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The story of the Queen of Sheba.

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The intelligence of the Queen of Sheba.

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The evidence within the story of the Queen of Sheba continues.

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To demonstrate the intelligence of this queen.

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And in this episode,

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there is further proof of her sagacity.

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For the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him,

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wished to test her to determine the extent of her intelligence and discernment,

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given that she had been elevated to rule over men.

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He said to his soldiers,

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"Disguise her throne for her."

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“He said: Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will go aright or be of those not rightly guided.” (27:41)

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Meaning, alter the features of her throne.

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This was a great surprise for the Queen of Sheba,

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for her throne was in Yemen,

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and she was far from the kingdom of Sulayman.

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Transporting the throne would require a long time,

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and the throne was also protected by heavy security,

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so that it could not be reached by the hands of men.

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Furthermore, altering the features of her throne

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made it ambiguous to the observer:

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Is it her throne or not?

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When the Queen of Sheba arrived

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to the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him,

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his soldiers presented the throne to her

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and said to her,

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"Is your throne like this?"

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This was the test he intended,

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the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him.

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Here, the intelligence of this queen—or lack thereof—would be revealed.

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The answer to the question could be either yes or no.

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If she denied that it was her throne,

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despite it having signs pointing to it,

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she would fall into an awkward position.

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And if she confirmed it was her throne despite the discrepancies,

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she would likewise fall into an awkward position.

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But, due to her intelligence,

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she answered with a third response.

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She said, "It is as if it were it."

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Thus, she neither confirmed nor denied it.

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She succeeded in this test prepared for her by the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him.

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In this is a benefit for those who engage in dialogue with people:

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to be mindful of the third possibility in an answer.

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Because some people want to restrict the answer to two paths:

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yes or no,

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with me or against me.

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But the intelligent interlocutor

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is able to provide a third answer

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that did not occur to the questioner.

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Here, an important question arises:

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How could this intelligent, discerning woman

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fall into violating the sound natural disposition (fitra),

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worshipping the sun, which neither harms nor benefits?

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Where did her intelligence and discernment go?

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Did her intellect not guide her to the corruption of this act,

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to prostrate to the sun instead of Allah?

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Such a question might be raised today regarding scholars in various scientific disciplines

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who possess great inventions,

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yet among them are those who worship idols,

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and among them are those who say the three are one and the one is three,

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and one finds no explanation for it.

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Did their intellect not guide them to the worship of Allah, the One, the Irresistible,

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and the falsehood of what they worship?

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The answer comes to us in the Holy Qur'an from the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, glory be to Him,

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to show us where the flaw lies

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that befell the likes of the Queen of Sheba and others,

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and so that people may know that every question that may occur to the human mind or be posed to it

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has an answer in the Book of Allah,

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whether in summary or in detail.

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The Almighty said, explaining the answer to this question:

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“And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk.” (27:43)

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“And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk.” (27:43)

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Al-Sa'di, may Allah have mercy on him, said,

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"Allah the Almighty said:

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“And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk.” (27:43)

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Meaning, from Islam.

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Otherwise, she possessed enough intelligence and discernment to distinguish truth from falsehood.

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But false beliefs take away the insight of the heart.

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“And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk.” (27:43)

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So she continued in their religion.

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And for an individual to stand apart from the people of their religion and the established custom

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regarding a matter their intellect sees as their error and misguidance

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is among the rarest of things.

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Therefore, it is not strange that she remained in disbelief."

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In the verse is an indication of the danger of surrendering to customs and traditions

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without subjecting them to the scale of the Sharia,

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because they prevent a person from accepting the truth.

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This is the affliction of the nations who objected to the call of their prophets.

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The Almighty said about them:

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"And when it is said to them, 'Follow what Allah has revealed,'

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they say, 'Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.'"

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“And when it is said unto them: Follow that which Allah hath revealed, they say: We follow that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even though their fathers were wholly unintelligent and had no guidance?” (2:170)

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And the Almighty said:

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"And when it is said to them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,'

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“And when it is said unto them: Come unto that which Allah hath revealed and unto the messenger, they say: Enough for us is that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even though their fathers had no knowledge whatsoever, and no guidance?” (5:104)

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“And when it is said unto them: Come unto that which Allah hath revealed and unto the messenger, they say: Enough for us is that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even though their fathers had no knowledge whatsoever, and no guidance?” (5:104)

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And the people of Hud objected to him by saying:

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“They said: Hast come unto us that we should serve Allah alone, and forsake what our fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that wherewith thou threatenest us if thou art of the truthful!” (7:70)

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'Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful.'

