Solomon and Queen Sheba [Bilqis]
27. Surah An-Naml (The Ants)
Mecca Period 48
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَتَفَقَّدَ
الطَّيْرَ
فَقَالَ مَا
لِيَ لَا أَرَى
الْهُدْهُدَ...
27: 20. And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: "Why is it I see not the hoopoe?
... أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾
Or is he among the absentees?
C3262. Solomon was no idle or easy-going king. He kept all his organisation strictly up to the mark, both his armies literally and his forces (metaphorically). His most mobile arm was the Birds, who were light on the wing and flew and saw everything like efficient scouts. One day he missed the Hoopoe in his muster.
The Hoopoe is a light, graceful creature, with elegant plumage of many colours, and a beautiful yellow crest on his head, which entities him to be called a royal bird.
لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُ
عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا
أَوْ لَأَذْبَحَنَّهُ...
27: 21. "I will certainly punish him with a severe Penalty, or execute him,
...أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّي بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٢١﴾
unless he bring me a clear reason (for absence)."
فَمَكَثَ
غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ
فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ
بِمَا لَمْ
تُحِطْ بِهِ...
27: 22. But the hoopoe tarried not far:
he (came up and) said: "I have compassed (territory) which thou hast not compassed,
...وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ﴿٢٢﴾
and I have come to thee from Saba with tidings true.
C3263. Saba may reasonably be identified with the Biblical Sheba ( I Kings 10:1-10).
It is further referred to in the Surah called after its name: 34:15-20.
It was a city in Yemen, said to have been three days' journey (say 50 miles) from the city of San'a. A recent German explorer, Dr. Hans Helfritz, claims to have located it in what is now Hadhramaut territory. The famous dam of Maarib made the country very prosperous, and enabled it to attain a high degree of civilization ("provided with every requisite" in the next verse).
The Queen of Sheba therefore rightly held up her head high until she beheld the glories of Solomon.
إِنِّي
وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً
تَمْلِكُهُمْ...
27: 23. "I found (there) a woman ruling over them
C3264. The Queen of Sheba (by name Bilqis in Arabian tradition) came apparently from Yemen, but she had affinities with Abyssinia and possibly ruled over Abyssinia also.
The Habasha tribe (after whom Abyssinia was named) came from Yemen. Between the southern coast of Yemen and the north-eastern coast of Abyssinia there are only the Straits of Bab-al-Mandab, barely twenty miles across.
In the 10th or 11th century B.C. there were frequent invasions of Abyssinia from Arabia, and Solomon's reign of 40 years is usually synchronised with B.C. 992 to 952. The Sabaean and Himyarite alphabets in which we find the south Arabian pre-Islamic inscriptions, passed into Ethiopic, the language of Abyssinia.
The Abyssinians possess a traditional history called "The Book of the Glory of Kings" (Kebra Nagast), which has been translated from Ethiopic into English by Sir E.A. Wallis Budge (Oxford, 1932). It gives an account of the Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek 1, as founders of the Abyssinian dynasty. (R).
...وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ...
and provided with every requisite;
C3265. Provided with every requisite:
I take this to refer not only to the abundance of spices and gems and gold in her country, but to sciences and arts, and perhaps the spiritual possibilities which made her accept the religion of Unity and Truth (27:44).
... وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿٢٣﴾
and she has a magnificent throne.
وَجَدتُّهَا
وَقَوْمَهَا
يَسْجُدُونَ
لِلشَّمْسِ
مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ...
27: 24. "I found her and her people worshipping the sun besides Allah:
C3266. The ancient religion of the people of Saba (the Himyar or Sabaeans) consisted in the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, the planets, and the stars. Possibly the cult was connected with that of Chaldaea, the home-land of Abraham: see 6:75-79 and notes thereon.
Yemen had easy access to Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf by way of the sea, as well as with Abyssinia. That accounts for the Christians of Najran and the Jewish dynasty of kings (e.g. Zu-Nuwas, d. 525 A.D.) who persecuted them in the century before Islam,-also for the Christian Abyssinian Governor Abraha and his discomfiture in the year of the Prophet's birth (Surah 105), say 570 A.D. Jewish-Christian influences were powerful in Arabia in the sixth century of the Christian era.
