A Charge of Promiscuity Leveled Against Prophet Dawud in the Bible PDF

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Charges of Promiscuity...

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A Charge of Promiscuity Leveled Against Prophet Dawud in the Bible

Claremont School of Theology, California, USA

The Qur’an: Composition, Collection, and Teachings (BTS3000)

22 April 2018

Instructor: Dr. Joseph Lumbard

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Outline I) Introduction II) Facts about Prophethood i) Prophet Yunus / Jonah ii) Prophet Adam III) A Charge of Sexual Misconduct Alleged Against Prophet Dawud in the Bible IV) Summary V) References

1) Introduction There were about 124,000 prophets sent to this world; and 313 among these prophets were messengers of God Almighty. In turn, twenty-Five among them are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. Five out of these prophets are ranked as the most favored and honored among the

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prophets. They are: Prophet Nuh/ Noah (PBUH), Prophet Ibrahim/ Abraham (PBUH), Prophet Musa/ Moses (PBUH), Prophet Issa / Jesus Christ (PBUH) and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). All of these messengers were sent to humankind by one true God. The main objective of all messengers was to tell humankind to worship God Almighty alone. God Almighty says: “Not a single apostle did We send before you, O Muhammad, without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me” ( Q21 verses 25). According to the Holy Bible, God commanded the Israelites to worship Him alone: "You shall fear only the LORD, your God, and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the people who surround you” (Deuteronomy 6:13-14).

II) Facts about Prophethood All prophets are meant to be role models. They are the embodiment of virtues. They were sent to perfect good morals, in order that humankind would emulate them. This does not mean that prophets are infallible; they are human beings, which mean that they are also prone to commit errors but not major sins. For example, while Prophet Yunus/ Jonah was preaching the message of God to his people, he was frustrated and tried to run away on a ship. Yet he was found out and was thrown into the sea, where he became trapped in the belly of a whale. Eventually, Prophet Yunus/ Jonah (PBUH) realized his mistake. He asked for forgiveness from his Lord and was forgiven. Allah, SWT, says: So also was Jonah among those sent (by us) When he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship And then they cast lots, and he was the one who lost; [And they cast him into the sea,] whereupon the great fish swallowed him,

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Had he not repented and became of those who glorify Allah, He would certainly have remained inside the belly of whale till the Day of Resurrection. But We set him free … (Q37 verses 139-46) From the above verse of the Holy Qur’an, it is obvious that Prophet Yunus (PBUH) made a mistake. Then, he asked for forgiveness and Allah SWT overlooked his shortcoming. The Holy Bible also says: “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Furthermore, the Bible recounts Prophet Jonah’s desperate cries to God Almighty: Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.”. . (Jonah 2:1-10) As the popular adage goes “To err is human but to forgive is divine”. Even though Jonah was a prophet of God but the fact still remains that he was a human being, so, he committed sin but not a major sin. As the earliest prophet, Prophet Adam (PBUH) was created and placed in the Garden of Eden. God Almighty instructed him and his wife, Eve, not to eat a particular fruit. Both Prophet Adam and his wife ate the forbidden fruit. Then, they both repented to their Lord and were forgiven. Allah, SWT, says: To Adam We said: "Dwell with your wife in Paradise and eat anything you want from its bountiful food wherever you wish, but do not approach this tree, or you shall both become wrongdoers." But Satan tempted them with the tree to disobey Allah's commandment and caused them to be expelled from Paradise, Then Adam

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received appropriate words from his Lord and repented, and Allah accepted his repentance. Surely Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. (Q2:35-38) This same incident was also reported in the Holy Bible: “And the LORD commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ Adam would know what it meant to participate in evil and the result would be banishment and death. Death is separation from God" (Genesis 2:16-17). In the narration of Adam and Eve in the Holy Qur’an, both admitted their sin and Allah, SWT, accepted their repentance, whereas, in the Holy Bible’s report, it took a different dimension. Bible says their sin resulted in the suffering that women face during child bearing while men would go through hard labor to earn their living.

III) A Charge of Sexual Misconduct Alleged Against Prophet Dawud in the Bible According to the Holy Bible, David committed voyeurism and adultery with the wife of Uriah, and then had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11:2-15). One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, And David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” This same Bath Sheba is known as MOTHER OF Solomon.” (2 Samuel 11:2-15) From the above story, David did not just committed adultery; he also killed Uriah, the husband of Bath Sheba. These atrocities went on without any sense of remorsefulness from

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David. No repentance was mentioned and neither did God forgive him. This kind of narration does not befit a man of God. Let us consider the Quranic version of this story; it is worth mentioning that the Holy Qur’an is full of stories and narrations, which are meant to shape human character. Allah says: “There is in their stories instruction for men endued with understanding. It is not a tale invented but a confirmation of what went before it a detailed exposition of all things and a Guide and a Mercy to those who believe” (Qur’an12: 111). Allah, SWT, tells us the story of Prophet Dawud (PBUH), by saying: “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 upon Dawud and he became terrified. They said: "Have no fear; we are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other. Judge rightly between us and do not be unjust, and guide us to the Right Way. This man is my brother; he has ninety nine female sheep while I have only one female sheep. Yet he says: `Turn her over to me' and forcibly prevailed against me in this [our] dispute."Dawud said: "He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your only female sheep to his flock: in fact many partners are unjust to one another; except those who believe and do good deeds, and they are few indeed." - While he said this, Dawud realized that We had tested him. So he sought forgiveness of his Lord and fell down on his knees and turned to Allah in repentance. So We forgave his error. He will enjoy a place of nearness with Us and an excellent abode!” Q38:21-26

(IV) Summary According to Islamic understanding, there are no authentic reports on what Prophet Dawud did wrong. According to some scholars, Dawud (AS) had erred in giving judgment by

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listening to only one side of the story. According to Israelite narratives, Dawud (AS) had 99 wives and wanted one more: however, this cannot be confirmed based on Islamic traditions. If Allah, SWT, had wanted the nature of his wrongdoing to be known to us, He would have disclosed it, but in keeping such details concealed, it is clear that the details of his mistake are irrelevant to humankind. What is relevant is that Prophet Dawud prostrated to Allah in repentance for his error, and that Allah forgave him for it. When the following verse was revealed, Muhammad (SAW) also prostrated: “And Dawud became certain that We had tried him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing [in prostration] and turned in repentance [to Allah]. So We forgave him that; and indeed, for him is nearness to Us and a good place of return” (Q38:21-38:25). As I have said earlier that to err is human but to forgive is divine. However, Prophet Dawud / David was a messenger of God, a representative of God on earth and a role model. How would such a personality relegate himself to the level of committing such sexual misconduct up to the point of murdered someone? The Holy Prophet Muhammad said all prophets are immune from committing major sin....