Part of Stories of the Prophets (series completed)
· Lesson 15 of 20
Stories of the Prophets | Episode (30) | The story of Solomon, peace be upon him (2)
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Transcript
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Stories of the Prophets,
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stories of the Prophets,
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peace be upon them.
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May Allah's blessings
0:09
followed by
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peace
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be upon the best of all creation,
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all of them.
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Those of firm resolve,
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their status
0:22
is exalted.
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The story of Sulayman (Solomon),
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peace be upon him.
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
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and may peace and blessings
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be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon his family and Companions,
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all of them.
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To proceed:
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The Prophet of Allah, Sulayman,
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peace be upon him,
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was deeply devoted to striving
0:51
in the path of Allah
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and spreading monotheism throughout the earth.
0:55
We have already covered his calling
0:57
of Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba,
0:59
until she embraced Islam.
1:01
We also covered
1:03
his inspection of the noble, swift
1:05
horses,
1:07
prepared for striving in Allah's cause.
1:09
But when they distracted him from the prayer
1:11
and the remembrance of his Lord until the sun had set
1:13
beneath the horizon,
1:15
he slaughtered them, offering them
1:17
as food for the needy.
1:19
Then Sulayman,
1:21
peace be upon him, said,
1:23
"Tonight I will surely go round to
1:25
a hundred of my wives,
1:27
each of whom will bear a knight
1:29
who will fight in the path of Allah."
1:31
But he did not say,
1:33
peace be upon him, "if Allah wills,"
1:35
out of mere forgetfulness.
1:37
This does not mean that he
1:39
had failed to entrust the matter to Allah
1:41
in his heart; rather, he simply forgot
1:43
to utter "if Allah wills"
1:45
with his tongue.
1:47
This incident was a trial
1:49
for Sulayman, peace be upon him,
1:51
from Allah Almighty, and a test.
1:53
After he had gone round to them,
1:56
none of them became pregnant
1:58
except for one woman,
2:00
and she gave birth to only a half-formed child.
2:02
So the midwives brought
2:04
it to him
2:06
as he sat upon his throne,
2:08
and they placed it before
2:10
him so that he might see it.
2:12
Our Prophet,
2:16
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, swore
2:18
that had the Prophet of Allah,
2:20
Sulayman, peace be upon him,
2:22
made the exception in his speech
2:24
and said, "If Allah
2:26
wills," Allah would have blessed him
2:28
with those one hundred knights,
2:30
just as he had intended,
2:32
and they all would have fought in the path of
2:34
Allah. Sulayman, peace be upon him, realized
2:37
his mistake,
2:39
and knew that his oversight
2:41
in mentioning Allah and deferring
2:43
all will to Him
2:45
was the reason he was not granted
2:47
the sons who would fight in
2:49
the path of Allah. So he turned
2:51
in repentance to Allah,
2:53
prostrating humbly before Him,
2:55
imploring his Lord to bestow
2:57
forgiveness upon him,
2:59
and to grant him a kingdom
3:01
such as would not belong to anyone after him,
3:03
which he would use as an aid
3:05
to establish the religion throughout the earth.
3:07
So Allah answered
3:09
his supplication,
3:11
and granted him in place of the horses
3:13
the wind, both gentle and stormy,
3:15
carrying him and those
3:17
with him wherever he willed.
3:19
And He granted him in place of
3:21
the knights
3:23
the subjugation of the jinn
3:25
and the devils,
3:27
who carried out whatever works he desired.
3:30
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
3:32
"Indeed,
3:34
you will never leave anything
3:36
out of fear of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious,
3:38
except that Allah will give you
3:40
something better than it."
3:42
Al-Hasan al-Basri,
3:44
may Allah have mercy on him, said:
3:46
"When Sulayman slaughtered the horses
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out of wrath for the sake of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious,
3:50
Allah compensated him
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with something better and faster:
3:54
the wind,
3:56
whose morning journey was a month's travel,
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and whose afternoon journey was a month's travel."