The religion of these Sabaeans (written in Arabic with a Sin) should not be confounded with that of the Sabians (with a Sad), as to whom see n. 76 to 2:62.
...وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ ...
Satan has made their deeds seem pleasing in their eyes, and has kept them away from the Path --
... فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
so they receive no guidance --
أَلَّا
يَسْجُدُوا
لِلَّهِ الَّذِي
يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ
فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ...
27: 25. "(Kept them away from the Path), that they should not worship Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth,
C3267. The false worship of the Sabaeans is here exposed in three ways:
1. that they were self-satisfied with their own human achievements, instead of looking up to Allah;
2. and that the light of the heavenly bodies which they worshipped was only dependent on the true Light of Allah, which extends over heaven and earth; the Creator should be worshipped rather than His Creation;
3. and Allah knows the hidden secrets of men's minds as well as the objects which they openly profess: are false worshippers really only worshipping their own selves, or the "sins they have a mind to" and are therefore afraid to go to Allah, Who knows all?
...وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ﴿٢٥﴾
and knows what ye hide and what ye reveal.
اللَّهُ
لَا إِلَهَ
إِلَّا هُوَ
رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ
الْعَظِيمِ
﴿٢٦﴾
27: 26. "Allah! -- there is no god but He! -- Lord of the Throne Supreme!"
C3268. The messenger (Hoopoe) is a pious bird, as befits a messenger of Solomon. After mentioning the false worship of the Sabaeans, he pronounces the Creed of Unity, and emphasises Allah's attribute as Lord of the Great Throne, in order to make it clear that whatever may be the magnificence of a human throne such as he has described (in verse 23), he is not in any way misled from his loyalty to Solomon, the exponent of the true Religion of Liberty.
... فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
قَالَ
سَنَنظُرُ
أَصَدَقْتَ
أَمْ
كُنتَ مِنَ
الْكَاذِبِينَ
﴿٢٧﴾
27: 27. (Solomon) said:
"Soon shall we see whether thou hast told the truth or lied!
C3269. Solomon does not doubt his messenger's plea that he has scouted a new country, but wants to test whether he has loosened the rein of his imagination in describing its splendours or its worship.
اذْهَب
بِّكِتَابِي
هَذَا فَأَلْقِهْ
إِلَيْهِمْ...
27: 28. "Go thou, with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them:
...ثُمَّ تَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ...
then draw back from them,
...فَانظُرْ مَاذَا يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿٢٨﴾
and (wait to) see what answer they return"...
قَالَتْ
يَا
أَيُّهَا
المَلَأُ
إِنِّي أُلْقِيَ
إِلَيَّ كِتَابٌ
كَرِيمٌ
﴿٢٩﴾
27: 29. (The Queen) said: "Ye chiefs! here is -- delivered to me -- a letter worthy of respect.
إِنَّهُ
مِن
سُلَيْمَانَ
وَإِنَّهُ
...
27: 30. "It is from Solomon, and is (as follows):
... بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴿٣٠﴾
'In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:
C3270. Solomon expressly begins his letter with the formula of the true and universal Religion of Unity, and he invites to the true Faith the new people with whom he establishes honourable relations, not for worldly conquest but for the spreading of the Light of Allah.
أَلَّا
تَعْلُوا
عَلَيَّ
وَأْتُونِي
مُسْلِمِينَ
﴿٣١﴾
27: 31. "'Be ye not arrogant against me but come to me in submission to the true Religion.'"
قَالَتْ
يَا
أَيُّهَا المَلَأُ
أَفْتُونِي
فِي أَمْرِي...
27: 32. She said:
"Ye chiefs! advise me in (this) my affair:
...مَا كُنتُ قَاطِعَةً أَمْرًا حَتَّى تَشْهَدُونِ ﴿٣٢﴾
no affair have I decided except in your presence."
قَالُوا
نَحْنُ
أُوْلُوا قُوَّةٍ
وَأُولُوا
بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ...
27: 33. They said:
"We are endued with strength, and given to vehement war:
...وَالْأَمْرُ إِلَيْكِ فَانظُرِي مَاذَا تَأْمُرِينَ ﴿٣٣﴾
but the command is with thee; so consider what thou wilt command."
