And when it was said: Why did Ibrahim and those with him precede Nuh, who is their father and among the possessors of resolve, and Musa and Harun precede Ibrahim, who is likewise? It was indicated by the story of Dawud and Sulayman - blessings and peace be upon them all - that perhaps the son may excel the father in a matter. So perhaps he was preferred for his sake, even if it is not necessary to prefer him absolutely. With what is in it of the matter of cultivation, which is the most suitable thing for what comes after the water has receded in the story of Nuh, peace be upon him. This is in its beginning, and as for its end, what it produces is an example of the world in its beauty and its deception, and its passing and fleeting nature. And from the management of Dawud, peace be upon him, in the mountains, which are the hardest of soils that are stronger than water, and in iron, which is stronger than the soil of the mountains, and Sulayman, peace be upon him, in the wind, which is stronger than the soil. He said: "And Dawud" [meaning the first to rule among the prophets of Bani Israel is] "and Sulayman," his son. That is, mention both of them and mention their affair "when" [meaning when] "they judged in the cultivation" that produced the crop, and it is from the application of the name of the cause to the caused, like the sky to the rain and the plant. It was said: That was a vineyard, and it was said: A crop. "When they grazed" [meaning they spread at night without a shepherd] "in it the flocks of the people" who have the strength to guard them, so they grazed it. Qatadah said: The grazing at night, and the straying during the day. "And We were" meaning by Our greatness that does not allow for contradiction of the first in a ruling from the rulings "witnesses" to their judgment, meaning the two judges and the disputants to them. "We were not absent from that nor from anything of their affair, this or otherwise. Therefore, We changed that ruling of Dawud, peace be upon him, despite him being our ally, and he is rewarded for his striving [because the first is contrary to it, for he judged that the owner of the cultivation should possess the sheep for what they had destroyed of the vineyard, as if he saw the value of the sheep as the value of what they had destroyed.]