Surah Sad >> Currently viewing Surah Sad Ayat 24 (38:24)

Surah Sad Ayat 24 in Arabic Text

قَالَ لَقَدۡ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعۡجَتِكَ إِلَىٰ نِعَاجِهِۦۖ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبۡغِي بَعۡضُهُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ وَقَلِيلٞ مَّا هُمۡۗ وَظَنَّ دَاوُۥدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّـٰهُ فَٱسۡتَغۡفَرَ رَبَّهُۥ وَخَرَّۤ رَاكِعٗاۤ وَأَنَابَ۩
Qaala laqad zalamaka bisu ‘aali na’jatika ilaa ni’aajih; wa inna kaseeran minal khulataaa’i la-yabghee ba’duhum ‘alaa ba’din illal lazeena aamanoo wa ‘amilus saalihaati wa qaleelun maa hum; wa zanna Daawoodu annamaa fatannaahu fastaghfara Rabbahoo wa kharra raaki’anw wa anaab (make sajdah)

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 24

Sahih International
[David] said, “He has certainly wronged you in demanding your ewe [in addition] to his ewes. And indeed, many associates oppress one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds – and few are they.” And David became certain that We had tried him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing [in prostration] and turned in repentance [to Allah].

Yusuf Ali
(David) said: “He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the partners (in business) who wrong each other: Not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?”… and David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing (in prostration), and turned (to Allah in repentance).

Abul Ala Maududi
David said: “He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his ewes; and indeed many who live together commit excesses, one to the other, except those that believe and act righteously; and they are but few.” (While so saying) David realized that it is We Who have put him to test; therefore, he sought the forgiveness of his Lord, and fell down, bowing and penitently turning (to Him).

Muhsin Khan
[Dawud (David)] said (immediately without listening to the opponent): “He has wronged you in demanding your ewe in addition to his ewes. And, verily, many partners oppress one another, except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and they are few.” And Dawud (David) guessed that We have tried him and he sought Forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell down prostrate and turned (to Allah) in repentance.

Pickthall
(David) said: He hath wronged thee in demanding thine ewe in addition to his ewes, and lo! many partners oppress one another, save such as believe and do good works, and they are few. And David guessed that We had tried him, and he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he bowed himself and fell down prostrate and repented.

Dr. Ghali
He (Dawû‍d) said, “Indeed he has already done an injustice to you in asking for your ewe (in addition) to his ewes; and surely many intermixes are indeed inequitable one against the other, (Literally: some of them are unfair to some “others”) except the ones who have believed and done deeds of righteousness, and how few they are!” And Dawû‍d surmised that We had only tempted (Or: tried) him; so he asked forgiveness of his Lord, and he collapsed bowing down and turned penitent. A prostration is to be performed here.

Abdel Haleem
David said, ‘He has done you wrong by demanding to add your ewe to his flock. Many partners treat each other unfairly. Those who sincerely believe and do good deeds do not do this, but these are very few.’ [Then] David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness, fell down on his knees, and repented:

Muhammad Junagarhi
آپ نے فرمایا! اس کا اپنی دنبیوں کے ساتھ تیری ایک دنبی ملا لینے کا سوال بیشک تیرے اوپر ایک ﻇلم ہے اور اکثر حصہ دار اور شریک (ایسے ہی ہوتے ہیں کہ) ایک دوسرے پر ﻇلم کرتے ہیں، سوائے ان کے جو ایمان ﻻئے اور جنہوں نے نیک عمل کیے اور ایسے لوگ بہت ہی کم ہیں اور (حضرت) داؤد (علیہ السلام) سمجھ گئے کہ ہم نے انہیں آزمایا ہے، پھر تو اپنے رب سے استغفار کرنے لگے اور عاجزی کرتے ہوئے گر پڑے اور (پوری طرح) رجوع کیا

Quran 38 Verse 24 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Sad ayat 24, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(38:24) David said: “He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his ewes;[25] and indeed many who live together commit excesses, one to the other, except those that believe and act righteously; and they are but few.” (While so saying) David realized that it is We Who have put him to test; therefore, he sought the forgiveness of his Lord, and fell down, bowing and penitently turning (to Him).[26]


25. Here, one should not doubt that the Prophet David (peace be upon him) gave his decision after hearing only what one party had to say. The fact of the matter is that when the respondent kept quiet at the complaint of the complainant and said nothing in defense it by itself amounted to a confession by him. That is why the Prophet David (peace be upon him) came to the conclusion that the facts of the case were the same as the complainant had stated.

