79 Preface فَفَهَّمناها سُلَيمانَ ۚ وَكُلًّا آتَينا حُكمًا وَعِلمًا ۚ وَسَخَّرنا مَعَ داوودَ الجِبالَ يُسَبِّحنَ وَالطَّيرَ ۚ وَكُنّا فاعِلينَYusuf AliTo Solomon We inspired1 the (right) understanding of the matter: to each (of them) We gave Judgment and Knowledge; it was Our power that made the hills and the birds celebrate Our praises2 with David: it was We Who did (all these things).The sheep, on account of the negligence of the shepherd, got into a cultivated field (or vineyard) by night and ate up the young plants or their tender shoots, causing damage, to the extent of perhaps a whole year’s crop. David was king, and in his seat of judgment he considered the matter so serious that he awarded the owner of the field the sheep themselves in compensation for his damage. The Roman Law of the Twelve Tables might have approved this decision, and on the same principle was built up the Deodand doctrine of English Law, now obsolete. His son Solomon, a mere boy of eleven, thought of a better decision, where the penalty would better fit the offence. The loss was the loss of the fruits or produce of the field or vineyard: the corpus of the property was not lost. Solomon’s suggestion was that the owner of the field or vineyard should not take the sheep altogether but only detain them long enough to recoup his actual damage, from the milk, wool, and possibly young of the sheep, and then return the sheep to the shepherd. David’s merit was that he accepted the suggestion, even though it came from a little boy: Solomon’s merit was that he distinguished between the corpus and income, and though a boy, was not ashamed to put his case before his father. But in either case it was God Who inspired the true realisation of justice. He was present and witnessed the affair, as He is present everywhere.Whatever is in the heavens and the earth celebrates the praises of God: 17:44; 57:1; 16:48-50, and 22:18. Even the “thunder repeateth His praises”; 13:13. All nature ever sings the praises of God. David sang in his Psalms, 148:7-10: “Praise the Lord from the earth, ye...mountains and all hills...creeping things and flying fowl!” All nature sings to God’s glory, in unison with David, and angels, and men of God. Cf. 34:10 and 38:18-19 (R).