David and Solomon’s Judgment (21:79)

The following verses describe a situation that transpired regarding David and Solomon.

[21:78] And David and Solomon, when they once ruled with regard to someone’s crop that was destroyed by another’s sheep. We witnessed their judgment.

 وَدَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِى ٱلْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ ٱلْقَوْمِ وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَـٰهِدِينَ

[21:79] We granted Solomon the correct understanding, though we endowed both of them with wisdom and knowledge. We committed the mountains to serve David in glorifying (God), as well as the birds. This is what we did.

 فَفَهَّمْنَـٰهَا سُلَيْمَـٰنَ وَكُلًّا ءَاتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَسَخَّرْنَا مَعَ دَاوُۥدَ ٱلْجِبَالَ يُسَبِّحْنَ وَٱلطَّيْرَ وَكُنَّا فَـٰعِلِينَ

Here is the word by word translation for the two verses:

21:78

1	wadāwūda	وَدَاوُۥدَ	And David
2	wasulaymāna	وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ	and Solomon,
3	idh	إِذْ	when
4	yaḥkumāni	يَحْكُمَانِ	they [both] judged
5	fī	فِى	concerning
6	l-ḥarthi	ٱلْحَرْثِ	the field / crop,
7	idh	إِذْ	when
8	nafashat	نَفَشَتْ	it pastured
9	fīhi	فِيهِ	in it
10	ghanamu	غَنَمُ	sheep
11	l-qawmi	ٱلْقَوْمِ	(of) the people,
12	wakunnā	وَكُنَّا	and we were
13	liḥuk’mihim	لِحُكْمِهِمْ	of their judgment
14	shāhidīna	شَـٰهِدِينَ	witnesses.

21:79

1	fafahhamnāhā	فَفَهَّمْنَـٰهَا	Then we gave understanding of it
2	sulaymāna	سُلَيْمَـٰنَ	(to) Solomon,
3	wakullan	وَكُلًّا	but (to) each
4	ātaynā	ءَاتَيْنَا	we gave
5	ḥuk’man	حُكْمًا	judgement / authority / wisdom
6	waʿil’man	وَعِلْمًا	and knowledge.
7	wasakharnā	وَسَخَّرْنَا	And we subjected / committed to serve
8	maʿa	مَعَ	with
9	dāwūda	دَاوُۥدَ	David
10	l-jibāla	ٱلْجِبَالَ	the mountains
11	yusabbiḥ’na	يُسَبِّحْنَ	they to glorify
12	wal-ṭayra	وَٱلطَّيْرَ	and the birds.
13	wakunnā	وَكُنَّا	And we were
14	fāʿilīna	فَـٰعِلِينَ	doers.

Some people make the assumption that because God granted the correct understanding to Solomon, that therefore David had the wrong judgment. Except, the verse never states that David had the wrong judgment, it only states that Solomon “was granted the correct understanding.”

The verse also states that both of them were granted wisdom ( ḥuk’man / حُكْمًا ) and knowledge ( waʿil’man / وَعِلْمًا ), and it is worth noting that the words used in 29:78 for judge (yaḥkumāni / يَحْكُمَانِ ) and judgment (liḥuk’mihim / لِحُكْمِهِمْ ) comes from the same root as the word wisdom ( ḥuk’man / حُكْمًا ) used in 27:79. So it wouldn’t make sense that David gave the wrong ruling in his judgment. So, there must be something else that this is referencing when it states, “we granted Solomon the correct understanding.”

The word for this “correct understanding” in Arabic is fafahhamnāhā ( فَفَهَّمْنَـٰهَا ). This word is different than the other words used in the Quran that denote “understanding” such as “aql” ( عقل ), “albāb” ( ألبـب ), “fqah” ( فقه ), or “ḥiṭ” ( حط ). The word fafahhamnāhā ( فَفَهَّمْنَـٰهَا ) comes from the root “fa-ha-mim” ( ف ه م ) and is the only occurrence of this root in the entire Quran. In most Classical Arabic dictionaries, it typically defines this root as simply “to understand,” but the “Dictionary of the Holy Quran” gives a little more depth to the possible meaning of this word. This source states that this word means, “to give true understanding and appreication.“

Based on the above information, we can conclude that David and Solomon ruled correctly regarding someone’s crop destroyed by another’s sheep. Yet, Solomon was granted a more depth understanding of appreciation of the matter.

To think about this in another way, consider the following example where two people could have a correct ruling, but only one has the correct understanding. Imagine two detectives who are trying to solve a murder. Let’s say they both come to the same conclusion as to who committed the crime, yet only one of them understands the motive for the murder. In this case, both can have the correct conclusion, but only one has the correct understanding.

To summarize, the verse never states that David gave the wrong ruling in his judgment. On the other hand, the the verse does states that both David and Solomon were given “wisdom,” and in Arabic this word comes from the same root as the word “judgement.” Therefore, it would be contradictory to think that despite this David gave the wrong ruling. Additionally, we saw that the Arabic word for “correct understanding” has a meaning of appreciation in understanding according to the Dictionary of the Holy Quran. Lastly, we saw that one can know the truth and make the correct judgment yet not have the full depth of understanding and appreciation of the matter. These things are not in odds, and does not necessistate that the judgment rendered by the party as incorrect. Therefore, anyone who uses this verse to justify that messengers can give incorrect rulings should reconsider this argument for these reasons.