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Ayah
Word by Word
يَعۡمَلُونَ
They worked
لَهُۥ
for him
مَا
what
يَشَآءُ
he willed
مِن
of
مَّحَٰرِيبَ
elevated chambers
وَتَمَٰثِيلَ
and statues
وَجِفَانٖ
and bowls
كَٱلۡجَوَابِ
like reservoirs
وَقُدُورٖ
and cooking-pots
رَّاسِيَٰتٍۚ
fixed
ٱعۡمَلُوٓاْ
Work
ءَالَ
O family
دَاوُۥدَ
(of) Dawood!
شُكۡرٗاۚ
(in) gratitude
وَقَلِيلٞ
But few
مِّنۡ
of
عِبَادِيَ
My slaves
ٱلشَّكُورُ
(are) grateful
يَعۡمَلُونَ
They worked
لَهُۥ
for him
مَا
what
يَشَآءُ
he willed
مِن
of
مَّحَٰرِيبَ
elevated chambers
وَتَمَٰثِيلَ
and statues
وَجِفَانٖ
and bowls
كَٱلۡجَوَابِ
like reservoirs
وَقُدُورٖ
and cooking-pots
رَّاسِيَٰتٍۚ
fixed
ٱعۡمَلُوٓاْ
Work
ءَالَ
O family
دَاوُۥدَ
(of) Dawood!
شُكۡرٗاۚ
(in) gratitude
وَقَلِيلٞ
But few
مِّنۡ
of
عِبَادِيَ
My slaves
ٱلشَّكُورُ
(are) grateful
Translation
They worked for him as he desired, (making) arches, images, basons as large as reservoirs, and (cooking) cauldrons fixed (in their places): "Work ye, sons of David, with thanks! but few of My servants are grateful!"
Tafsir
They fashioned for him whatever he wished: lofty shrines (mahaareeb are high edifices which are ascended by stairs) and statues (tamaatheel is the plural of timthaal, which is any thing which you fashion as a likeness [of another]), in other words, brass, crystal or marble figures - the use of figures was not prohibited according to his Law; and basins (jifaan is the plural of jafna) like cisterns (jawaabin is the plural of jaabiya, which is a large basin) - around each 'basin' a thousand men would gather to eat - and cauldrons built into the ground, fixed with foundations, and cannot be moved from their places: these were made from the [rocks of the] mountains of Yemen, and to which one ascended by climbing up a ladder. And We said: 'Work, O, House of David, in obedience to God, in thankfulness, to Him for what He has given you. And few indeed of My servants are thankful', labouring in obedience to Me in thanks for My favours.
The Favors which Allah bestowed upon Dawud
Allah says:
وَلَقَدۡ اتَيۡنَا دَاوُودَ مِنَّا فَضۡلً يَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِي مَعَهُ وَالطَّيۡرَ وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الۡحَدِيدَ
And indeed We bestowed grace on Dawud from Us (saying):
O you mountains! Glorify with him! And you birds (also)! And We made the iron soft for him.
Here Allah tells us how He blessed His servant and Messenger Dawud (David), peace be upon him, and what He gave him of His great bounty, giving him both Prophethood and kingship, and huge numbers of troops. And He blessed him with a mighty voice. Such that when he glorified Allah, the firm, solid, high mountains joined him in glorifying Allah, and the free-roaming birds, who go out in the morning and come back in the evening, stopped for him, and he was able to speak all languages.
In the Sahih it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah heard the voice of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, reciting at night, and he stopped and listened to his recitation, then he said:
لَقَدۡ أُوتِيَ هذَا مِزۡمَارًا مِنۡ مَزَامِيرِ الِ دَاوُد
This man has been given one of the sweet melodious voices of the Prophet Dawud.
Abu Uthman An-Nahdi said,
I never heard any cymbal, stringed instrument or chord that was more beautiful than the voice of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him.
أَوِّبِي
(Glorify) means, glorify Allah.
This was the view of Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and others.
The root of this word (Ta'wib) means to repeat or respond, so the mountains and birds were commanded to repeat after him.
وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الۡحَدِيدَ
And We made the iron soft for him.
Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Al-A mash and others said,
He did not need to heat it in the fire or beat it with a hammer؛ he could simply twist it in his hands, like a thread.
Allah said
أَنِ اعۡمَلۡ سَابِغَاتٍ
Saying:Make you perfect coats of mail...,
which means chain mail.
Qatadah said,
He was the first person ever to make chain mail; before that, they used to wear plated armor.
وَقَدِّرۡ فِي السَّرۡدِ
and balance well the rings of chain armor (Sard),
This is how Allah taught His Prophet Dawud, peace be upon him, to make coats of mail.
Mujahid said concerning the Ayah:
وَقَدِّرۡ فِي السَّرۡد
(and balance well the rings of chain armor (Sard)),
Do not make the rivets too loose that the rings (of chain mail) will shake, or make them too tight that they will not be able to move at all, but make it just right.
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said,
Sard refers to a ring of iron.
Some of them said,
Chain mail is called Masrud; if it is held together with rivets.
وَاعۡمَلُوا صَالِحًا
and work you (men) righteousness.
means, with regard to what Allah has given you of blessings.
