David and Goliath in Islam

David and Goliath in Islam

فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا ثُمَّ أَمَّا بَعْدُ

We begin by praising Allah and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His final messenger. We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. اللهم آمين

The Timelessness of Quranic Stories

Dear brothers and sisters, we often talk about how we utilize the stories in the Qur'an for our benefit. That Allah did not give us stories — especially of perseverance or of persecution, of poverty or of power — except that we take lessons from them, and they are timeless lessons.

One of the things that Imam al-Qurtubi rahimahullah mentions is that while the sharia changes over time from prophet to prophet — the various laws — we know that the creed stays the same: the oneness of Allah does not change, the nature of prophethood does not change. And he says something very interesting — he also says that the dynamics of الظَّالِم and of المَظْلُوم, of an oppressor and the oppressed, do not change. The dynamics of how wealth can corrupt people, or people can become arrogant because of what Allah has bestowed upon them, or humbled because of what has been withheld from them — none of that changes.

So subhanAllah, the study of human history — when you study arrogant nations and oppressed nations; arrogant tyrants and righteous people that rise up amongst the oppressed; people that see through the kingdom that has been given to them, which are very rare — like Sulaiman alayhi salam, those that are like him. Or whether you study the people who have been wronged to a point that they make it a point to advocate for those that are being wronged like them. All of these are stories that are so timeless that they can relate to us in every single generation, which is why Allah keeps them for us in the Qur'an so that we can do tadabbur, so that we can contemplate over them.

The Context: Muslims Newly Settled in Medina

Now, when it comes to the stories of the oppressed and the stories of how Allah gives victory to the oppressed — as the Muslims have now just settled in Medina, after 13 years of persecution, or after hosting the people that have been persecuted for over a decade — they have yet to go into a battle with the people of Mecca, who have put their feet on their necks for over a decade in Mecca. Who have taken their wealth, killed their family members, humiliated them, spat on them in public — all of that — without seeing Allah doing anything to those people in Mecca in their lifetimes just yet.

And it is in that time period that Allah reveals to them the story of David and Goliath — the story of طَالُوت and جَالُوت. طَالُوت being Saul, جَالُوت being Goliath. It is in that time frame — when they have just moved to Medina, not knowing that the battle of Badr is going to come upon them sooner than they think, because the battle of Badr, of course, came out of circumstances that were not planned for.

And Allah reveals in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 246 onwards for a few ayat, the story of Dawud alayhi salam and a wicked generation of Bani Israel that then went through a filtering process — a filtration process — because every nation goes through power and then becomes arrogant, and then is humiliated, and then amongst the persecuted you have the righteous that rise up, and a righteous generation. And Bani Israel is no exception to that. They go between these two poles.

And so Allah gives to the Prophet ﷺ and the believers the story of a righteous generation of Bani Israel that arose out of a wicked generation of Bani Israel through the filtration process of power and oppression. And it's very powerful that that's being given to the Muslims, because they will witness that transition in their own lifetimes.

Now Allah will remind the believers in Medina after Badr, about Badr. Once Badr takes place, the lesson that Allah gives them after Uhud, the lesson that Allah gives them after Tabuk, is not to recall an incident that they have never seen, but to recall something that they have seen. When Allah gave them nusra, وَأَنْتُمْ أَذِلَّة — while you were small, while you were oppressed, Allah gave you victory. Allah sent you angels because you were righteous. Your hearts were in the right place. Your minds were in the right place. You were connected in the right way. So Allah gave you victory.

So Allah would remind them after Badr, of Badr, multiple times in the Qur'an — and us by extension. But here, they haven't yet faced Badr.

A Note on How We Relate to These Stories

Before I go to the story of David and Goliath, I want to make one thing very clear. As Muslims, we ascribe ourselves to the righteous on the basis of their righteousness and belief. And we distance ourselves from the wicked on the basis of their wickedness. Meaning what? When we read about the prophets of Bani Israel and the righteous of Bani Israel, we ascribe ourselves to them. And when we read about the wicked of any group of people — any nation, even if that might be your lineage or my lineage — we distance ourselves from them. Because we are bound by faith and righteousness.

And so we take pride in Dawud alayhi salam. We take pride in the prophets of Bani Israel and the righteous of Bani Israel. And distance ourselves from the wicked. And by the way, just to note — even though you read that Jalut, Goliath, is from the Philistines — there is no connection to the Philistines, who are not even Arabs, to the modern day Palestine. Just as there is no connection to those who ascribe themselves to Bani Israel from a lineage perspective to those from Bani Israel in the Qur'an. This is faith and wickedness — and we ascribe ourselves to people of faith and righteousness, and distance ourselves from people of wickedness and tughyan and power.

