CHAPTER-5:
PROPHET DAVID (PBUH) & THEREAFTER
Prophet David (Dawud, peace be upon him) succeeded King Saul after his death. He
reigned for about forty years (1000 to 962 BC), he established a united kingdom Israel Jerusalem 13:14 );“..he
raised up David to be their king; of whom he testified and said, `I have found
in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.”(Acts;13:22 );“Then Samuel took the horn of
oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD
came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”(1Samuel;16:13 ). David communicated with God
(2 Samuel;2:1) and God to him (1Chronicles;28:3). The last words of David were:
“The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was in my
tongue.”(2Samuel;23:2).
According to
the Islamic traditions he was a prophet (Qur’an;6:84,17:55 ) and a king, who was given scripture:
“..unto David We gave the Psalms.”(Qur’an;17:55 ). God made him a vicegerent in the earth: “We said:
"O’ Dawud! We have made you a vicegerent in the earth, so rule among the
people with justice and do not follow your own desires lest they mislead you
from the Way of Allah. As for those who go astray from the Way of Allah, they
shall surely have a severe punishment because of forgetting the Day of
Reckoning.”(Qur’an;38:26); “We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and
sound judgment in speech and decision.”(Qur’an;38:20); Allah says: “And We
verily gave knowledge unto David and Solomon, and they said: Praise be to
Allah, Who hath preferred us above many of His believing slaves!”(Qur’an;27:15).
Prophet David (peace be upon him), was a worthy and successful king, who,
against great odds, founded the Judean
dynasty and carved out an empire from the border of Egypt Euphrates River
He was
tested, (details not mentioned) repented and forgiven by God, the incidence is
allegorically narrated in Qur’an, Allah says: “Have you heard the story of the
two litigants who made an entry into his private chamber through climbing over
the wall? 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. "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."(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).So we
forgave Him This (lapse): He enjoyed, indeed, a near approach to us, and a
beautiful place of (final) return.”(Qur’an;38:21-25).
Prophet
David (peace be upon him) was Israel Israel Jerusalem Israel
The
Biblical account of the era
of Prophet David (peace be upon him) is covered in the First and Second Book of
Samuel. The
Book of I Kings, chapter 1, to chapter 2, verse 11 cover the last years of
David and Solomon's succession to the throne. The biblical account is distorted,
tarnishing the image of David, as normally done by the Israelites with the
messengers. A shameful story is ascribed to David whereby he commits adultery
(2 Samuel;11:4) with Bathsheba, the wife of David's Hittite general, Uriah and
then wickedly caused the death of her husband (2 Samuel;11:6-25). She bore
Prophet and King Solomon. David is also accused of shamelessly dancing naked:
“How glorious was the king of Israel 6:20 ).
In Israel Israel
Prophet
Solomon (peace be upon him):
Prophet & Great King: Prophet Solomon (Suleiman, peace be upon him), was heir to
his father Prophet David (peace be upon him) as prophet (Qur’an;6:84) and king, he had been
endowed with the speech of birds (Qur’an;27:16).
The biblical traditions project him as a king, who ruled the united kingdom Israel First Temple Jerusalem
He
maintained his dominions with military strength and established Israelite
colonies outside his kingdom's borders. He inherited both his father's kingdom
and his spiritual insight and prophetic office.
Legend makes much of a romance between the Queen of Sheba and Solomon,
for his granting her "all that she desired, whatever she
asked"(1Kings;10:13 )
has been interpreted to include an offspring. No one in the history has been
blessed with the Kingdom like his. God had given him command even over the
special creatures like jinns, the animal world, winds and molten
copper.(Qur’an;34:12-13). Palestine Palestine Jerusalem First
Temple
The
construction of the First
Temple 8:20 ), “Then Solomon stood before the altar of
the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel 8:22 ),
he prayed: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the
highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have
built! Yet have regard to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication, O
LORD my God, hearkening to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays
before thee this day; that thy eyes may be open night and day toward this
house, the place of which thou hast said, `My name shall be there,' that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which
thy servant offers toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication
of thy servant and of thy people Israel
Wisdom
and Justice:
Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) also became famous as a sage. Allah says: “at that time We gave Suleiman insight to
arrive at the right decision, although We had given wisdom and knowledge to
both of them (David and Solomon)...”
(Qur’an;21:79). There are numerous traditions which highlight his sense
of wisdom and justice. Solomon was
deemed wiser than all the sages of Egypt Middle
East even wiser than some ancient paragons of wisdom. Solomon was also famed as a poet who
composed 1,005 songs. The Biblical ‘Song of Solomon’
is attributed to him: “The song of songs, which is Solomon's.”(Song of
Solomon;1:1). Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is mentioned by name in the
Song of Solomon,: “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is Muhammad-im (altogether lovely, im is added for respect in
Hebrew). This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem 5:16 ). [In
Hebrew:"Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammad-im Zehdoodeh wa
Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem.
Distorted Biblical Account: The Bible narrate the
reign of Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) especially in 1 Kings 1-11 and 2
Chronicles 1-9. The biblical account of Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) has
inherent distortions, which tarnish the image of this great prophet and king,
as normally done by the Israelites with their messengers. A shameful story is
ascribed to Solomon whereby he is blamed to have committed idolatry by worshiping other gods.
Consequently the dismemberment of the united monarchy was to be brought about
by God: “For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other
gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart
of David his father. For Solomon went after Ash'toreth the goddess of the
Sido'nians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did
what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not wholly follow the LORD, as
David his father had done."(1 Kings;11:4-7); And the LORD was angry with
Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel,
who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing,
that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD
commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your
mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded
you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.”
