May 22nd: Prophets Joshua, Samuel, and David

Prophets Joshua, Samuel, and David

Joshua
- He is from the lineage of Prophet Yusuf and Ibrahim.
- He was mentioned in Quran as a servant with Prophet Musa, his name is not mentioned in Quran however it is mentioned in sahih hadith.
- He was a righteous student of his teacher, Prophet Musa
- When Prophet Musa passed away Prophethood was passed along to him
- He became the leader of the children of Israel
- They were delivered to the holy land under his leadership, they were victorious
- The Prophet (pbuh) tells us why this victory was delayed
- Bani Israel were raised in servitude and slavery. when they left Egypt they were not fit to fight
- In the 40 years of wilderness, the elders died and the youth were raised by Musa and Harun.
- Musa was the most important and best Prophet sent to bani Israel, but victory did not happen on his hands
- Prophet Musa organized bani Israel according to their tribes, he was getting them ready to fight after they come out of the wilderness.
- Aya: “And Allah had taken the covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed from among them twelve chieftains. And Allah said: ‘I am with you, only if you establish prayer, pay the alms, believe in my Messengers and stand with them, and lend to Allah a good loan. So I will expiate your sins, and I will admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow, so whoever of you disbelieves after that, surely, he has gone astray from the Right Way’” (5:12)
- Joshua was fighting with the people Jerusalem (al-jababirah). The sun was about to set while they were fighting, he knew that they needed more time.
- Joshua pointed to the sun and said “You are receiving orders and I am receiving orders so stop”
- Allah made the sun stop until they finished fighting the enemy and then it set
- If you have Allah on your side then that’s all you need
- Hadith: “The sun has never been held back for a human being from setting except for Joshua” (Ahmad)
- Hadith: “One of the Prophets went for a battle, so he said to his people: ‘No one should come with me who has just had a wife but has not yet slept with her, no one who has built a house but did not yet put its roof up, nor the one who has bought goats or pregnant camels and is waiting for them to deliver.’ So the Prophet went for the battle, and approached a town after he had prayed the Asr prayer. Then he said to the sun: ‘You are commanded and I am commanded. O Allah hold it back for a while.” So Allah held it back, till the conquered the town. Then they all gathered what they found as spoils of the war. The fire then came to eat the spoils, but did not eat it. The Prophet then said: There is some one who has cheated from the spoils. So he asked one man from every tribe to come forward and pledge to him. They all came to pledge to him, but the hand of one man stuck with the hand of the Prophet. He said: ‘The cheat is from among you, so now let every one of your tribe come forward and pledge to me.’ They came and offered their pledge to him, and so the hands of two or three people for stuck with his hand, and he said: ‘You are the cheaters, you took the spoils of the war.’ So they took out gold equivalent to the head of a cow. They put the gold together with other spoils, and the fire came and are it. The spoils of war were not allowed for anyone before us. This is because Allah saw our weakness and incapacity, so He purified it for us” (Ahmad)
- He wanted the people who came with him to have sincerity, and not to be distracted. Their hearts shouldn’t be attached to something else.
- They won and started to establish their nation under the banner of “la ilaha illa Allah”
- Bani Israel continued to fight many wars.

Samuel:
- Aya: “Have you not seen the chiefs of the Children of Israel, after Musa, when they said to a Prophet of theirs: ‘Appoint for us a king that we may fight in the cause of Allah.’ He said: ‘Is it not possible that if fighting is prescribed for you, you may not fight?’ They said: ‘How could we refuse to fight in the cause of Allah, when we have been turned out of our homes and separated from our children?’ Yet when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, except a few of them, and Allah is All-Knowing of those evildoers” (2:246)
- He said you’re asking for fighting, but when fighting is prescribed for you will you fight
- They said of course. But Allah tells us that when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away, except for a few of them
- Aya: “And their Prophet said to them: ‘Allah has appointed Talut (Saul) as a king for you.’”
- So their Prophet tells them, ok your wish has been granted but they were not pleased.
- Aya: “They said: ‘How is he entitled to be a king over us, when we are better fitted than him, and he is not even gifted with wealth in abundance?’”
- He was from a lower race or class, and he wasn’t wealthy. Their hearts were diseased: they were arrogant.
- Aya: “He said: ‘Allah has chosen him above you, and has gifted him abundantly with knowledge and bodily strength. Allah bestows sovereignty on whom He pleases, and Allah is Alla-Sufficient, All-Knowing’”
- Their Prophet gave them the answer “Allah commanded it”. He didn’t need to say anything else. But since they gave two reasons why they didn’t want Talut as their leader, he gave them two reasons why he should be their leader.
