PROPHET DAWOOD
(DAVID)
PROPHET DAWOOD
A long time had
passed since the Israelites who had roamed Sinai for forty years
were able to live in Palestine. The fertile land, good weather, and
productivity of the people in Palestine helped create a good
nation. The society, with their belief in Allah and their will to
serve Him, prospered. They had a good and popular ruler, whose
name was Taloot
"Saul".
There was a neighboring nation, however that became
power hungry and wanted to conquer others and subjugate them. Their
eyes fell on the prosperous nation under Taloot.
As the people in Palestine realized that they were soon
to be attacked by a large strong army, they began to prepare for
war. The citizens were terrified. Mothers and fathers were very
worried about their children and their livelihood. "What shall we
do if the enemy succeeds? What will happen to us? What will our
lives be like?" These were a few of the questions that crossed
their minds. It was a very worrisome time.
The people prepared as best they could and as quickly as
possible to confront the enemy. They gathered an army of their own
to defend their faith and country.
Taloot and his army were prepared to face off the
attacking army. This force moved to confront the enemy. Taloot (Saul) had
a very small force compared to that of the enemy. This made many of
his fighters lose the will to fight. To Taloot's dismay the
question became whether to get engaged in a fight with the enemy at
all. The enemy appeared so powerful to them that they were almost
certain to be defeated.
The fear grew to such an extent that Taloot (Saul) sent
many away, preferring to have only his strong and dedicated
fighters. What this did was to motivate his army to fight, even
though now it was quite small. This small army included the
brothers of a young shepherd boy named Dawood. The brothers were
among those loyal fighters who were brave and ready to fight.
As the two forces drew close, the enemy's size seemed
overwhelming. Even Taloot recognized he had little chance of
winning, feeling it was futile to fight with the odds so
overwhelmingly against him.
The two sides
faced off for the battle. The enemy had one particularly fierce
fighter. This hero was unconquerable and everyone was in awe of his
size and strength. His name was Jaloot
(Goliath).
Jaloot was proud and full of confidence. He rode on his spirited
horse up and down in front of his lines, sarcastically examining the
other side. Jaloot was a big man, heavily armored and fierce
looking. An arrogant smile appeared on his face when he sized up
the small force before him.
DAWOOD ON HIS WAY
Dawood (David) was a strong, resourceful, and energetic
young lad. He was a shepherd, tending to the sheep, feeding them,
watering them, and giving them protection. Dawood was excellent at
using a slingshot and he knew it. He was extremely accurate at
hitting a target even though it is with a slingshot. Many people
admired Dawood for this and were proud of him. Dawood was heading
toward Taloot's army, to the location of the battle to be. He was
bringing food to his brothers.
WHAT DID DAWOOD SEE?
Dawood was surprised to discover how small Taloot's
army was compared to that of the enemy. He felt that Taloot's army
needed help immediately. "Oh," thought Dawood, "What will happen to
us if we lose? How dreadful it will be!" Then he wondered, "How
can I help? What can I do?" With that question in mind, he
remembered, "My slingshot! I'll do the best I have ever done."
Dawood could see the mounting tension. He could feel
the worry building in Taloot's force. He knew that without a
unique maneuver Taloot stood no chance of success. Suddenly Dawood
heard a loud roar from a distance. It put fear in the hearts of
Taloot's small force. It was the shouting of Jaloot, the arrogant,
the hero of the enemy.
DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH (DAWOOD VERSUS JALOOT)
Jaloot was riding his restless horse, with sword drawn
and muscles tense. He was proudly showing off. He was haughtily
challenging anyone in Taloot's army to a duel. The fighters in
Taloot's army paled as they listened to Goliath, and none dared
accept his challenge!
Taloot's army knew no one could fight Jaloot
successfully. Jaloot was unbeatable—the strongest and most skilled
man to be found. Without a doubt, they reasoned, he would easily
finish off his opponent. Knowing their fears, Jaloot repeated with
all his might, "Come forth and fight! Where are your brave ones?!
You are nothing! You are none but cowards! Who has the nerve to
fight me?! Where is the one who dares to fight me?" No one from
Taloot's army stepped forward. With even more arrogance Jaloot
continued, "I'll teach you a lesson! I'll smother you! I'll divide
you, smash you, and bring you all to your knees!"
