Reports on Dawud (peace be upon him)

Abbas al-Ammi said: It has reached me that Dawud (peace be upon him) used to say in his supplication: "Glory be to You, O Allah! You are my Lord. You are exalted above Your Throne (in a manner befitting Your majesty). You have placed awe of You upon those who dwell in the heavens and the earth. Among the creation, the one who fears You most is the one nearest to You. The knowledge of one who does not fear You is worthless! And one who does not obey You is without understanding."

Abu Abdullah al-Jadali said: Dawud (peace be upon him) did not raise his head towards the sky for as long as he lived.

Mujahid said: When Dawud (peace be upon him) committed the error, and his error was only that when he saw (her), he gave an order concerning her and set her apart, and he did not go near her, the two disputants came to him (with their dispute), climbed over the wall and entered the place of worship. When he saw them he went towards them and said: "Get out from my presence! What has brought you in here like this?" The narrator said: They replied: "We will speak only a brief word with you. This is my brother. He has ninety-nine ewes and I have (only) one ewe, and he wants to take that (one ewe) from me as well." At this Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah, he deserves to be split from here to here", meaning from the nose to the chest. The narrator said: The man said: "This is Dawud, who has done it himself." Dawud (peace be upon him) realised that he was the one meant, and he also recognised his error. So he remained in prostration for forty days and forty nights, and that error was written on his blessed hand so that he kept looking at it, lest he become heedless. (This weeping and lamenting continued) until, from his tears, vegetation grew up around him so tall that it covered even his head. After forty days he cried out: "The forehead is wounded, the eyes have run dry, yet Dawud's case has not been heard." At this a call was heard: "Are you hungry, that you should be fed? Are you unclothed, that you should be clothed? Are you wronged, that you should be helped?" The narrator said: When he saw that his error was not even mentioned (in this call), he wept so intensely that the vegetation growing around him withered. (When Dawud, peace be upon him, had reached this state,) his error was then forgiven. So when the Day of Resurrection comes, his Lord, Possessor of Majesty, will say to him: "Stand before Me." He will say: "O my Lord, my sin (prevents me), my sin." Allah, Majestic is His glory, will say: "Stand behind Me." He will (again) say: "O my Sustainer, my sin (makes me ashamed), my sin." At this Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, will say: "Take hold of My Foot." And he (peace be upon him) will take hold of His Foot.

Abu al-Ahwas said: The two opponents came to Dawud (peace be upon him) in such a state that one had seized the other by the hair.

Sa'id bin Jubayr said: The trial of Dawud (peace be upon him) was only through the gaze.

It is narrated from Sa'id al-Jurayri that Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O Jibra'il, which part of the night is the best?" Jibra'il replied: "That I do not know, but I do know that shortly before dawn is a time when even the Throne sways (from the surge of the mercy of Allah Almighty)."

Khalid al-Rib'i said: I was told that the Zabur which is called the Zabur of Dawud opens with this sentence: "The foundation of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, Possessor of Majesty."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Allah, Majestic is His glory, revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): "Say to the wrongdoers: Do not remember Me, for those who remember Me have this right upon Me, that I remember them, and My remembrance of them (the wrongdoers) is that I curse them."

Abdullah bin al-Harith said: Allah, Majestic is His glory, revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): "Love Me, love those who love Me, and make Me beloved to My servants." Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O my Lord, I love You and I love those who love You, but how can I make You beloved to Your servants?" Allah Almighty said: "Mention Me before them, for they will surely speak of Me only with good (and thus love for Me will arise in their hearts of its own accord)."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abza (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet of Allah Almighty, Dawud (peace be upon him), said: "Ayyub (peace be upon him) was the most forbearing of people, the most patient of people, and the one who most restrained his anger."

Al-Hasan said: The Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) used to say: "O Allah, do not afflict me with an illness that leaves me utterly useless, nor grant me a health that makes me heedless (of the truth); rather, grant me a balanced state."

Safwan bin Muhriz said: The Prophet of Allah Almighty, Dawud (peace be upon him), had a day on which he would moan and say: "I am grieved at (the thought of) the punishment of Allah! I am grieved at (the thought of) the punishment of Allah! I am grieved at (the thought of) the punishment of Allah! I am grieved at (the thought of) the punishment of Allah! I have no other grief besides this." The narrator said: One day he mentioned it in a gathering, and weeping so overcame him that he had to get up and leave.

Thabit said: When the Prophet of Allah Almighty, Dawud (peace be upon him), remembered the punishment of Allah Almighty, his every joint would slip out of place, held together by nothing but their binding; and when he remembered the mercy of Allah Almighty, they returned (to their place).

Ibn Buraydah said: If the weeping of all the people dwelling on the face of the earth were compared with the weeping of Dawud (peace be upon him) alone, (their weeping) would not equal (the weeping of Dawud, peace be upon him).

Malik bin Mighwal said: In the Zabur (the Book revealed) to Dawud (peace be upon him) it was written: "Indeed, I alone am the One worshipped by all; there is no deity but Me. (I am) the King of kings. The hearts of kings are in My grasp. Whichever people (persist) in obedience (to Me), I will make the kings merciful towards them. And whichever people (stubbornly persist) in disobedience (to Me), I will make the kings take vengeance upon them. So do not occupy yourselves with reviling the kings, nor turn to them (in your needs); rather, return to Me, and I will soften the hearts of the kings towards you as well."

Abd al-Rahman bin Abza (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "A fool making a speech in a gathering of people is like someone standing at the head of a dead body and beginning to sing."

Al-Ahnaf bin Qays narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O my Lord, the Children of Israel ask You by means of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya'qub (three prophets), so make me a fourth along with them." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: At this Allah Almighty revealed (this) to him: "O Dawud, Ibrahim was cast into the fire because of (his declaring) My (Oneness), and he was patient (in it), and you have not passed through that test. Ishaq had to offer his very life for My (pleasure), and he too was patient (in it), and this trial has not come upon you. And as for Ya'qub, I kept his beloved apart from him until (from much weeping) whiteness came over his eyes, and he too was patient (in it), and this trial too has been kept far from you."

Ka'b said: When the time for breaking the fast came, a fasting person would face the qiblah and say: "O Allah, grant me deliverance from every calamity that is to descend tonight from the heavens to the earth." (He would say this) three times. And when the light of the sun began to spread, he would say: "O Allah, give me a share in every good that is to descend from the heavens." (He would say this also) three times. The narrator said: That person was asked (about these words), and he replied: "This is the supplication of Dawud (peace be upon him). Give your tongues ease with it, and fasten it upon your hearts."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abza (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "The best help in (following) the religion is prosperity." Or he (peace be upon him) said: "Wealth."

Mujahid said: Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O my Sustainer, my life has grown long, I have become aged, and my strength has waned." So Allah Almighty revealed to him: "O Dawud, blessed is the one whose life is long and whose deeds are good."