Al-Isra: 55

Ayah

Word by Word

وَرَبُّكَ

And your Lord

أَعۡلَمُ

(is) most knowing

بِمَن

of whoever

فِي

(is) in

ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ

the heavens

وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ

and the earth

وَلَقَدۡ

And verily

فَضَّلۡنَا

We have preferred

بَعۡضَ

some

ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ

(of) the Prophets

عَلَىٰ

بَعۡضٖۖ

others

وَءَاتَيۡنَا

And We gave

دَاوُۥدَ

Dawood

زَبُورٗا

Zaboor

Translation

And it is your Lord that knoweth best all beings that are in the heavens and on earth: We did bestow on some prophets more (and other) gifts than on others: and We gave to David (the gift of) the Psalms.

Tafsir

"People should speak Good Words with Politeness

Allah commands:

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُواۡ الَّتِي هِيَ أَحۡسَنُ إِنَّ الشَّيۡطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيۡنَهُمۡ إِنَّ الشَّيۡطَانَ كَانَ لِلِنۡسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا

And say to My servants that they should say those words that are best. (Because) Shaytan verily, sows a state of conflict and disagreement among them. Surely, Shaytan is to man a plain enemy.

Allah commands His servant Muhammad to tell the believing servants of Allah that they should address one another in their conversations and discussions with the best and politest of words, for if they do not do that, Shaytan will sow discord among them, and words will lead to actions, so that evil and conflicts and fights will arise among them. For Shaytan is the enemy of Adam and his descendants, and has been since he refused to prostrate to Adam. His enmity is obvious and manifest. For this reason it is forbidden for a man to point at his Muslim brother with an iron instrument, for Shaytan may cause him to strike him with it.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said:

""The Messenger of Allah said:

لَاا يُشِيرَنَّ أَحَدُكُمۡ إِلَى أَخِيهِ بِالسِّلَاحِ فَإِنَّهُ لَاا يَدۡرِي أَحَدُكُمۡ لَعَلَّ الشَّيۡطَانَ أَنۡ يَنۡزِعَ فِي يَدِهِ فَيَقَعَ فِي حُفۡرَةٍ مِنَ النَّار

No one of you should point at his brother with a weapon, for he does not know whether Shaytan will cause him to strike him with it and thus be thrown into a pit of Fire.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded this Hadith with the chain of narration from Abdur-Razzaq

People should speak Good Words with Politeness

Allah commands:

And say to My servants that they should say those words that are best. (Because) Shaytan verily, sows a state of conflict and disagreement among them. Surely, Shaytan is to man a plain enemy.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said:

""The Messenger of Allah said:

No one of you should point at his brother with a weapon, for he does not know whether Shaytan will cause him to strike him with it and thus be thrown into a pit of Fire.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded this Hadith with the chain of narration from Abdur-Razzaq

Allah says:

رَّبُّكُمۡ أَعۡلَمُ بِكُمۡ

Your Lord knows you best;

O mankind, meaning, He knows best who among you deserves to be guided and who does not deserve to be guided.

إِن يَشَأۡ يَرۡحَمۡكُمۡ

if He wills, He will have mercy on you,

by helping you to obey Him and turn to Him.

أَوۡ إِن يَشَأۡ يُعَذِّبۡكُمۡ وَمَا أَرۡسَلۡنَاكَ

or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you (- O Muhammad -).

عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَكِيلً

as a guardian over them.

meaning, `We have sent you as a warner, so whoever obeys you, will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys you, will enter Hell.

وَرَبُّكَ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارۡضِ

And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth.

meaning, their status or level of obedience or disobedience.

The Preference of some Prophets above Others

Allah says:

وَلَقَدۡ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَى بَعۡضٍ

And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others.

As Allah says:

تِلۡكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَهُمۡ عَلَى بَعۡضٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَهُمۡ دَرَجَـتٍ

Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honor). (2:253)

This does not contradict the report in the Two Sahihs which says that the Messenger of Allah said:

لَاا تُفَضِّلُوا بَيۡنَ الاۡاَنۡبِيَاء

Don't give superiority to any Prophet among (Allah's) Prophets.

What is meant in this Hadith is giving a superiority based on whims and fanaticism or sectarian feelings, not on the basis of evidence. If there is solid evidence, we have to follow it. There is no dispute that the Messengers are better than the rest of the Prophets, and that the mighty Messengers of Great Resolve are the best of all. They are the five mentioned in two Ayat of the Qur'an, in Surah Al-Ahzab:

وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّيۡنَ مِيثَاقَهُمۡ وَمِنۡكَ وَمِن نُّوحٍ وَإِبۡرَهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابۡنِ مَرۡيَمَ

And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa son of Maryam. (33:7)

and in Surah Ash-Shura:

شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الِدِينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحاً وَالَّذِى أَوۡحَيۡنَأ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَا وَصَّيۡنَا بِهِ إِبۡرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنۡ أَقِيمُواۡ الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُواۡ فِيهِ

He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Nuh, and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We ordained for Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it. (42:13)

There is no dispute that Muhammad is the best of them, then Ibrahim, then Musa, then `Isa (peace be upon them all), according to the best-known view.

We have discussed the evidence for this in detail elsewhere, and Allah is the source of help.

Allah's saying,

وَاتَيۡنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا

and to Dawud We gave the Zabur.

is an indication of his virtue and honor.

Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said:

خُفِّفَ عَلَى دَاوُدَ الۡقُرۡانُ فَكَانَ يَأۡمُرُ بِدَوَابِّهِ فَتُسۡرَجُ فَكَانَ يَقۡرَوُهُ قَبۡلَ أَنۡ يَفۡرُغ

The Qur'an (i.e. revealed Scripture of Zabur) was made easy for Dawud, so he would call for his mounts to be saddled, and he would finish reciting it (i.e., the Zabur) before the job was done."

Related Q&A

Why there's a "distinction" between Prophets of Allah?

Allah said in the Quran:

"Say, O believers, "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims in submission to Him." (Quran 2:136)

Please, pay attention to the sentence: We make no distinction between any of them. If it is the case, then why there are five Messengers of Ulu Al-'Azm (Muhammad, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Nuh may peace and salutation be upon them) or why we often say that our Prophet Muhammad is the greatest prophet?

ANSWER:

Which is forbidden is to make distinction in believing them. Al-Tabari explained that its meaning is "We do not believe in some prophets and at the same time disbelieve in others." Jami' Al-Bayan (III/109). We can know this from looking at the whole verse as well.

As for saying that some prophets have more virtues than the other based on Quranic verse or Prophetic hadith, it is permissible and even obligatory in the context of relying on Allah and His Messenger.

Allah Himself said in the Qur'an:

"Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree. And We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear proofs, and We supported him with the Pure Spirit." (Quran 2:253)

He also said:

"And We have made some of the prophets exceed others in various ways, and to David We gave the book of Psalms." (Quran 17:55)

Our Prophet Muhammad said, "I am the master of the children of Adam on the Day of Judgement, and I am not boasting." (narrated by Al-Tirmidhi no. 3975)

Allah knows best.