The Letter Sad — Verse 30

Sulayman the Son of Dawud Allah tells us that he gave Sulayman to Dawud as a Prophet, as He says elsewhere: وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَـنُ دَاوُودَ (And Sulayman inherited Dawud) (27:1). meaning, he inherited prophethood from him. Dawud had other sons besides Sulayman, for he had one hundred free wives. نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ (How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!) This is praise for Sulayman, because he was very much obedient, worshipping Allah much and always turning to Allah in repentance. إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِىِّ الصَّـفِنَـتُ الْجِيَادُ (When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed.) means, these well trained horses were shown to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in his capacity as king and ruler. Mujahid said, "They were the kind of horses which stand on three legs and raise the fourth, and they were swift horses." This was also the view of several others among the Salaf. Abu Dawud recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came back from the campaign of Tabuk or Khaybar, and there was a curtain covering her room. The wind came and lifted the curtain, revealing some toys belonging to `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. The Prophet said: «مَا هَذَا يَا عَائِشَةُ؟» (What is this, O `A'ishah) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "My toys." Among them he saw a horse with two wings made of cloth. He said: «مَا هَذَا الَّذِي أَرَى وَسَطَهُنَّ؟» (What is this that I see in the midst of them) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "A horse." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «مَا هَذَا الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ؟» (And what is this on it) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Wings." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «فَرَسٌ لَهُ جَنَاحَانِ؟» (A horse with two wings) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Did you not hear that Sulayman, peace be upon him, had a horse that had wings" She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled so broadly that I could see his molars." فَقَالَ إِنِّى أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِى حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (He said: "I did love the good (i.e., horses) instead of remembering my Lord" till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night)) More than one of the Salaf and scholars of Tafsir mentioned that he was so busy looking at the horses that he missed the time of `Asr prayer. He did not miss it deliberately, but because of forgetfulness, as happened to the Prophet on the day of Khandaq, when he was too busy to pray `Asr and he prayed it after the sun had set. This was recorded in the Two Sahihs with more than one chain of narration, including the report from Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "On the day of Khandaq, `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, came after the sun had set and started cursing the disbelievers of the Quraysh. He said, `O Messenger of Allah, I could not pray `Asr until the sun had almost set.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «وَاللهِ مَا صَلَّيْتُهَا» (By Allah, I did not pray it either.)" He (Jabir) said, "So we got up and went to Buthan. Allah's Prophet performed ablution for the prayer and we too performed ablution. He prayed `Asr after the sun had set, then he prayed Maghrib after that." رُدُّوهَا عَلَىَّ فَطَفِقَ مَسْحاً بِالسُّوقِ وَالاٌّعْنَاقِ (Then he said: "Bring them (horses) back to me." Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "He said, `No, by Allah, you will not keep me from worshipping my Lord again,' then he ordered that they should be slaughtered." This was also the view of Qatadah. As-Suddi said, "Their necks and hamstrings were struck with swords." `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "He began patting the horses' heads and legs out of love for them." This is the view that was favored by Ibn Jarir. He said, "Because he would not punish an animal by cutting its hamstrings or destroy his own wealth for no other reason than that he had been distracted from his prayer by looking at it, and it was not the animals' fault. " This view which Ibn Jarir thought more correct is subject to further review, because such action may have been permissible according to their law, especially since he got angry for the sake of Allah for being distracted by these horses until the time for prayer had lapsed. Then, since he dispensed with them for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better, the wind which blew gently by his order wherever he willed. Its morning lasted a month's (journey), and its afternoon lasted a month's (journey). This was faster and better than horses. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Qatadah and Abu Ad-Dahma', who traveled a lot to the Ka`bah, said, "We met a man from among the bedouins who said to us: `The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took my hand and started teaching me some of that which Allah had taught him. He said, «إِنَّكَ لَا تَدَعُ شَيْئًا اتِّقَاءَ اللهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَعْطَاكَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَيْرًا مِنْه» (You do not give up anything for the sake of Allah, but Allah will give you something better than it.)"'