4:00
That is, its journey in the first half of
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the day covered the distance of an entire month
4:04
by the ordinary pace
4:06
of people,
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and its journey in the latter half of the day
4:10
was likewise a month's travel.
4:12
Thus, in a single day,
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it covered the distance of
4:16
two months' journey.
4:20
It was also reported that Sulayman,
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peace be upon him, had a wooden platform
4:24
upon which was placed
4:26
everything he required
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for the affairs of the kingdom:
4:30
horses, camels, tents,
4:32
and soldiers.
4:34
Then he would command the wind to bear it,
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so it would sweep beneath it,
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carry it,
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lift it up, and travel with it.
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It blew softly
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and gently whenever he willed,
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or became a raging,
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swift, and forceful gale
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whenever he willed,
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while the birds shaded him from the heat
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to wherever he willed
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across the earth.
4:58
Allah Almighty said:
5:01
"And We certainly tried
5:03
Sulayman and placed
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upon his throne a body;
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then he turned in repentance.
5:09
He said, 'My Lord,
5:11
“He said: My Lord! Forgive me and bestow on me sovereignty such as shall not belong to any after me. Lo! Thou art the Bestower.” (38:35)
5:13
a kingdom that will not belong
5:15
to anyone
5:17
after me.
5:19
Indeed, You are
5:21
the Bestower.'
5:23
So We subjected to him
5:25
the wind blowing
5:27
by his command, gently,
5:29
wherever he directed,
5:31
and the devils:
5:33
every builder
5:35
and diver,
5:39
and others bound
5:41
in fetters.
5:43
'This is Our gift,
5:45
so bestow
5:47
or withhold
5:49
without account.'
5:51
And indeed, for him
5:53
in Our presence
5:55
is a near access and a good
5:57
place of return."
5:59
And Allah subjected the jinn
6:01
and the devils to serve Sulayman,
6:03
peace be upon him,
6:05
as laborers doing whatever he
6:07
wished, never slacking
6:09
nor defying his obedience.
6:11
They made for him
6:13
whatever he willed of sanctuaries—
6:15
which are fine places for worship
6:17
and dignified assembly halls—
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and they made for him
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sculptures,
6:23
meaning carved images upon the walls,
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which was permissible
6:27
in their religious law and creed.
6:29
They also made for him
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basins like reservoirs,
6:33
which were massive troughs
6:35
in which water was gathered
6:37
so that animals,
6:39
birds, and others
6:41
could drink from them,
6:43
as well as firmly anchored cooking pots,
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which were enormous cauldrons
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wherein food was prepared,
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so huge that they remained stationary,
6:51
never moved from
6:53
their proper places.
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And among the jinn and devils,
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there were those whom Solomon (peace be upon him) subjugated
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for construction work,
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so they built whatever he wished for him
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of houses and palaces.
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And among them were those whom he commanded to dive
7:07
into the seas,
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extracting the jewels found there,
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pearls,
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and other precious things that cannot be found
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anywhere else.
7:18
And the matter was left to Solomon
7:20
(peace be upon him),
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to grant favor to whomever of them he wished
7:24
by releasing them,
7:26
or to withhold whomever he wished.
7:28
And whoever among them disobeyed his command,
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Solomon would punish them
7:32
in this world by shackling them
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in chains
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and exiling them to remote islands and seas;
7:38
while in the Hereafter,
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Allah will make them taste the torment
7:42
of the Blaze.
7:45
And just as Allah made iron pliable
7:47
for David (peace be upon him),
7:49
fashioning from it whatever he wished,
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Allah likewise caused to flow
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for Solomon (peace be upon him)
7:55
the spring of molten copper,
7:57
which is melted brass.
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It was made to flow for him over the distance of a three days'
8:01
journey,
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just as a spring of water flows,
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and it was in the land of Yemen.