26. There is a difference of opinion as to whether it is obligatory to perform a sajdah (prostration) on this occasion or not. Imam Shafai says that it is not obligatory, for this is only a Prophet’s repentance; but Imam Abu Hanifah has opined that prostration here is obligatory. The traditionalists have related three traditions from lbn- Abbas in this regard. According to Ikrimah, Ibn Abbas said: This is not one of those verses on the recitation of which prostration is obligatory, but I have seen the Prophet (peace be upon him) prostrating himself on this occasion. (Bukhari, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Musnad Ahmad). The second tradition which Saeed bin Jubair has related from Ibn Abbas is to the effect: The Prophet (peace be upon him) prostrated himself in Surah Suad and said: The Prophet David (peace be upon him) had prostrated himself in order to express his repentance and we prostrate ourselves as a token of gratitude, because his repentance was accepted. (Nasai) In the third tradition that Mujahid has related from him, he says: Allah has commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him), in the Quran: These were the ones whom Allah had shown the right way; therefore, you should follow their way. (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 90). Now, since David was a Prophet and he had prostrated himself on this occasion, the Prophet (peace be upon him) also prostrated himself here only to follow his way. (Bukhari). These three are the statements of Ibn Abbas. Abu Said Khudri says: The Prophet (peace be upon him) once recited Surah Suad in his address, and when he came to this verse, he descended from the pulpit and performed a prostration and the audience also did the same along with him. Then, on another occasion, he recited this same Surah and when the people heard this verse, they were ready to perform the prostration. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: This is the repentance of a Prophet, but I see that you have gotten ready to perform the prostration. Saying this he descended from the pulpit and prostrated himself and the people also did the same. (Abu Daud). Although these traditions do not provide any absolute argument to prove that it is obligatory to perform the prostration here, yet they prove at least that because the Prophet (peace be upon him) generally performed a prostration on this occasion, it is in any case commendable to prostrate here.

Another thing that one notices in this verse is that Allah has used the words kharra rakian (fell in ruku) here, but all the commentators agree that this implies kharra sajid-an (fell in sajdah: prostration). On this very basis, Imam Abu Hanifah and his companions have expressed the opinion that one may perform only a ruku instead of a sajdah, when one recites or hears being recited a verse requiring a sajdah in the Prayer or outside it. For when Allah has used the word ruku to imply sajdah, it becomes obvious that ruku can represent sajdah. Imam Khattabi, a Shafeite jurist, also holds the same opinion, Though this opinion in itself is sound and reasonable, we do not find any precedent in the practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions that they might have been content with performing a ruku only instead of a sajdah on a verse requiring a sajdah. Therefore, one should act upon the view only when there is an obstruction in performing the sajdah; it would be wrong to make it a practice, Imam Abu Hanifah and his companions themselves also did not intend that it should be made a practice; they only ruled that it was permissible.

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah Sad verse 24 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Sad ayat 21 which provides the complete commentary from verse 21 through 25.

Quick navigation links

Surah Sad
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22 . 23 . 24 . 25 . 26 . 27 . 28 . 29 . 30 . 31 . 32 . 33 . 34 . 35 . 36 . 37 . 38 . 39 . 40 . 41 . 42 . 43 . 44 . 45 . 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 . 50 . 51 . 52 . 53 . 54 . 55 . 56 . 57 . 58 . 59 . 60 . 61 . 62 . 63 . 64 . 65 . 66 . 67 . 68 . 69 . 70 . 71 . 72 . 73 . 74 . 75 . 76 . 77 . 78 . 79 . 80 . 81 . 82 . 83 . 84 . 85 . 86 . 87 . 88

surah sad ayat 24
surah sad ayat 25
surah sad ayat 26
surah sad ayat 27
surah sad ayat 28

skip_previous play_arrow skip_next
0:00/0:00
volume_up