Prophet Dawood’s Judgement | Episode 2

Dear viewers of Imam Hussein TV, welcome back to yet another episode of Quranic stories that change lives, where we delve into the verses of the Holy Quran and delve into the beautiful stories of the Holy Quran to understand, reflect, and to implement and to apply them within our practical and daily lives, inshallah. In today's episode, allow me to begin with the following. How many times have you and I come across individuals and without a moment's notice, we have decided that that individual too arrogant. She troublemaker. The two of them together? No, it can't work. How many times have you and I come across individuals that straight away, we have made snap judgments. We have formed opinions quicker than we can even think. How many times have you and I made an individual disreputable even in our own minds? You see, you and I live in this world where everything has become so fast-paced. Everything has become so quick. Our deliveries have become next-day deliveries. Our food has become fast food. Our coffees have become instant coffees. And similarly, our knowledge has become at our fingertips. And therefore, when we come across individuals, we sometimes become too quick to judge them. We sometimes become too quick to form opinions about them. We sometimes don't even give them any benefit of the doubt. Without realizing that in fact, what we're seeing is only the surface of the iceberg. But the realities are hidden well beneath. The iceberg model suggests that what you and I see is only a 10% of the surface. That yes, you and I may see their behaviors, you and I may see individuals appearances, you and I may see their successes or the results of what they've been doing in their life. But what you and I do not see is 90% of their lives, which is hidden well beneath the iceberg model. We don't see their intentions, we don't see their trauma, we don't understand what they've gone through. We don't understand much at all. But yet, based on what we see on the 10%, we start formulating our opinions and we pass quick judgments about them and against them. And therefore, tonight's episode may be a little bit uncomfortable. Why? Because we're not going to be talking about other people. We're not going to be talking about our friends, we're not going to be talking about our communities or our colleagues or our families. We're going to be talking about us. Our tendency to judge. Our tendency to form quick opinions. Our tendencies to make judgments without even giving it a second thought. And therefore, the verses of the Holy Quran that I'll be touching upon today is from Surah Sad, chapter number 38, verses 21 to 24. And again, when you and I go through these verses, there's going to be a case that's going to be examined. And you and I may think that the outcome of the case is clear-cut. And this is how the judge should pass his judgment. But soon, you and I may change the opinion. Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala in verse 21 of Surah Sad, chapter number 38, states and he starts the story Wa Hal Ataka Ba Na Ul Khasmi. ith tasawwarul mihrab." And has the story of the two litigants and has the story of the two plaintiffs, has the story of two individuals that had a court case against one another come to you? Wahel ataka bana ul khasmi ith tasawwarul mihrab, "And has the story of these two individuals who climbed the very tall walls of David's chambers reached you?" Allamah Muhammad Hussein Tabatabai in his book Tafsir ul Mizan, he states that the word tasawwur is generally used to describe very tall buildings, a very tall wall. And mihrab is something that is used to describe the innermost chambers. And so, the question that is being asked here of Rasulullah is, "Has the story of the two individuals who climbed the castle walls to David's private rooms reached you?" Why do I say a castle? In addition to being a prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in addition to being a wise and a noble judge, Dawood alayhis salaam was also a king. And when you are a king, the place of your residence, i.e. a castle or a palace, has to be well guarded. And your mihrab, the place that your most innermost private chambers are going to be in the heart of this castle. And for someone to climb the castle walls denotes that the individuals must have an ulterior motive, because why else would they climb your castle walls in order to meet you? Normally, who would climb a castle wall of a king? Assassins, those that wish to cause harm to the king. And so, the Holy Quran starts to paint a picture of exactly what's happening. Dawud alayhis salaam is in his innermost chambers. And these two individuals climbed the wall of Dawud alayhis salaam. Why? We go into the following verse. Chapter number 38, again Surah Saad, but now verse number 22. Idh dakhalu ala Dawuda when they came into the presence of Dawud alayhi salaam fa fazi'a minhum The word used here is faza. He was startled by them. He was alarmed by them. Again, let us understand exactly why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has used the word faza. You