إِنِّي بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
Truly, I am All-Seer of what you do.
means, watching you and seeing all that you do and say؛ nothing of that is hidden at all
The Favors which Allah bestowed upon Suleiman
Allah says:
وَلِسُلَيۡمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهۡرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهۡرٌ
And to Suleiman (We subjected) the wind, its morning was a month's (journey), and its afternoon was a month's (journey).
Having mentioned the blessings with which He favored Dawud, Allah follows this by mentioning what He gave to Dawud's son Suleiman (Solomon), may peace be upon them both. He subjugated the wind to him, so that it would carry his carpet one way for a month, then back again the next month.
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,
He set out from Damascus in the morning, landed in Istakhar where he ate a meal, then flew on from Istakhar and spent the night in Kabil.
Between Damascus and Istakhar is an entire month's travel for a swift rider, and between Istakhar and Kabul is an entire month's travel for a swift rider.
وَأَسَلۡنَا لَهُ عَيۡنَ الۡقِطۡرِ
.
And We caused a fount Qitr to flow for him,
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Ata' Al-Khurasani, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Malik from Zayd bin Aslam, Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others said,
Qitr means copper.
Qatadah said, It was in Yemen.
Allah brought forth all the things that people make for Suleiman, peace be upon him.
..
وَمِنَ الۡجِنِّ مَن يَعۡمَلُ بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّهِ
and there were Jinn that worked in front of him, by the leave of his Lord.
means, `We subjugated the Jinn to work in front of him,' by the permission of his Lord, i.e., by Allah's decree and subjugation, they built whatever constructions he wanted, and did other work as well.
وَمَن يَزِغۡ مِنۡهُمۡ عَنۡ أَمۡرِنَا
And whosoever of them turned aside from Our command,
means, whoever among them tried to rebel and disobey,
نُذِقۡهُ مِنۡ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ
We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire.
which means, burning
يَعۡمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاء مِن مَّحَارِيبَ وَتَمَاثِيلَ
They worked for him as he desired on Maharib, Tamathil,
Maharib refers to beautiful structures, the best and innermost part of a dwelling.
Ibn Zayd said,
This means dwellings.
With regard to Tamathil, Atiyah Al-Awfi, Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi said that;
Tamathil means pictures.
وَجِفَانٍ كَالۡجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَّاسِيَاتٍ
large basins like Jawab and Qudur Rasiyat.
Jawab, the plural form of Jabiyah, refers to cisterns or tanks in which water is held, and Qudur Rasiyat are cauldrons that stay in one place and are not moved around because of their great size.
This was the view of Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and others.
اعۡمَلُوا الَ دَاوُودَ شُكۡرًا
Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!
means, `We said to them:Work with thanks for the blessings that We have bestowed upon you in this world and the Hereafter.'
This indicates that thanks may be expressed by actions as much as by words and intentions.
Abu Abdur-Rahman Al-Hubuli said,
Prayer is thanks, fasting is thanks, every good deed that you do for the sake of Allah is thanks, and the best of thanks is praise.
This was recorded by Ibn Jarir. In the Two Sahihs, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah said:
إِنَّ أَحَبَّ الصَّلَةِ إِلَى اللهِ تَعَالَى صَلَةُ دَاوُدَ كَانَ يَنَامُ نِصۡفَ اللَّيۡلِ وَيَقُومُ ثُلُثَهُ وَيَنَامُ سُدُسَهُ
وَأَحَبَّ الصِّيَامِ إِلَى اللهِ تَعَالَى صِيَامُ دَاوُدَ كَانَ يَصُومُ يَوۡمًا وَيُفۡطِرُ يَوۡمًا وَلَاأ يَفِرُّ إِذَا لَاأقَى
The most beloved of prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud. He used to sleep for half the night, stand in prayer for a third of it and sleep for a sixth of it.
The most beloved of fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud. He used to fast for a day then not fast for a day, and he never fled the battlefield.
Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Fudayl said concerning the Ayah:
اعۡمَلُوا الَ دَاوُودَ شُكۡرًا
(Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!)
Dawud said, O Lord! How can I thank you when thanks itself is a blessing from You!
He said:Now you have truly given thanks to Me, for you have realized that it is a blessing from Me.
وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنۡ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ
But few of My servants are grateful.
This is a reflection of reality
The Death of Suleiman
Allah tells:
فَلَمَّا قَضَيۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ الۡمَوۡتَ
Then when We decreed death for him,
Allah tells us how Suleiman, peace be upon him, died and how Allah concealed his death from the Jinn who were subjugated to him to do hard labor. He remained leaning on his stick, which was his staff, as Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others said.
He stayed like that for a long time, nearly a year. When a creature of the earth, which was a kind of worm, ate through the stick, it became weak and fell to the ground. Then it became apparent that he had died a long time before.
It also became clear to Jinn and men alike that the Jinn do not know the Unseen as they (the Jinn) used to imagine and tried to deceive people.
This is what Allah says:
مَا دَلَّهُمۡ عَلَى مَوۡتِهِ إِلاَّ دَابَّةُ الاۡاَرۡضِ تَأۡكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُ فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ الۡجِنُّ أَن لَّوۡ كَانُوا يَعۡلَمُونَ الۡغَيۡبَ مَا لَبِثُوا فِي الۡعَذَابِ الۡمُهِينِ
nothing informed them (Jinn) of his death except a little worm of the earth which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick. So when he fell down, the Jinn ﷺ clearly that if they had known the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.
meaning, it became clear to the people that they (the Jinn) were lying.
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