The people of the time of David, peace be upon him, would ask one another to divorce their wives so that they could marry them if they found them pleasing. They had a custom of mutual support in this matter that they had become accustomed to. It has been narrated that the Ansar would support the Muhajirin in a similar way. It happened that David's eye fell upon the wife of a man named Uriah, and he loved her. He asked Uriah to divorce her, and Uriah felt shy to refuse him, so he did, and David married her, and she was the mother of Solomon. It was said to him: 'With your high status, elevated rank, great importance, and numerous wives, it was not appropriate for you to ask a man who has only one wife to divorce her. Rather, it was obligatory upon you to overcome your desires, control yourself, and be patient with what you were tested with.' It was said that Uriah proposed to her, then David proposed, and her family preferred David, so his sin was that he proposed over the proposal of his believing brother, despite his many wives. As for what is mentioned that David, peace be upon him, wished for the status of his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he said: 'O Lord, my forefathers have taken all the good.' So Allah revealed to him: 'They were tested with trials, and they were patient with them. Abraham was tested by Nimrod and was commanded to sacrifice his son. Isaac was tested by his sacrifice and the loss of his sight. Jacob was tested by his grief over Joseph.' He asked for the trial, and Allah revealed to him: 'You will be tested on such and such a day, so be cautious.' When that day arrived, he entered his prayer niche, closed his door, and began to pray and recite the Psalms. Then the devil came to him in the form of a golden dove. He reached out his hand to take it for his young son, but it flew away. He reached for it, and it flew away and fell into a hole. He followed it and saw a beautiful woman who had undone her hair and covered her body, and she was the wife of Uriah, who was among the warriors of Balqa. He wrote to Ayub ibn Surya, who was the commander of the Balqa expedition, to send Uriah and place him at the front of the ark. Whoever is at the front of the ark is not allowed to return until Allah grants victory through him or he is martyred. Allah granted victory through him, and he returned safely. David commanded that he be sent back again and a third time until he was killed. When he received the news of his death, he did not grieve as he would for the martyrs, and he married his wife. This and similar matters are shameful to mention about some who claim righteousness among the Muslims, let alone some of the prophets. And from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib and al-Harith al-A'war: Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Whoever narrates to you the story of David as the storytellers narrate, I will punish him with one hundred and sixty lashes, which is the punishment for slander against the prophets.' It has been narrated that he mentioned this to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz while a man of truth was present. The narrator of the story denied it and said: 'If the story is as it is in the Book of Allah, then it should not be sought to be contrary to it, and it is even more serious to say otherwise.' And if it is as you mentioned, and Allah has concealed it as a veil over His prophet, then it should not be revealed about him. Umar said:

Hearing this speech is more beloved to me than what the sun has risen upon. And what indicates this is the parable that Allah has set forth regarding his story, peace be upon him, which is nothing but his request to the woman's husband to let him down from her. If you say: Why did it come in the form of a parable and allusion instead of being explicit? I say: Because it is more eloquent in reproach. This is because contemplation, if it leads to an awareness of the alluded matter, has a greater impact on the soul, is more firmly established in the heart, and has a greater effect on it. It also brings about modesty and shyness, and is more likely to alert one to the error in it than if he were to be confronted with it directly, while observing good manners by refraining from being overt. Do you not see how the wise have advised in the upbringing of a child? If a reprehensible fault is found in him, it is better to allude to it rather than to state it explicitly. And to narrate a story that reflects his condition, so that when he contemplates it, he finds the state of the story's subject to be pleasing, and thus finds his own state pleasing. This is more effective for him because it sets that as an example for his own condition and a measure for his affair, allowing him to perceive the ugliness of what he has done in an unveiled manner, while it is also more protective of the veil of modesty between the parent and the child. If you say: Why was this in the manner of referring to him? I say: So that he may be judged by what he has ruled, by saying: 'Indeed, he has wronged you by asking for your ewe to his ewes,' until he is confronted by his own judgment and acknowledges his wrongdoing. And has the news of the dispute reached you? Its apparent meaning is a question, while its implication is to indicate that it is among the marvelous news that deserves to be widely known and not hidden from anyone, and to entice one to listen to it. The dispute: the disputants, and it applies to both singular and plural, like 'guest.' Allah, the Exalted, said: 'The story of the honored guests of Ibrahim.' This is because it is originally a source; you say: 'He disputed him a dispute,' just as you say: 'He hosted him a guest.' If you say: This is plural. And his saying: 'Two disputants' is dual, how is that correct? I say: The meaning of 'two disputants' is two opposing parties, and the evidence for this is the reading of one who recited: 'Two disputants, some of them wronged others,' and similarly His saying: 'These are two disputants who have disputed concerning their Lord.' If you say: What do you make of His saying: 'Indeed, this is my brother,' which is evidence for two? I say: This is the saying of one party, intended by his saying: 'Some of us are against others.' If you say: It has come in the narration that two angels were sent to him. I say: Its meaning is that the dispute was between two angels, and that does not prevent others from accompanying them. If you say: If the dispute was between two, how are they all called disputants in His saying: 'The news of the dispute' and 'two disputants'? I say: Since each of the disputants had companions in the form of a disputant, the naming is correct. If you say: What is the grammatical case of 'when'? I say: It can either be in the accusative case due to 'has come to you,' or due to 'the news,' or it can be implied. It is not permissible for it to be in the accusative case due to 'has come to you,' because the coming of the news to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, does not occur except in his time, not in the time of Dawud. Nor due to 'the news,' because the news that occurred in the time of Dawud cannot be brought to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. If you mean by 'the news': the story itself, it was not an accusative case, so it remains to be in the accusative case due to an implied phrase, and its estimation is: 'And has the news of the dispute of the disputants reached you?' It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case due to 'the disputants' because of its meaning of action. As for the second 'when,' it is a substitute for the first. 'They climbed over the sanctuary' means they ascended its wall and descended to him. The wall is the high barrier, and its equivalent in buildings is 'to ascend it,' when its peak is raised, and 'to throw it' means when its summit is raised. It has been narrated that Allah, the Exalted, sent to him two angels in the form of two men, and they requested to enter upon him. They found him on the day of his worship, so the guards prevented them, so they climbed over the sanctuary. He did not realize except that they were sitting before him. He was frightened by them. Ibn Abbas said: Indeed, Dawud, peace be upon him, divided his time into four parts: one day for worship, one day for judgment, one day for attending to his special affairs, and one day to gather Bani Israel to admonish them and make them weep. They came to him on a day other than the day of judgment, so he was frightened by them, and because they descended upon him from above, and on the day of concealment, and the guards around him did not allow anyone to enter upon him. 'Two disputants' is the news of a subject that is omitted, meaning: We are two disputants. 'And do not be unjust' or 'do not transgress.' And it is read: 'And do not be excessive.'

And do not stray from the truth. And it was read: And do not go to extremes. And do not exceed, and all of them are from the meaning of going to extremes: which is to go beyond the limit and to surpass the truth. And the straight path is its middle and its clear way: He gave it as an example for the essence of the truth and its purity.