قَالَتْ
إِنَّ
الْمُلُوكَ
إِذَا دَخَلُوا
قَرْيَةً أَفْسَدُوهَا
وَجَعَلُوا
أَعِزَّةَ
أَهْلِهَا
أَذِلَّةً...
27: 34. She said:
"Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and make the noblest of its people its meanest:
C3271. The character of Queen Bilqis, as disclosed here, is that of a ruler enjoying great wealth and dignity, and the full confidence of her subjects. She does nothing without consulting her Council, and her Council are ready to carry out her commands in all things. Her people are manly, loyal, and contented, and ready to take the field against any enemy of their country.
But their queen is prudent in policy, and is not willing to embroil her country in war. She has the discrimination to see that Solomon is not like ordinary kings who conquer by violence. Perhaps in her heart she has a ray of the divine light already, though her people are yet Pagans. She wishes to carry her people with her in whatever she does, because she is as loyal to them as they are to her. An exchange of presents would probably establish better relations between the two kingdoms. And perhaps she anticipates some spiritual understanding also, a hope which was afterwards realised.
In Bilqis we have a picture of womanhood, gentle, prudent, and able to tame the wider passions of her subjects. (R).
...وَكَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٣٤﴾
thus do they behave.
وَإِنِّي
مُرْسِلَةٌ
إِلَيْهِم
بِهَدِيَّةٍ
فَنَاظِرَةٌ
بِمَ يَرْجِعُ
الْمُرْسَلُونَ
﴿٣٥﴾
27: 35. "But I am going to send him a present, and (wait) to see with what (answer) return (my) ambassadors."
فَلَمَّا
جَاء
سُلَيْمَانَ
قَالَ أَتُمِدُّونَنِ
بِمَالٍ...
27: 36. How when (the embassy) came to Solomon, he said:
"Will ye give me abundance in wealth?
...فَمَا آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا آتَاكُم...
But that which Allah has given me is better than that which He has given you!
...بَلْ أَنتُم بِهَدِيَّتِكُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾
Nay it is ye who rejoice in your gift!
C3272. Poor Bilqis! she thought she had arranged with womanly tact to conciliate Solomon, and at the same time pacify her warlike subjects! But the effect of the embassy with presents was the very opposite.
Solomon took it as an insult that she should send her presents instead of her submission to the true Religion! He flung back the presents at her, as much as to say,
"Let these baubles delight your own hearts! Allah has blessed me with plenty of worldly goods, and something infinitely better, viz.; His Light and Guidance! Why do you say nothing about that?"
Will you only understand the argument of armies and violence?"
Or perhaps his speech was only meant for the Sabaean crowd. For when she actually came, he treated her kindly, and she accepted the religion of Unity.
ارْجِعْ
إِلَيْهِمْ
فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ
بِجُنُودٍ لَّا
قِبَلَ لَهُم
بِهَا...
27: 37. "Go back to them, and be sure we shall come to them with such hosts as they will never be able to meet:
...وَلَنُخْرِجَنَّهُم مِّنْهَا أَذِلَّةً وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾
we shall expel them from there in disgrace, and they will feel humbled (indeed)."
قَالَ
يَا
أَيُّهَا المَلَأُ...
27: 38. He said (to his own men): "Ye Chiefs!
...أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَن يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ ﴿٣٨﴾
which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?"
C3273. The throne is symbolical of power and dignity. So far her throne was based on material wealth: Solomon is going to alter it to a basis of Faith and the Religion of Unity.
قَالَ
عِفْريتٌ
مِّنَ
الْجِنِّ
...
27: 39. Said an Ifrit, of the Jinns:
C3274. Ifrit: a large, powerful jinn, reputed to be wicked and crafty; hence he is anxious to be recognised as one that "could be trusted".
... أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَن تَقُومَ مِن مَّقَامِكَ...
"I will bring it to thee before thou rise from thy Council:
...وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ ﴿٣٩﴾
indeed I have full strength for the purpose, and may be trusted."
قَالَ
الَّذِي
عِندَهُ
عِلْمٌ مِّنَ
الْكِتَابِ...
27:40. Said one who had knowledge of the Book:
C3275. The symbolic meaning still continues.
