come from our own law to establish their truth or falsehood. If, however, our law does bear witness for or against a given report, we follow whatever that testimony requires: when it confirms a report, we accept it; and when it declares a report false, we reject it.

Among the materials transmitted from the Israelites are narratives attributed to certain prophets—peace be upon them—such as the story told about David. They claim that David was captivated by a woman who was married to one of his soldiers, so he asked the soldier to go out and fight the enemy in the hope that he would be killed, after which David could marry his wife. They add that when David sent the man to battle, God dispatched a group of angels who came to him in the guise of litigants, and one of them said:

“He said, ‘This is my brother; he has ninety-nine ewes, while I have only one. Yet he said, “Entrust it to me,” and he overpowered me in speech.’ David replied, ‘He has certainly wronged you by demanding that your ewe be added to his own. Indeed, many partners wrong one another—except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and how few they are.’ Then David realized that We had tested him, so he sought his Lord’s forgiveness, fell down in prostration, and turned in repentance.” (Ṣād 38:23–24)

They allege that God set this parable before David because, although he already had ninety-nine wives, he tried to add the wife of that soldier to make the number one hundred! Such a tale is patently false. David—peace be upon him—was a prophet, and it is impossible that he would resort to so base a stratagem. In fact, no intelligent person, prophet or otherwise, would behave in such a way—so how could a prophet do so? Accordingly, stories of this sort that come from the Israelites must be judged outright fabrications.