Surah 38. Sad

[But] there it is: any and all human beings, however [strongly] leagued together,¹⁵ are bound to suffer defeat [whenever they refuse to accept the truth].

  - Mohammad Asad

The collective noun jund, which primarily denotes "a host" or "an army", has also the meaning of "created beings", in this context obviously human beings; in combination with the particle ma, "any number of human beings". The term hizb (of which ahzab is the plural), on the other hand, denotes "a party" or "a group of people of the same mind" or "people leagued together", i.e., for a definite purpose.

Their faction is no more than an army who will be beaten right here.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

A defeated host are (all) the factions that are there.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

To the truth gave the lie aforetime¹⁶ Noah's people, and [the tribe of] Ad, and Pharaoh of the [many] tent-poles,¹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "before them", i.e., before the people who opposed or oppose Muhammad's message.

In classical Arabic, this ancient bedouin term is used idiomatically as a metonym for "mighty dominion" or "firmness of power" (Zamakhshari). The number of poles supporting a bedouin tent is determined by its size, and the latter has always depended on the status and power of its owner: thus, a mighty chieftain is often alluded to as "he of many tent-poles".

Before them the people of Nuh, `Ad and Fir'on, the man of spikes, denied their Rasools,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The folk of Noah before them denied (their messenger) and (so did the tribe of) Aad, and Pharaoh firmly planted,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [the tribe of] Thamud, and the people of Lot, and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan]: they all were leagued together, [as it were, in their unbelief:]

  - Mohammad Asad

So did Thamud, the people of Lut and those of Aiykah (the people of Median) - all divided themselves into factions;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (the tribe of) Thamud; and the folk of Lot, and the dwellers in the wood: these were the factions.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

not one [was there] but gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon My retribution fell due.

  - Mohammad Asad

all charged their Rasools as liars, so just was my torment of annihilating them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Not one of them but did deny the messengers, therefor My doom was justified,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they [who now deny the truth-they, too,] have but to wait for one single blast [of punishment to overtake them]: it shall not be delayed a whit.¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "beyond the term set for it by God".

These people also await nothing but a single mighty Blast - the one which none may retard.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

These wait for but one Shout, there will be no second thereto.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As it is, they say [mockingly]: "O our Sustainer! Hasten on to us our share [of punishment even] before the Day of Reckoning!"¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 8:32 . This mocking "demand" of the unbelievers is mentioned in several other places in the Qur'an.

They say: "Our Rabb, hasten our doom for us before the Day of Reckoning."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They say: Our Lord! Hasten on for us our fate before the Day of Reckoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[But] bear thou with patience whatever they may say, and remember Our servant David, him who was endowed with [so much] inner strength! He, verily, would always turn unto Us:

  - Mohammad Asad

O Prophet, have patience at what they say, and remember Our servant Dawood, the man of strength, who was frequent in turning to Allah for guidance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Bear with what they say, and remember Our bondman David, lord of might. Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (toward Allah).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and for this,] behold, We caused²⁰ the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory at eventide and at sun-rise,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We compelled" or "constrained".

We made the mountains join him in Our praises at evening and the sunrise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! We subdued the hills to hymn the praises (of their Lord) with him at nightfall and sunrise,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [likewise] the birds in their assemblies:²¹ [together] they all would turn again and again unto Him [who had created them].

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {21}, note [73].

And the birds, too, with all their flocks, join in singing with him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the birds assembled; all were turning unto Him

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We streng-thened his dominion, and bestowed upon him wisdom and sagacity in judgment.

  - Mohammad Asad

We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and sound judgment in speech and decision.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We made his kingdom strong and gave him wisdom and decisive speech.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND YET, has the story of the litigants come within thy ken- [the story of the two] who surmounted the walls of the sanctuary [in which David prayed ?²²

  - Mohammad Asad

The story which, according to the oldest sources at our disposal, is alluded to in verses {21-26} affects the question as to whether God's elect, the prophets - all of whom were endowed, like David, with "wisdom and sagacity in judgment" - could or could not ever commit a sin: in other words, whether they, too, were originally subject to the weaknesses inherent in human nature as such or were a priori endowed with an essential purity of character which rendered each of them "incapable of sinning" (ma'sum). In the form in which it has been handed down from the earliest authorities (including, according to Tabari and Baghawi, Companions like 'Abd Allah ibn'Abbas and Anas ibn Malik, as well as several of the most prominent of their immediate successors), the story contradicts the doctrine - somewhat arbitrarily developed by Muslim theologians in the course of the centuries - that prophets cannot sin by virtue of their very nature, and tends to show that their purity and subsequent sinlessness is a result of inner struggles and trials and, thus, represents in each case a moral achievement rather than an inborn quality. As narrated in some detail by Tabari and other early commentators, David fell in love with a beautiful woman whom he accidentally observed from his roof terrace. On inquiring, he was told that she was the wife of one of his officers, named Uriah. Impelled by his passion, David ordered his field-commander to place Uriah in a particularly exposed battle position, where he would be certain to be killed; and as soon as his order was fulfilled and Uriah died, David married the widow (who subsequently became the mother of Solomon). This story agrees more or less with the Old Testament, which gives the woman's name as Bath-Sheba (II Samuel xi), barring the Biblical allegation that David committed adultery with her before Uriah's death (ibid. xi, 4-5) - an allegation which has always been rejected by Muslims as highly offensive and slanderous: cf. the saying of the fourth Caliph, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (quoted by Zamakhshari on the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab): "If anyone should narrate the story of David in the manner in which the story-tellers narrate it, I will have him flogged with one hundred and sixty stripes - for this is a [suitable] punishment for slandering prophets" (thus indirectly recalling the Qur'anic ordinance, in 24:4 , which stipulates flogging with eighty stripes for accusing ordinary persons of adultery without legal proof). According to most of the commentators, the two "litigants" who suddenly appeared before David were angels sent to bring home to him his sin. It is possible, however, to see in their appearance an allegory of David's own realization of having sinned: voices of his own conscience which at last "surmounted the walls" of the passion that had blinded him for a time.

