Three Connections Between Qur’an And Zabur – OpEd

While the Torah, like the Qur’an, openly and publicly presents itself as Allah’s words imparted to all the people of Israel (Torah) and the people of the world (Qur’an), the 150 poems in the Zabur of Prophet David’s Book of Psalms represent a whole range of human voices: varying from words of lament to words of thanksgiving to God, with either individuals or communities extolling God’s beneficence or imploring God to bring rescue and redemption.

In short, Prophet David and the other poets in this ancient sacred anthology called Psalms give voice to all the spiritual sentiments that humans share and seek to express at one time or another in our lives. 

Thus Psalms—Zabur is among the most popular and widely read of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. Its ongoing subjects are the wonders of God’s works of nature and of God’s relationships with humanity; as well as expressions of human pains and passions that are our own.

 For Jews there are 4 kinds of psalms: praise, wisdom, thanksgiving, and lament just as there are 4 kinds of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication. Prophet David in his own life frequently suffered under attack; and many times cried out desperately for God’s help. 

But even in the many Psalms of lament there are always expressions of hope and faith in God, for example “From the end of the earth I cry out, listen to my prayer Lord; when my heart faints, lead me to a sheltering rock, as you become my refuge” Psalm 61:1-4. 

The wisdom Psalms reflect God’s Divine values, for example: “Turn away from evil and do good, dwell timelessly, for God loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones who are always protected” Psalm 37;27-8 Other Psalms reflect amazement at the beauties and wonders of God’s world of nature. 

The Qur’an contains three verses that refer to Prophet David as praising God and being joined or echoed by the mountains and the birds. In Qur’an 21:79, God states: “We made the mountains and the birds celebrate Our praises with David”. 

In Qur’an 34:10 God states: “We graced David with Our favor. We said, ‘You mountains, echo God’s praises together with him, and you birds, too'” 

And in Qur’an 38:17 – 19 God teaches us to:  “Remember Our servant David, a man of strength who always turned to Us: We made the mountains join him in glorifying Us at sunset and sunrise; and the birds, too, in flocks, all echoed his praise”.

These three different Qur’an verses refer to verses in three different Psalms: For the choir director. A Psalm of David. “In the LORD I take refuge; how can you (my enemies) say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain.” (Psalm 11:1)

And to thanksgiving times Psalms of acknowledgement when God says: “I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field (are) mine.” (Psalm 50:11) 

And the third Psalm “The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He (God) waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.” (Psalm 104:12-13)

And again in the same Psalm 104: “The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax” (Psalm 104:16-18) 

As I said above there are 4 types of psalms: praise, wisdom, thanksgiving, and lament; as there are 4 types of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication. Psalm 104 is actually a good example of the mixture of two or more themes in many Psalms.

Orthodox Jews recite Psalm 104 in its entirety every day during the morning service.

I think that of the three verses in the Qur’an that refer to Prophet David’s use of mountains and birds, this one “Remember Our servant David, a man of strength who always turned to Us: We made the mountains join him in glorifying Us at sunset and sunrise; and the birds, too, in flocks, all echoed his praise”. (38:17 –19) applies specifically to Psalm 104 and especially to its ending.

“May the glory of the Lord be forever; may the Lord find delight in His works. He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord with my soul; I will chant praise to my God with my [entire] being. May my prayer be pleasant to Him; I will rejoice in the Lord. May sinners cease from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 104:31-35)

One of my favorite Psalms is: Psalm 24 A psalm of David.
The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it.
For He set its foundation upon the seas and established it upon the ocean currents.
Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure,
who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them.

Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them.
Such purity characterizes the people who seek His favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to Him. Look up you gates. Rise up you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter.

Who is this majestic king?
The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord who is mighty in battle.
Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter.
Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Forces. He is the majestic king. 
(Psalm 24: 1-10)