Only half of Jaloot's age and size, and with no fighting
experience, Dawood boldly stepped forward accepting the challenge.
He looked so small compared to Jaloot that Dawood's brothers wanted
to stop him. They thought he would only make a fool of himself and
be killed immediately. They told him that he had no chance
whatsoever to even survive such a duel.
But Dawood refused to listen to his brothers and he
insisted on going before Jaloot accepting his challenge.
Dawood's persistence and the frequent calls of Goliath
for a challenge made Taloot (Saul) reluctantly allow Dawood to face
Jaloot. The King offered his own sword to Dawood but to the
surprise of all Dawood didn't accept the offer. Everyone was
puzzled because they assumed he was going to fight with a sword!
WHAT WAS HE DOING?
Dawood (David) moved forward to the forefront of
Taloot's army. He could see Jaloot who was still at a distance.
He was huge, his face almost hidden behind the armor of his helmet.
Dawood boldly shouted toward Jaloot, "I come forth to your
challenge! How anxious I am to kill you!" Goliath laughed in
sarcasm and contempt. David stood firm, defying Jaloot (Goliath).
Jaloot became so enraged that he held his shining sword high and
galloped toward Dawood.
Dawood was ready with a stone in his slingshot. He
swung the slingshot high in a circle first slowly then faster and
faster until it hummed.
As Jaloot neared Dawood, Dawood let his slingshot go.
The stone sped through the air with a loud hiss and with the
blinding speed of a bullet hit the target! It hit Goliath, the
giant, right in the center of his forehead! It hit precisely in the
small area left uncovered by the helmet. It was a magnificent blow!
Jaloot blacked-out and sagged to the ground from his
horse, unconscious! What a sight!
The scene was awesome, incredible. Everyone stared in
disbelief, speechless. They saw Dawood run toward Goliath and
quickly pick up Jaloot's own sword and slay Jaloot. Jaloot
(Goliath) was dead.
The scene was jarring to both forces. Jaloot (Goliath)
the unconquerable giant was dead slain by a lad half his size!
The sudden death of their hero demoralized the enemy.
It gave courage to Taloot's force which despite its small size
quickly carried out a surprise attack. The enemy ran for their
lives, scared and defeated.
Taloot (Saul) and his soldiers were ecstatic about
their victory. Dawood (David) was brilliant. His pin-point
accuracy and valor had brought victory.
For this act Taloot gave his daughter in marriage to
Dawood and thus Dawood became Taloot's son‑in‑law. Years later,
when Taloot (Saul) died Dawood became the King of Israel.
PROPHET DAWOOD THE KING
►
As a king Dawood was an extremely noble and successful Ruler. He
ruled in fairness and his times were times of goodness and
prosperity. His people loved him, supported, and followed in the
footsteps of his teachings. He helped the poor and the needy and
improved their conditions. The nation reaped vast benefits from his
wise rule and it became prosperous materially and spiritually.
►
Dawood was chosen by Allah to be a Prophet. He was noble, brave,
honest, just, kind, and humble throughout his lifetime. He never
forgot his dedication to his principles and his service to his
people. He served Allah well.
►
The Quran has two stories about Dawood which are interesting:
First, that Dawood
was technically innovative. Allah gave him the ability to work with
iron in new ways. He invented many things including coats of
mail (defensive armor).
He also loved nature and glorified Allah through observing the
beauties and wonderment of Nature.
A second story is that one day when Dawood was king, he
was praying in his private quarters. All of a sudden he looked up
to see two men standing near his window. He was surprised at how
they had managed to get into the private quarters of his palace
unannounced. The men had a quarrel between them. One man said, "I
have only one sheep and he has 99 and yet he still wants my one. I
don't think this is fair. You be our judge." Dawood looked between
the two and said, "He's right! It is unfair." Dawood continued to
explain his view, but then the men mysteriously vanished as they had
appeared first.
Dawood started to puzzle over this strange event. He
then realized this must have been a message from Allah and he threw
himself down in prayer and asked for Allah's forgiveness. You see,
he understood that Allah was reminding him to be careful of becoming
greedy during his rule and that he had so much, he should not want
what belongs to others.
Dawood had many children. Suleiman (Solomon) the Wise
was one of them. Suleiman followed in the footsteps of his father
by also becoming a ruler (King). Allah (swt) gave Suleiman a high
measure of wisdom and many special powers.