Have you heard the story of the two litigants who made an entry into his private chamber through climbing over the wall?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And hath the story of the litigants come unto thee? How they climbed the wall into the royal chamber;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As they came upon David, and he shrank back in fear from them, they said: "Fear not! [We are but] two litigants. One of us has wronged the other: so judge thou between us with justice, and deviate not from what is right, and show [both of] us the way to rectitude.

  - Mohammad Asad

When they entered in upon Dawood and he became terrified. They said: "Have no fear, we are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other. Judge rightly between us and do not be unjust, and guide us to the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

How they burst in upon David, and he was afraid of them! They said: Be not afraid! (We are) two litigants, one of whom hath wronged the other, therefor judge aright between us; be not unjust; and show us the fair way.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Behold, this is my brother: he has ninety-nine ewes, whereas I have [only] one ewe - and yet he said, 'Make her over to me,' and forcibly prevailed against me in this [our] dispute."

  - Mohammad Asad

This man is my brother; he has ninety nine ewes while I have only one ewe. Yet he says: `Turn her over to me' and he has the means to prevail against me in what he says."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! this my brother hath ninety and nine ewes while I had one ewe; and he said: Entrust it to me, and he conquered me in speech.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said [David]: "He has certainly wronged thee by demanding that thy ewe be added to his ewes! Thus, behold, do many kinsmen²³ 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 had tried him:²⁴ and so he asked his Sustainer to forgive him his sin, and fell down in prostration, and turned unto Him in repentance.

  - Mohammad Asad

The term khulata' (sing. khalit) denotes, literally, "people who mix [i.e., are familiar or intimate] with others or with one another". In the present instance it evidently alludes to the "brotherhood" between the two mysterious litigants, and is therefore best rendered as "kinsmen".

Sc., "and that he had failed" (in the matter of Bath-Sheba).

Dawood said: "He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his flock: in fact many partners are unjust to one another; except those who believe and do good deeds, and they are few indeed." - While he said this, Dawood realized that We had tested him ( Dawood had shown desire to one of his officers to divorce his wife so that he could marry her even though he already had 99 wives). So he sought forgiveness of his Rabb and fell down on his knees and turned to Allah in repentance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(David) said: He hath wronged thee in demanding thine ewe in addition to his ewes, and lo! many partners oppress one another, save such as believe and do good works, and they are few. And David guessed that We had tried him, and he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he bowed himself and fell down prostrate and repented.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thereupon We forgave him that [sin]: and, verily, nearness to Us awaits him [in the life to come], and the most beauteous of all goals!

  - Mohammad Asad

So We forgave his error. He will enjoy a place of nearness with Us and an excellent abode!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We forgave him that; and lo! he had access to Our presence and a happy journey's end.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And We said:] "O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"

  - Mohammad Asad

We said: "O Dawood! We have made you a vicegerent in the earth, so rule among the people with justice and do not follow your own desires lest they mislead you from the Way of Allah. As for those who go astray from the Way of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because of forgetting the Day of Reckoning.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(And it was said unto him): O David! Lo! We have set thee as a viceroy in the earth; therefor judge aright between mankind, and follow not desire that it beguile thee from the way of Allah. Lo! those who wander from the way of Allah have an awful doom, forasmuch as they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denying the truth:²⁵ but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth!²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 3:191 . The above statement appears in the Qur'an in several formulations; see, in particular, note [11] on 10:5 . In the present instance it connects with the mention of the Day of Reckoning in the preceding verse, thus leading organically from a specific aspect of David's story to a moral teaching of wider import.

I.e., a deliberate rejection of the belief that the universe - and, in particular, human life - is imbued with meaning and purpose leads unavoidably - though sometimes imperceptibly - to a rejection of all moral imperatives, to spiritual blindness and, hence, to suffering in the life to come.

We have not created the heaven and the earth and all that lies between them in vain. That is the fancy of the unbelievers. Such disbelievers should be aware of the hellfire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in vain. That is the opinion of those who disbelieve. And woe unto those who disbelieve, from the Fire!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[For,] would We treat those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds in the same manner as [We shall treat] those who spread corruption on earth? Would We treat the God-conscious in the same manner as the wicked?²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

By implication, belief in resurrection, judgment and life after death is postulated in this passage (verses {27-28}) as a logical corollary - almost a premise - of all belief in God: for, since we see that many righteous people suffer all manner of misery and deprivations in this world, while, on the other hand, many of the wicked and depraved enjoy their lives in peace and affluence, we must either assume that God does not exist (because the concept of injustice is incompatible with that of Godhead), or - alternatively - that there is a hereafter in which both the righteous and the unrighteous will harvest in full what they had morally sown during their lives on earth.

Should We treat those who believe and do good deeds like those who create mischief in the earth? Should We treat the righteous like the sinners?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Shall We treat those who believe and do good works as those who spread corruption in the earth; or shall We treat the Pious as the wicked?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[All this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart.

  - Mohammad Asad

-- This Book (Al-Qur'an) which We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) is highly blessed, so that they may ponder upon its verses and the men of understanding may learn a lesson from it.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND UNTO DAVID We granted Solomon [as a son-and] how excellent a servant [of Ours he grew up to be]! Behold, he would always turn unto Us²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., he would always think of God, as illustrated by the example given in the sequence.

To Dawood We gave Sulaiman (Solomon), an excellent devotee! Who was frequent in returning to Us.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We bestowed on David, Solomon. How excellent a slave! Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (toward Allah).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall