It is narrated from al-Suddi (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: "And We strengthened his kingdom" [Surah Sad: 20] , that he said: Every day and night four thousand, four thousand (that is, eight thousand in all) guards used to protect him. Al-Suddi further said: Dawud (peace be upon him) had divided his time (days) into three parts: one day for judging between the people, one day for withdrawing in seclusion for his worship, and one day for being with his wives. He had ninety-nine wives. In the books (scriptures) that he used to read, he would find the virtues of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya'qub (peace be upon them). When he read this in those books he said: "O my Lord! I see that my forefathers who passed before me have taken away all the good, so grant me the like of what You granted them, and deal with me as You dealt with them." The narrator says: So Allah Almighty revealed to him: "Your forefathers were put through trials with which you have not been tried: Ibrahim was tried with sacrificing his son, Ishaq was tried with the loss of his eyesight, and Ya'qub was tried with grief over separation from Yusuf, while you have not been tried with anything of that." Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O my Lord! Try me as You tried them, and grant me the like of what You granted them." Allah Almighty revealed to him: "You are going to be tried, so be on your guard." He remained after that for as long as Allah willed, when Satan came to him, having taken the form of a dove of gold, until it landed between his feet while he was standing in prayer. He reached out to take it, and it flew off through the window. He looked to see where it would land and sent (someone) after it. Then he saw a woman bathing on her roof, and he saw that she was one of the most beautiful of women in form. She happened to glance round and saw him, so she let her hair down and covered herself with it, and that increased his desire for her. He asked about her and was told that she had a husband, and that her husband was away at such and such a frontier post. So he sent word to the commander of the frontier post ordering him to send him against such and such an enemy. He sent him, and victory was granted to him; he kept on sending him until he was killed the third time, and he (Dawud) married his wife. When he had gone in to her, only a short while passed before Allah sent two angels in the form of two men. They sought to enter upon him and found it was his day of worship, and the guards prevented them from entering upon him, so they climbed over the wall of the prayer chamber (mihrab) to him. While he was praying, he suddenly became aware of the two of them sitting before him, and he was alarmed by them. They said: Do not fear; we are only "two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other, so judge between us with truth and do not be unjust" [Surah Sad: 22] , meaning: do not deviate. And he mentioned the whole long account of his acknowledging his error.