SAUL

Arabic T̤ālūt ( طالوت‎ ). Heb. ‏שָׁאוּל‎ Shaool . King of Israel. Mentioned in the Qurʾān as a king raised up of God to reign over Israel, to whom was given an excellent degree of knowledge and personal appearance. The following is the account given of Saul in the Qurʾān, with Mr. Lane’s rendering of the commentator’s remarks in italics . (Mr. Stanley Lane Poole’s 2nd Ed.) “Hast thou not considered the a embly of the children of Israel after the death of Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, namely Samuel , Set up for us a king, under whom we will fight in the way of God? He said unto them , If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on you, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And wherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been expelled from our habitations and our children by their having been taken prisoners and slain?—The people of Goliath [Jáloot] had done thus unto them .—But when fighting was commanded them, they turned back, excepting a few of them, who cro ed the river with Saul . And God knoweth the offenders. And the prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to send Saul . And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up Saul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us, when we are more worthy of the dominion than he, ( for he was not of the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a tender of flocks or herds ,) and he hath not been endowed with ample wealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him as king over you, and increased him in largene of knowledge and of body, ( for he was the wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of them, and the most perfect of them in make ,) and God giveth his kingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample in His beneficence , knowing with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom .—And their prophet said unto them, when they demanded of him a sign in proof of his kingship , Verily the sign of his kingship shall be that the ark shall come unto you ( in it were the images of the prophets: God sent it down unto Adam, and it pa ed into their po e ion; but the A male kites took it from them by force: and they used to seek victory thereby over their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust in it, as He—whose name be exalted!—hath said ); therein is tranquillity [ SAKINAH ] from your Lord, and relics of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron have left: namely, the two shoes (or sandals) of Moses, and his rod, and the turban of Aaron, and a measure of the manna that used to descend upon them, and the fragments of the tables [of the Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall be a sign unto you of his kingship , if ye be believers. Accordingly the angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they looked at it, until they placed it by Saul; whereupon they acknowledged his kingship, and hastened to the holy war; and he chose of their young men seventy you sand . “And when Saul went forth with the troops from Jerusalem, and it was violently hot weather, and they demanded of him water , he said, Verily God will try you by a river, that the obedient among you, and the disobedient, may appear , ( and it was between the Jordan and Palestine ), and whoso drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he who tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who takes forth a draught in his hand, and is satisfied therewith, not adding to it; for he is of my party ;—then they drank thereof abundantly , excepting a few of them, who were content only with the handful of water. It is related that it sufficed them for their own drinking and for their beasts, and they were three hundred and somewhat more than ten . And when he had pa ed over it, he and those who believed with him, they said, We have no power to-day to contend against Goliath and his troops. And they were cowardly, and pa ed not over it . They who held it as certain that they should meet God at the resurrection ( and they were those who had pa ed over it ) said, How many a small body of men hath overcome a great body by the permi ion ( or will ) of God! And God is with the patient, to defend and aid .—And when they went forth to battle against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our Lord, pour upon us patience, and make firm our feet, by strengthening our hearts for the holy war , and help us against the unbelieving people!—And they routed them by the permi ion ( or will ) of God, and David, who was in the army of Saul , slew Goliath.” ( Sūrah ii. 247–252 .) ṢAUM ( صوم‎ ). “Fasting.” The usual Arabic term used for this religious act whether during the Ramaẓān or at any other time. Its equivalent in Persian is rozah . [ FASTING , RAMAZAN .] ṢAUMU ʾT-TAT̤AWWUʿ ( صوم التطوع‎ ). A voluntary fast other than the month of Ramaẓān. SAUT̤ ( سوط‎ ). [ DIRRAH .] S̤AWĀB ( ثواب‎ ). “Recompense; reward”; e.g . Qurʾān, Sūrah iii. 195 : “A reward from God; for God, with Him are the best rewards .” AS -SAWĀDU ʾL-AʿZ̤AM ( السواد الاعظم‎ ). Lit . “The exalted multitude.” A term used in the Traditions and in Muslim theology for the A embly of God, or the congregation of faithful men, or for a large majority. SAWĀʾĪM ( سوايم‎ ), pl. of Sāʾimah . Flocks and herds which are grazing and for which zakāt must be collected. [ ZAKAT .]