know, in the Arabic language, there are many different words to denote fear, khawf being one of them. But faza has a slightly different connotation. What do I mean? Faza means that the faculty of one's ability to make decisions is now at the back foot. The individual is now reactionary, rather than being proactive in making decisions, because of the fear that is in his heart, he takes a reactionary seat. And so, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says idh dakhalu ala Dawuda, so when they came into the presence of Dawud alayhis salaam fa fazi'a minhum, rightly so, he was startled by them. He was alarmed by them. He was at the back foot. And why wouldn't he be? Imagine he overnight sleeping in our rooms, someone climbs in through our windows, you and I will, of course, be scared. However, the verse continues qalu la takhaf. They said, "Have no fear. Khasmani bagha ba'duna ala ba'din. We are two disputers. We are two individuals that have a court case against one another. One of us has wronged one another. So now we understand that the reason these two individuals climbed the high castle walls of Dawood Alayhis Salaam to get into the heart of his house, of his residence, was not to attack him, was not for ulterior motives, it was to gain an audience with him so that he's able to hear them out and pass a judgment. Because like I said, Dawood Alayhis Salaam was a king, he was a prophet, but he was also a wise and a noble judge. Now, why did they not approach him in the normal office hours? Why did they not ask him and grant an appointment get an appointment like normal people do? Maybe they thought Dawood Alayhis Salaam maybe for example would have turned them away or his bodyguards would have turned them away or they weren't able to get an appointment and they had to go to this dire situation of climbing the castle walls. Now the story continues. Fahkum baynana bil haq. So judge between us with truth. Wa la tushtit. And do not be unjust. It's ironic that these two individuals have committed a crime in order to he get a hearing for a criminal court case. But yet the irony is that they have the audacity to tell Dawood Alayhis Salaam Fahkum baynana bil haq. So judge between us with truth. Wa la tushtit. And do not be unjust. Why would they say this to Dawood Alayhis Salaam? Do not be unjust. You know, many a times when you and I may be in situations that we may have to pass uh opinions, our opinions are of course formed on the basis of who we are as a person. So for example, in the case of a criminal court case, a judge who is rich may favor those individuals, those claimants that are also rich as opposed to those who are poor. For example, a judge who is sitting over a case of a marital dispute, if the judge is a male, then he may be siding towards the male. Or if the judge is the woman, similarly, the judge may side towards the female claimant. And similarly, they're saying that would look Dawud alayhis salaam, you are a rich person in case with what we have with a criminal court case and that's got to do with money, you yourself are quite affluent, then walatustid, do not be unbiased, do not be unjust. And the same verse of 22 continues, wahdina ila siwa as-sirat, and guide us to the most even of all paths. So, they're telling Dawud, look, be fair, be just and be straight down the middle. Now, we continue to the third verse in question, verse number 23. Inna haza akhi, this here is my brother. So, now we're getting into the context of the verse of the Holy Quran that these two claimants are brothers, either by blood or by business as we will come to see. Inna haza akhi, and this is my brother. Lahu, tis'un wa tis'una na'ja, and he here has 99 sheep. Wa li na'jatun wahida, however, I only have one. Faqala, aqfilniha, still he says, "Give it to me." Wa a'azzani fil khitab, and he has overpowered me with his argument. So, the case is that there is a brother who's rich, 99 sheep, and there's a brother who is poor with only one sheep. And the poor brother is saying that look, he is so powerful. He is so strong. He is a bully that he is overpowering me and he's intimidating me and he's bullying me saying that look, I already have 99 sheep. I also want your one sheep so that I can have my 100 complete. So the person is saying that look, he is intimidating me. And do we not see this in real life? Big conglomerates, huge businesses, those that have budgets of millions of pounds in their marketing budgets. They drive the small businesses into the ground. Not only through their marketing budgets, but even through legal paperwork. The small businesses cannot go fight against the big businesses of the world. Why? Because the budget of the legal budget of the big businesses is the entire turnover of the small business. And so they're not able to go head-to-head. So therefore, this individual is saying that look, this brother of mine, he's got 99 sheep. He's powerful and he's overpowering me. So I have come to you for help. