David and the Two Litigants
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَىٰ نِعَاجِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلْخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبْغِى بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَّا هُمْ ۗ وَظَنَّ دَاوُۥدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّـٰهُ فَٱسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُۥ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ ۩
(38:24) He said, ‘He has certainly wronged you by asking your ewe in addition to his own ewes, and indeed many partners bully one another, except such as have faith and do righteous deeds, and few are they.’ Then David knew that We had tested him, whereat he pleaded with his Lord for forgiveness, and fell down in prostration and repented.
The question
What was David's trial when the two litigants climbed into his sanctuary, and what did he ask forgiveness for — and is the story of the wife of Uriah true?
Views answered: the narration of the dove and the wife of Uriah, the Torah's account of Bathsheba and Uriah, exegetes who take ẓanna as mere suspicion, exegetes who hold the litigants were human
Al-Mizan's argument
Al-Mizan reads David's trial as a hasty judgment: he ruled for the owner of the one ewe before hearing the other side, realised that it was a test, and asked forgiveness. The details — the litigants climbing into his sanctuary, his alarm, and the command in 38:26 to judge in truth — show they were angels in a vision, where there is no religious responsibility, so no sin took place. If they were human, his words were an assessment, not a final ruling, since prophets are protected from every sin, major or minor. The narration that David chased a dove, saw the wife of Uriah bathing and sent Uriah to his death is shown to come from the Torah, which defames David even more, and Majmaʿ al-Bayān says such an act is impossible for a prophet. Imam al-Riḍā's answer to Ibn Jahm and Imam al-Ṣādiq's words to ʿAlqamah reject the accusation.
Reading guide
Each part opens the commentary at that point.
- David's hasty judgment
- He knew it was a test
- Angels in a vision: no religious responsibility
- If the litigants were human: prophets are protected from error
- The narration of the dove and the wife of Uriah
- Majmaʿ al-Bayān: such an act is impossible for a prophet
- Taken from the Torah
- The Torah's account: Bathsheba, Uriah and Nathan
- Imam al-Riḍā answers Ibn Jahm
- Imam al-Ṣādiq: they accused David