8:07
It was narrated that copper
8:09
had never melted for anyone before him,
8:11
and indeed, people today
8:13
only benefit from it
8:15
through what Allah Almighty brought forth
8:17
for Solomon (peace be upon him).
8:19
Qatadah said:
8:21
"Allah caused a spring to flow for him
8:23
which he could use for whatever
8:25
he wished, as a sign
8:27
of his prophethood."
8:29
Allah Almighty said:
8:31
"And to Solomon [We subjected]
8:33
the wind—its morning stride was a month's journey,
8:35
and its evening stride was a month's journey.
8:37
And We caused to flow for him
8:39
a spring of molten copper.
8:41
And of the jinn
8:43
were those who worked before
8:45
him by the permission of his Lord.
8:47
And whoever of them
8:49
deviated from Our command,
8:51
We will make him taste of the punishment
8:53
of the Blaze.
8:55
They made for him
8:57
whatever he wished
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of sanctuaries,
9:01
statues,
9:03
basins
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like reservoirs,
9:07
and stationary cooking pots.
9:11
'Work, O family of David,
9:13
in gratitude!'
9:15
And few
9:17
of My servants are grateful."
9:19
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah
9:22
(may Allah be pleased with him),
9:24
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
9:26
who said:
9:28
"An 'ifrit of the jinn
9:30
suddenly escaped and came at me last night
9:32
to interrupt my prayer,
9:34
but Allah gave me power over him.
9:36
So I seized him and wanted
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to tie him to one of the pillars
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of the mosque
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so that in the morning all of you
9:44
could look at him,
9:46
and so that the children
9:48
of the people of Medina could play with him.
9:50
But then I remembered the supplication of my brother Solomon:
9:52
'My Lord, grant me
9:54
a kingdom such as shall not belong
9:56
to anyone after me.'
9:58
So I sent him away disgraced."
10:00
Allah,
10:04
the Exalted and Majestic, in His profound wisdom, willed
10:06
to test the people,
10:08
so He sent down to the land of Babylon,
10:10
in Iraq,
10:12
two angels:
10:14
Harut and Marut,
10:16
who taught magic to the people.
10:18
And no one
10:20
would come to them wishing
10:22
to learn the knowledge of magic from them
10:24
except that they advised him, saying:
10:26
"We are only
10:28
a trial, so do not disbelieve
10:30
by learning magic from us."
10:32
So some would turn back,
10:34
while others would learn
10:36
magic from them,
10:38
and thus magic spread among
10:40
the people.
10:42
The devils were also
10:44
teaching magic to the people.
10:46
So when Solomon
10:48
(peace be upon him) came
10:50
and Allah subjected to him the jinn
10:52
and the devils, he began
10:54
to fight against magic and sorcerers.
10:56
He would seize whatever
10:58
they possessed of occult knowledge, books,
11:00
spells, and talismans,
11:02
and bury them under his throne,
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where the devils
11:06
dared not approach.
11:08
Then, when he passed
11:10
away (peace be upon him),
11:12
the devils dug up what was beneath
11:14
his throne
11:16
and falsely claimed against him
11:18
that he only controlled the jinn
11:20
and devils by means of this
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magic; so they accused him
11:24
of disbelief—refuge is sought with Allah.
11:26
And the Jews continued
11:28
to consider him a disbeliever,
11:30
until Allah Almighty exonerated him
11:32
in the Noble Qur'an.
11:34
Allah Almighty said:
11:37
"And they followed
11:39
what the devils recited
11:41
during the reign of Solomon.
11:43
And Solomon did not
11:45
disbelieve, but
11:47
the devils
11:49
disbelieved,
11:51
teaching the people
11:53
magic
11:55
and teaching the people
11:57
magic and that which
11:59
was revealed to the two angels
12:01
in Babylon, Harut
12:03
and Marut.
12:05
But the two angels did not teach anyone unless they said,
12:07
“And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not (in the guidance of Allah). And from these two (angles) people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby no-one save by Allah's leave. And they learn that which harmeth them and profiteth them not. And surely they do know that he who trafficketh therein will have no (happy) portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is the price for which they sell their souls, if they but knew.” (2:102)
12:09
'We are only
12:11
a trial,
12:13
so do not disbelieve.'