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues in the 24th verse of the same surah. Qala. Dawud alayhis salaam says, meaning he is now ready to pass his judgment. Qala. Laqad zalamaka bisu'ali na'jatikha ila ni'ajeh. Certainly, he has wronged you in demanding your sheep to add to his 99 sheep. So here, Dawud alayhis salaam sides with the brother that has one sheep. He sides with the poor brother as opposed to going with the richer brother. Wa inna. And then Dawud alayhis salaam not only does he pass his judgment, but now he's also giving a sermon. He's teaching the two individuals. Wa inna kathiran minal khulafa'i lay up with me And certainly, no doubt, indeed many of the partners wrong one another except those who believe and do righteous and how few they are. So now Dawood, not only does he side with the poor brother, not only does he side with the one that has one sheep, he's also giving a sermon. He's also explaining to the richer brother that we all need to be fair in this world. Now, the verse hasn't continued to the next verse. In the same verse, which means in the same breath, in the same breath that Dawood alayhis salaam is giving the sermon of being fair, of being just, in the same breath the verse continues wa dhanna Dawood wa annama fatannahu fastaghfara rabbahu wa akhara raki'an wa anaba. Then Dawood alayhis salaam became certain that we had tested him. So he asked for his Lord's forgiveness. He fell down bowing and turned in repentance. What's just happened in this story? Two claimants came. They told him uh it was probably the middle of the night because they were able to climb the uh castle walls. They came into his innermost chambers. The Holy Quran said fafazi'a minhum Dawood was already startled. He was already on the back foot. They also told him that look, be very careful. Wa la tush-tit, do not be unjust. Be un- be unbiased. And he passes his judgment in the favor of the poor brother. But in the same breath as he passes in the judgment, in the same verse, Dawood alayhis salaam realized that he had done something wrong. What had Dawood alayhis salaam done wrong? How many stories, how many sides had Dawood heard of this? Right now, Dawood had only heard one side of the story. The side of the poor brother. He hadn't Had he heard the story of the rich brother? Had he allowed the other person to bring forward his case? What if the richer brother, the one who had 99 sheep, in fact, he had a right over the remaining one sheep and he was meant to be in the right. But Dawood, he just looked at the facts from one side of the story and straight away passed his judgment. What's the moral that we can take from this story? Many a times, like I said, we may only look at the tip of the iceberg. We may only look at 10% of the facts without going into the remaining 90% of the entire iceberg. And sometimes, yes, just like Dawood alayhis salaam was in a state of fuzzah. He was startled by them. He was in the back foot reactionary. Yet, Dawood alayhis salaam was meant to listen to both sides of the story. Similarly, you and I have to listen to both sides of the story. Just like Dawood alayhis salaam was told, "Wa la tush-shiq." Do not be unjust. Do not be unbiased. Do not go down into one road or the other. Be straight down in the middle. Similarly, you and I may get peer pressured by our family, by our friends, by our community, by the society at large, by what we see in the entire world, with what's happening in the news. And we may side with the narrative that is more powerful, the narrative that we give more airtime to. The idea is you and I need to give airtime to both sides of the story. Many a times, for example, you may have come across the story of Prophet Musa alayhis salaam, uh when he noticed two individuals that were fighting, a man from the army of Firaun and another man who was from the Banu Isra'il. And from a bystander, from you and I who may not know the full story, we may look and say that, "Oh, here we go again. The powerful is oppressing the weak. The those that are strong, those that are tyrannical, are now oppressing those that are weak." And here we see that here is an injustice happening. But in fact, if we look into this story in a little bit more detail, we understand that the individual from the Banu Isra'il was in fact a crook. He was a thief. He was being apprehended by the army of the uh, by a man from the army of Firaun. And the story was that Musa Alayhis Salam tried to break this them to a path and with one blow, the other individual fell to his death. However, from a bystander's perspective, we understand, "Oh, here is a clear-cut case." But only when we get closer into the story, we understand these are the two true realities. And therefore, one reflection that you and I can take is nothing is simple at first. Our emotions may be at play when we are in such situations. We may get peer pressured into choosing one side or the other. And we may only look at one part of the reality. And therefore, the all-important question therefore comes from the story of Dawud Alayhis Salam, "Okay, I have understood that I need to stop judging so quickly. I need to take a step back. What is the alternative?" The alternative is to hear both sides of the story, is to understand exactly