Part of The story of the Queen of Sheba (series completed)
· Lesson 8 of 15
The story of the Queen of Sheba | Episode (8) | The message reaches the Queen of Sheba
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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The story of the Queen of Sheba.
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The arrival of the letter to the Queen of Sheba.
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The hoopoe executed what Solomon, the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), commanded of him,
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delivering the letter to Yemen,
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and casting it down to the Queen of Sheba.
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When the Queen of Sheba read it,
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she was deeply moved by it,
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so she gathered the prominent nobles of her people and said to them:
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“(The Queen of Sheba) said (when she received the letter): O chieftains! Lo! there hath been thrown unto me a noble letter.” (27:29)
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“Lo! it is from Solomon, and lo! it is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;” (27:30)
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"Do not be arrogant toward me, but come to me in total submission."
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By examining the way the Queen of Sheba handled the letter,
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we realize the profound prudence of this woman,
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her responsiveness to the logic of a strong man,
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and her surrender to him,
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even if she outwardly concealed it at first,
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as well as how she gradually persuaded her people to surrender to him.
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So how did she handle the letter?
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First, she summoned the nobles of her people to present the letter to them.
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They are the ones she meant by her words:
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"O eminent nobles..."
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The secret behind singling them out for consultation over the rest of her people—
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that is, over the rest of the populace—
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is that they were the leaders and nobles of the people.
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And typically, this class of people
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possesses the most wisdom
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and holds the greatest influence over the rest of the populace.
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They were followed leaders among their people;
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if they reached a consensus on a matter, the people would not oppose them.
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Had the Queen of Sheba
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adopted a decision without them and they opposed it,
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the people around her would not have obeyed her.
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Thus, she preferred to begin with them,
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because the rest of the people naturally follow them.
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This is a wisdom absent today in every society
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that adopts what they call democratic thought,
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because democracy, in reality, equates the opinion of an ignorant person
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who understands nothing
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with the opinion of a scholar firmly grounded in knowledge,
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wise in his actions.
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In democratic thought, each of them
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represents a single vote,
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giving no weight to the knowledge of the scholar nor the ignorance of the unlearned.
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In this lies a humiliation of knowledge
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and an indirect deterrence from seeking it.
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Yet, the ruling elites are historically the most prone to oppose and fight the call of the Prophets,
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as Allah has informed us about them in the Noble Qur'an.
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For instance, Noah, the Prophet of Allah, was opposed by the nobles of his people,
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as the Almighty said:
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"The prominent nobles of his people said..."
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“The chieftains of his people said: Lo! we see thee surely in plain error.” (7:60)
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And Hud, the Prophet of Allah,
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was opposed by the nobles of his people;
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the Almighty said:
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"The prominent nobles among his people who disbelieved said..."
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“The chieftains of his people, who were disbelieving, said: Lo! we surely see thee in foolishness, and lo! we deem thee of the liars.” (7:66)
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“The chieftains of his people, who were disbelieving, said: Lo! we surely see thee in foolishness, and lo! we deem thee of the liars.” (7:66)
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And Salih, the Prophet of Allah,
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was opposed by the nobles of his people.
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“The chieftains of his people, who were scornful, said unto those whom they despised, unto such of them as believed: Know ye that Salih is one sent from his Lord? They said: Lo! In that wherewith he hath been sent we are believers.” (7:75)
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“Those who were scornful said: Lo! in that which ye believe we are disbelievers.” (7:76)
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And Shu'ayb, the Prophet of Allah, was opposed by the nobles of his people; the Almighty said...
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“The chieftains of his people, who were scornful, said: Surely we will drive thee out, O Shu'eyb, and those who believe with thee, from our township, unless ye return to our religion. He said: Even though we hate it?” (7:88)
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10- And the nobles were the very ones who stood against the call of Moses and incited Pharaoh to kill him and those who believed with him; the Almighty said:
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11- "The prominent nobles of Pharaoh's people said, 'Indeed, this is a learned magician who intends to drive you out of your land, so what do you advise?'"
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12- "They said, 'Put him and his brother off and send gatherers to the cities to bring you every learned magician.'"
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13- And the Glorious and Exalted said...
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“The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said: (O King), wilt thou suffer Moses and his people to make mischief in the land, and flout thee and thy gods? He said: We will slay their sons and spare their women, for lo! we are in power over them.” (7:127)
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15- And our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) faced the opposition of the prominent nobles against his call; the Almighty said:
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16- "Sad. By the Qur'an containing reminder! But those who disbelieve are in honor-bound pride and dissension."
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17- "How many a generation have We destroyed before them, and they cried out when it was no longer time for escape."
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“And they marvel that a warner from among themselves hath come unto them, and the disbelievers say: This is a wizard, a charlatan.” (38:4)
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19- "Has he made the gods into one God? Indeed, this is a curious thing."
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20- "This is nothing but a fabrication. Has the message been revealed to him out of all of us? Rather, they are in doubt about My reminder. Rather, they have not yet tasted My punishment."