12:15
And from them people learn
12:17
that by which they cause separation
12:19
between a man and his wife.
12:21
But they do not
12:23
harm
12:25
by it
12:27
anyone
12:29
except by the permission of Allah.
12:31
And the people learn
12:33
what harms them
12:35
and does not benefit them.
12:37
And certainly,
12:39
they knew that whoever purchased it
12:41
would have in the Hereafter
12:43
no share of good.
12:45
And wretched is that for which they sold
12:47
themselves,
12:49
if they only
12:51
knew."
12:53
Solomon
12:57
(peace be upon him)
12:59
was keen to attend the judicial assemblies
13:01
of his father David (peace be upon him),
13:03
to witness his judging
13:05
among the people.
13:07
He would sometimes suggest
13:09
to his father that
13:11
had he been the judge in that
13:13
case, he would have ruled differently
13:15
from how David had ruled.
13:17
The Noble Qur'an mentioned
13:19
the case of the cultivated field
13:21
in this regard, when sheep pastured
13:23
in it at night;
13:25
and its summary is
13:27
that two men entered
13:29
upon David (peace be upon him):
13:31
one of them was the owner
13:33
of the crops, and the other
13:35
was the owner of the sheep.
13:37
The owner of the crops said:
13:39
"O Prophet of Allah,
13:41
"This man's sheep wandered
13:43
into my crops by night,
13:45
leaving nothing behind."
13:47
So Dawud (peace be upon him) ruled
13:49
in favor of the crop owner,
13:51
awarding him his opponent's sheep in compensation
13:53
for destroying his harvest.
13:55
But as the two litigants were leaving,
13:57
they met Sulayman
13:59
(peace be upon him),
14:01
and informed him of his father's verdict.
14:03
He remarked,
14:05
"Had I been the judge,
14:07
I would have ruled differently."
14:10
Word of this reached Dawud
14:12
(peace be upon him),
14:14
so he summoned him and asked,
14:16
"How would you have judged?"
14:18
He replied,
14:20
"I saw a verdict far more beneficial to both parties:
14:22
hand over the sheep
14:24
to the crop owner
14:26
so he may benefit from them,
14:28
and hand over the damaged land to the owner of the sheep
14:30
to cultivate and care for it
14:32
until it is restored to its original state.
14:34
Then, each party
14:36
shall return to the other
14:38
what was placed under his care;
14:40
the crop owner will reclaim
14:42
his land, and the shepherd
14:44
his sheep."
14:46
Dawud (peace be upon him) was deeply impressed by this,
14:48
and adopted it as his judgment.
14:50
Allah Almighty said:
14:52
﴿And [mention] Dawud and Sulayman,
14:55
when they gave judgment
14:57
concerning the field, when the sheep
14:59
of the people pastured therein
15:01
by night,
15:03
and We were
15:05
to their judgment
15:07
witness.
15:09
And We made Sulayman
15:11
to understand it,
15:13
and to each of them
15:15
We gave judgment
15:17
and knowledge.
15:19
And We subjected along with
15:21
Dawud the mountains,
15:23
praising [Allah], and the birds;
15:25
and We were
15:27
the doers [thereof].
15:29
And We taught him
15:31
the making of coats of armor
15:33
for you to protect you
15:35
from your battle;
15:37
so are
15:39
you grateful?
15:41
And to Sulayman
15:43
[We subjected] the wind,
15:45
blowing forcefully,
15:47
proceeding by his command
15:49
toward the land which We had blessed;
15:51
therein,
15:53
and We were,
15:55
of all things,
15:57
Knowing.
15:59
And of the devils
16:01
were those who dived for him
16:03
and did work
16:05
other than that;
16:07
and We were
16:09
of them guardians.﴾
16:11
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
16:13
also narrated to us
16:15
another striking example
16:17
of judicial discernment.
16:19
Al-Bukhari
16:21
and Muslim both recorded in their Sahihs
16:23
from a hadith of Abu Hurayrah
16:25
(may Allah be pleased with him),
16:27
that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
16:29
say:
16:31
"There were two women,
16:33
each having her infant son with her.
16:35
A wolf came
16:37
and snatched away the child of one of them.
16:39
So one said to her companion,
16:41
'It was only your son that it took!'
16:43
While the other said,
16:45
'No, it was only your son that it took!'
16:47
They brought their dispute
16:49
before Dawud,
16:51
and he awarded the surviving child to the elder woman.
16:53
They then went out to
16:55
Sulayman ibn Dawud and informed him of the ruling.
16:57
He said,
16:59
'Bring me a knife,
17:01
that I may split him between the two of them!'
17:03
At that, the younger woman cried out,
17:05
'Do not do so,
17:07
may Allah have mercy on you!
17:09
He is her son!'
17:12
So he awarded the child to the younger woman."
17:15
Before the passing of Sulayman
17:17
(peace be upon him),
17:19
he undertook the reconstruction
17:21
of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem),
17:23
which the Prophet of Allah Ya'qub
17:25
(peace be upon him) had built
17:27
centuries prior.
17:29
He used to enter it
17:31
to seclude himself in worship and prayer,
17:33
remaining inside for a month, two months,
17:35
a year, or two years,
17:37
or sometimes less
17:39
or more,
17:41
taking in with him his food
17:43
and drink.
17:45
Then, one day, he (peace be upon him)
17:47
entered the sanctuary,
17:49
and stood in prayer, leaning
17:51
upon his staff.
17:53
He passed away in that state,
17:55
yet the jinn remained unaware
17:57
of his death.
17:59
They continued to perform
18:01
the arduous labor
18:03
they had performed throughout his life,
18:05
gazing upon him
18:07
and assuming he was still alive.
18:09
They did not suspect anything amiss regarding his prolonged stay
18:11
without coming out to the people,
18:13
because of his accustomed lengthy prayers in the past.
18:15
Thus, after his death,
18:17
they continued working before him
18:19
for an entire year,
18:21
gripped by absolute dread
18:23
and awe of him,
18:25
until a termite ate through his staff—
18:27
the wooden rod
18:29
upon which he leaned—
18:31
and his body collapsed to the ground.
18:33
Only then did it become clear,
18:36
and the people realized with certainty,
18:38
that the jinn had been lying
18:40
to them in claiming
18:42
to possess knowledge of the unseen.
18:44
For had they truly known the unseen,
18:46
they would have recognized the death
18:48
of Sulayman (peace be upon him)
18:50
and not languished in humiliating
18:52
torment throughout all that
18:54
time.
18:57
Allah Almighty said:
18:59
﴿And when We decreed
19:01
for him death, nothing
19:03
indicated to them his death
19:05
except a creature of the earth
19:09
nothing indicated to them
19:11
his death
19:13
except a creature
19:16
of the earth eating
19:18
his staff.
19:20
But when he fell,
19:22
it became clear to the jinn
19:24
that if they had
19:26
known the unseen,
19:28
“And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the Unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil.” (34:14)
19:30
humiliating [torment].﴾
19:34
Noble brothers,
19:36
the Prophet of Allah
19:38
Sulayman (peace be upon him) is mentioned
19:40
in the Holy Qur'an
19:42
seventeen times,
19:44
and his story offers us numerous
19:46
lessons and moral insights.
19:48
Foremost among them
19:51
was his exceptional governance
19:53
of his realm.
19:55
He inherited from Dawud (peace be upon him)
19:57
a faith-based stewardship,
19:59
a formidable state,
20:01
and a unified kingdom;
20:03
he preserved it,
20:05
fortified it,
20:07
expanded its borders,
20:09
annexed new lands to it,
20:11
and established the law of Allah within it.
