Wadi al-Sant, the Valley of Elah, is the ground where Nabi Dawud (AS) faced Jalut. The battle was fought in this open wadi northwest of al-Khalil, in the low…
Wadi al-Sant, the Valley of Elah, is the ground where Nabi Dawud (AS) faced Jalut. The battle was fought in this open wadi northwest of al-Khalil, in the low Shephelah hills between the coastal plain and the highlands. The day of the battle The Qur'an relates how Talut led out a small band against a far greater army. As they crossed, the believers among them said that a small company, by the permission of Allah, has often overcome a great one. Of the meeting itself Allah says: "So they defeated them by permission of Allah, and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him the kingship and wisdom and taught him from that which He willed." Surah al-Baqarah 2:251 . This wadi is the ground on which that meeting took place. It is remembered as a turning point in the history of Bani Isra'il, and Nabi Dawud (AS), to whom the Zabur was given, went on to rule from al-Quds. The valley itself The wadi is a wide, flat-bottomed valley running between low ridges, with a stream bed of smooth stones along its floor. It takes its Arabic name, Wadi al-Sant, from the acacia and terebinth that grow along it. Nothing is built or marked here. The place is honoured for the battle that took place in it, and it is visited as open country between the hills.