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21- Thus, the nobles—the elites, leaders, and notables of societies—are the ones who direct the common folk.
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22- Whoever among these elites believes, his people follow him in faith; and whoever opposes and disbelieves, his people follow him in disbelief, except those upon whom Allah bestows mercy.
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23- We find this reality in every era: those who wage war against the call of Islam today are the ruling elites in every society, except those upon whom Allah bestows mercy.
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24- Therefore, the Queen of Sheba's resort to the nobles of her people to engage them in dialogue and seek their counsel regarding the letter of Solomon, the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), demonstrates profound wisdom in dealing with populations and governing them.
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25- Second, the Queen of Sheba instilled in the nobles of her people the exact impression she wanted established in their minds, thereby paving the way to convince them of her objective.
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26- She said: "Indeed, a noble letter has been delivered to me." Thus, she framed it with this description before they even heard its contents, ensuring that no one after her would challenge her characterization.
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27- This is a masterclass in dialogue and subtle persuasion; she led them to gradually adopt the viewpoint she desired without any friction in the discussion.
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28- In this lies a warning against the mistakes made by some who engage in dialogue or present their ideas to people, starting with phrases that plant resistance in the listener's mind toward the idea or opinion before even hearing it out—
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29- such as saying, "I know you will disagree with me," or "I am about to give you a shocking opinion that most of you might not accept," as opposed to saying, "This is an opinion upon which all reasonable people agree," or "I believe this view will appeal to you."
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30- Third, the Queen of Sheba described the letter as "noble" (karim), a word well understood by the Arabs, for nothing comes from a noble source except abundant good.
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31- She said, "Indeed, a noble letter has been delivered to me," and people naturally incline toward what is noble, fostering fondness and optimism toward this letter. She was pointing to the nobility inherent in its content and message. So what moved her so deeply that she used such a grand description?
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32- "Indeed, a noble letter has been delivered to me"—which phrase penetrated her inner self so deeply that she reacted to the letter in this manner? It must have been embedded within the text of the message, and its significance must have been strikingly clear for the Queen to be influenced by it so swiftly.
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33- It must have touched her innermost heart, prompting her to describe it as such; indeed, she revealed her inner feelings when she magnified the sender, saying, "It is from Solomon"—Solomon, O nobles, Solomon!—uttered with subtle pride and admiration.
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34- He was a strong man—strong in his phrasing, strong in his self-assurance, and undoubtedly backed by immense material power. A woman's psyche and emotional nature differ entirely from those of a man; she savors words and expressions, delving into their depths and subtle meanings, rather than letting them pass unheeded.
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35- A word, O nobles, has a profound impact on a woman, even if she is a queen ruling over men—a word that dispels all royal arrogance, bypassing barriers, walls, and guards to enter a woman's heart and move her.
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36- This is something the nobles failed to grasp, preoccupied as they were with luxury, intoxicated by illusory power, and immersed in physical desires, lacking the delicate emotional sensitivity inherent in a woman.
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"It is from Solomon"—she mentioned him as though she had known him for a long time, as though she had lived under his shadow and protection: "It is from Solomon."
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This is a fundamental reality known to every woman: admiration for a strong man.
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4- This approach adopted by the Queen of Sheba with the nobles of her people is the same approach we find in the story of Al-Aziz's wife with Joseph, and in the story of the righteous man's two daughters with Moses.
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For when Al-Aziz's wife was startled by her husband at the door, she said:
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She said:
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She prioritized mentioning imprisonment so it would be stamped in her husband's mind, while postponing the mention of painful punishment to push it out of his thoughts, because she was enamored with Joseph and did not want him harmed.
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As for the story of the righteous man's two daughters, when the young woman witnessed Moses's strength and trustworthiness, she pointed out to her father what was firmly rooted in her innate disposition,
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saying:
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She disliked working outside the home and felt relieved seeing a strong man who could spare her that hardship.
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And alongside his strength, she mentioned his trustworthiness.
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She was highlighting the qualities that captivate any young woman in a man: strength and trustworthiness.
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And these subtle meanings were fully understood by that great educator who had raised the two daughters,
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so he said to Moses:
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"Indeed, I wish to wed you to one of these two daughters of mine..."
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Fifth,
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although the Queen of Sheba's people had appointed her and placed her in leadership over them,
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her innate feminine nature inclined otherwise.
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At the very first opportunity that carried a subtle hint—
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indeed, an explicit call—for her to step down from the throne to the position for which she was naturally created,
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the Queen of Sheba took the initiative to hint at relinquishing her royal post,
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so that a man might assume leadership—
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and not just any man,
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but Solomon,
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the sender of the noble letter.
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But how did the nobles read the letter of Solomon, the Prophet of Allah?
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We shall continue in our next gathering, if Allah wills.
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And praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
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The story of the Queen of Sheba with Solomon, the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him).