The Story Begins: A Wicked Generation Asks for a King

It starts with verse 246. Allah says: do you recall when a prophet after Musa alayhi salam — who is this prophet? According to the mufassirun, this is Samuel alayhi salam, a prophet from Bani Israel — and they said to their prophet: "Send us a king that will fight for the sake of Allah, and we will fight behind him."

Bani Israel had gone through a transition at this point where they had power, they oppressed, and now they were oppressed and powerless. And they still have prophets amongst them. And they still have some righteous amongst them. And they say to their prophet: "Send for us a king — ask Allah to send us a king — so that we can take back, we can reclaim our place of power and position in this world." نُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ — "We will fight for the sake of Allah."

But subhanAllah — there's a clue in this verse. When Samuel alayhi salam responds and says, "How do I know that you're going to be sincere in that?" — they did not respond with their love of Allah. They respond with: "What do we have to lose? We've already been driven out of our homes. We've already been humiliated." And that's the wrong answer right away, because the motivations should not be worldly. They just said نُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ — "We'll fight in the way of God" — but they're saying: "We've been humiliated. We have nothing to lose anyway. We might as well give this a shot."

We are not a people who turn to Allah only because we have nothing else to turn to. We are a people who turn to Allah when we have everything and when we have nothing — because we realize that everything stems from God. Everything good comes from Allah. And so once Allah sent a king amongst them, they turned away — except for a few amongst them.

The Appointment of Talut (Saul)

The prophet responded to them and said: "Allah has chosen Talut, a righteous man amongst you, to be your king." How did they respond?

They said: "Wait a minute — Talut? Who is Talut?" The scholars mention he was from the tribe of Binyamin alayhi salam — he was from the weaker tribes, the lesser tribes. And they've been so accustomed to having new standards of wealth and power that they said: "We want someone who's royal, someone who's noble to lead us. So why should he lead us when he's poor?" They mentioned his poverty. Also the wrong answer.

What did Allah respond?

"Allah chose him amongst you and increased him in knowledge, and in his physical body — in his physical strength." What is this talking about? الْعِلْم — Allah mentions that knowledge is what gives a person superiority, especially and only if it manifests in taqwa, in piety. And so this is praiseworthy knowledge which manifested itself in piety. Talut was a righteous man, a knowledgeable man. And Allah gave him الْجِسْم — which literally means he was the tallest man amongst them and the strongest man amongst them.

Goliath — who was the oppressor on the other side — was a huge man. And they said that Talut, being the tallest amongst Bani Israel, would not come to the shoulder of Goliath. He is a monstrous human being — a huge man, a powerful oppressor. So Allah responds and says: he has been chosen for his piety, his knowledge, as well as his physical strength. And you need to follow him. Allah gives His dominion to whom He wants.

The Sign of the Tabut

What did they respond with? "Can you send us a sign?" Give us an ayah. Allah gives them a sign. Allah gives them the Tabut — which was basically a box that had some of the belongings of Musa alayhi salam and Harun alayhi salam, that the people used to find blessing from, barakah from — and it had been taken from them by their enemies, as Bani Israel was in a difficult situation at this point. Allah brought it back from the enemies, and the angels placed it right at their doorstep. That is a sign that Allah is the one who is going to give you victory or keep you in defeat. Follow your leader. Follow that king.

The Filtration Process: From 80,000 to 313

And so Talut goes forward, and they follow Talut. The first test comes: they get to a river, and they are not allowed to drink from that river, though they are very thirsty. Remember we talked last week about the connection between sabr and steadfastness — patience and fasting — and courage, holding yourself back. They are very thirsty, and a test comes to them from Allah: "Don't drink from the river right now. Hold yourself back." And what does that do? It expels the real ones from the fake ones. And so that 80,000 dwindles into 4,000 — 4,000 men. And then through another period of testing they become 313.

What does that number sound like? Ibn Abbas radiallahu ta'ala said: the same number as the people of Badr. SubhanAllah. So the righteous amongst them are always very few — they are always qaleel, in every generation. The righteous are qaleel — they are few — but through that few, great things happen.

And so Talut roots out all of the rest of them. Remember what Allah would tell the Prophet ﷺ about the hypocrites in Tabuk — that claimed to be Muslim but just brought a demoralizing effect to the Muslims. Allah told the Prophet: it's better that they don't go out with you. It's better to have a small group of people that are dedicated to Allah, that are righteous, than to have people that are back and forth and swinging between righteousness and falsehood.

