ٱلْأَنْبِيَاء : ٧٨

  • وَدَاوُۥدَ And Dawud
  • وَسُلَيۡمَٰنَ and Sulaiman
  • إِذۡ when
  • يَحۡكُمَانِ they judged
  • فِي concerning
  • ٱلۡحَرۡثِ the field
  • إِذۡ when
  • نَفَشَتۡ pastured
  • فِيهِ in it
  • غَنَمُ sheep
  • ٱلۡقَوۡمِ (of) a people
  • وَكُنَّا and We were
  • لِحُكۡمِهِمۡ to their judgment
  • شَٰهِدِينَ witness
And [mention] David and Solomon, when they judged concerning the field - when the sheep of a people overran it [at night],1 and We were witness to their judgement.
Footnotes
1 - Eating and destroying the crops.
And, mention, David and Solomon, that is, [mention] their story (Daawooda wa-Sulaymaana is substituted by [the following, idh yahkumaani .]) when they gave judgement concerning the tillage, a field of crops or a vineyard, when the sheep of a [certain] people strayed into it, that is, [when these sheep] grazed there at night, but without a shepherd, because they had escaped; and We were witnesses to their judgement (lihukmihim shaahideena: here the plural person is being used in the case of a dual). David decreed: to the owner of the tillage belong the head of the sheep. Solomon decreed: he shall benefit from [the use of] their milk, offspring and wool until such time as the tillage is restored to its original state at the hands of the owner [of the sheep], after which he [the owner of the tillage] should return them [the sheep] to him [their owner].