibn Bashir is one of the narrators there. He has been called trustworthy by Shu'bah and others. Ibn Ma'in and others call him weak. The rest of the men reporting are trustworthy.' (Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, p. 99, v. 7, Kitabu-t-Tafsir)Because of this Hadith, this Tafsir becomes fairly strong. But, it generally lends to the doubt that the horses were a gift of Allah and wasting one's property in that manner does not seem to befit the station of a prophet. Commentators have answered it by saying that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) owned these horses, and the sacrifice of horses was also permissible in his code of law very similar to that of cows, goats and camels. Therefore, he never wasted the horses, in fact, sacrificed them in the name of Allah. Just as the act of sacrificing a cow or goat is not tantamount to wasting it, instead, it is an act of ` ibadah, the sacrifice of horses offered by him was nothing but an act of ` ibadah (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).Most commentators have explained this verse in this very manner. But, there is another Tafsir of these verses reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ where the description of the event differs. A gist of the Tafsir is that the horses presented before Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) were specially prepared for Jihad. Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was pleased to see them while he also said that the attachment he had to those horses was not because he loved worldly life, rather it was because of his remembrance of Allah in that these were prepared for Jihad, and Jihad was an act of worship at its highest. In the meantime, that lineup of horses went out of his sight. He asked that they be brought back again. Accordingly, when they appeared before him once again, he started stroking and patting their necks and legs with affection.According to this Tafsir, the word: عَن (an: from or because) in: عَن ذِكْرِ‌ رَ‌بِّي ) ’ an dhikri-rabbi: from or because of the remembrance of my Lord) is the 'an of cause' عَن سَببیّہ ( ‘an sababiyah), and the pronoun in: تَوَارَ‌تْ (tawarat: disappeared) is invariably reverting to horses, and: مَسحُ (mash) does not mean to cut, instead, it means to pass or wipe hands (over the body of the horses) with affection.Classical commentators like Hafiz Ibn Jarir Tabari, Imam Razi and others have preferred this very Tafsir, because it is free from any possible doubt about property being wasted.In terms of the words of the noble Qur'an, there is room for both explanations. But, since a marfu' Hadith has appeared in favor of the first Tafsir, a Hadith that is hasan (good) as regards its authority, therefore, it has become weightier and more acceptable.
<h2 class="title">Sulayman the Son of Dawud</h2><p>Allah tells us that he gave Sulayman to Dawud as a Prophet, as He says elsewhere: </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَـنُ دَاوُودَ</div><p>(And Sulayman inherited Dawud) (27:1). meaning, he inherited prophethood from him. Dawud had other sons besides Sulayman, for he had one hundred free wives. </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ</div><p>(How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!) This is praise for Sulayman, because he was very much obedient, worshipping Allah much and always turning to Allah in repentance. </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِىِّ الصَّـفِنَـتُ الْجِيَادُ </div><p>(When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed.) means, these well trained horses were shown to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in his capacity as king and ruler. Mujahid said, "They were the kind of horses which stand on three legs and raise the fourth, and they were swift horses." This was also the view of several others among the Salaf. Abu Dawud recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah came back from the campaign of Tabuk or Khaybar, and there was a curtain covering her room. The wind came and lifted the curtain, revealing some toys belonging to `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. The Prophet said: </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مَا هَذَا يَا عَائِشَةُ؟»</div><p>(What is this, O `A'ishah) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "My toys." Among them he saw a horse with two wings made of cloth. He said: </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مَا هَذَا الَّذِي أَرَى وَسَطَهُنَّ؟»</div><p>(What is this that I see in the midst of them) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "A horse." The Messenger of Allah said, </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مَا هَذَا الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ؟»</div><p>(And what is this on it) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Wings." The Messenger of Allah said, </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«فَرَسٌ لَهُ جَنَاحَانِ؟»</div><p>(A horse with two wings) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Did you not hear that Sulayman, peace be upon him, had a horse that had wings" She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that I could see his molars." </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَقَالَ إِنِّى أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِى حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ </div><p>(He said: "I did love the good (i.e., horses) instead of remembering my Lord" till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night)) More than one of the Salaf and scholars of Tafsir mentioned that he was so busy looking at the horses that he missed the time of `Asr prayer. He did not miss it deliberately, but because of forgetfulness, as happened to the Prophet on the day of Khandaq, when he was too busy to pray `Asr and he prayed it after the sun had set. This was recorded in the Two Sahihs with more than one chain of narration, including the report from Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "On the day of Khandaq, `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, came after the sun had set and started cursing the disbelievers of the Quraysh. He said, `O Messenger of Allah, I could not pray `Asr until the sun had almost set.' The Messenger of Allah said, </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«وَاللهِ مَا صَلَّيْتُهَا»</div><p>(By Allah, I did not pray it either.)" He (Jabir) said, "So we got up and went to Buthan. Allah's Prophet performed ablution for the prayer and we too performed ablution. He prayed `Asr after the sun had set, then he prayed Maghrib after that." </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">رُدُّوهَا عَلَىَّ فَطَفِقَ مَسْحاً بِالسُّوقِ وَالاٌّعْنَاقِ </div><p>(Then he said: "Bring them (horses) back to me." Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "He said, `No, by Allah, you will not keep me from worshipping my Lord again,' then he ordered that they should be slaughtered." This was also the view of Qatadah. As-Suddi said, "Their necks and hamstrings were struck with swords." `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "He began patting the horses' heads and legs out of love for them." This is the view that was favored by Ibn Jarir. He said, "Because he would not punish an animal by cutting its hamstrings or destroy his own wealth for no other reason than that he had been distracted from his prayer by looking at it, and it was not the animals' fault. " This view which Ibn Jarir thought more correct is subject to further review, because such action may have been permissible according to their law, especially since he got angry for the sake of Allah for being distracted by these horses until the time for prayer had lapsed. Then, since he dispensed with them for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better, the wind which blew gently by his order wherever he willed. Its morning lasted a month's (journey), and its afternoon lasted a month's (journey). This was faster and better than horses. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Qatadah and Abu Ad-Dahma', who traveled a lot to the Ka`bah, said, "We met a man from among the bedouins who said to us: `The Messenger of Allah took my hand and started teaching me some of that which Allah had taught him. He said, </p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«إِنَّكَ لَا تَدَعُ شَيْئًا اتِّقَاءَ اللهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَعْطَاكَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَيْرًا مِنْه»</div><p>(You do not give up anything for the sake of Allah, but Allah will give you something better than it.)"' </p>
Sulayman the Son of DawudAllah tells us that he gave Sulayman to Dawud as a Prophet, as He says elsewhere: وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَـنُ دَاوُودَ(And Sulayman inherited Dawud) (27:1). meaning, he inherited prophethood from him. Dawud had other sons besides Sulayman, for he had one hundred free wives. نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ(How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!) This is praise for Sulayman, because he was very much obedient, worshipping Allah much and always turning to Allah in repentance. إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِىِّ الصَّـفِنَـتُ الْجِيَادُ (When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed.) means, these well trained horses were shown to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in his capacity as king and ruler. Mujahid said, "They were the kind of horses which stand on three legs and raise the fourth, and they were swift horses." This was also the view of several others among the Salaf. Abu Dawud recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah came back from the campaign of Tabuk or Khaybar, and there was a curtain covering her room. The wind came and lifted the curtain, revealing some toys belonging to `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. The Prophet said: «مَا هَذَا يَا عَائِشَةُ؟»(What is this, O `A'ishah) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "My toys." Among them he saw a horse with two wings made of cloth. He said: «مَا هَذَا الَّذِي أَرَى وَسَطَهُنَّ؟»(What is this that I see in the midst of them) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "A horse." The Messenger of Allah said, «مَا هَذَا الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ؟»(And what is this on it) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Wings." The Messenger of Allah said, «فَرَسٌ لَهُ جَنَاحَانِ؟»(A horse with two wings) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Did you not hear that Sulayman, peace be upon him, had a horse that had wings" She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that I could see his molars." فَقَالَ إِنِّى أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِى حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (He said: "I did love the good (i.e., horses) instead of remembering my Lord" till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night)) More than one of the Salaf and scholars of Tafsir mentioned that he was so busy looking at the horses that he missed the time of `Asr prayer. He did not miss it deliberately, but because of forgetfulness, as happened to the Prophet on the day of Khandaq, when he was too busy to pray `Asr and he prayed it after the sun had set. This was recorded in the Two Sahihs with more than one chain of narration, including the report from Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "On the day of Khandaq, `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, came after the sun had set and started cursing the disbelievers of the Quraysh. He said, `O Messenger of Allah, I could not pray `Asr until the sun had almost set.' The Messenger of Allah said, «وَاللهِ مَا صَلَّيْتُهَا»(By Allah, I did not pray it either.)" He (Jabir) said, "So we got up and went to Buthan. Allah's Prophet performed ablution for the prayer and we too performed ablution. He prayed `Asr after the sun had set, then he prayed Maghrib after that." رُدُّوهَا عَلَىَّ فَطَفِقَ مَسْحاً بِالسُّوقِ وَالاٌّعْنَاقِ (Then he said: "Bring them (horses) back to me." Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "He said, `No, by Allah, you will not keep me from worshipping my Lord again,' then he ordered that they should be slaughtered." This was also the view of Qatadah. As-Suddi said, "Their necks and hamstrings were struck with swords." `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "He began patting the horses' heads and legs out of love for them." This is the view that was favored by Ibn Jarir. He said, "Because he would not punish an animal by cutting its hamstrings or destroy his own wealth for no other reason than that he had been distracted from his prayer by looking at it, and it was not the animals' fault. " This view which Ibn Jarir thought more correct is subject to further review, because such action may have been permissible according to their law, especially since he got angry for the sake of Allah for being distracted by these horses until the time for prayer had lapsed. Then, since he dispensed with them for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better, the wind which blew gently by his order wherever he willed. Its morning lasted a month's (journey), and its afternoon lasted a month's (journey). This was faster and better than horses. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Qatadah and Abu Ad-Dahma', who traveled a lot to the Ka`bah, said, "We met a man from among the bedouins who said to us: `The Messenger of Allah took my hand and started teaching me some of that which Allah had taught him. He said, «إِنَّكَ لَا تَدَعُ شَيْئًا اتِّقَاءَ اللهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَعْطَاكَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَيْرًا مِنْه»(You do not give up anything for the sake of Allah, but Allah will give you something better than it.)"' 