Surah Al-Anbya, Ayah 81

Dawud and Sulayman and the Signs which They were given; the Story of the People whose Sheep pastured at Night in the Field

Abu Ishaq narrated from Murrah from Ibn Mas`ud: "That crop was grapes, bunches of which were dangling." This was also the view of Shurayh. Ibn `Abbas said: "Nafash means grazing." Shurayh, Az-Zuhri and Qatadah said: "Nafash only happens at night." Qatadah added, "and Al-Haml is grazing during the day."

وَدَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَـنَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِى الْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ الْقَوْمِ

(And (remember) Dawud and Sulayman, when they gave judgement in the case of the field in which the sheep of certain people had pastured at night;) Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said: "Grapes which had grown and their bunches were spoiled by the sheep. Dawud (David) ruled that the owner of the grapes should keep the sheep. Sulayman (Solomon) said, `Not like this, O Prophet of Allah!' Dawud said, `How then' Sulayman said: `Give the grapes to the owner of the sheep and let him tend them until they grow back as they were, and give the sheep to the owner of the grapes and let him benefit from them until the grapes have grown back as they were. Then the grapes should be given back to their owner, and the sheep should be given back to their owner.' This is what Allah said:

وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّ‌يحَ عَاصِفَةً (And for Sulayman [ We subjugated ] the violent wind - 21:81) This sentence is a continuation of an earlier verse وَسَخَّرْ‌نَا مَعَ دَاوُودَ (And with Dawad We subjugated - 21:79). Thus it means that just as Allah Ta’ ala had made birds and hills subservient to Dawud (علیہ السلام) who used to sing in praise of Allah while he recited the Zabur, in the same way He made the wind subservient to Sulayman (علیہ السلام) who used to fly on its wings swiftly wherever he wanted to go. It is worth noting here that while describing subservience of birds and hills for Dawud (علیہ السلام) the word معَ (with) has been used, but the subservience of wind for Sulayman (علیہ السلام) has been described using the letter لام (which means 'for' ). In this there is a subtle hint that the subservience in both these cases was different. In the case of Dawud (علیہ السلام) the birds and hills used to sing praise of Allah with him simultaneously without any command from him. But in the case of Sulayman (علیہ السلام) the wind acted according to his commands and carried him where and when he desired. (Ruh ul-Ma’ ani, with reference to A1-Baidawi).

Ibn Kathir in his commentary has described in fair detail the platform on which Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was carried by the wind. It was made of wood and was of an enormous size which could accomodate him and all the functionaries of the government as well as the army alongwith their weapons, and the wind carried them all wherever it was commanded to go, covering two month's journey in one day.

Ibn Abi Hatim has narrated on the authority of Sayyidna Said Ibn Jubair ؓ that 600, 000 six hundred thousand chairs were placed on this platform on which humans who were also believers sat in front with Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) and behind them sat the believing Jinns. Then the birds were commanded to fly above the platform and protect it from the heat of the sun. Then by the command of Sulayman (علیہ السلام) the wind would take the platform to a specified destination. Some traditions report that throughout this aerial journey, Sulayman علیہ السلام used to sit with his head bowed down praying to and thanking Allah Ta` ala in all humility and not turning his head to the right or to the left.

عَاصِفَةً (violent) Literal meaning of is strong and violent wind. At another place in the Holy Qur'an the attribute of this wind is given as رِیحُ عَاصِفَةً which means a mild breeze, which neither raises dust nor creates turbulence. On the face of it, these attributes are contradictory, but they can be reconciled in that whereas in itself it was so strong that it could accomplish two month's Journey in one day, yet it did not create. any turbulence. It is reported that when this platform used to fly in the air, no birds were ever harmed due to velocity of the wind.

In these verses two Israelite prophets have been mentioned—One David (Dawud) and the other, his son, Soloman (Sulayman). God had bestowed upon them the capability to settle human problems and take right decisions about them. The Prophet David used to offer prayers to God so eloquently that even the mountains and the birds would join in with him. Moreover, God also told him how to make use of iron. It was the prophets of God who taught man how to pray to his Lord and praise Him. But it appears from these verses that other important things also came to be properly known to man through the prophets: for instance, the principles of social justice and the use of minerals and metals. Indeed, primary knowledge of every important thing in relation to life was probably granted to man through their good graces alone.