سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْۣبِيَآءِ
Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21) — Ayah 78
وَدَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِى ٱلْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ ٱلْقَوْمِ وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَـٰهِدِينَ ﴿78﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (remember) Dâwûd (David) and Sulaimân (Solomon), when they gave judgement in the case of the field in which the sheep of certain people had pastured at night; and We were witness to their judgement.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَدَاوُۥدَ
wadāwūda
And Dawud
وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ
wasulaymāna
and Sulaiman
إِذْ
idh
when
يَحْكُمَانِ
yaḥkumāni
they judged
فِى
fī
concerning
ٱلْحَرْثِ
l-ḥarthi
the field
إِذْ
idh
when
نَفَشَتْ
nafashat
pastured
فِيهِ
fīhi
in it
غَنَمُ
ghanamu
sheep
ٱلْقَوْمِ
l-qawmi
(of) a people
وَكُنَّا
wakunnā
and We were
لِحُكْمِهِمْ
liḥuk'mihim
to their judgment
شَـٰهِدِينَ
shāhidīna
witness
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
78. And (We favored) David and Solomon when they gave judgment concerning the field, when the goats of some people [65] strayed into it by night, and We were witnessing their judgment.
[65]
The Literal Meaning of "Nafsh":
In this verse, the word "nafsh" is used, which means for goats to scatter and graze at night without a shepherd. (Mufradat al-Qur'an) What happened was that some people's goats grazed and ruined a crop at night. The owner of the crop filed a claim in the court of Dawud ؑ. When he summoned the defendant, he admitted to the incident. Now, according to justice and law, the entire compensation was due from the owner of the goats. In this regard, the legal principle or law is clarified by the following hadith: The she-camel of Bara' bin Azib ؓ entered a garden and damaged it. The Prophet ﷺ ruled that during the day, the protection of gardens is the responsibility of the garden owners, and at night, if animals cause damage, their owners must pay compensation. [مالك، ابو داؤد، ابن ماجه بحواله مشكوة۔ كتاب البيوع، باب الغصب والناريه فصل ثاني]
The Judgment of Sayyiduna Dawud and Sulayman Regarding the Ruined Crop:
And this was the legal claim in that era as well. Now, it so happened that the value of the damage to the crop was approximately equal to the value of the goats. Thus, Dawud ؑ ruled that the owner of the goats should give his goats to the owner of the crop so that his loss would be compensated. Sulayman ؑ was also present and he disagreed with this decision, saying that in his opinion, the ruling should be that the owner of the goats should give his goats to the owner of the crop, but these goats would be held as collateral by the crop owner. The crop owner would take care of them and benefit from their milk, wool, etc., and during this time, the owner of the goats would tend to and irrigate the crop until it returned to its original state. When the crop returned to its original state, the goats would be returned to their owner. With this decision, the loss of the crop owner would be compensated, and the goat owner would not suffer much loss either. Therefore, Dawud ؑ also accepted Sulayman’s ؑ decision as correct and withdrew his own ruling. This is the decision regarding which Allah Almighty said that We had given Sulayman ؑ understanding of it.
[65]
The Literal Meaning of "Nafsh":
In this verse, the word "nafsh" is used, which means for goats to scatter and graze at night without a shepherd. (Mufradat al-Qur'an) What happened was that some people's goats grazed and ruined a crop at night. The owner of the crop filed a claim in the court of Dawud ؑ. When he summoned the defendant, he admitted to the incident. Now, according to justice and law, the entire compensation was due from the owner of the goats. In this regard, the legal principle or law is clarified by the following hadith: The she-camel of Bara' bin Azib ؓ entered a garden and damaged it. The Prophet ﷺ ruled that during the day, the protection of gardens is the responsibility of the garden owners, and at night, if animals cause damage, their owners must pay compensation. [مالك، ابو داؤد، ابن ماجه بحواله مشكوة۔ كتاب البيوع، باب الغصب والناريه فصل ثاني]
The Judgment of Sayyiduna Dawud and Sulayman Regarding the Ruined Crop:
And this was the legal claim in that era as well. Now, it so happened that the value of the damage to the crop was approximately equal to the value of the goats. Thus, Dawud ؑ ruled that the owner of the goats should give his goats to the owner of the crop so that his loss would be compensated. Sulayman ؑ was also present and he disagreed with this decision, saying that in his opinion, the ruling should be that the owner of the goats should give his goats to the owner of the crop, but these goats would be held as collateral by the crop owner. The crop owner would take care of them and benefit from their milk, wool, etc., and during this time, the owner of the goats would tend to and irrigate the crop until it returned to its original state. When the crop returned to its original state, the goats would be returned to their owner. With this decision, the loss of the crop owner would be compensated, and the goat owner would not suffer much loss either. Therefore, Dawud ؑ also accepted Sulayman’s ؑ decision as correct and withdrew his own ruling. This is the decision regarding which Allah Almighty said that We had given Sulayman ؑ understanding of it.