The big 'Ifrit had boasted of his brute strength, and his reliability. But this is not enough to transform a power (throne) based on materialism into one based on inward knowledge, knowledge of the heart and spirit, the sort of knowledge that comes from the Book of the Grace of Allah, the spirit of truth and benevolence which is the invisible magic of Prophets of Allah.
Even if worldly power and common honesty may be able to effect some good, it will take a comparatively long time, while the magic of spiritual love acts instantaneously.
Solomon was thankful to Allah that he had men endowed with such power, and he had the throne of Bilqis transported to his Court and transformed as he desired, without Bilqis even knowing it. (R).
...أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ...
"I will bring it to thee within the twinkling of an eye!"
فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُ قَالَ...
Then when (Solomon) saw it placed firmly before him, he said:
...هَذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ...
"This is by the grace of my Lord! -- to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful!
C3276. If Solomon had been ungrateful to Allah, i.e., if he had worked for his own selfish or worldly ends, he could have used the brute strength of 'Ifrit to add to his worldly strength and glory.
Instead of it he uses the higher magic of the Book,-Of the Spirit-to transform the throne of Bilqis for her highest good, which means also the highest good of her subjects, by the divine Light.
He had the two alternatives, and he chooses the better, and he thus shows his gratitude to Allah for the Grace He had given him.
...وَمَن شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ...
And if any is grateful, truly his gratitude is (a gain) for his own soul;
...وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ ﴿٤٠﴾
but if any is ungrateful, truly my Lord is Free of All Needs, Supreme in Honor!"
C3277. Man's gratitude to Allah is not a thing that benefits Allah, for Allah is high above all needs: it benefits a man's own soul and gives him higher rank in the life to come.
Per contra, man's ingratitude will not detract from Allah's Glory and Honour or the value of Allah's generous gifts to man: for Allah is supreme
- in honour,
- glory, and
- generosity.
Karim in Arabic involves all three significations.
قَالَ
نَكِّرُوا
لَهَا
عَرْشَهَا...
27: 41. He said:
"Transform her throne out of all recognition by her:
...نَنظُرْ أَتَهْتَدِي أَمْ تَكُونُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٤١﴾
let us see whether she is guided (to the truth) or is one of those who receive no guidance."
C3278. The throne having been transformed, it will be a test to see whether Bilqis recognises it as her own and accepts it of her own free will as her own, or rejects it as something alien to her, something she will not accommodate herself to.
فَلَمَّا
جَاءتْ
قِيلَ أَهَكَذَا
عَرْشُكِ...
27: 42. So when she arrived, she was asked, "Is this thy throne?"
...قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ...
She said, "It was just like this;
C3279. Bilqis stands the test. She knows it was her throne, yet not exactly the same, for it was now much better.
And she is proud of her good fortune, and acknowledges, for herself and her people, with gratitude, the light which was given to them by Allah, by which they recognised Allah's prophet in Solomon, and received the true Religion with all their will and heart and soul.
...وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾
and knowledge was bestowed on us in advance of this, and we have submitted to Allah (in Islam)."
وَصَدَّهَا
مَا
كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ
مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ...
27: 43. And he diverted her from the worship of others besides Allah:
C3280. Some Commentators and Translators adopt an alternative construction for the last clause of the last verse and the first clause of this verse.
They understand the former to be spoken by Solomon and to mean,
'we had knowledge of Allah's Message and accepted it before her.'
They understand the latter to mean,
'the worship of others besides Allah diverted her (from the true Religion).'
If we accept the construction adopted in this Translation, the visit to Solomon confirmed the true Faith of Bilqis and prevented her from lapsing into her ancestral false worship.
...إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ ﴿٤٣﴾
for she was (sprung) of a people that had no faith.
..
قِيلَ
لَهَا
ادْخُلِي
الصَّرْحَ.
27:44 [Ali]. She was asked to enter that lofty Palace:
C3281. Bilqis, having been received with honour on her arrival, and having accepted the transformation of her throne, placed presumably in an outer building of the Palace, is asked to enter the great Palace itself.
Its floor was made of slabs of smooth polished glass, that glistened like water. She thought it was water, and tucked up her clothes to pass through it, showing her bare feet and ankles. This was a very undignified position for a woman, especially one of the position of a Queen.
