Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 55

(Ayah 55) ➊ { وَ رَبُّكَ اَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ:} After mentioning that Allah has greater knowledge of the conditions of people than anyone else, Allah said that He is the One who knows best about every person present in the heavens and the earth (whether human, jinn, or angel). Therefore, He knows best whom to grant the honor of prophethood and messengership. He said: «اَللّٰهُ يَصْطَفِيْ مِنَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِ رُسُلًا وَّ مِنَ النَّاسِ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ سَمِيْعٌۢ بَصِيْرٌ » [ الحج : ۷۵ ] “Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among the people.”

➋ { وَ لَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيّٖنَ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ :} Therefore, the requirement of His perfect knowledge is that He grants superiority to whomever He wills among the prophets and messengers, and He grants superiority over all to whomever He wills by making him the last prophet. For details, see Surah Al-Baqarah (2:253). In His sight, the criterion for selection is not worldly wealth or power. Dawud (David), peace be upon him, was a shepherd; Allah made him a prophet and a king, and then granted him further excellence by mentioning the bestowal of the Zabur as a virtue instead of kingship, because in Allah’s sight, the criterion for excellence is not any worldly thing, but knowledge of the Hereafter and acting accordingly. In fact, this is an answer to the objection of the disbelievers, which they often raised against the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as to why he was chosen for messengership. For details, see Surah Az-Zukhruf (31–35).

➌ { وَ اٰتَيْنَا دَاوٗدَ زَبُوْرًا :} The Zabur is mentioned specifically because its contents bear witness to the finality of prophethood of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and to the superiority of this Ummah. (See Al-Anbiya: 105) It is possible that Dawud, peace be upon him, was mentioned due to the similarity in striving against the disbelievers.

➍ Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, says that Allah’s statement: «وَ لَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيّٖنَ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ » and His statement in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:253): «تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ » are not contrary to those authentic narrations in Sahih Bukhari (3415) and Muslim (2373) in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Do not give superiority (excellence) to the prophets over one another.” Because what is meant by this is giving superiority merely on the basis of one’s own desire or prejudice, not on the basis of evidence, because when something is proven by evidence, it is necessary to accept it, and there is no difference of opinion that the messengers are superior to the prophets.

55. 1. This subject has also been mentioned in (تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَھُمْ عَلٰي بَعْضٍ) 2. Al-Baqarah:253). Here, this subject is repeated in response to the disbelievers of Makkah, who used to say: Was it Muhammad ﷺ alone whom Allah found for prophethood? Allah Almighty said that selecting someone for prophethood and granting superiority to one prophet over another is solely in Allah's authority.

55. Your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth. And We have favored some prophets [67] over others, and to David We gave the Psalms [68].

[67]
Aspects of the Excellence of the Prophets:

There are also many aspects of this excellence, for example, the work of da'wah of some prophets proved to be more fruitful, for some less; some only fulfilled the duty of preaching, some also engaged in jihad; some were given one miracle, while another prophet was given another; some prophets spent their lives in poverty and indigence, and some were also kings at the same time, and so on.

[68]
If a King Can Be a Prophet, Then Why Can't an Ordinary Man Be a Prophet?

At this point, there seem to be two reasons for especially mentioning Sayyiduna Dawud ؑ: one is that Dawud ؑ was the youngest among his brothers, was of short stature, and was considered insignificant. He used to herd sheep, but the precious qualities that were present in him were known only to Allah. Therefore, Allah not only made him a prophet but made him a prophet who was given a book, and then also granted him kingship. This is Allah's gift and Allah's grace, that whoever is chosen by His gaze of selection, He bestows upon him, and as much as He wills, He bestows. The second aspect is that one of the objections of the polytheists of Makkah regarding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was that he is just a human like us, who eats and drinks like us, walks around, marries, and has children. He is a seeker of the world, so how can he be God-reached or a messenger of Allah? According to their view, instead of being a seeker of the world, it was necessary for a God-reached or prophet to be an ascetic, as there were monks among the Jews and Christians. Allah Almighty, refuting their view, said that if you think that an ordinary person or a seeker of the world cannot be a prophet, then what can you think about a king, who is much more entangled in the world than ordinary people, a seeker of the world, and supposedly farther from Allah? Then when We granted prophethood to Dawud the king and made him a prophet who was given a book, then why can this Prophet of the Last Age not be a prophet?