20:13
He brought prosperity to the people
20:15
and guided them
20:17
along the path of Allah's pleasure.
20:19
Under his reign, the kingdom of the Children of Israel
20:21
reached
20:23
its absolute zenith, pinnacle, and golden age.
20:25
But after his death,
20:27
the kingdom began to unravel,
20:29
and the people strayed
20:31
away from Allah's pleasure,
20:33
they pursued the path of disobedience to Him,
20:35
and their affair ultimately ended
20:37
with the demise of this state.
20:39
Inspecting the subjects and the troops
20:42
is among the duties
20:44
of those in authority,
20:46
as is punishing the violators
20:48
among them without showing leniency
20:50
in that regard,
20:52
while also allowing the absent person an excuse
20:54
and exercising deliberation
20:56
before passing judgment upon him,
20:58
just as Solomon (peace be upon him) did
21:00
with the hoopoe.
21:02
Solomon's steadfastness (peace be upon him)
21:05
upon the true principle:
21:07
for when there came to him
21:09
the messenger of the Queen of Sheba bearing gifts,
21:11
he said to him:
21:13
"Do you provide me with wealth?
21:15
Yet what Allah has granted me
21:17
is far better!"
21:19
Thus, this response makes clear to us
21:21
his firmness upon his creed
21:23
and his principle,
21:25
his disregard for worldly allurements,
21:27
the immense strength that he
21:29
possessed,
21:31
and his intensifying protective jealousy
21:33
for the religion of Allah,
21:35
which they sought to barter
21:37
for a fleeting worldly gain.
21:39
For he was not among those kings
21:41
who are seduced by gifts,
21:43
nor deterred
21:45
from pursuing noble heights by praise
21:47
or flattery.
21:50
If the power of created beings
21:52
can reach the extent of bringing
21:54
the throne of the Queen of Sheba from Yemen
21:56
to the Holy Land
21:58
in the blink of an eye
22:00
through the power of the Creator, Mighty and Majestic,
22:02
then the subjugation of the jinn
22:05
and the devils
22:07
shall not be granted to any human
22:09
after Solomon (peace be upon him).
22:11
Whoever claims to possess that
22:13
is either
22:15
a liar in his claim,
22:17
or he is exchanging
22:19
mutual benefits with them
22:21
after having disbelieved
22:23
in Allah the Exalted,
22:25
practicing sorcery
22:27
with the devils aiding him in that.
22:29
Solomon (peace be upon him) gave precedence
22:32
in his supplication to seeking
22:34
forgiveness over seeking kingship,
22:36
in order to indicate
22:38
that it was of paramount importance to him,
22:40
and to demonstrate
22:42
that seeking forgiveness
22:44
is a cause for opening the doors
22:46
of good fortune in this world.
22:48
Solomon (peace be upon him) sought
22:51
worldly dominion and kingship—
22:53
despite their insignificance
22:55
compared to the Hereafter
22:57
and its eternal bliss—
22:59
only because he intended thereby
23:01
to serve the religion of Allah the Exalted,
23:03
raise His Word high
23:05
in the earth,
23:07
be empowered to render rights
23:09
unto their rightful owners,
23:11
spread justice among the people,
23:13
grant redress to the wronged,
23:15
aid the needy,
23:17
and implement the law of Allah
23:19
in the most complete manner.
23:22
The jinn possess no knowledge
23:24
of the unseen;
23:26
for after Solomon (peace be upon him) passed away
23:28
while standing leaning upon his staff,
23:30
they did not know—
23:32
that is, the jinn did not realize his death—
23:34
until after
23:36
a creature of the earth ate away his staff
23:38
and he fell to the ground.
23:42
This discourse shall be continued,
23:44
if Allah wills.
23:46
And Allah knows best.
23:48
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
23:50
and may Allah send blessings and peace
23:52
upon our Prophet Muhammad,
23:54
and upon his family and companions,
23:56
all together.
23:59
Stories of the Prophets.