- He gave them two reasons: he had knowledge (this doesn’t mean knowledge of fiqh, but knowledge in what is appropriate in his case which is fighting), and he also had strength (he was physically strong).
- Aya: “And their Prophet said to them: ‘Indeed the sign of his kingship is that the ark (tabut) shall come to you, in it is serenity from your Lord, and the relics left by the families of Musa and Harun, carried by angels.’ Surely, in this there is a sign for you, if you are believers” (2:247-248)
- Allah wanted to appoint Talut as their king through a ceremony.
- Allah wanted to strengthen their hearts in order to accept him as their leader, so a miracle was going to happen.
- When Bani Israel were at work with the Philistines and were defeated, their “Ark of Covenant”, which they had brought to the battlefield, to bless the war in their favor, was captured by their enemy and taken away. Now Allah is promising the return of this treasure and it will be carried by angels which they will see.
- Now Talut was appointed as their king.
- Aya: “So when Talut went forth with the army, he said: ‘Allah will test you at the river, whoever drinks of its water will not be my companion, and whoever does not taste it, he is surely my companions, and he who takes but a mere sip.’”
- He left the children, women and elderly and took only the soldiers. They numbered 80,000.
- Talut is not looking for numbers, he knew that what they will face ahead needs an iron will. So he wanted to take them through a series of tests so only the strong soldiers will be with him.
- Weak soldiers will cause more harm than benefit.
- He told them about the test.
- He made them march in the desert, he made them thirsty, exhausted and tired.
- When they reached the river (it’s said that it’s the River Jordan), he told them not to drink from it. And whoever drinks from it cannot continue with them.
- If one drank a handful then they could still remain as part of the group (it’s probably easier not to drink than to take that one sip)
- 80,000 went through the test and only 4,000 passed the test.
- 76,000 were left behind.
- Aya: “But they all drank of it, except a few of them. So when he crossed it (the river), he and the believers with him, they said: ‘We have no power this day to fight against Jalut (Goliath) and his armies.’ Those who had firm belied that they will meet Allah, said: ‘How often has a small company overcome a big company by Allah’s Will, and Allah is with those who are patient’”
- They said we have no way of fighting Jalut, they were a small amount compared to Jalut and his army.
- The believers disagreed and told them that they could win by Allah’s will.
- The other didn’t believe in the unseen, so they also failed.
- In the end Talut was left with 314 soldiers, our of 80,000.
- Hadith: The companions said: “We the companions of the Propeht were discussing that the number of those who attended Badr Battle was the same number of those who participated with Talut”
- Aya: “And when they advanced against Jalut and his army, they prayed: ‘Our Lord! Pour out upon us constancy (sabr) and make our foothold firm, and help us against the disbeliever people.’ So they rooted them by Allah’s Will.”
- After we do our part in preparation, we put our trust in Allah and we make dua for Him to help us. That is what they did.
- They asked Allah to pour patience over them, because they knew that they needed a lot of it.
- The battle started, a huge army was fighting this small army.
- Jalut was the kind of the enemy, a powerful, huge, strong, arrogant man. He was challenging Talut’s army to fight him.
- Talut asked: who will go and fight him?
- A young, short man said I will go.
- Talut asked again when he saw the young man, but no one came forward except this young man.
- This young man had courage, he went up to Jalut with a sling shot.
- Jalut said: “Go back, I don’t want to fight you, I don’t want to kill you, send someone else”
- But the young man said: I want to kill you.
- The young man fired his sling shot and he killed Jalut.
- The young man was David.
- Now Bani Israel will enter into their golden age. Just like the Muslims entered their golden age after the battle of badr.
- This was the best era for Bani Israel, after that it was their downfall as the curse of the Prophets was over them.

Dawud:
- He was from the progeny of Ibrahim.
- David was short with blue eyes, of little hair.
- After David killed Jalut, he became a hero overnight, and Israelites loved him.
- David was now their king and it was the first time that Prophethood and kingship came together. Allah gave him a strong kingdom.
- Allah also taught him wisdom (good judgment and the ability to run the affairs of his people) and other things that he willed.
- Aya: “And David slew Jalut, and Allah gave him sovereignty and wisdom, and taught him of what he pleased” (2:251)
- Miracles of Dawud:
-He was given a very beautiful voice,
-He was able to interpret the speech of animals (this was also given to his son Sulaiman),
Aya: “And we bestowed upon David bounty from Us: ‘O mountains and birds, echo Allah’s praise with him’” (34:10)
-When he made dhikr the birds and mountains would make thikr with him,
-Iron would be soft in his hands (without fire or hammers),
Aya: “And We softened the iron for him”
-He improved the making of armor.