what is happening before we pass or form start forming opinions. And again, there's a beautiful story within the Holy Quran, chapter number 49, verse number six, where Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala explains this uh, point through trying to understand exactly the importance of understanding two sides of the story. Allah subhana wa ta'ala starts off the holy verse of the Quran, "Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu, oh you who have believed in ja'akum fasiqum binaba'in, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, fatabayyanu in tusibu qawmam bijahalatin, investigate it first lest you harm a people out of ignorance. Fatusbihu 'ala ma fa'altum nadimin, and become over what you have just done regretful." This verse of the holy Quran was revealed on the occasion uh of the tribe of Banu Mustaliq. The Banu Banu Mustaliq had recently become Muslims. They had come, approached Rasulullah, they had recited the shahada, and they accepted Rasulullah as their messenger. And therefore they said, "Ya Rasulullah, we are now Muslims. Send someone so that they're able to collect our zakat, our uh sadaqat, and tax, and so on and so forth." So Rasulullah says, "Very well." He sends an individual by the name of Walid ibn Uqbah. And he says, "Walid, go, look into them, and see if they have in fact indeed become Muslims, and whatever tax or charity or zakat that they need to give, go and collect it from them." Walid says, "Very well." He goes, he travels to the tribe and to the village of the Banu Mustaliq. And as soon as he approaches at the boundaries of the village, he sees all of these individuals from Banu Mustaliq coming out of their houses. Now, in fact, what had happened is the individuals of Banu Mustaliq, they saw that a representative or someone, a messenger of Rasulullah, is coming, we're going to come out of our house to welcome him. However, when Walid saw this transpiring, he thought to himself that surely they are coming to attack me because of what happened a few years ago by the Mustaliq and Walid had a they weren't on good terms but of course they had become Muslims and all was meant to be forgotten. However, Walid said to himself that no, they're going to attack me, they're going to fight me and they're going to kill me. So before even meeting them, he runs away and goes to Rasulullah. Ya Rasulullah, they are building up an army and they're going to attack the city of Medina. Rasulullah being a governor of the city of Medina being the head of state of that city, of course had to take measures, defensive measures and to take that threat as credible. And as soon as Rasulullah was going to start getting people together, the representatives of the village of Banu Mustaliq, they came and they said, "Ya Rasulullah, we saw your representative, we saw your messenger but he came back without even greeting us. Why don't you send someone and collect the zakat?" And now Rasulullah sends someone else. And again that individual goes, it was the time of Maghrib, it was evening and he saw that people are praying Adhan, they're reciting salah and they gave and they welcomed him with utmost respect, they gave him all of the zakat and they gave back to towards Rasulullah. And so when the individual comes to Rasulullah and he says, "Look, from my opinion, they're actually fine. We don't have to raise an army to fight them." And this is the verse that was revealed from Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala who says that look, if someone comes with you who is a disobedient individual and he comes with you with with information, investigate it lest you harm people out of ignorance. And therefore, the lesson you and I can take is whatever news that we receive from this world, we need to take it with a pinch of salt. Malcom Shabazz, famously known as Malcolm X, a civil rights lawyer, human activist, he says what? Be very careful of of newspapers. Be very careful of of the media. Why? Because the media has a way of painting a picture in such a way that the oppressor looks as if he is the victim and the one who is being oppressed looks as if he is the oppressor. And do we not see this right now playing in front of our TV screens, in our news articles and in our news feed? That those that are truly being oppressed are being painted as terrorists and those that are doing the oppression. But those that are truly the oppressors are being painted as victims. And therefore, as a summary in the episode tonight where we discussed the judgement of Dawood alayhis salaam, we discussed how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is training Dawood as a prophet when he had perform this what we would call a turk awla of how he should listen to the full side of the both sides of the story. Similarly, you and I, within our lives, before we formulate judgements against people, we also need to do the same. We, you and I, are not necessarily hard-hearted individuals. But sometimes these stories help for us to circle back and come back to point one. Thank you so much for your attention. Wa akhiru da'wana wal hamdu lillahi rabbil alamin.