Chapter Sa’d – Part 6

Sa’d, part 6

38:20 “And We strengthened his sovereignty and gave him wisdom and decisive speech (judgment)”

Every Prophet has been given a different aspect of one side of the human being. Prophet David (Peace be upon him) was known to make decisive decisions with eloquent speech. Just as all of us have different skill sets, such as some are analytical, some are artists, some are athletes… We must pay attention to the Prophetic characters and make it my ideal type by following their stories in my practical life.

The verse is saying that Prophet David was always acting in a wise way. Prophetic stories are presented to us in the Quran to understand my real life. The mistakes are presented for me to take as an example for my practical life. If a Prophet does not make a perfect action, that is an example for me to learn from. I must learn by seeing an example. The Prophet (pbuh) made several mistakes, while in his prayer, and people around him asked if he received revelation about the change at that time. He said, I made a mistake, and the correction of this mistake is this way. People argue over how the Prophets must be sinless people. There is no point in arguing. As the best example for human beings, he demonstrates that if he makes a mistake, how I should learn from it and correct myself. If the Prophet never demonstrates it to me, then I would not know how to correct myself. The Prophets are not acting on their own or randomly, they are under the observation of their Creator, God. That is, God allows them to make a mistake so that they will be corrected by God again, and it will be a Prophetic mission to teach me.

38:21 “And has the news of the disputants come to you, when they climbed the wall of the private chamber?”

38:22 “When they entered upon David, he was alarmed, [but] they said, Do not be afraid. [We are] two disputants. One of us has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth, and do not be unjust, and guide us to the right way.

It seems that people are asking him for guidance and to judge their case with justice. Similarly, aren’t we always presented with events around us that require some guidance.

38:23 “This is my brother. He has ninety-nine female sheep while I have only one. Still, he asked me to give her up to him, overwhelming me in the argument.”

You may be talented in one subject; it does not mean that you are using your talent in the right way. However, your responsibility is to use your qualities in the right way. Example, this talent is given by God and you are responsible to use this talent in the way that the Creator asks you to use it. If you use the talent as you like and appropriate it as your talent, then you will not be guided. When the Prophet (PBUH) was involved in some case, he did not make any judgment, because he says that when God reveals it to me, then I will judge, otherwise I cannot decide the case on my own. The Prophetic teachings recommend us what to do. When I follow the Prophet, it means that I will be following God.

Unfortunately, we say that God is Merciful, and so we must be Merciful as well, but we don’t act that way. Example: A politician may say that I am Merciful to my nation but exploit other nations for the benefit of his nation, while taking care of the needs of his nation. The Prophets are employed by God in the form of a created human being, i.e., how a person could act in a Merciful way. The Quran also emphasizes on obeying God and obeying the Prophet. It is emphatically said in the Quran. That is, when it comes to following the exemplary life of the Prophet, we obey God, we cannot follow God, but we can obey and follow the Prophet. In other words, following the Prophet means obeying God. I need an example within my capacity so that I can follow him as an exemplary life.

When we make a mistake, we follow the Prophetic examples. They are teaching us how to deal with our shortcomings.
The Quran guides me how to behave in this life, how to construct my practical life and belief system. Examples must be presented to me in the form of human beings.

You may be a wise and successful person in the profession, for example, as a lawyer. It means that it is Allah’s gift, and it does not mean that you will use this talent in the best way. Everyone has some qualities gifted by God and we must be careful not to use it in my name, rather God’s name and I desire to use it in His name.

In the verse above, at first glance, we will be quick to judge the other brother to stop being greedy to his brother with one item. However, what is the mission of the Prophets?

To teach Tawhid, Absoluteness. Yes, we can rationally understand logically and explain the workings of the universe, but it does not mean that the Source of existence of the universe is the universe itself. If there is an effect, which is the universe, there must be a cause.

Let us understand the message in the verse further. If I have 99 female sheep and you have 1 sheep, does it mean that you have no right for even 1 sheep, while I have a right for 100 sheep? Example: A person does nothing and steals one dollar from your wallet while you work and comes to you and tells you that you have 100 dollars, let him have 1 dolar, and asks you not to take his one dollar. Who is in error here? Additionally, I can be in error the way I interpret it without knowing the overall picture. Similarly, if I claim that the universe belongs to its Creator, but I am the Creator of this one tree in my garden, where is Absoluteness/Tawhid here? It is missing and it’s a big mistake on my end. Comparing it to the huge universe, can I please not own this tree? The tree belongs to God, along with the universe.

That is what is happening in human society, everyone claims to have their own qualities and are being proud of it. You can not even claim ownership of one cell of your body. Example, God created the universe, but my child is my creation. I fed him, rather I have used what God has created and passed on to my son. I do not create anything, not even one out of the infinite things here. Any part of the universe deserves nothing to be attributed to this universe. That is the mission of the Prophethood to teach us to watch out for wrong attribution than God i.e., shirk. You cannot say that I created the tree or took care of the tree. The order is established this way so that I take care of the tree. This is an example of the mission of the Prophet to teach me not to commit shirk and not claim that even one particle is created by you.

Every quality that you have acquired is not your property, it is given to you. That is what the Quran teaches us.

If you say that you never miss any prayer and you worked hard on it, then you deserve something.

Do I really deserve something?

38:24 “David said, he has certainly wronged you in demanding that your female sheep be added to his female sheep. And many partners oppress one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and they are few. David then realized that We had been testing him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord, and fell down in prostration, and turned to God in repentance.”

As soon as we realize our mistakes, we must ask for forgiveness and turn to God in repentance. “If you do not guide me, I will always fall into mistakes”, hence we must always look for His guidance.

I shall always fall into prostration and admit that without being conscious of God, I cannot make the right decision, no matter how clear something may seem.

Everything starts with the Creator of the universe, if one sheep/particle acted by itself, then the universe would be created by the particles. The term “female” is referred to here in terms of having the ability to reproduce. That is, I have the tendency to claim that the tree produces the fruit, and the seed, and the tree which comes out of this seed… It goes on. The clouds produce the rain, the sun produces the light… At the end the universe will be given to all of its component parts. This is not a matter of the tree and the fruit, but the matter is “Can the tree give existence to the fruit?”

Unbelievers are unjust people because they cheat humanity. They always speak in flowery ways: “if we follow our feelings, we will be the best people”. Some may say: “I cannot understand, and it is contradictory to my profession, I do it for my living”. I don’t have to find excuses to justify the truth because the truth is so simple, also, I do not have to be an eloquent person to defend the truth. We must be careful that not seriously thinking people are carried away by talented people who present their case in eloquent language. But the truth does not lie in eloquent language.

“If I do not heed your message O Messenger of God, I will never find the truth”. If only we are sincere to see what the message in us is revealing then can we easily see that the message of God sent to the Prophets is really true. Finally, I must repent for my mistakes and ask for forgiveness immediately when I become aware of it. That is what we learn from David’s mistake presented to us.

38:25 “So We forgave him that; and indeed, for him is nearness to Us and a good place of return.”