Fabricated Scandal against Prophet Dawood

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

Yes, this is a lie against the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him). The worst lies are those against Allah (Most High) and His blessed Prophets. And it is a trait of the Kufar. A Muslim must be very cautious when attributing anything to Allah (Most High) or His Noble Prophets (peace be upon them).

Explanation

 

قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ

He said: He has certainly wronged you by asking for your ewe in addition to his ewes. Indeed, many associates oppress one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. But they are few. And David realised that We had tested him. So, he sought forgiveness from his Lord and fell down bowing and repented. (Surah Saad, 24).

 

The lie against the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) is often narrated in the context of explaining the above verse of the Holy Quran. Such narrators will say the verse above is to be interpreted and not taken literally. It is interpreted as the blessed Prophet Dawud having 99 wives but still taking the wife of one of his followers called Uriyah.

 

The narration

The most reliable work in which the narration is found is the Musanaf of Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah. I have narrated a portion of it below. Since it is from a very long narration, much of which is not relevant to our discussion.

 

 

فَأَتَاهَا، وَأَغْلَقَتِ الْبَابَ دُونَهُ، فَقَالَتْ: مَا لَكَ يَا دَاوُدُ؟ أَمَا تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ مَنْ فَعَلَ هَذَا رَجَمْتُمُوهُمَا وَوَعَظَتْهُ فَرَجَعَ

He came to her, and she closed the door behind him. Then she said: What is with you, Dawood? Do you not know that whoever did this, you would stone them? She admonished him, so he returned. (Musanaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 32556).  

Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated the above from Sayidina Abdullah bin Abbas. Therefore, it is not a Prophetic narration. Nor is it an authentic narration. Even if it were authentic then it would be reasonable to assume that this narration is from the Israeliyaat.

 

قال: فكتب إليه أن ابعثه إلى عدوّ كذا وكذا، فبعثه فقتل المرة الثالثة، قال: وتزوج امرأته. (تفسير الطبري)

He said: He wrote to him to send him to such and such an enemy. So, he sent him, and he was killed on the third occasion. He said: And he married his wife. (Imam Abu Ja’far al-Tabari 310H, Jami al-Bayan).

 

Ibn Abi Dunya narrated it too. As did Imam Tabari in his Tarikh and Tafseer. However, these early Imams tended not to claim the narration is authentic. Nor did they use it as a basis for legal or credal determinations. Deplorably, that was done by some later people.

 

 

Correct interpretation

Imam Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi provided the correct understanding of the Noble verse of the Holy Quran mentioned above. He explained that this was simply an issue of the blessed Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) speaking prior to hearing from both parties. However, some enemies of the Prophets from the Ahl al-Kitab used the incident to invent a lie against Sayidina Dawud.

هذه القصة لا تصح لأنه لا يظن بالنبي مثل داود أنه يفعل مثل ذلك، ولكن كانت خطيئته أنه لما اختصما إليه، فقال للمدعي: لقد ظلمك بسؤال نعجتك إلى نعاجه، فنسبه إلى الظلم بقول المدعي. فكان ذلك منه زلة، فاستغفر ربه عن زلته. (بحر العلوم)

This story is not true. Since it is not imagined that a Prophet like David (peace be upon him) would do such a thing. However, his issue was that when the adversaries came to him, he said to the plaintiff: He wronged you by asking for your ewe in addition to his ewes. Thus, he (peace be upon him) attributed injustice to him based on what the plaintiff said. This was a slip-up on his part, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness for it. (Imam Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi 373H, Bahr al-Uloom).

 

Strong condemnation

The lie against the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) has been condemned in the strongest terms by many leading Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. Some have quoted Sayidina Ali threatening 160 lashes for anyone who repeats such lies against Sayidina Dawud. Although these Imams did not narrate this quote with an authentic chain, it does demonstrate their outrage at this vile lie against the blessed Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him).