And so now Talut goes forward, and he has the same number as the people of Badr amongst him — to take on this massive army.

Dawud Alayhi Salam Steps Forward

Amongst his soldiers was Dawud alayhi salam. And Dawud alayhi salam was not a huge person physically. He wasn't yet declared to be a prophet — he was just one of the righteous men of Bani Israel. And Dawud alayhi salam — as Talut calls out and says, "Who's going to fight Jalut?" — Dawud alayhi salam says: "I will do it."

What does he have? He has a slingshot. He has a stone. SubhanAllah. If there is any image that comes to your mind — think about that iconic image of Faris Odeh standing in front of a tank with his stone, not fearing that tank in front of him. Dawud alayhi salam is not afraid of Goliath. He's not afraid of Jalut. "What can you do with that stone? What can you do with that slingshot?" By the permission of Allah, I can do a lot with it. And he comes forth to fight Jalut — and this was before the battle started, just like every other battle, you have the one or two that come out from each side, the duel that takes place before the battle. Dawud alayhi salam comes out, and Dawud alayhi salam is victorious against Jalut from the very beginning.

Their Du'a Before Battle

Allah says: this righteous group of people — as they came forth, what did they do? They made du'a. They said: "O Allah, pour upon us patience." What type of patience are they talking about? Are they talking about the patience with their desires? Are they talking about the patience with hardship? Or are they talking about courage and steadfastness? I want you to connect to last week's khutbah — the courage and steadfastness to continue. رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا — "Pour it upon us." وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا — "Plant our feet firmly." وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ — "And grant us victory over a disbelieving army."

The Victory of Dawud Over Jalut

And Dawud alayhi salam overcomes Jalut. Allah says: "They overcame that army by the permission of Allah, and Dawud killed Goliath — David killed Goliath. And Allah gave Dawud alayhi salam all sorts of things: knowledge, wisdom." It was from this group of people, dear brothers and sisters, that the ulama actually say was the most righteous generation of Bani Israel. When the Prophet ﷺ said they had amongst them muhdathun — people that were spoken to by the angels, inspired towards good — it was from that small group of 313 that Dawud alayhi salam rose. These were the righteous ones that learned the lesson of a previous generation.

And what did Allah do for them? Allah softened the iron, subjected the mountains for them, gave them all sorts of things. Dawud alayhi salam — someone that Allah loved, someone Allah elevated, someone Allah gave prophethood to — after that incident.

The Real Lessons: Righteousness as the Source of Victory

Almost every lesson that can possibly be derived for a people that are subjected to humiliation and oppression can be taken from these few ayat in the Qur'an. One of the things that is not read into this, though, is the righteousness of Dawud alayhi salam outside of any type of physical strength in battle. What did the Prophet ﷺ praise about Dawud alayhi salam? Did he praise his slingshot skills? Did he praise Dawud alayhi salam for the kingdom that he would amass? Or did he say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1131; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1159)

That the best fasting is the fasting of Dawud alayhi salam — he would fast one day and he would break his fast another day. The best qiyam, the best night prayer, is the night prayer of Dawud alayhi salam — that last third of the night that was the habit of Dawud alayhi salam to pray. That our Prophet ﷺ praised and prayed, so that we also would praise and pray.

That's what we take from the prophets. That's what we take from them — that righteousness infuses victory in every single way possible. That the smallness of means are grown by the great length of tahajjud and dedication and qiyam and siyam. And that that is a timeless lesson. And then the impact of that is more than just Allah getting you out of your oppression, but Allah making you firmly planted in the earth.

There is also another thing that we take from this — that every generation is either its own worst enemy, or its own ability, by the grace of Allah, to rise. You cannot discount the hypocrisy, the corruption, the oppression, the things that led to the humiliation of a generation before the elevation of a generation. And every time Allah tells us these stories, Allah tells us to look within. Look within. Every single one of us is a part of the equation. What role do I play — in my prayer, in my going forth for the sake of Allah?

Du'a and Closing

May Allah grant us that righteousness, and that power through righteousness — not one that is sought for the sake of this world, but that is sought for the elevation and the hereafter. May Allah grant us the companionship of the Prophet in Jannat al-Firdaus. اللهم آمين

AstaghfirAllah. Alhamdulillah. Salat wa salamu ala Rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ — So remember Allah and He will remember you. Thank Him for His blessings and He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.