Genealogy
The family tree of the Hazrat Dawood as per various Muslim writers, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Chronicles 1 of the Old Testament and Gospel of Matthew 1:1 to 10 is as under.
Parents
Hazrat Dawood’s fathers name was Jesse who lived in Bethlehem. Being a shepherd and a very God fearing individual he followed the stipulated path of Almighty Allah to its absoluteness. His mother’s name is not mentioned in either the Old testaments or the New Testament.
Brother and Sisters
Hazrat Dawood had six elder brothers (see family tree) and two sisters namely Zeruiah and Abigail.
Birth
No definite mention of his date of birth is available. However based on the year of his death and the period of his reign one can determine his year of birth to be 1031/32 BC in Bethlehem.
Early Life
Hazrat Dawood being the youngest son of Jesse enjoyed the lavish care and love that was showered on him by his parents. He took on the job of his father and looked after the flocks. He was phenomenally inclined toward the music and had perfected the art of playing a harp. In addition to this, he was strong, mighty, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech and a handsome person.
Saul (Talut) The King of Israel
Talut is the Arabic name for Saul, he was the first king of ancient Israel (reigned about 1020- 1000 BC). He was tall, handsome and the son of a landowner named Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin the smallest tribe in Israel. His worldly belongings were trivial, and it was when he went out to search for some Asses, which had been lost from his father’s house that he met Samuel and was anointed king by him. The people’s fickleness appeared immediately after he was named. They raised all sorts of petty objections in regard to him and the chief consideration in their minds was selfishness: each one wanted to be the leader himself and instead of desiring sincerely the good of the people as a whole, they wanted to benefit from the authority. The Holy Quran relates this in Surah AL Baqara (2:247)
Their Prophet said to them: “Allah hath appointed Talut as king over you.”They say:
“How can he exercise authority over us when we are better fitted than he to exercise authority and he is not even gifted with wealth in abundance?” He said: “Allah hath chosen him above you and hath ‘gifted him abundantly with knowledge and bodily prowess; Allah granteth His authority to whom He pleaseth. Allah careth for all and He knoweth all things.”(2:247)
The story of Saul’s reign is recounted in (1 Samuel 8-15). After uniting the tribes of Israel, he was the crowned king, initially support ed by Samuel but he incurred the latter’s anger by usurping some of his priestly offices.
Battle with Goliath
When the war broke out between the Israelites and the Philistines, Goliath, giant of Gath, in Philistia, challenged the Israelites to send a champion against him so that the issue of the war between the two tribes might be settled by single combat. He declared that in case any one of the Israelites overpowered me, I would surrender to him but if I gained the upper hand, the oppo nents would have to become under the sway of the servitude of the Philistines. The shinning Armour that he wore and the enormous and huge built which he had made all the Israelites overawed .. He again called out for his opponents to combat but none of the Israelites had the courage to accept the challenge. The Israelites had lost their courage and self respect. Hazrat Dawud’s three elder- brothers were already in the Saul’s army and he could not bare the humiliation and the disgrace being made to face by Goliath. So he prayed to the Almighty Allah and went in the battlefield:I to face the challenge of Goliath. Surah Al-Baqara (2: 250)
Our Lord! Pour out constancy on us and make our steps firm and help us against those who are disbelievers.” (2:250)
When Goliath saw a young boy coming without any Armour and only caring his cudgel he disdained his adversary and cursed him. According to the account in 1 Samuel 17:50, Goliath was killed in the resulting contest by a stone shot from the sling of Hazrat Dawud, the youthful champion of the Israelites. The Holy Quran confirms the slew of Goliath in Surah Al-Baqara (2:251)
By Allah’s will they routed them: and David slew Goliath:(2:251)
However elsewhere in the Old Testament, Elhanan, an Israelite warrior in the service of Hazrat Dawud, kills Goliath after the latter is made king; other versions of the story designate a brother of Goliath as the victim of Elhanan.
| Name | Wife | Sons |
| Ibrahim | Sarah Hagar/Hajara Keturah | Isaac/Ishaq-Ismail Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah |
| Ishaq/Isaac Yaqub/Jacob | Rebekah Leah | Esau, Jacob, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun Benjamin and Joseph/Yousaf. Dan and Naphtali. Gad and Asher. |
| Esau | Adah Basemath Aholibamah | Eliphaz Rcuee Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah |
| Judah | Shua Tamar | Er, Onan and Shelah. Perez and Zerah. |
| Perez | Hezron and Hamul. | |
| Hezron | First wife Second wife Third wife Abijah | Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai. Caleb. Segub. Ashher |
Fame Jealousy and Exile
Hazrat Dawud’s courage, exemplified by his victorious encounter with the Philistine giant Goliath, he was summoned to the royal court, where he received an appointment as Armour-bearer to Saul. After achieving distinction in the wars against the Philistines, he married· Michal, Saul’s daughter, and won the friendship of Jonathan, Saul’s son. As a result of his growing popularity, fame and good reputation, he however, incurred the jealousy of the king, who banished him from the court.
