Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:112

"He said, 'My Lord, judge [between us] with truth...'"

It is read as Qul (Say) and Qala (He said), narrating the speech of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Regarding {Rabbi-h-kum}:

• It is read with a kasra (implying Rabbi ihkum).
• It is read with a damma (Rabbi uhkum).
• It is read as Rabbi ahkam (My Lord is the Most Wise/Decisive), as a superlative (af‘al al-tafdil).
• It is read as Rabbi ahkim (My Lord, judge/decide), a command to hasten the punishment for his people, so they were punished at Badr.

The meaning of {with truth} is: do not show them favoritism, but be severe with them as is their due, just as it is said: "Press your foot hard upon Mudar."

{What you describe} is read with both the ta (you) and the ya (they). They used to describe the situation contrary to how it actually unfolded; they hoped for power and victory, but Allah belied their assumptions, disappointed their hopes, granted victory to His Messenger (ﷺ) and the believers, and abandoned them.

From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Whoever recites 'The time of their reckoning has drawn near' (Surah Al-Anbiya), Allah will reckon with him easily, and every prophet whose name is mentioned in the Quran will shake his hand and greet him."

Their subjection and glorification (tasbih) are more wondrous, more indicative of [Divine] Power, and more miraculous, because they are inanimate, whereas birds are animals—though they do not speak. It is narrated that he [David] would pass by the mountains while glorifying Allah, and they would respond to him. It is also said: they would travel with him wherever he went.

If you ask: How do mountains speak and glorify? I say: By Allah creating speech within them, just as He created it in the tree when He spoke to Moses. Another answer: It means that whoever saw them moving by Allah’s command would glorify Him; thus, because they were the cause of glorification, they were described as doing it themselves.

{And We were Doers}: Meaning, We were capable of doing this, even if it seems wondrous to you. It is also said: We were accustomed to doing such things for the prophets.

{Al-Labus}: Means armor (al-bas). It is said: "Wear armor for every situation." The intent is the coat of mail. Qatada said: They were plates, and the first to weave and link them was David, combining lightness with protection.

{To protect you}: It is read with nun, ya, and ta, and with both light and heavy sad.

• The nun refers to Allah (Exalted is He).
• The ta refers to the craft or the armor (interpreting it as al-dir').
• The ya refers to David or the armor.

{And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind, blowing fiercely, coursing by his command toward the land which We had blessed...}

It is read as al-rih (singular) and al-riyah (plural), in both the nominative and accusative cases. The nominative is based on the initial subject (mubtada'), and the accusative is a conjunction linked to the mountains.

If you ask: These winds are described as "fierce" at one time and "gentle" at another; how do you reconcile this? I say: In themselves, they were gentle and pleasant like a breeze, but when they passed by his throne, they would carry it to a distant place in a short time, as He said: "Its morning journey was a month, and its evening journey was a month." Thus, the combination of the two states is that they were gentle in nature but fierce in their effect, obedient to Solomon, blowing according to his desire and judgment—sign upon sign, miracle upon miracle.

It is also said: They were gentle at one time and fierce at another, blowing according to his will. Our knowledge has encompassed everything, so We cause all things to proceed according to what Our knowledge and wisdom require.