وَنُوحًا إِذْ نَادَى مِنْ قَبْلُ فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ فَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ مِنَ الْكَرْبِ الْعَظِيمِ ﴿۷۶﴾ وَنَصَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿۷۷﴾ وَدَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِي الْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ الْقَوْمِ وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَاهِدِينَ ﴿۷۸﴾ فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ وَكُلًّا آتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَسَخَّرْنَا مَعَ دَاوُودَ الْجِبَالَ يُسَبِّحْنَ وَالطَّيْرَ وَكُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ ﴿۷۹﴾

﴾76﴿ Wa noohan iz naadaa min qablu fastajabnaa lahoo fanajjainaahu wa ahlahoo minal karbil 'azeem
﴾77﴿ Wa nasarnaahu minal qawmil lazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa; innahum kaanoo qawma saw'in fa-aghraq naahum ajma'een
﴾78﴿ Wa Daawooda wa Sulaimaana iz yahkumaani fil harsi iz nafashat feehi ghanamul qawmi wa kunnaa lihukmihim shaahideen
﴾79﴿ Fafahhamnaahaa sulaimaan; wa kullan aatainaa hukmanw wa'ilmanw wa sakh kharnaa ma'a Daawoodal jibaala yusabbihna wattayr; wa kunnaa faa'ileen

﴾76﴿ And (remember) Noah, when he called (to his Lord) before this, and We responded to him and saved him and his family from the great distress
﴾77﴿ And We took revenge for him upon the people who belied Our signs. Verily, they were an evil people. So We drowned them all together
﴾78﴿ And (remember) David and Solomon, when they judged concerning the field, when the sheep of a people strayed therein by night, and We were witness to their judgment
﴾79﴿ So We made Solomon understand its judgment, and to each (of them) We gave prophethood and knowledge. And We subjected the mountains and the birds to glorify (Us) along with David, and We were the doer (of all this).

[76] This is a transmitted proof from Nūḥ (peace be upon him), showing his dependence on Allah, as a reminder of Tawḥīd.
This verse clearly states that Nūḥ (peace be upon him), in times of need and hardship, called out only to Allah the Exalted for help.
Nāda (he cried out) is used in contexts of extreme humility, weeping, and desperation.
The details of his calling (nidā’) are found in Surah Al-Qamar (10) and Surah Nūḥ.
Ahlahu (his family) indicates that at that time, the believers were only from among his household and children.
Al-karb al-‘aẓīm (the great distress) refers either to the punishment of drowning in the massive flood, or to the denial and hardship he faced from his people.
[77] The meaning of nuṣrah here is support through intiqām—avenging and taking retribution—because his people had deeply dishonored him and committed great injustice against him.
For this reason, the verse mentions taking revenge as a form of divine support.
[78] These verses provide transmitted evidence through Dāwūd (peace be upon him) and Sulaymān (peace be upon him), showing that they too were dependent on Allah the Exalted in matters of religious rulings (aḥkām tashrī‘iyyah) and miracles (mu‘jizāt).
This makes it clear that just as creation is dependent on Allah in worldly and physical matters (umūr takwīniyyah), it is equally dependent on Him in religious rulings.
Nafashat means grazing at night—when livestock graze in fields without a shepherd.
If animals graze during the day and the owner is not present, the owner is not liable. But if they graze at night—even without the owner present—the owner is responsible for the damage.
Ibn Jarīr reports this type of ruling from Qāḍī Shurayḥ.
Wa kunnā li-ḥukmihim shāhidīn (We were witnesses to their judgment) is proof that Allah the Exalted is ever-present and all-seeing.
Li-ḥukmihim: although grammatically it appears plural, it can be interpreted as dual (referring to both Dāwūd and Sulaymān), or it may refer to the overall case, including the claimant and the accused.
[79] That is, Dāwūd (peace be upon him) initially ruled that all the sheep and goats be given to the owner of the crops, because he determined that their value was equal to the damaged crops.
But Sulaymān (peace be upon him) gave a different ruling: the animals should be handed temporarily to the crop owner so he could benefit from them (e.g., milk, wool, labor), while the animal owner would restore the field to its original condition. Once the land was restored, both parties would get back their original property.
This ruling had benefit and fairness for both sides.
Allah the Exalted gave this understanding to Sulaymān (peace be upon him) to make his virtue and knowledge apparent, even surpassing his father—so that Dāwūd (peace be upon him) would be pleased, since a father is pleased with the progress of his children.
As for Dāwūd (peace be upon him), he had not erred in his judgment, because he had only intended to make a ruling—it was not finalized.
Even if he had ruled, it would have been considered an ijtihādī (scholarly) mistake, which is not considered a flaw in the knowledge or status of a mujtahid.
The phrase wa sakhkharna (We subjected) is proof that there was no deficiency in the prophethood of Dāwūd (peace be upon him).
The glorification (tasbīḥ) of the mountains and birds was a miracle given to him.
Fā‘ilīn (We were doers) and sakhkharna also indicate that miracles are purely from the action of Allah the Exalted—the prophets have no independent power over them.