Which Surah and Juz is Quran 38:22 from?

This ayah is from Surah Saad (The letter Saad), the 38th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 23.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 38:22?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sahih al-Bukhari, Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu Dawud.

What tafsir is available for Quran 38:22?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

What topics does Quran 38:22 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Justice, Al-Haqq, Prophet Dawud, Truthfulness, Guidance.

Ayah 21

۞ وَهَلْ أَتَىٰكَ نَبَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَصْمِ إِذْ تَسَوَّر...

38:22Saad

Q: What does Quran 38:22 mean?

Quran 38:22 (Surah Saad, Ayah 22) translates to: "When they entered upon David and he was alarmed by them? They said, "Fear not. [We are] two adversaries, one of whom has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth and do not exceed [it] and guide us to the sound path."

Ayah 23

إِنَّ هَٰذَآ أَخِى لَهُۥ تِسْعٌۭ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْج...

إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَىٰ دَاوُۥدَ فَفَزِعَ مِنْهُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ ۖ خَصْمَانِ بَغَىٰ بَعْضُنَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا تُشْطِطْ وَٱهْدِنَآ إِلَىٰ سَوَآءِ ٱلصِّرَٰطِ

Iz dakhaloo 'alaa Daawooda fafazi'a minhum qaaloo la takhaf khasmaani baghaa ba'dunaa 'alaa ba'din fahkum bainanaaa bilhaqqi wa laa tushtit wahdinaaa ilaa Sawaaa'is Siraat

When they entered upon David and he was alarmed by them? They said, "Fear not. [We are] two adversaries, one of whom has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth and do not exceed [it] and guide us to the sound path.

Themes in this ayah

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Justice & honesty95 Lessons from past peoples92

Scores run 0–100: how strongly this ayah speaks to a theme. 70+ is central, 50+ is clear, under 50 is weak.

9 other themes with weak connections

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38:22Ayah 188

4 ayahs in Saad are strongly about justice and honesty. This is one of them.

Next on Justice & honesty →38:24[David] said, "He has certainly wronged you in demanding your ewe [in addition] to his ewes. And indeed, many associates oppress one another,

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 38:22→

When they entered upon David and he was frightened by them. And they said ‘Do not fear; we are two disputants some say that this means ‘two groups’ in order to agree with the plural person of the verb dakhalū ‘they entered’; others say ‘two individuals’ with the plural person actually denoting these two; al-khasm may refer to a one or more individuals. These two were angels who had come in the form of two disputants between whom there was supposed to have occurred the situation mentioned — but only hypothetically — in order to alert David peace be upon him to what he had done he had ninety nine women but desired the woman of a man who had only her and no other. He David had married her and consummated the marriage. One of us has infringed upon the rights of the other so judge justly between us and do not transgress do not be unjust and guide us direct us to the right path’ the correct way.

We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) when he said (to two men), "I shall judge between you according to Allah's Book (Laws)."

Jami` at-Tirmidhi #1344'Ali narrated:Hasan

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'When two men come to you seeking judgement, do not judge for the first until you have heard the statement of the other. Soon you will know how to judge.'" 'Ali said: "I did not err since then."

Sunan Abu Dawud #3589Narrated Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr:Sahih

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave the decision that the two adversaries should be made to sit in front of the judge.

Sahih Muslim #4365Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:Sahih

While two women had been going along witn their two sons, a wolf came and made away with the child of one of them. One of them said to her companion: It is with your child that it (the wolf) has run away The other one said: It has run away with your child. They brought the matter to (Hadrat) Dawud (David) for decision and he made a decision in favour of the elder one. They then went to Sulaiman b. Dawud (may there be peace upon both of them) and told them (the story). He said: Bring me a knife so that I may cut him (the child) (into two parts) for you. The younger one said: No, it can't be, may Allah have mercy upon you, he (the child) belongs to her (the elder). So he gave a decision in favour of the younger one. abu Huraira said: If ever I heard of the word as-sikin at all, it was that day. We called it by no other name but al-Mudya.

Sahih al-Bukhari #6523Narrated Abu Huraira:Sahih

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "There were two women with whom there were their two sons. A wolf came and took away the son of one of them. That lady said to her companion, 'The wolf has taken your son.' The other said, 'But it has taken your son.' So both of them sought the judgment of (the Prophet) David who judged that the boy should be given to the older lady. Then both of them went to (the Prophet) Solomon, son of David and informed him of the case. Solomon said, 'Give me a knife so that I may cut the child into two portions and give one half to each of you.' The younger lady said, 'Do not do so; may Allah bless you ! He is her child.' On that, he gave the child to the younger lady." Abu Huraira added: By Allah! I had never heard the word 'Sakkin' as meaning knife, except on that day, for we used to call it "Mudya".