And We bestowed on David Solomon his son — what an excellent servant! that is Solomon. Truly he was a penitent soul always returning to God with glorification and remembrance at all times.

ووهبنا لداود ابنه سليمان، فأنعمنا به عليه، وأقررنا به عينه، نِعْم العبد سليمان، إنه كان كثير الرجوع إلى الله والإنابة إليه.

يقول تعالى مخبرا أنه وهب لداود سليمان أي نبيا كما قال عز وجل "وورت سليمان داود" أي في النبوة وإلا فقد كان له بنون غيره فإنه قد كان عنده مائة امرأة حرائر وقوله تعالى "نعم العبد إنه أواب" ثناء على سليمان بأنه كثير الطاعة والعبادة والإنابة إلى الله عز وجل قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أبي حدثنا عمرو بن خالد حدثنا الوليد بن جابر حدثنا مكحول قال لما وهب الله تعالى لداود سليمان قال له يا بني ما أحسن ؟ قال سكينة الله والإيمان قال فما أقبح ؟ قال كفر بعد إيمان قال فما أحلى قال روح الله بين عباده قال فما أبرد ؟ قال عفو الله عن الناس وعفو الناس بعضهم عن بعض قال داود عليه السلام فأنت نبي.

ثم ذكر - سبحانه - جانبا من قصة سليمان - عليه السلام - فمدحه لكثرة رجوعه إلى الله ، وذكر بعض النعم التى امنحها إياه ، كما ذكر اختباره له . وكيف أن سليمان - عليه السلام - طلب من ربه المغفرة والملك ، فأعطاه - سبحانه - ما طلبه . قال - تعالى - :( وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُودَ سُلَيْمَانَ نِعْمَ العبد . . . ) .فى هذه الآيات الكريمة مسألتان ذكر بعض المفسرين فيهما كلاما غير مقبول .أما المسألة الأولى فهى مسألة : عرض الخيل على سيدنا سليمان والمقصود به .وأما المسألة الثانية فهى مسألة المقصود بقوله - تعالى - : ( وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَانَ . . . ) .وسنسير فى تفسير هذه الآيات على الرأى الذى تطمئن إلى صحته نفوسنا ، ثم نذكر بعده بعض الأقوال التى قيلت فى هذا الشأن ، ونرد على ما يستحق الرد منه ، فنقول - وبالله - التوفيق - :المخصوص بالمدح فى قوله - تعالى - : ( نِعْمَ العبد ) محذوف ، والمقوصد به سليمان - عليه السلام - .أى : ووهبنا - بفضلنا وإحساننا - لعبدنا داود ابنه سليمان - عليهما السلام - ونعم العبد سليمان فى دينه وفى خلقه وفى شكره لخالقه - تعالى - .وجملة ( إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) تعليل لهذا المدح من الله - تعالى - لسليمان - عليه السلام - أى : إنه رجاع إلى ما يرضى الله - تعالى - مأخوذ من آب الرجل إلى داره ، إذا رجع إليها .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ (30)يقول تعالى ذكره ( وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ ) ابنه ولدا( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ ) يقول: نعم العبد سليمان ( إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) يقول: إنه رجاع إلى طاعة الله توّاب إليه مما يكرهه منه. وقيل: إنه عُنِي به أنه كثير الذكر لله والطاعة.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: شي عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) قال: الأواب: المسبّح.حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) قال: كان مطيعًا لله كثير الصلاة.حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قوله ( نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ ) قال: المسبِّح.والمسبِّح قد يكون في الصلاة والذكر. وقد بيَّنَّا معنى الأوّاب, وذكرنا اختلاف أهل التأويل فيه فيما مضى بما أغنى عن إعادته هاهنا.