Solomon immediately told her the real facts, when she felt grateful, and joined herself with Solomon in praising Allah.
...فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةً وَكَشَفَتْ عَن سَاقَيْهَا...
but when she saw it, she thought it was a lake of water, and she (tucked up her skirts), uncovering her legs.
قَالَ إِنَّهُ صَرْحٌ مُّمَرَّدٌ مِّن قَوَارِيرَ... ...
He said: "This is but a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass."
...قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي ...
She said:
"O my Lord! I have indeed wronged my soul:
C3282. In symbolic language, a new entrant into the Palace of divine knowledge, may yet carry in his mind many of the illusions of the lower world, the transparent crystal of Truth he may yet mistake for the unstable water of worldly vanity, which soils the vestments of those who paddle in it. This leads to many undignified positions and mistakes.
But a gentle leader points out the truth.
Instead of resenting it, the new entrant is grateful; acknowledges his own mistake freely and frankly; and heartily joins with the Teacher in the worship of Allah, the Source of all truth and knowledge.
... وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَانَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٤٤﴾
I do (now) submit (in Islam), with Solomon, to the Lord of the Worlds."
Asad’s Version:
27:20 And [one day] he looked in vain for [a particular one of] the birds; and so he said: "How is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Or could he be among the absent?
(27:21) [If so,] I will punish him most severely or will kill him unless he bring me a convincing excuse!" 18
27:22 But [the hoopoe] tarried but a short while; and [when it came] it said: "I have encompassed [with my knowledge] something that thou hast never yet encompassed [with thine] - for I have come to thee from Sheba with a tiding sure!"
27:23 "Behold, I found there a woman ruling over them; and she has been given [abundance] of all [good] things, and hers is a mighty throne.
(27:24) And 1 found her and her people adoring the sun instead of God; and Satan has made these doings of theirs seem goodly to them, and [thus] has barred them from the path [of God], so that they cannot find the right way:
(27:25) [for they have come to believe] that they ought not to adore God 20 - [although it is He] who brings forth all that is hidden in the heavens and on earth, 21 and knows all that you would conceal as well as all that you bring into the open:
(27:26) God, save whom there is no deity - the Sustainer, in awesome almightiness enthroned!" 22
[[ Asad’s notes - 18 Lit., "a clear evidence". The threat of "killing" the hoopoe is, of course, purely idiomatic, and not to be taken literally.
1 9 Thus, we are parabolically reminded that even the most lowly being can - and on occasion does - have knowledge of things of which even a Solomon in all his wisdom may be ignorant (Razi) - a reminder which ought to counteract the ever-present danger (fitnah) of self-conceit to which learned men, more than anyone else, are exposed (Zamakhshari). - As regards the kingdom of Sheba, see note 23 on 34:15.
20 I.e., their own immoral impulses (which is the meaning of ash-shaytan in this context) had persuaded them that they should not submit to the idea of man's responsibility to a Supreme Being who, by definition, is "beyond the reach of human perception", but should worship certain perceivable natural phenomena instead.
21 An allusion to the appearance and disappearance of the sun and other celestial bodies which the Sabaeans - in common with almost all the Semites of antiquity - used to worship. (Cf the story of Abraham's search for God in 6:74 ff.)
22 See surah 9, note 171 . ]]
27:27 Said [Solomon]: "We shall see whether thou hast told the truth or art one of the liars!
(27:28) Go with this my letter and convey it to them; and thereafter withdraw from them and see what [answer] they return."
(27:29) [When the Queen had read Solomon's letter,] she said: "O you nobles! A truly distinguished letter has been conveyed unto me.
(27:30) Behold, it is from Solomon, and it says, 'In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
(27:31) [God says:] Exalt not yourselves against Me, but come unto Me in willing
surrender!'" 23
[[Asad’s note -
23 My interpolation, at the beginning of this verse, of the words "God says" is based on the fact that, within the context of the above legend, the information brought by the hoopoe is the very first link between the kingdoms of Sheba and of Solomon. In the absence of any previous contact, hostile or otherwise, there would have been no point whatever in Solomon's telling the people of Sheba that they should not "exalt themselves" against or above himself. On the other hand, the narrative of the hoopoe makes it clear that the Sabaeans did "exalt themselves" against God by worshipping the sun and by being convinced "that they ought not to worship God" (verses 2~25 above).
