Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:23
Indeed this, my brother, has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe; so he said, 'Entrust her to me,' and he overpowered me in speech."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً وَلِيَ نَعْجَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَقَالَ أَكْفِلْنِيهَا وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (38:23) (Indeed, this is my brother; he has ninety-nine ewes and I have one single ewe, and he said: "Entrust her to my care," and he overcame me in the dispute.) (23)
This is a parable which the adversaries, who climbed over the wall to Dāwūd in his prayer-chamber, set forth before him. The reason for it is that Dāwūd, so it is said, had ninety-nine wives, while the man whom he sent off to battle until he was killed had one single wife. When he had been killed, Dāwūd — so it is related — married his wife. Therefore one of the two said to him: إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي (Indeed, this is my brother), that is to say: my brother in my religion.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of one of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي (Indeed, this is my brother), that is to say: in my religion, لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً وَلِيَ نَعْجَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ (he has ninety-nine ewes and I have one single ewe).
It has been mentioned that in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh it reads: "Indeed, this is my brother; he has ninety-nine female ewes." That is one of the ways in which the Arabs strengthen a word, such as their saying: "this is a male man." They scarcely do this, however, except with the feminine and masculine whose feminine or masculine character lies in the essence itself, such as the woman, the man, and the she-camel. They scarcely say "this is a feminine house" or "a feminine cloak," because the feminine character of these lies in the noun and not in the meaning. It has also been said: by the word "female" it is meant that she was beautiful.
* Mention of those who said that:
It has been related to me on the authority of al-Muḥāribī, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "Indeed, this is my brother; he has ninety-nine female ewes" — by that her femininity is meant, namely her beauty.
And His saying فَقَالَ أَكْفِلْنِيهَا (and he said: "Entrust her to my care") means: he said to me: relinquish her in my favour and join her to me.
As Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying أَكْفِلْنِيهَا (entrust her to my care): he said: give her to me, divorce her for me, I will marry her, and set her free.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of one of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, and he said: أَكْفِلْنِيهَا (entrust her to my care), that is to say: make me responsible over her.
And His saying وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute) means: and he became mightier than I in his addressing of me, for when he spoke, he was more eloquent than I, and when he struck, he was stronger than I, and thus he overpowered me.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: ʿAbd Allāh said concerning His saying وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute): he said: Dāwūd did no more than say: relinquish her in my favour.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: he did no more than say: relinquish her in my favour.
And Yaḥyā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Masʿūdī related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: ʿAbd Allāh said: Dāwūd did no more than say: أكفلنيها (entrust her to my care).
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute), he said: when I implored and he implored, he was more numerous; and when I struck and he struck, he was stronger than I. That is His saying وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute).
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute), that is to say: he wronged me and overpowered me.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute): he said: he overpowered me, and that is "ʿizz" (predominance); he said: and "al-khiṭāb" means: the word, the address.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of one of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute), that is to say: he overpowered me in the dispute, and he was stronger than I, and thus he joined my ewe to his ewes and left me with nothing remaining to me.
It has been related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (and he overcame me in the dispute): he said: when he spoke, he was more eloquent than I, and when he struck, he was stronger than I, and when he implored, he was more numerous than I.