قوله عز وجل: " ووهبنا لداود سليمان نعم العبد إنه أواب "

وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُودَ سُلَيْمَانَ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ (30)جُعل التخلصُ إلى مناقب سليمان عليه السلام من جهة أنه من مِنن الله على داود عليه السلام ، فكانت قصة سليمان كالتكملة لقصة داود . ولم يكن لحال سليمان عليه السلام شَبه بحال محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فلذلك جزمنا بأن لم يكن ذكر قصته هنا مِثالاً لحال محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وبأنها إتمام لما أنعم الله به على داود إذ أعطاه سليمان ابناً بهجةً له في حياته وورث ملكه بعد مماته ، كما أنبأ عنه قوله تعالى : { ووهبنا لداوُود سُليمان } الآية .ولهذه النكتة لم تفتتح قصة سليمان بعبارة : واذكر ، كما افتتحت قصة داود ثم قصة أيوب ، والقصص بعدها مفصَّلها ومجملها غير أنها لم تخل من مواضع إسوة وعبرة وتحذير على عادة القرآن من افتراض الإِرشاد .ومن حسن المناسبة لذكر موهبة سليمان أنه ولد لداود من المرأة التي عوتب داود لأجل استنزال زوجها أوريا عنها كما تقدّم ، فكانت موهبة سليمان لداود منها مكرمة عظيمة هي أثر مغفرة الله لداود تلك المخالفة التي يقتضي قدره تجنبها وإن كانت مباحة وتحققه لتعقيب الأخبار عن المغفرة له بقوله : { وإنَّ له عندنا لزلفى وحُسن مئَابٍ } [ ص : 40 ] فقد رضي الله عنه فوهب له من تلك الزوجة نبيئاً ومَلِكاً عظيماً .فجملة { ووهبنا لداود سُليمانَ } عطف على جملة { إنا سخرنا الجبال معه } [ ص : 18 ] وما بعدها من الجمل . وجملة { نِعْمَ العَبْدُ } في موضع الحال من { سُلَيْمانَ } وهي ثناء عليه ومدح له من جملة من استحقوا عنوان العبد لله ، وهو العنوان المقصود منه التقريب بالقرينة كما تقدم في قوله تعالى : { إلا عباد الله المخلصين أولئك لهم رزق معلوم } في سورة [ الصافات : 40 - 41 ] .والمخصوص بالمدح محذوف لدلالة ما تقدم عليه وهو قوله : { سُلَيْمان } والتقدير : نعم العبد سليمان .وجملة { إنَّه أوَّابٌ } تعليل للثناء عليه ب { نِعْمَ العَبْدُ . } والأوّاب : مبالغة في الآيب أي كثير الأوْب ، أي الرجوع إلى الله بقرينة أنه مادحه . والمراد من الأوب إلى الله : الأوب إلى أمره ونهيه ، أي إذا حصل له ما يبعده عن ذلك تذكر فآب ، أي فتاب ، وتقدم ذلك آنفاً في ذكر داود .

لما أثنى تعالى على داود، وذكر ما جرى له ومنه، أثنى على ابنه سليمان عليهما السلام فقال: { وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُدَ سُلَيْمَانَ } أي: أنعمنا به عليه، وأقررنا به عينه.{ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ } سليمان عليه السلام، فإنه اتصف بما يوجب المدح، وهو { إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ } أي: رجَّاع إلى اللّه في جميع أحواله، بالتأله والإنابة، والمحبة والذكر والدعاء والتضرع، والاجتهاد في مرضاة اللّه، وتقديمها على كل شيء.

قوله تعالى : ووهبنا لداود سليمان نعم العبد إنه أواب . لما ذكر داود ذكر سليمان و " أواب " معناه مطيع

Solomon, the son of David was the ruler of a great empire. Once the thoroughbred horses of his army were brought before him and a race was held. The galloping horses moved further and further away until they were out of sight. This was a magnificent moment upon witnessing which, an ordinary man would have become full of pride and vanity. But Solomon started remembering God. He said that he had not chosen these horses to flaunt his grandeur, but only for the sake of God. In the shape of the horses, he could discern the great workmanship of God, and by way of appreciating the greatness of God, he started to stroke the necks and legs of the horses. A believer, therefore, has the ability to observe the glory of God in everything, while a non-believer remains entrapped in the false notions of self-glory.