Aya: “Make coats of mail, and set the links in even measure (not too large and not too small)”
Aya: “and it was We Who taught him the making of garments (armor) for you, to fortify you in your wars, so will you then be thankful?”
- People had iron but it was hard for them to use it.
- Allah also taught him how to make armory in a new way. Before that they would make it in the form of iron plates (heavy solid plates, not flexible). Prophet Dawud would make armory out of rings of iron which was light and flexible.
- Hadith: “The best food a man could eat is what is earned by him, and the Prophet of Allah David are from what he earned from his own handwork” (Ahmad)
- Allah granted him extraordinary resolve for devotion.
- Hadith: “The best prayer to Allah is the prayer of David, and the best fasting to Allah is the fasting of David: he slept for the first half of the night, then woke up for one third and prayed, and then he slept for the rest of one-sixth. He fasted one day and broke fast one day” (Bukhari and Muslim)
- Hadith: “Recitation has been made easy for David: he would ask for his horse to be saddled, then he would start recitation of the Quran, and would finish before the horse is saddled. And David would not eat except from what he earned from his own hands”
- It is said that his book was revealed during Ramadan.
- Allah gave him decisiveness. Aya: “And We strengthened his kingdom, and bestowed on him wisdom and sound judgment” (38:20)
- Hadith: “Two people took their case to David about a cow. One of them claimed that the other person seized the cow from him by force. But the defendant denied the claim. So David postponed the case till night. When it was night, Allah revealed to him to kill the claimant. When it was morning, David said to him: “Allah has revealed to me that I should kill you, so I am going to kill you without any doubt. Now tell me what is the truth about your claim?’. He said: ‘By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I am true in what I claimed, but I had murdered his father before it.’ David therefore ordered him to be killed. After this case, David’s authority was greatly recognized among Bani Israel, and they obeyed him thoroughly.”
- Allah tests Dawud:
- Aya: “Had the story of the disputant come to you? When they climbed over the wall of the private chamber: when they entered before David, and he was terrified of them, and they said: ‘Do not dear, we are two disputants, one of us has wronged the other, so judge between us justly, and do not do injustice, and guide us to the right way. This man is my brother, and he has ninety-nine sheep, and I have one sheep. But he said to me: Entrust it to me, and he prevailed over me in the argument’”
- Aya: “David said: ‘Surely, he has been unjust to you in demanding your sheep in addition to his sheep, and surely many partners do wrong to each other, except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and how few are they?’ And David realized that We had tried him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, and fell, bowing, and turned in repentance. So we forgave him that, and he has a place of nearness with Us, and a fair return”
- Aya: “Oh David! We have appointed you as a khalifah on the earth, so judge between the people with justice, and do not follow vain desires, lest it leads you astray form the way of Allah. Surely, those who go astray from the way of Allah, for them awaits a severe chastisement, as they forgot the Day of Reckoning” (38: 21-25)
- Allah is addressing David in this verse, however it is intended for the rulers and those who are in authority. Allah has commanded them to be just, and to be followers of the truth revealed from Allah, not the kind of truth based on traditions and personal opinions. Those who follow a path other than that are threatened with a severe punishment.
- Death of David:
- When Allah created Adam, He took out all his progeny from his back, and there were Prophets among them clearly distinct from others. Adam saw among them one who was glowing. Adam said: “O my Lord! Who is this?” Allah replied: “He is your son David.” Adam said: “what is the age of him?” Allah said: “60 years”. Adam said: “My Lord increase his age!”. Allah said: “No, except that I may take from your age and increase his age”. Adam’s life span was 1000 years, so he gave him forty years out of his own age. So when the age of Adam came to end, the angel of death approached him. Adam said: “Is not there 40 years left from my age?” So Adam forgot what he had granted his son David out of his age. So Allah out of His Mercy granted Adam his original age of 1000 years and to David 100 years.
- Hadith: “David took great care of guarding his family. So when he went out, he locked the door, so nobody could enter his house until he returned. One day he went out, and locked the door. Suddenly his wife came to see a man in the middle of his house, so she said to the members of the family in the house: ‘How has this man entered the house when the door was locked? By Allah! David is going to feel disgraced.’ When David came back, he saw the man standing in the middle of the house, so he asked him: ‘Who are you?’ He replied: ‘I am the one who does not fear any king, neither could be barred by any hurdle’ David said: ‘So you could not be but the angel of death, so welcome to Allah’s command’. Then he stayed till he took his soul out of his body. When he was washed, and wrapped in the Kafan, the sun came up shining. So Sulaiman said to the birds: ‘Provide shade to David’, so when they did, it became dark, Sulaiman commanded the birds again: ‘Contract one wing each’” (Ahmad)