The story in short
- Arabic name
- داود
- English name
- David
- Named in the Quran
- 16 times
- Sent to
- The Children of Israel, as prophet and king
- Main surahs
- Al-Baqarah, Sad, Saba
- In the list of 25
- 17 of 25
In short: Dawud was a soldier in Talut's army who killed the giant Jalut (Goliath). Allah gave him kingship, wisdom and the Zabur (Psalms). The mountains and birds glorified Allah with him, and iron was made soft for him so he could make coats of mail. He was a just judge, and his fasting and night prayer are the ones the Prophet ﷺ called the best.
The story of Dawud
Dawud and Jalut
When the Children of Israel asked for a king to fight under, Allah appointed Talut. With a small army that had passed a test at a river, they faced Jalut and his soldiers, and the believers prayed: "Our Lord, pour upon us patience and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people." Then "Dawud killed Jalut, and Allah gave him the kingship and prophethood and taught him from that which He willed" (2:250-251).
His gifts
"And to David We gave the book [of Psalms]" (4:163). "We certainly gave Dawud from Us bounty. O mountains, repeat praises with him, and the birds as well. And We made pliable for him iron, [commanding him], 'Make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links'" (34:10-11). The Prophet ﷺ said no one has eaten better food than what he earned with his own hands, and that Dawud ate from the work of his hands.1 Hearing Abu Musa al-Ashari recite, he said he had been given "one of the flutes of the family of Dawud", meaning a beautiful voice.2
A judge
Dawud and his son Sulaiman judged a case of sheep that had grazed at night in someone's field, and Allah gave Sulaiman the better understanding of it, while giving both of them judgement and knowledge (21:78-79). Two men once climbed over the wall of his prayer chamber with a dispute about ewes (38:21-24). Dawud realised he was being tested, asked his Lord's forgiveness, "fell down bowing and turned in repentance" (38:24). Allah told him: "O Dawud, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow your own desire" (38:26).
His fast and his prayer
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most beloved fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud: he would fast one day and not the next. And the most beloved prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud: he would sleep half the night, pray a third of it and sleep a sixth".3
The prostration in Surah Sad
Surah Sad 38:24 describes Dawud falling down in repentance. Reciting or hearing this ayah is a place of prostration.
The prostration at 38:24 is one of the fourteen sajdahs of recitation, and it is wajib for whoever recites or hears the ayah, in prayer or outside it.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Hanbali
- It is a prostration of thanks, not one of the prostrations of recitation. It is recommended outside prayer, and should not be made inside the prayer.
- Maliki
- It is among the places of prostration, which are sunnah rather than wajib in this school.
Key verses
فَهَزَمُوهُم بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتَلَ دَاوُۥدُ جَالُوتَ وَءَاتَىٰهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُلْكَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍۢ لَّفَسَدَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٢٥١﴾
Fahazamoohum bi iznillaahi wa qatala Daawoodu jaaloota wa aataahul laahulmulka Wal Hikmata wa 'allamahoo mimmaa yashaaa'; wa law laa daf'ullaahin naasa ba'dahum biba'dil lafasadatil ardu wa laakinnal laaha zoo fadlin 'alal'aalameen
So they defeated them by permission of Allah, and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him the kingship and prophethood and taught him from that which He willed. And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds.
Quran 2:251 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Baqarah
۞ وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُۥدَ مِنَّا فَضْلًۭا ۖ يَٰجِبَالُ أَوِّبِى مَعَهُۥ وَٱلطَّيْرَ ۖ وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ ٱلْحَدِيدَ ﴿١٠﴾ أَنِ ٱعْمَلْ سَٰبِغَٰتٍۢ وَقَدِّرْ فِى ٱلسَّرْدِ ۖ وَٱعْمَلُوا۟ صَٰلِحًا ۖ إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ ﴿١١﴾
Wa laqad aatainaa Daawooda minnaa fadlany yaa jibaalu awwibee ma'ahoo wattaira wa alannaa lahul hadeed Ani'mal saabighaatinw wa qaddir fis sardi wa'maloo saalihan innee bimaa ta'maloona Baseer
(10) And We certainly gave David from Us bounty. [We said], "O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well]." And We made pliable for him iron, (11) [Commanding him], "Make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links, and work [all of you] righteousness. Indeed I, of what you do, am Seeing."
Quran 34:10-11 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Saba
يَٰدَاوُۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَٰكَ خَلِيفَةًۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ ٱلْهَوَىٰ فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌۭ شَدِيدٌۢ بِمَا نَسُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْحِسَابِ ﴿٢٦﴾
Yaa Daawoodu innaa ja'alnaaka khaleefatan fil ardi fahkum bainan naasi bilhaqqi wa laa tattabi'il hawaa fayudillaka 'an sabeelil laah; innal lazeena yadilloona 'an sabeelil laah; lahum 'azaabun shadeedum bimaa nasoo Yawmal Hisaab
[We said], "O David, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow [your own] desire, as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah." Indeed, those who go astray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment for having forgotten the Day of Account.
Quran 38:26 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Sad
Lessons from the story
- Victory comes from Allah with patience, not from numbers.
- Earning with your own hands is honourable, even for a king.
- Power must be used with justice, not desire.
- Balance in worship: Dawud's fast and night prayer are steady and lasting, not extreme.
Where it is in the Quran
The main passages about Dawud, with links to read and listen to each surah:
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:249-251
- Surah Sad 38:17-26
- Surah Saba 34:10-11
- Surah Al-Anbiya 21:78-80
- Surah An-Naml 27:15-16
What is authentic, and what is not
Some books tell a story, taken from earlier scriptures, that Dawud's test in 38:21-24 was about the wife of one of his soldiers. Ibn Kathir said that many of these reports come from Isra'iliyyat and that nothing authentic from the Prophet ﷺ supports them, and scholars rejected them as unfitting for a prophet. We have left them out. The Quran says only that he was tested, sought forgiveness and was forgiven (38:25).
We follow Ibn Kathir's Qasas al-Anbiya only where it rests on the Quran and sound hadith. Isra'iliyyat are reports taken from earlier scriptures and storytellers. Scholars allow mentioning them only when they do not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, and they are never treated as certain.
Questions
What is the Zabur?
The book given to Dawud (4:163, 17:55), usually identified with the Psalms.
What is the fasting of Dawud?
Fasting every other day. The Prophet ﷺ called it the fasting most beloved to Allah (Bukhari 1131, Muslim 1159).
Did Dawud kill Goliath?
Yes. "And Dawud killed Jalut" (2:251).
Is there a sajdah in the story of Dawud?
Yes, at Surah Sad 38:24. In the Hanafi school it is one of the fourteen places where the prostration of recitation is wajib.
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2072.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5048; Sahih Muslim 793.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1131; Sahih Muslim 1159.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1069, from Ibn Abbas, on the prostration in Surah Sad.
- Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya, chapter on Dawud, and his tafsir of 38:21-25.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Bab Sujud al-Tilawah. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. In quotations within the text, the prophets' names are given in their Arabic form (Musa for Moses, Ibrahim for Abraham).
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.