Commentary In these verses, an event relating to Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) has been mentioned. The gist of the well known Tafsir of this event is that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was so engrossed in the inspection of the horses that he missed to perform the Salah of Al-` Asr at his usual time. Later, when he was alerted to this loss, he slaughtered all those horses as the unfortunate interference in the remembrance of Allah took place because of them. This missed Salah could be a nafl salah. Given this situation, there should be no difficulty in understanding what Sulayman (علیہ السلام) did, for the noble prophets try to make amends for even this much of negligence. And it is also possible that the Salah concerned was obligatory (fard) and his engrossment in the inspection might have caused him to forget. Although if someone forgets to perform the fard (obligatory) Salah, it does not cause a sin to have been committed, but Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، in view of his high station, expiated for that too. This Tafsir of the cited verses has been reported from several leading authorities among the commentators. Even a great scholar of Ibn Kathir's stature has preferred this Tafsir. Then, it is also supported by a marfu' Hadith (attributed to the noble Prophet ﷺ) reported by 'Allamah Suyuti with reference to the Mu'jim of Tabarani, Ismaili and Ibn Marduwayh. عن ابی کعب ؓ عن النّبی ﷺ فی قولہٖ فطفق مسحاً بالسّوق والاعناق قال قطع سوفھا و أعناقھا بالسیف From 'Ubaiyy Ibn Ka'b , from the Holy Prophet ﷺ : About the word of Allah: (and he started passing his hands over the shanks and the necks.), he said: "Cut their legs and necks with the sword." ` Allamah Suyuti has declared its rating as Hasan. (ad-Durr-ul-Manthur, p. 309, v. 5) and quoting this Hadith in Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, ` Allamah Haithami says: 'Tabarani has reported this in al-Awsat. Said Ibn Bashir is one of the narrators there. He has been called trustworthy by Shu'bah and others. Ibn Ma'in and others call him weak. The rest of the men reporting are trustworthy.' (Majma'-uz-Zawa'id, p. 99, v. 7, Kitabu-t-Tafsir) Because of this Hadith, this Tafsir becomes fairly strong. But, it generally lends to the doubt that the horses were a gift of Allah and wasting one's property in that manner does not seem to befit the station of a prophet. Commentators have answered it by saying that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) owned these horses, and the sacrifice of horses was also permissible in his code of law very similar to that of cows, goats and camels. Therefore, he never wasted the horses, in fact, sacrificed them in the name of Allah. Just as the act of sacrificing a cow or goat is not tantamount to wasting it, instead, it is an act of ` ibadah, the sacrifice of horses offered by him was nothing but an act of ` ibadah (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani). Most commentators have explained this verse in this very manner. But, there is another Tafsir of these verses reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ where the description of the event differs. A gist of the Tafsir is that the horses presented before Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) were specially prepared for Jihad. Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was pleased to see them while he also said that the attachment he had to those horses was not because he loved worldly life, rather it was because of his remembrance of Allah in that these were prepared for Jihad, and Jihad was an act of worship at its highest. In the meantime, that lineup of horses went out of his sight. He asked that they be brought back again. Accordingly, when they appeared before him once again, he started stroking and patting their necks and legs with affection. According to this Tafsir, the word: عَن (an: from or because) in: عَن ذِكْرِ‌ رَ‌بِّي ) ’ an dhikri-rabbi: from or because of the remembrance of my Lord) is the 'an of cause' عَن سَببیّہ ( ‘an sababiyah), and the pronoun in: تَوَارَ‌تْ (tawarat: disappeared) is invariably reverting to horses, and: مَسحُ (mash) does not mean to cut, instead, it means to pass or wipe hands (over the body of the horses) with affection. Classical commentators like Hafiz Ibn Jarir Tabari, Imam Razi and others have preferred this very Tafsir, because it is free from any possible doubt about property being wasted. In terms of the words of the noble Qur'an, there is room for both explanations. But, since a marfu' Hadith has appeared in favor of the first Tafsir, a Hadith that is hasan (good) as regards its authority, therefore, it has become weightier and more acceptable.

(And We bestowed on David, Solomon. How excellent a slave! Lo! he was ever turning in repentance (towards Allah)) he is ever betaking himself to Allah and engaged in His obedience.