Hazrat Dawood spent the next period of his life in exile, as the head of a band of warriors,” levying tribute on the landowners of Judah. After period in the town of Adullam, near Jerusalem, and in the deserts of Judaea, he entered the service of Achish, king of the Philistine city of Gath. As a reward for his help to Achish, he was made ruler of the town of Ziklag.
Hazrat Dawood The Anointed King
According to the Old Testaments when Saul the crowned King of Israel failed to adhere to the commandments and was divulging from the path of Allah, Hazrat Samuel was revealed to anoint Hazrat Dawood as the future king of Israel. So he went to Bethlehem to meet the son of Jesse Hazrat Dawood where he anointed him with a horn of oil. (1 Samuel 17:13).
Hazrat Dawood- The King of Israel
Hazrat Dawood returned to his native country after Saul, Jonathan, and two others of Saul’s four sons died in .battle with the Philistines and his fourth son, lsh bosheth, survived into the 10th century BC, but was finally assas sinated (see 2 Samuel 2-4). He became king of Judah at Hebron and reigned for seven years, until about 993 BC, when the Israelites unanimously acknowledged Hazrat Dawood as king of Israel. Hazrat Dawood was not only an illustrious Prophet of the Israelites but he was also their true king with wisdom and ability to make sound judg ments. The Holy Qur’an affirms in surah Al Baqarah (2:251) and in surah Sad (38:20):
And Allah gave him the kingdom! And wisdom and taught him of that which He willed.(2: 251).
We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and sound judgment In speech and decision.(38:20)
Hazrat Dawood subsequently defeated in rapid succession the Philistines, Moabites, Aramaeans, Edomites, and Ammonites, firmly establishing Israel as an independent national state and greatly extending its dominions. One of his principal conquests was that of the Jebusite stronghold of Zion, which he made the nucleus of his capital city, Jerusalem, often called the City of David (Hazrat Dawud).
Shifting of the Ark
Ark of the Covenant: Tabut: a chest of acacia wood covered and lined with pure gold, about 6ft x 3ft x 3ft. (Exodus 25:10-22). It was to contain the “testimony of God”, or the Ten Commandments engraved on stone, with relics of Hazrat Musa and Haron. Its Gold lid was to be the “Mercy Seat” with two cherubim’s of beaten gold, with wings outstretched. This was a very sacred possession to Israel. When the Philistines defeated Israel, the Israelites, instead of relying on Faith and their own velour and cohesion, brought out their most sacred possession, the Ark of the Covenant, to help them in the fight. But the enemy captured it, carried it away, and retained it for seven months. The Israelites forgot that wickedness couldn’t screen itself behind a sacred relic. Nor can a sacred relic help the enemies of faith. The enemy found that the Ark brought nothing but misfortune for them, and were glad to abandon it. It apparently remained twenty years in the village (qarya) of Yaarim (Kirjath-jeafim) (I. Samuel 7: 2).
Hazrat Dawood after defeating the army of Philistines gathered his men and went to Judah to get the Ark. Once the Ark was in their possession they placed it on a new cart and sited it in one of the houses before its final placement. Hazrat Dawood and all the people of Israel who had gathered for the carrying of the Ark played music on all kind of instruments. When the Ark was finally moved to the palace, which Hazrat Dawood had constructed in Jerusalem, every 6 paces which the bearers of the Ark took an oxen and a fatted sheep was sacrificed. Hazrat Dawood installed, under a tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, making Jerusalem the religious and political center of the domains united in his person (2 Samuel chap vi). However the Ar disappeared when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Regarding getting back of the Ark by Hazrat Dawood the Holy Quran says in surah Baqarah (2:248)
And (further) their Prophet said to them: “A sign of his authority Is that there shall come to you the Ark of the Covenant with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron carried by angels. In this Is a Symbol for you if ye Indeed have faith. (2:248)
The Incident of Bathsheba
According to the Old Testament during the siege of Rabbath (now Oman, Jordan), the Ammonite capital, Hazrat Dawood one day saw from his rooftop Bathsheba wife of the soldier Uriah bathing and admiring her beauty. Hazrat Dawood later seduced her while her husband was away. When his efforts to make Uriah seem responsible for the paternity of her child failed, Hazrat Dawood arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle (2 Samuel 11:2-26). Hazrat Dawood then married Bathsheba, but the child died. Later, Bathsheba bore another son, Solomon who became the King of Israel. This episode generally is considered the major sin of his life and for which he repented and bowed in humiliation in front of Allah the most Gracious and Beneficent to seek pardon and forgiveness.
