Sūrah Ṣād Ṣād: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī The Source Commentary

Surah Overview

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahصMakkī 88 versesDāwūd's lapse and repentance one of the most analyzed prophetic sin debates

Key DisagreementWhat was Dāwūd's sin in the two-disputant story?Prophetic ʿiṣmah debateAl-Ṭabarī: a lapse in judgment (rushing to verdict without hearing both sides) not a major sin; he repented immediately

Competing OpinionsWere the two disputants actual humans or angels sent as a test?Miracle / narrativeAl-Ṭabarī: angels sent to test Dāwūd from Companion chains via Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid

MethodologyDefending prophetic ʿiṣmah while acknowledging Quranic lapsesʿAqīdah in tafsīrAl-Ṭabarī's careful treatment: Dāwūd's lapse was a procedural error, not a moral failure ʿiṣmah is maintained

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

The two-disputant story (38:21–25) requires careful treatment to protect prophetic ʿiṣmah. Al-Ṭabarī presents the chain from Ibn ʿAbbās that two angels appeared as human disputants: one claiming the other owned 99 ewes and wanted the one remaining ewe. Dāwūd ruled in favor of the claimant without hearing the defense a procedural error in judgment. Al-Ṭabarī's careful position: this was a judicial mistake (not hearing both sides completely) rather than a moral sin he erred as a judge, not as a prophet. The immediate repentance (38:24–25) shows Dāwūd's awareness and Allah's forgiveness.

The Iblīs story (38:71–88) presents the fullest Quranic account of the refusal to prostrate. Al-Ṭabarī presents chains on the nature of Iblīs's reasoning: he compared his creation (fire) favorably to Adam's (clay) a form of pride and qiyās (analogical reasoning) applied inappropriately. Al-Ṭabarī notes that this is one of the earliest recorded acts of bidʿah reasoning from analogy in religious matters in a way that contradicts divine command.

وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ Wa-ẓanna Dāwūdu annamā fatannāhu fa-staghfara rabbahu wa-kharra rākiʿan wa-anāb "And Dāwūd perceived that We had tested him so he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing and turned in repentance" (38:24) Al-Ṭabarī: the immediate recognition and repentance shows prophetic awareness; the test was judicial not hearing the defense and repentance was immediate.

قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ Qāla mā manaʿaka allā tasjuda idh amartuka qāla anā khayrun minhu khalaqtanī min nār "He said: What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you? He said: I am better than him You created me from fire" (38:75–76) Al-Ṭabarī: Iblīs's analogical pride (fire > clay) is the origin of reasoning against divine command the first act of bidʿah through corrupted qiyās.

Dāwūd's procedural lapse: Al-Ṭabarī defends prophetic ʿiṣmah by identifying the error as a judicial procedure failure (not hearing both sides), not a moral transgression.
Angels as disputants: Al-Ṭabarī's preferred chain (Ibn ʿAbbās) identifies the two men as angels sent to test Dāwūd the test was designed to expose the procedural weakness.
Iblīs's qiyās: Al-Ṭabarī's characterization of Iblīs's reasoning as corrupted analogical reasoning is one of the earliest classical applications of this analysis.
Sulaymān's horse test: The horses that distracted Sulaymān from prayer (38:31–33) are traced through chains on what the "return" (rudd) of the horses means cutting their legs as a correction of their domination over him.
The Ṣād sajdah: Al-Ṭabarī presents chains on whether 38:24 is a sajdah verse and the debate among scholars on prostrating upon reciting it.

Surah Overview

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

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