Hence, Solomon, being a prophet, is justified in calling upon them, in the name of God, to abandon this blasphemy and to surrender themselves to Him. (Cf. the almost identical phrase, "Exalt not yourselves against God", in 44: 1 9.) ]]
[27 Naml, Mecca]
27:32 She added: "O you nobles! Give me your opinion on the problem with which I am now
faced; 24 I would never make a [weighty] decision unless you are present with me." (26:33) They answered: "We are endowed with power and with mighty prowess in war - but the command is thine; consider, then, what thou wouldst command."
27:34 Said she: "Verily, whenever kings enter a country they corrupt it, 25 and turn the noblest of its people into the most abject. And this is the way they (always] behave. 26
(27:35) Hence, behold, I am going to send a gift to those (people], and await whatever [answer] the envoys bring back."
[[Asad’s notes -
24 Lit., "on this case [or "problem"] of mine".
25 In this context - as pointed out by all classical commentators - the term dukhul undoubtedly connotes "entering by force ('anwatan)", whether it be by armed invasion or by usurpation of political power from within the country. (The term mulak, lit., "kings", may be understood to denote also persons who, while not being "kings" in the conventional sense of this word, wrongfully seize and forcibly hold absolute power over their "subjects".)
26 Thus, the Queen of Sheba rules out force as a suitable method for dealing with Solomon. Implied in her statement is the Qur'anic condemnation of all political power obtained through violence
('anwatan) inasmuch as it is bound to give rise to oppression, suffering and moral corruption.
]]
27:36 Now when [the Queen's messenger] came unto Solomon, he said: "Do you people mean to add to my wealth? But that which God has given me 27 is [so much] better than all that He has given you! Nay, it is (only such as] you 28 that would rejoice in this gift of yours!
27:37 "Go thou back unto them (that have sent thee)! For, (God says:] 'We shall most certainly come upon them with forces which they will never be able to withstand, and shall most certainly cause them to be driven from that (land of theirs], despicable and humbled'!'" 29 '
[[Asad’s notes -
27 I.e., not only worldly wealth but also faith, wisdom and an insight into realities normally hidden from other men.
28 I.e., people who prize only material things and have no inkling of spiritual values.
29 Lit., "and they will be humbled". Since the Qur'an explicitly prohibits all wars of aggression (see 2:190-194 and the corresponding notes), it is not plausible that this same Qur'an should place
a crude threat of warlike aggression in the mouth of a prophet. We must, therefore, assume that here again, as in verse 3 1 above, it is God who, through His prophet, warns the people of Sheba of His
"coming upon them" - i.e., punishing them - unless they abandon their blasphemous belief that they "ought not" to worship God. This interpretation finds considerable support in the sudden change
from the singular in which Solomon speaks of himself in the preceding (as well as in the subsequent)verses, to the majestic plural "We" appearing in the above sentence.
[[Ruby’s note – What this narrative demonstrates is that queen Sheba was endowed with wisdom before she came to Solomon and accepted Islam and she was inclined towards righteousness through her wisdom and perhaps this is the reason God has through Solomon and the incident guided her to Islam [submission]. A person can therefore be good and righteous even before consciously accepting Islam as their heart rested on Islam previously. This fits with the verses 2:62 and 5:59 to declare that righteous people can come from any religion.]]
27:38 [Asad] (WHEN SOLOMON learned that the Queen of Sheba was coming,"] he said (to his council]: "O you nobles! Which of you can bring me her throne ere she and her followers come unto me
in willing surrender to God?" 31
(27:39) Said a bold one of the invisible beings [subject to Solomon]: "I shall bring it to thee ere thou rise from thy council-seat - for, behold, I am powerful enough to do it, [and] worthy of trust!"
27:40 Answered he who was illumined by revelation: 52 "[Nay] as for me - 1 shall bring it to thee ere the twinkling of thy eye ceases!" 33
And when he saw it truly before him, 34 he exclaimed: "This is [an outcome] of my Sustainer's bounty, to test me as to whether I am grateful or ungrateful! 35 However, he who is grateful [to God] is but grateful for his own good; and he who is ungrateful [should know that], verily, my Sustainer is self-sufficient, most generous in giving!"
