THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures
The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between AD 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary by
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Remember Our servant David, a man of strength who always turned to Us, We made the mountains join him in glorifying Us at sunset and sunrise; and the birds, too, in flocks, all turned to Him. We made his kingdom strong, and bestowed upon him wisdom and sagacity in judgement. (38: 17-20)
David presents a good example of being a devout subject. God bestowed him with extraordinary strength, yet he remained ever grateful to Him. David used to sit in the foothills of the mountains and sing praises of God. He praised with such devotion that it would turn the entire environment spiritual.
God also blessed David with a very strong empire. The secret of this strength was his wisdom (hikmah) and his decisiveness (fasl al-khitab) which made him capable of taking right decisions at the right time. These two attributes make a ruler efficient. His innate wisdom ensures that he does not take any action which will bring more harm than good. And his ability to distinguish between right and wrong ensures that his decisions will always be based on justice.
Have you heard the story of the disputants who entered his chamber by climbing over the wall? When they reached David, he took fright, but they said, ‘Do not be afraid. We are two disputants, one of whom has wronged the other: judge between us fairly—do not be unjust— and guide us to the right path.,
‘This brother of mine has ninety- nine ewes and I have only one. He said, “Let me have charge of it,” and got the better of me with his words.’ David said, ‘He has certainly wronged you by demanding that your ewe be added to his ewes! Thus many partners wrong one another— [all] save those who believe [in God] and do righteous deeds: but how few are they!’ And [suddenly] David understood that We were only putting him to the test, and so he asked his Lord to forgive him his sins; he fell to his knees, and turned to Him in repentance. (38: 21-24)
It is said that David had fixed each of the three days for different purposes—one day for holding court and deciding cases, a second day for spending with his family and a third day for remaining in solitude and praying to God. It happened once that on a day fixed for prayers, as he sat engrossed in his devotion, two men who had jumped over the wall of the palace, entered the room and stood beside him. This was an extraordinary occurrence and, therefore, he was somewhat afraid. But the two men allayed his fears and said that they were parties to a dispute and begged him to settle it for them.
We forgave him his sins. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to, We said, ‘David, We have given you mastery over the land. Judge fairly between people. Do not follow your desires, lest they divert you from God’s path: those who wander from His path will have a severe punishment, because they ignore the Day of Reckoning.’ (38: 25-26)
The two intruders presented their case before David. The case was in allegorical language and bore a reference to some incident in the life of David himself and was meant as an admonition to him. While David gave his decision, he recounted the incident from his life, having quickly understood the analogy. Realizing his mistake, he immediately asked for forgiveness and prostrated himself before God.
David enjoyed tremendous power at that time, but he did not punish or even scold the intruders. This is a sign of a true subject of God. He is never unduly stubborn and when his attention is drawn towards his shortcoming, he readily accepts it and rectifies it, even if the person who pointed out the error does so in a rude manner.
A ruler always has two options before him—to decide cases according to his own whims or in consonance with principles of justice. The ruler who decides matters according to his own whims and desires, has in fact gone astray, and will ultimately have to suffer the scourge of God. But the ruler who decides cases by abiding by the principles of truth and justice, is the one who is on the right path. God will reward him immensely.
The divine injunction which is applicable to a ruler is equally applicable to his subjects and must be followed by the common man in his respective spheres of authority.