 

عَليّ رَضِي الله عَنهُ أَنه قَالَ: من زعم أَن دَاوُد ارْتكب محرما من تِلْكَ الْمَرْأَة جلدته مائَة وَسِتِّينَ جلدَة، يَعْنِي ضعف مَا يجلد الْإِنْسَان فِي غَيره. (تفسير السمعاني)

Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever claims that Dawud committed a forbidden act with that woman, I will flog him one hundred and sixty times. Meaning double the flogging a person would receive for someone else. (Imam Abu Mudhafar al-Sam’ani 489H, Tafseer).  

 

قال علي بن أبي طالب – رضي الله تعالى عنه -: لو سمعت رجلاً يذكر أن داود عليه الصلاة والسلام قارف من تلك المرأة محرماً لجلدته ستين ومائة لأن حد الناس ثمانون وحدود الأنبياء صلوات الله – تعالى – وسلامه عليهم ستون ومائة. (تفسير القرآن)

Ali bin Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) said: If I heard a man mention that Dawud (peace and blessings be upon him) had Haram relations with that woman, I would lash him 160 times. Since the punishment for people is 80, and the punishment for (accusing) Prophets (Peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them) is 160 times. (Imam Izz al-Deen bin Abd al-Salam 660H, Tafseer al-Quran)

 

 

Fabrication

The lie against the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) is based upon narrations that have been rejected by major Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. Therefore, no person should treat these narrations as factual. And it is certainly misguidance to use the narrations to prove points of law or creed. As was done by certain Sufis.

وَهَذَا بَاطِلٌ يَرُدُّهُ الْقُرْآنُ وَالْآثَارُ التَّفْسِيرِيَّةُ كُلُّهَا. (أحكام القرآن)

This is false. It is refuted by the Qur’an and all Tafseer narrations. (Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi 543H, Ahkam al-Quran).

 

فأمّا ما روي أنه نظر إِلى المرأة فهَويَها وقدَّم زَوْجَها للقتل، فإنه وجهٌ لا يجوز على الأنبياء، لأن الأنبياء لا يأتون المعاصي مع العِلْم بها. (زاد المسير في علم التفسير)

As for what was narrated, that he (peace be upon him) looked at the woman and desired her. So pushed forward her husband to be killed. This is a presentation that is not permissible for the Prophets. Since the Prophets do not commit sins whilst knowing them. (Imam Abd al-Rahman Ibn al-Jowzi 597H, Zaad al-Maseer).

 

ذَكَرَهُ الْمَاوَرْدِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ. وَلَا يَصِحُّ. (تفسير القرطبي)

Al-Mawardi and others mentioned it. It is not authentic. (Imam Abu Abdillah al-Qurtubi 671H, al-Jami li Ahkam al-Quran).

 

وما قيل إنه أرسل أوريا إلى الجهاد مراراً وأمر أن يقدم حتى قتل فتزوجها هزء وافتراء، ولذلك قال علي رضي الله عنه: من حدث بحديث داود عليه السلام على ما يرويه القصاص جلدته مائة وستين. (أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل)

What was said that he sent Uriyah to battle repeatedly and ordered him to go forward until he was killed and then he married her is mockery and slander. That is why, Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever narrates the narration of Dawud (peace be upon him), like the storytellers do, I will lash him one hundred and sixty times. (Imam Nasir al-Deen al-Baydawi 685H, Anwar al-Tanzeel).

 

Dangerous scholars

Imam Ibn Qudamah considered the mere hearing of the lie against the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) to be harmful. So, people who narrate the fabrication and use it to prove credal or legal matters are outright destructive. This was done by a few Sufi scholars who have prominence with certain Muslims.

 

وأن داود جهز أوريا حتى قتل، فمثل هذا يضر سماعه. (مُخْتََصَرُ مِنْهَاجِ القَاصِدِينْ)

And that Dawood prepared Uriyah until he was killed. Hearing such a thing is harmful. (Imam Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi 689H, Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasideen).

Conclusion

The lie against the Prophet Dawud that is mentioned in certain books is to be rejected outright. The early Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah made no claims of authenticity for such fabrications. Shockingly, certain Sufi people who came later strengthened these narrations by using them to support credal or legal matters that they had invented. And since these people have a relatively large following the lies have spread.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (04.05.24)