27:41 (And] he continued: "Alter her throne so that she may not know it as hers: let us see whether she allows herself to be guided [to the truth] or remains one of those who will not be guided." 36
27:42 And so, as soon as she arrived, she was asked: "Is thy throne like this?"
She answered: "It is as though it were the same!" 37 [And Solomon said to his nobles: "She has arrived at the truth without any help from us, 38 ] although it is we who have been given [divine] knowledge before her, and have [long ago] surrendered ourselves unto God!
(27:43) [And she has recognized the truth) although that
which she has been wont to worship instead of God 3 ' had kept her away [from the right path]: for, behold, she is descended of people who deny the truth!" 40
[[Asad’s notes - 30 I.e., evidently in response to his message (Razi, Ibn Kathir).
31 Lit., "before they come unto me as people who surrender themselves (muslimin)" i.e., to God (see verse 31 above). The term "throne" ('arsh) is used here and in the sequence - as well as at the end of verse 23 - in its metonymic sense of "dominion" or "regal power" Raghib). It appears that Solomon intends to confront his guest with an image of her worldly power, and thus to convince her that her "throne" is as nothing when compared with the awesome almightiness of God.
32 Lit., "he who had knowledge out of (or "through"] revelation (al-kitab)" - i.e., Solomon himself
(Razi).
33 I.e., faster than any magic could achieve: thus alluding to the symbolic nature of the forthcoming appearance of the "throne" . Here, as in the whole of the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, symbolism and legendary "fact" are subtly intertwined, evolving into an allegory of the human soul's awakening to a gradual realization of spiritual values.
34 Lit., "established before him". Since the verbal form istaqarra and its participle mustaqirr often indicate no more than that something "has being" or "exists" (cf Lane VII, 2500), the phrase ra'ahu mustaqirran 'indahu may be understood as "he saw it being [i.e., actually] before him" : hence my rendering. ]]
35 I.e., "whether I attribute my spiritual powers to God or, vaingloriously, to myself.
36 I.e., whether she remains satisfied with perceiving only the outward appearance of things and happenings, or endeavours to fathom their spiritual reality. Seeing that the people of Sheba were, until then, motivated by love of luxury and worldly power, Solomon intends to show the Queen her "throne", or the image of her domainion, as it could be if it were inspired by faith in God and, hence, by a consciousness of moral responsibility.
37 Sc, "and yet not quite the same" : thus, she expresses doubt - and doubt is the first step in all spiritual progress. She realizes that the "altered throne" is outwardly the same as that which she has left behind; but she perceives intuitively that it is imbued with a spiritual quality which the other did not possess, and which she cannot yet quite understand.
38 Thus Tabari, Zamakhshari and Ibn Kathir, on whose interpretation of this passage my rendering and the above interpolation are based.
39 An allusion to her and her people's worship of celestial bodies (cf. verses 24-25 and the corresponding notes 20 and 21).
40 Lit., "she was [sc, "born"] of people...", etc. - thus stressing the role of the idolatrous tradition in which she had grown up, and which in the past had made it difficult for her to find the right path. Considering this cultural background, Solomon points out, her awakening at the very moment of her leaving her ancestral environment must be deemed most remarkable and praiseworthy. ]]
27:44 [Asad] [After a while] she was told: "Enter this court! " - but when she saw it, she thought that it was a fathomless expanse of water, and she bared her legs." Said he: "Behold, it is [but) a court smoothly paved with glass! "" Cried she: "O my Sustainer! I have been sinning against myself [by worshipping aught but Thee]: but (now) I have surrendered myself, with Solomon, unto the Sustainer of all the worlds!"
41 I.e., in order to wade into it, or perhaps to swim through it, thus braving the seemingly fathomless deep: possibly a symbolic indication of the fear which a human being may feel when his own search after truth forces him to abandon the warm, soothing security of his erstwhile social and mental environment, and to venture into the - as yet - unknown realm of the spirit.
42 I.e., not a dangerous, bottomless deep, as it appeared at first glance, but, rather, the firm, glass-clear light of truth: and with her perception of the ever-existing difference between appearance and reality, the Queen of Sheba comes to the end of her spiritual journey.
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