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And the people of Pharaoh said to Musa:

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“They said: Hast thou come unto us to pervert us from that (faith) in which we found our fathers, and that you two may own the place of greatness in the land? We will not believe you two.” (10:78)

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“They said: Hast thou come unto us to pervert us from that (faith) in which we found our fathers, and that you two may own the place of greatness in the land? We will not believe you two.” (10:78)

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And the Almighty said about the people of Salih:

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“They said: O Salih! Thou hast been among us hitherto as that wherein our hope was placed. Dost thou ask us not to worship what our fathers worshipped? Lo! we verily are in grave doubt concerning that to which thou callest us.” (11:62)

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“They said: O Salih! Thou hast been among us hitherto as that wherein our hope was placed. Dost thou ask us not to worship what our fathers worshipped? Lo! we verily are in grave doubt concerning that to which thou callest us.” (11:62)

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“They said: O Salih! Thou hast been among us hitherto as that wherein our hope was placed. Dost thou ask us not to worship what our fathers worshipped? Lo! we verily are in grave doubt concerning that to which thou callest us.” (11:62)

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And He said about the people of Shu'ayb:

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“They said: O Shu'eyb! Doth thy way of prayer command thee that we should forsake that which our fathers (used to) worship, or that we (should leave off) doing what we will with our own property. Lo! thou art the mild, the guide to right behaviour.” (11:87)

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“They said: O Shu'eyb! Doth thy way of prayer command thee that we should forsake that which our fathers (used to) worship, or that we (should leave off) doing what we will with our own property. Lo! thou art the mild, the guide to right behaviour.” (11:87)

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“They said: O Shu'eyb! Doth thy way of prayer command thee that we should forsake that which our fathers (used to) worship, or that we (should leave off) doing what we will with our own property. Lo! thou art the mild, the guide to right behaviour.” (11:87)

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And so it is with all the prophets and those who followed their path and trod their way.

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When one calls to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and to following His law,

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some members of society confront them with such words.

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And there is a call in many societies today,

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sponsored especially by the elite,

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which is the revival of ancient customs and traditions in society.

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They call it "heritage,"

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and they take pride in it as the ancient customs and deep-rooted traditions of society,

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even if these customs and traditions trace their origins to the era of the Arab Jahiliyyah before Islam,

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or trace back to a deviant creed or a misguided sect.

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This is a form of turning people away from the path of Allah, intentionally or unintentionally.

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So the young grow up on such Jahili customs,

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and the old grow gray upon them,

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until it settles in the souls of the people that it is the truth,

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and that opposing or objecting to it is falsehood.

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And everyone who rejects it and clarifies the ruling of Allah regarding it is fought.

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In the story of the Queen of Sheba,

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there is a second benefit related to her intelligence and discernment.

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We have already passed by what indicates the intensity of this woman's intelligence and discernment.

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And yet,

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the hoopoe disapproves of this intelligent woman holding

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the position of ruler over men,

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and the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, agrees with his disapproval,

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and Allah, the Exalted in His Majesty, approves them in that,

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and makes it a Qur'an recited until the Day of Resurrection,

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so that people may know that the prohibition of a woman holding

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high positions over men

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is not due to a lack of intelligence or discernment,

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but rather the prohibition is for many other matters related to the nature of a woman's creation

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and the natural disposition (fitra) upon which Allah created her.

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And a final benefit related to the intelligence of this queen:

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the deficiency of the innate intellect in a woman does not mean stupidity.

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For Allah, the Almighty, revealed to His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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to inform us of a reality related to the creation of women,

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which is known only through revelation from Allah,

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and known only by the Creator, the Exalted in His Majesty.

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Our truthful, believed Prophet informed us of it on a day of Eid,

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and he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect and religion

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who can lead a cautious, sensible man astray than one of you."

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Narrated by Al-Bukhari.

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The deficiency of a woman's innate intellect is a reality that only an obstinate or arrogant person denies,

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or one who rejects the statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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or distorts its meaning.

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This deficiency is well-perceived by the sound woman herself,

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for she does not act independently in her opinion without consulting a man,

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knowing that her emotion overcomes her in judgment and thinking,

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unlike the man who judges with his intellect before his emotion.

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For the One who diminished her intellect increased her emotion,

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to suit the function for which He created her.

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So the deficiency of a woman's intellect does not mean stupidity,

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and the deficiency of a woman's intellect is not changed by intelligence.

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It exists in the woman by creation, even if times change.

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The Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, showed the Queen of Sheba

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some of what Allah had given him of kingdom, power, and knowledge.

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But the story does not end with this event.

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We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.

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And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

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The story of the Queen of Sheba with the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him.