وَهَل أَتاكَ نَبَأُ الخَصمِ إِذ تَسَوَّرُوا المِحرابَ
Has there not come to you the account of the contenders, when they scaled the wall into the sanctuary?
EXEGESIS
Khaṣm (contenders) is the infinitive or verbal noun and as such can function for a plural as well, like in the verse, Did you receive the story of Abraham’s honoured guests (ḍayf)? (51:24), where ḍayf is used for both singular and plural. It has the meaning of argumentation.
Tassawwarū (they scaled the wall) comes from the root sūr, meaning a wall. Tasawwur is the act of entering a building by climbing over the wall. The fact that the plural verb tasawwarū is used here tells us that these contenders should have been a group: the claimant, the defendant, and their associates.
Miḥrāb (sanctuary) is the front of every house and its most honourable place. It is the place where the nobles sat, and others would fight (yūḥārabū) for it because of the position of nobility ascribed to its owner. It is said the miḥrāb of a mosque is called the same for this reason.
EXPOSITION
This verse marks the beginning of story which has greatly divided the exegetes. God briefly tells us in these few verses how He tested Prophet David (a) by sending a group to seek his judgement in a matter of contention between them. This story – like the two that follow it regarding Prophet Solomon (a) and Prophet Job (a) – is meant to clarify what has been related in the Bible regarding these great prophets and in a way to set the record straight, by telling the reader what actually happened. This is also one of the self-asserted roles of the Quran, We have sent down to you the book with the truth, confirming what was before it of the book and as a guardian over it (5:48). The brevity with which the stories are addressed reveals that they should be known, and by virtue of not including some of the false claims in the Biblical narrative, the reader understands that they did not happen.
Even though the expression Has there not come to you is formed as an interrogative, it is meant to relay the events, and in this way the listener is intrigued by what will come. The you in the verse is singular and should be addressed to Prophet Muhammad (s). The expression is also meant to convey to the reader the importance of the story, like someone asking ‘did you not hear what happened today?’ This type of interrogative tells us that what happened is something of significance. As the context is about the remembrance of Prophet David’s (a) merits, this tells us that the story we are about to hear will inform us of a great merit of his. This same expression is used in other verses which then proceed to relate to us events that show merits of prophets, for example 20:9 and 51:24 and their proceeding verses.
The exegetes are virtually unanimous that the contenders mentioned in this verse were angels. They entered into the sanctuary of Prophet David (a), a place in his abode that was at its highest floor, where Prophet David (a) would withdraw to for solitary worship and the fantastic praise of God described in the previous verses. As king, Prophet David (a), had guards posted outside his residence. These contenders managed to skirt these guards when they scaled the wall.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Even though the majority of exegetes believe the contenders were angels, some have claimed that they were not angels, but two men. Rāzī argues they were in fact men who had come, planning to kill him, and despite their wicked plan, Prophet David (a) showed patience and treated them with respect.
[1] Baydawi, 5/27; Zamakhshari, 4/82.
[2] Raghib, p. 284.
[3] Tibyan, 8/551.
[4] Tibyan, 8/551.
[5] Tabari, 23/89.
[6] Tibyan, 8/551.
[7] Tibyan, 8/551; Baydawi, 5/27.
[8] Tabrisi, 8/734.
[9] Razi, 26/377.
[10] Qurtubi, 16/165. He claims consensus on the issue, but there are some, like Rāzī, who have argued that they were human.
[11] Tibyan, 8/552; Nemuneh, 19/248. Makārim Shīrāzī argues that they were humans.
[12] Razi, 26/373.