Tafsir of Saba' 34:10

"And We certainly gave David from Us bounty"—meaning: We gave him, on account of his excellent penitence and the soundness of his repentance, a bounty—that is, a favor and beneficence. It is said: "bounty" implies a superiority and an increase over all the prophets who preceded him, or over the prophets of the Children of Israel, or over all others besides our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; for there is no virtue found in any of the prophets—peace be upon them—except that our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was given the like of it in actuality, or had the capacity for it but chose not to manifest it. Or, it may mean superiority over the prophets absolutely, and it is possible for the one who is surpassed to possess that which is not in others. He (David, peace be upon him) was uniquely distinguished by what is mentioned here. It is also said: "superiority over all other people," which includes prophethood, the Book, kingship, and a beautiful voice. This is countered by the argument that if it is meant that each of these is a bounty not found in all other people, then the absence of the likes of his kingship and voice is a subject of doubt; and if the totality of these is intended as a whole, it is not found even among the prophets, so there is no basis for singling him out with this interpretation.

As for me, I see "bounty" as being interpreted as beneficence, and its indetermination is for the purpose of magnification. "(From Us)"—meaning without an intermediary—is for emphasizing its intrinsic magnificence through its extrinsic magnificence, as in His saying, the Exalted: "And We had taught him from Us a knowledge." Its precedence over the direct object is for the sake of focusing on the mentioned element and creating anticipation for the deferred element, so that it may be firmly established in the soul when it arrives. Mentioning the affairs of David and Solomon—peace be upon them—here is for the suitability of mentioning the "penitent" in His saying, the Exalted: "And in that there is a sign for every penitent servant," as we have indicated. Abu Hayyan said: The suitability of their stories—peace be upon them—to what preceded them is that those disbelievers denied the Resurrection because of its impossibility in their assumption; thus, they were informed of the occurrence of what is customary-impossible, which they could not deny, as some of their stories and poetry were overflowing with it. It is said: The Exalted mentioned His grace upon them as an argument for what was bestowed upon our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; as if it were said: Do not consider this unlikely, for We have favored Our servants in the past with such and such. When the illustration for him (peace and blessings be upon him) was finished, the illustration returned to them with the people of Saba and what happened to them due to disbelief and arrogance.

"O mountains, repeat with him"—meaning: Glorify with him. This was stated by Ibn Abbas, Qatada, and Ibn Zayd, and it was extracted by Ibn Jarir from Abu Maysara, except that he said: This is its meaning in the Abyssinian language. However, the apparent meaning is that it is Arabic, derived from al-ta’wib, and the intent is: "Repeat the glorification with him and echo it." Ibn Atiyyah said: The root of its past tense is aba (to return), and it was geminated for emphasis. This was countered in al-Bahr with his statement: It appears the gemination is for transitivity, because aba in the sense of "to return" is intransitive and takes the particle lam, so it was made transitive through gemination, as they explained it by saying: "Repeat the glorification with him."

It is narrated that when he (peace be upon him) glorified, the mountains would glorify like his glorification with a sound heard from them, and it is not difficult for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to make them such that they glorify with a sound that is heard. Indeed, pebbles have glorified in the palm of our Prophet (peace be upon him), and its glorification was heard, as it was in the palm of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). It is not far-fetched, based on this, to say: Allah, the Exalted, created understanding in them first, then called out to them as those who possess understanding are called, and commanded them. Some said: The Exalted lowered the mountains to the status of rational beings who, when commanded, obey and yield, and when called, hear and answer, as an indication that there is no animal or inanimate object except that it is compliant to His will (Exalted is He), not refractory to His decree, and a demonstration of the might of Lordship and the majesty of Divinity, whereby He called the mountains and commanded them. It is said: The meaning of "repeating" is carrying him toward glorification when one contemplates what is in them. This, despite being contrary to what is transmitted, is rejected by the phrase "with him." Furthermore, he (peace be upon him) has no specificity with this meaning of repeating by the mountains such that he would be favored by it or that it would be a miracle for him. It is also said: He (peace be upon him) used to wail over his sin with modulation and sadness, and the mountains would assist him with their echoes. The objection to this is that an echo is not in truth the sound of the mountains; rather, it is from the effects of the speaker's voice, as proven by demonstration. And Allah, the Exalted, called out to the mountains and commanded them to repeat with him. Furthermore, what specificity does he (peace be upon him) have with that, when everyone's voice has an echo in the mountains? From al-Hasan, the meaning of "repeat with him" is: "Travel with him wherever he travels." Al-ta’wib is the traveling of the day, as if a person travels by night then repeats the travel by day; meaning, he repeats it.