(1 Kings;11:9-11). Solomon is cleared of any
evil acts by Qur’an: “And follow that which the devils falsely related
against the kingdom
of Solomon Babylon
Hebrews
after Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him):
The kingdom
got divided after the death of Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him). Two
independent Jewish kingdoms were established in Palestine Kingdom
of Israel Kingdom of Judah Kingdom
of Judah Nineveh
The history of the Israelites from 721 BC time
forward is predominantly the history of the tribe of Judah Kingdom
of Judah First Temple Palestine Israel land of Israel
During the Babylonian
exile, the Jewish though , specially the oral traditions were influence by
Zoroastrianism, the prevalent faith of Babylonian.
Historically, Diaspora Jews outnumbered the Jews in Palestine Jerusalem Babylonia , Persia Spain France Germany Poland Russia U.S. Europe in the late
19th century with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine
When the Persians conquered Babylonia in 538 BC,
Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, where they soon set to
work to replace the magnificent Temple
of Jerusalem Temple Jerusalem Jerusalem
The 7th century C.E Jewish tribes in Arabia , even revered him by calling him son of God
(Qur’an;9:30 ). In 331 BC,
Greek culture was introduced into the Middle East
with the conquests of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy I (367-283 B.C), a general
in Alexander the Great's army who succeeded him as ruler of Egypt Palestine Egypt Palestine Asia Minor from 312 to
64 B.C.). Maccabean were a family of Jewish patriots of the second and first
centuries B.C., who were active in the liberation of Judea
from Syrian rule. The Maccabean
revolt (165-142 B.C); ended as a
successful war for Judean political independence from Syria Palestine Rome Egypt Judaea ,
restored him to the high priesthood and some semblance of civil authority.
Herod was appointed king of Judaea (37-4 BC)
by Romans. Hyrcanus was allowed by Herod to return to Jerusalem Judea and tetrarch in Galilee
(4 B.C.- 40 C.E).
Prophet
Zechariah & John The Baptist (PBUT):
In Hebrew
Zechariah; means ‘Jehovah (God) is renowned or remembered’. In Bible this has
been mentioned as the name of twenty-nine Israelites, which include king, prophets,
priests and others. ‘Zechariah’ the book of the Bible is attributed to the
Hebrew prophet of the sixth century B.C. Prophet Zechariah (peace be upon him) was an illustrious Prophet of the Israelites (Qur’an;6:83-87) in 1st century
C.E, he is mentioned as high priest in Bible (Luke;1:5, 12-17). His life narrative here is mostly based on
Bible. His wife Elizabeth, was of the daughters (descendant) of Aaron
(Luke;1:5), considered a relative of Mary, the mother of
Jesus Christ. Zechariah
was also the patron of Mary. He kept the torch of Mosaic Law burning. Prophet Zechariah (peace be upon him),
was issueless and old, he prayed to God for the successor for the priesthood of
the house of Jacob (Qur’an;3:39 ,
19:5-6). Allah accepted his prayers and gave him tidings of a son who was named
as Yahya (John) by God (Qur’an;19:7).
He was given
token of speechlessness for three days. (Qur’an;3:41 , Luke;1:64). Yahya (John) was born six months before
Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). After this no more is recorded of him for
thirty years than what is mentioned in Luke;1:80. John was a Nazarite
from his birth (Luke;1:15 ;
Numbers;6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah Jerusalem Dead Sea (Mathew;3:1-12). At length he
came forth into public life, and great huge numbers from "every
quarter" were attracted to him. The mission of John was the subject of
prophecy (Mathew;3:3;
Isaiah;40:3; Malachi;3:1). In accordance with his father's prayer John (Yahya),
and Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) for whom he prepared the way, renewed the
Message of God, which had been corrupted by the Israelites.
The sum
of his preaching
was the necessity of repentance. He denounced the Jewish sects Sadducees (who
denied the resurrection and the existence of angels) and Pharisees (extremely
accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses, noted for
their self-righteousness and pride) as a "generation of vipers," and
warned them of the folly of trusting to external privileges (Luke;3:8)."As
a preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and
covetousness were the prevalent sins of the people at large. On them,
therefore, he enjoined charity and consideration for others. He cautioned the
publicans against extortion, the soldiers against crime and plunder." His
doctrine and manner of life roused the entire south of Palestine Jordan river where he
baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame
of John reached the ears of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) in Nazareth Galilee to Jordan 3:15 ).
John's special office ceased with the baptism of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon
him), who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He
continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Prophet
Jesus (peace be upon him). His public ministry was suddenly (after about six
months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod Antipas, the provincial ruler under the Roman Empire (4
B.C to 40 C.E), whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the
wife of his brother Philip (Luke;3:19). He was shut up in a fortress near the Dead Sea , where he was beheaded after
Herod's stepdaughter, Salome, demanded his head as a reward for dancing for the
king's guests. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the
grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Mathew;14:3-12). Prophet
Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) testified regarding him that he was a
"burning and a shining light" (John;5:35 ). Even in his young life, he was granted: ‘Wisdom’ by
Allah, for he boldly denounced sin; ‘Gentle pity and love’ for all Allah's
creatures, for he moved among the humble and lowly, and despised "soft
raiment"; and ‘Purity of life’, for he renounced the world and lived in
the wilderness. His grave still exist in Umayyah Mosque in Syria
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