Dawood continued: The Brothers in the Masjid

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This post will cover the incident I referred to at the end of my last post on Dawood (as).  The incident occured when Dawood (as) was in Masjid Al Aqsa.  ***However, it is important to note that when I refer to Masjid Al Aqsa in this post I am not referring to the black domed masjid we refer to as 'Al Aqsa' today (shown above); that building did not exist in the time of Dawood (as)***.  Instead the term is used to signify the equivalent place of worship in the time of Dawood (as).

In Quran Allah refers to the blessing of wisdom which He granted His prophet Dawood (as).  It was important for Dawood (as) to have sound and decisive judgement as king of Banu Isra'il so he could arbitrate fairly in their disputes.  On one occasion Allah sent some angels to test the judgement of Dawood (as).  The story of this test is told in Surah Sad:

“Have you heard the story of the two litigants who climbed into his private quarters?  When they reached David, he took fright, but they said, ‘Do not be afraid. We are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other: judge between us fairly- do not be unjust- and guide us to the right path.  This is my brother. He had ninety-nine ewes and I just the one, and he said, “Let me take charge of her”, and overpowered me with his words.’” (Surah Sad: 21- 23)

Dawood (as) had his own chamber in Masjid Al Aqsa where he retreated to make remembrance of Allah in private.  On one occasion he was surpised by the sudden appearance of two men, who were actually angels sent by Allah to test Dawood (as).  When one 'brother' complained about the other taking his single ewe, Dawood (as) passed his judgement:

“David said, ‘He has done you wrong by demanding to add your ewe to his flock. Many partners treat each other unfairly. Those who sincerely believe and do good deeds do not do this, but these are very few.’ [Then] David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness, fell down on his knees, and repented: We forgave him [his misdeed]. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to.” (Surah Sad: 24- 25)

As soon as Dawood (as) judged in favour of the brother whose ewe had been taken both of the men disappeared and it was then that Dawood (as) knew it had been a test from Allah.   Dawood (as) realised that as the arbitrator of the dispute he should have listened to both sides of the story before passing judgement.  His repentance to Allah was not only accepted, but Allah also honoured Dawood (as) in the next verse by confirming that Allah had given him authority in the land:

 “‘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 painful torment because they ignore the Day of Reckoning.’ ” (Surah Sad: 26)

This incident reveals the sanctity of Al Quds by giving an example of a prophet who had a private chamber in Masjid Al Aqsa dedicated to the worship of Allah.  May Allah give the believing men and woman the tawfeeq to follow in this sunnah, aameen.