Among that is the statement of Tamim ibn Muqbil: "We reached a tribe that repeated the travel after we pushed back the rays of the sun, and the eye drooped." And the saying of another: "Two days: a day of stations and assemblies, and a day of travel to the enemies—a ta’wib." An objection was raised against this, that the mountains are the pegs of the earth and it was not reported that they traveled with David (peace be upon him) or anyone else. It is said: The meaning is: "Act along with him in whatever he acts upon." So, if he glorified, they glorified; if he wailed, they wailed; and if he recited the Psalms, they recited. This was countered by the fact that ta’wib is not known in the meaning of "acting" in the Arabic language. It is also said: The meaning is "Return to his intent in whatever he desires" of digging, uncovering springs, extracting minerals, and laying paths. The sentence is governed by an implied verb, meaning: "Our saying: 'O mountains'..." as a substitute for "bounty"—a substitute of the whole for the whole, or a substitute of inclusion—or "We said: 'O mountains'..." as a substitute for "We gave." It is permissible for it to be a substitute for "bounty," based on the view that it is permissible to substitute a sentence for a single noun. Abu Hayyan permitted it to be a commencement (new sentence), but that is not strong.

Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, Qatada, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and Ibn Abi Ablah read: u’bi with a damma on the hamza and a sukun on the waw, an imperative from al-awb, which is returning. Al-Raghib distinguished between them by saying that al-awb is only said regarding an animal that has will, while "returning" (ruju’) is said regarding it and other things.

The meaning of this reading according to the majority is: "Return with him in glorification." The command to the mountains is like the command to a single feminine noun, because it is permissible for the plural of that which is not rational. Examples of this include: "O horses of Allah, mount!" and similarly "other needs." This has come in the plural of that which is rational among the feminine, as the poet said: "We left the horses and the camels as a ransom, and said to the women among them: 'Stay!'" But this is rare. "And the birds"—in the accusative case. According to Abu Amr ibn al-Ala, this is due to an implied verb, with the meaning: "And We subjected the birds to him." Abu Ubayda reported from him that it is by conjunction to "bounty," and there is no need for the implied verb, because giving them to him (peace be upon him) is the subjecting of them to him. Al-Tibi mentioned that this is like his saying: "I fed them straw and cold water."

Al-Kisa’i said: It is also by conjunction, except that he estimated an added word, meaning: "And the glorification of the birds," and there is no need for that. Sibawayh said: "The birds" is conjoined to the place of "mountains," like his saying: "O Zayd and al-Dahhak, travel!"—with the accusative of "al-Dahhak," and some grammarians prevented this due to the necessity of the vocative "O" entering upon a noun defined by al. The one who permits it says: Something may be permissible as a dependent that is not permissible independently. Al-Zajjaj said: It is in the accusative because it is an object of accompaniment (maf’ul ma’ahu). Abu Hayyan countered this by saying it is not permissible because "with him" precedes it, and it does not require two objects of accompaniment except by substitution or conjunction. Just as one cannot say "Zayd came with Amr with Zaynab" except by conjunction, so too is this. Al-Khafaji said: "With him" does not forbid it, whether it relates to "repeat" as a weak adverbial or is made a state (hal), because they are different governors, as the adverbial and the state are not the object of accompaniment, and each is a separate chapter. The confusion is merely due to the word "with" (ma’a). Thus, what Abu Hayyan objected to is not directed [at the correct target], even if it is thought so. More shameful than the error is the apology, as it was answered that it is permissible to say the waw of conjunction was omitted from His saying, the Exalted: "And the birds," out of the burden of two waws coming together, or the relationship of the second was considered after the relationship of the first.

Al-Sulami, Ibn Hurmuz, Abu Yahya, Abu Nawfal, Ya’qub, Ibn Abi Ablah, a group from the people of Medina, and Asim in one narration read "and the birds" in the nominative case. It is explained as being conjoined to "mountains" in consideration of its wording and its vowel, which is secondary to the vowel of declension; and what is not forgiven in the followed word is forgiven in the dependent. It is also said it is conjoined to the hidden pronoun in "repeat," and the separation by the adverbial allowed that. It is also said it is by the estimation of "And let the birds repeat," similar to what was said in His saying, the Exalted: "Dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise."

It is also said: It is in the nominative as an initial, and the predicate is omitted, meaning: "And the birds repeat." "And We made iron pliable for him"—and We made it in his hand like wax or dough, which he would shape as he willed without fire or the striking of a hammer. This was stated by al-Suddi and others. It is said: We made it, in relation to the strength We gave him, as pliable as wax is in relation to the strengths of other humans.