Though this incident has also been narrated in some of the books written by Muslim writers e.g. Qasas ul Anbiya etc, however keeping in view the importance and the grave implications it would have, this incident is not mentioned in the Holy Quran. Unfortunately the incident of two brothers disputing between each other on the issue of ewes mentioned in the Holy Quran (Surah Sad 38:21to25) is associated with Hazrat Dawood in making him to realize the sin he had committed.
Has the Story of the Disputants reached thee? Behold they climbed over the wall of the private chamber; (38:21)
When they entered the presence of David and he was terrified of them they said: “Fear not: We are two disputants one of whom has wronged the other: decide now between us with truth and treat us not with Injustice but guide us to the even Path (38:22)
“This man Is my brother; he has nine and ninety ewes and I have (but) one: Yet he says ·commit her to my care’ and Is (moreover) harsh to me In speech.” (38:23)
(David) said: “He has undoubtedly wronged thee In demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the Partners (in business) who wrong each other: not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness and how few are they?” And David gathered that we had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord fell down bowing (In prostration) and turned (to Allah In repentance (38:24)
So we forgave him this (lapse): he enjoyed Indeed a Near Approach to Us and a beautiful place of (final) Return (38:25)
“(And it was said unto him) 0′ Dawudl Toi We have set you as a vicegerent In the earth, therefore, judge aright between mankind and follow not desire.” (38:26)
This vision and its moral are nowhere to be found in the Bible. Those who think that they see a resemblance to the Parable of the Hazrat Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1:15) have nothing to go upon but the mention of the “one ewe” here and the “one little ewe-lamb” in Nathan’s Parable. The whole story is here different, and the whole atmosphere is different. The Biblical title given to David, “a man after God’s own heart” is refuted by the Bible itself in the scandalous tale of heinous crimes attributed to David in chapter’s xi and xii. Of 2 Samuel, viz., adultery, fraudulent dealing with one of his own servants and the contriving of his murder. Further, in chapter xiii Of 2 Samuel, we have the story of rapes, incest, and fratricide in David’s own household! The fact is that passages like those are mere narratives of scandalous crimes of the grossest character. The Muslim idea of Hazrat Dawood is that of a man just and upright, endowed with all the virtues, in who even the least thought of self elation has to be washed off by repentance and forgiveness.
Revelation of Zabur (Psalms)
Hazrat Dawood was a shepherd, a warrior,a king, a wise man, and a prophet, but he was also endowed with the gifts of poetry and music. Allah revealed the Zabur (Book of Psalms) to Hazrat Dawood (peace be upon him). In tradition, he is credited with writing 73 of the Psalms; most scholars, however, consider this claim questionable. The Holy Qur’an affirms this in surah An-Nisaa (4:163)
To David We gave the Psalms (Zabur) (4: 163)
Whenever Hazrat Dawood recited the verses of the Zabur in a musical and melodious tone, it weaved a magic spell over the listeners and they began to dance in a fit of religious frenzy. They Rocked around him and eulogized God in the accompaniment of Hazrat Dawud. Above all the beasts’ birds, creeping insects and even mountains were fascinated on hearing the recitation of the hymns from the Zabur. The Holy Qur’an affirms in Surah Saba (34:10) and Surah Sad (38:18&19).
We bestowed grace afore time on Dawood from Ourselves. O ye mountains! Sing you back the praises of Allah with him and you birds also. (34:10)
It was we that made the hills declare in union with him our praises at eventide and the break of day and the birds all with him turned to Allah.” (38:18,19)
Regarding the melodious and pleasant voice of Hazrat Dawood The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) had said to Abu Musa: “If you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (of the Qur’an) yester night (you would have felt delighted). You are in fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of David himself.
Hazrat Dawood as a Craftsman and a warrior
Hazrat Dawood was a valiant warrior and an outstanding leader. He displayed unfailing religious devotion and epitomized the courage and aspirations of his people. God almighty had given him the ability to mould iron in whatever way he wanted. Being the adept craftsman after making the iron soft and pliable he made coats of mail. Thus the manufacture of this defensive armour is traditionally attributed to Hazrat Dawud. The Holy Qur’an says in Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21:80) and surah Saba (34:11)
It was We who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other’s violence. Will you then be grateful. (21:80)
And we made the Iron soft for him (commanding) make thou coats·of mail balancing well the rings of chain Armour and work ye righteousness. (34:11)
In addition Hazrat Dawood was endowed with the knowledge of understanding the tones of the bird and he could talk and listen to them.
Joining The Eternal Life
Hazrat Dawood after remain ing the king of Israel for almost 40 years died in the year 961 BC at the age of 70 years. He was buried in Jerusalem. The Israelites regarded Hazrat Dawood as the promised Messiah. However in both the Old Testament and New Testament, the Messiah is referred to as the Son of Hazrat Dawood “Solomon”.
