Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 15

(Ayah 15) ➊ { وَ لَقَدْ اٰتَيْنَا دَاوٗدَ وَ سُلَيْمٰنَ عِلْمًا:} In the story of Musa (peace be upon him) and Pharaoh, there is an example of those people who knowingly denied the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), such as Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl, etc. And in the story of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) and the Queen of Sheba, there is an example of those who, when the truth became clear, accepted faith, and unlike the conduct of Pharaoh, their kingdom did not become an obstacle for them in acknowledging the truth. The same was the case with those who believed in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Whether it was the king of Yemen, Najashi, or those among the chiefs of Quraysh who believed, or the leaders of Aws and Khazraj in Madinah.

➋ {’’ عِلْمًا ‘‘} The tanween here can be for indefiniteness, which would mean a specific type of knowledge, i.e., We granted both of them a knowledge that was not granted to others. What is meant is the knowledge of the language of birds. Ibn Kathir says: “We do not know of anyone besides these two prophets who was given this knowledge.” And this tanween can also be for magnification, i.e., We granted both of them a magnificent knowledge, which included prophethood and wisdom, judgment and sovereignty, the language of birds, and sciences, due to which, in their time, their kingdom was the most powerful government of its era in terms of land, sea, and air. In fact, Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was granted such a kingdom that no kingdom until the Day of Resurrection can be like his, because he had prayed: «{ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِيْ وَهَبْ لِيْ مُلْكًا لَّا يَنْۢبَغِيْ لِاَحَدٍ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِيْ }» [ صٓ : ۳۵ ] “My Lord! Forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me.”

➌ { وَ قَالَا الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ … :} This too was part of the knowledge granted by Allah Almighty, that instead of being arrogant over all these blessings, they considered them as a favor from Allah Almighty and expressed gratitude for them.

➍ { الَّذِيْ فَضَّلَنَا عَلٰى كَثِيْرٍ … :} “Who has given us preference over many of His believing servants”—they did not claim superiority over all, because when Musa (peace be upon him) made such a claim, Allah Almighty reproached him, and Dawud and Sulaiman (peace be upon them), who followed the Shariah of Musa (peace be upon him), knowing this, could not claim superiority over all servants. And because absolute superiority over all the children of Adam is only for the Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), as he (peace be upon him) said: [ أَنَا سَيِّدُ وَلَدِ آدَمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ يَنْشَقُّ عَنْهُ الْقَبْرُ وَ أَوَّلُ شَافِعٍ وَ أَوَّلُ مُشَفَّعٍ ] [ مسلم، الفضائل، باب تفضیل نبینا صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم علی جمیع الخلائق… : ۲۲۷۸ ] “I am the leader of the children of Adam on the Day of Resurrection, and the first for whom the grave will be opened, and the first intercessor, and the first whose intercession will be accepted.”

15-1. At the beginning of the surah, it was stated that this Quran is taught by Allah. As evidence for this, the brief story of Musa (علیہ السلام) was mentioned, and now the second evidence is this story of Dawud (علیہ السلام) and Sulaiman (علیہ السلام). The incidents of the prophets (علیہم السلام) are proof that Muhammad ﷺ is the true Messenger of Allah. By "knowledge" is meant, in addition to the knowledge of prophethood, the knowledge with which Dawud (علیہ السلام) and Sulaiman (علیہ السلام) were especially favored, such as Dawud (علیہ السلام) being given knowledge of ironworking and Sulaiman (علیہ السلام) being given knowledge of the languages of animals. These two, father and son, were granted much more, but here only knowledge is mentioned, which makes it clear that knowledge is the greatest blessing of Allah.

15. And We gave knowledge [15] to Dawud and Sulaiman [14], and they both said, "All praise is due to Allah, Who has favored us above many of His believing servants."

[14]
How Did Sayyiduna Dawud (A.S.) Attain Kingship?

Hazrat Dawud (A.S.) had six brothers and he was the youngest among them. He used to tend the flock. He was of short stature and possessed a strong physique. He was highly skilled in archery and marksmanship, and this was a professional necessity for him. At the time of the battle with Jalut, he was merely a soldier in Talut’s army. Due to his expertise in marksmanship, he killed Jalut by striking him with a stone from a sling. Later, Talut married his daughter to him. In this way, after Talut, kingship was also transferred to him, and Allah Almighty also honored him with prophethood. This detail has already been mentioned under verse 251 of Surah Al-Baqarah. Then, his offspring were nineteen sons. Among them, Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S.) was the youngest. Allah Almighty chose him alone for prophethood and kingship.

[15] Knowledge here may refer to the knowledge of Shariah, or the knowledge of governance and leadership, or the knowledge of judging people’s cases, and also the knowledge of how to respond when Allah Almighty bestows further favors upon a person. Among the above meanings, the fourth meaning is most appropriate at this place.