In the Biblical account, David is God’s chosen king after Saul sins grievously but repents, embodying grace and mercy.
1 Samuel 16:1: The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
1 Kings 15:5: because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Psalm 32:5: I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. SelahActs 13:22: And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
The Quran portrays David as a prophet, king, and psalmist, known for wisdom and justice. The Quran confirms the Zabur (Psalms) as being revealed to David.
Surah 4:163: “Indeed, We have sent revelation to you ˹O Prophet˺ as We did to Noah and the prophets after him. And We sent revelation to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants, and to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon. And to David We gave the Zabur.”
Surah 21:78–79: And David and Solomon, when they gave judgement in the case of the field, when some people’s sheep wandered therein by night; and We were witnesses to their judgement.
And so We made Solomon understand it, and to each We gave wisdom and knowledge. And We subjected the mountains along with David to sing Our praises, and the birds as well—surely We did.Surah 34:10–11: We bestowed upon David favour from Us: “O mountains, and birds: echo with him.” And We softened iron for him.
“Make coats of armour, and measure the links well; and work righteousness. I am Observant of everything you do.”Surah 38:17–26: Be patient in the face of what they say, and mention Our servant David, the resourceful. He was obedient. We committed the mountains to glorify with him, in the evening and at daybreak. And the birds, gathered together. All obedient to him. And We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him wisdom and decisive speech.
Has the story of the two disputants reached you? When they scaled the sanctuary? When they entered upon David, and he was startled by them. They said, “Do not fear. Two disputants; one of us has wronged the other; so judge between us fairly, and do not be biased, and guide us to the straight way.” “This brother of mine has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe, and he said, ‘Entrust it to me,’ and he pressured me with words.”He said, “He has done you wrong by asking your ewe in addition to his ewes. Many partners take advantage of one another, except those who believe and do good deeds, but these are so few.” David realised that We were testing him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, and fell down to his knees, and repented.
So We forgave him that. And for him is nearness to Us, and a good place of return.“O David, We made you a ruler in the land, so judge between the people with justice, and do not follow desire, lest it diverts you from God’s path. Those who stray from God’s path will have a painful punishment, for having ignored the Day of Account
There is no mention of Bathsheba or adultery. The Quran instead tells a different parable about two men who come to David with a dispute over ewes. However, the parable of the ewe in Nathan’s rebuke (2 Sam 12:1–7) is similar, though told about David’s sin, not to David.
It is a clear error. The Quranic story reworks Nathan’s parable into a test of justice, avoiding the moral scandal.