قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ۩ ࣛ ﴿۲۴﴾ فَغَفَرْنَا لَهُ ذَلِكَ وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِنْدَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ ﴿۲۵﴾

﴾24﴿ Qaala laqad zalamaka bisu 'aali na'jatika ilaa ni'aajih; wa inna kaseeran minal khulataaa'i la-yabghee ba'duhum 'alaa ba'din illal lazeena aamanoo wa 'amilus saalihaati wa qaleelun maa hum; wa zanna Daawoodu annamaa fatannaahu fastaghfara Rabbahoo wa kharra raaki'anw wa anaab
﴾25﴿ Faghafarnaa lahoo zaalik; wa inna lahoo 'indanaa lazulfaa wa husna ma aab

﴾24﴿ He said, Indeed, he has wronged you by demanding your sheep in addition to his own. And indeed, many partners oppress one another, except for those who believe and act in accordance with the Sunnah—and they are few. And David (peace be upon him) realized that We had tested him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, fell in prostration, and turned back to Allah the Exalted
﴾25﴿ So We forgave him for this, and indeed, he has a position of closeness and a good place of return with Us

[24] The commentator Qurtubi, quoting from Abu ‘Abdullah al-Halimi, states that Dawud (peace be upon him) saw signs of weakness in the complainant, and thus concluded he was the oppressed one.
Because of this, he immediately gave judgment without asking the other party anything and hastily said: (“Indeed, he has wronged you by demanding your ewe to add to his ewes”), and called the other man unjust.
This is considered the fitnah (trial) that is later mentioned, because such haste is not befitting the rank of a prophet—it would have been more appropriate to ask the other side as well.
However, Allah’s grace upon Dawud (peace be upon him) was such that He did not impose any punishment or reproach beyond attributing injustice to him.
In gratitude for this blessing, Dawud (peace be upon him) prostrated, and thus a hadith mentions that he performed this prostration as an act of shukr (gratitude), and we do so following his example.
Qurtubi narrates this, but the more authentic narration is that Dawud (peace be upon him) made this prostration as an act of tawbah (repentance), and we perform it as an act of gratitude—this is mentioned by Ibn Kathir from the narration of Imam al-Nasa’i, who said the chain is authentic.
"(And Dawud realized that We had tested him…)"—the test here refers to his haste in judgment, as explained above.
The meaning of this is a khata’ (mistake) due to haste—not a sin—because in his Shariah it wasn’t obligatory to question both sides, but it would have been more appropriate.
This is known as tark al-awlā (leaving the better choice), and even prophets (peace be upon them) become sorrowful over such cases, for “The good deeds of the righteous are like shortcomings for those closest to Allah.”
Another interpretation of the fitnah is that Dawud (peace be upon him) had divided his time: one day for judging people’s disputes, and another for seclusion and worship in his place of devotion. This was based on his personal judgment (ijtihād).
However, through this incident, Allah reminded him that if a dispute arises on the day he has set aside for worship, who will provide a legal judgment?
And in reality, giving a fair ruling in a legal matter earns more reward than supererogatory worship.
So, Dawud (peace be upon him) realized that this division was not ideal from his side, and he thought he had fallen into a trial.
"(So he sought forgiveness from his Lord…)"—the istighfār (seeking forgiveness) of prophets is not for sins, since they are infallible, but rather a devotional act, as they see themselves as humble servants of Allah and consider even small matters unbefitting their status.
Therefore, they turn in repentance.
"(And he fell down in prostration and turned in repentance)"—here, ruku‘ (bowing) means sujūd (prostration), based on the word kharr (he fell), which indicates full submission.
[25] The first outcome is seeking forgiveness (istighfār).
The second outcome is performing prostration (sujūd).
The third outcome is turning back to Allah the Exalted (inābah).