Part of The story of the Queen of Sheba (series completed)
· Lesson 12 of 15
The story of the Queen of Sheba | Episode (12) | The throne of Bilqis flies to the Prophet of God Solomon, peace be upon him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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The story of the Queen of Sheba: the throne of Bilqis flies to the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him.
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Allah revealed to His Prophet Sulayman, peace be upon him, that the Queen of Sheba was coming to him in submission.
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The Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, then said to the assembly of his troops:
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“He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering?” (27:38)
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The Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, addressed the elite of his troops from among the jinn and mankind,
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asking them to bring the throne of the Queen of Sheba—a major task not to be requested of the common folk.
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This is a wisdom required by leaders who deal with people.
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They should not entrust great tasks to the rabble, especially if the mission requires both strength and integrity.
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For such tasks, one must select those known for these qualities so that the work is accomplished correctly.
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Our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drew attention to this in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him.
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When a Bedouin asked him about the Hour, Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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While the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was in a gathering speaking to the people, a Bedouin came and asked:
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"When is the Hour?" The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continued speaking.
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Some of the people said he heard what he said but disliked it.
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Others said he did not hear him; until, when he finished his speech, he said:
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"Where is the one who asked about the Hour?" He said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allah."
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He said, "When the trust is lost, then wait for the Hour." He asked, "How is it lost?"
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He said, "When authority is given to those who do not deserve it, then wait for the Hour."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari. Ibn al-Mulaqqin, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Its meaning is: when authority is entrusted to those who are not fit for it,
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meaning it is taken over by those who lack religion and integrity, and by those who assist them in injustice and immorality.
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At that point, the leaders will have squandered the trust that Allah has imposed upon them,
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until the treacherous is trusted and the trustworthy is treated as treacherous.
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This only happens when ignorance prevails and the people of truth are too weak to uphold it.
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We ask Allah for well-being.
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Positions today that are linked to the rights and interests of the people
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should not be given to anyone other than the strong and the trustworthy.
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A position should not be granted due to favoritism, kinship,
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or to appease a tribe or other such reasons.
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If this occurs, it is considered a form of betrayal against the Ummah.
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Muhammad Rashid Rida, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The departure of people's affairs from the hands of those fit for them—
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those capable of fulfilling them as they should be—
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is a cause for the corruption of their affairs,
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and a harbinger of the Hour in which they will perish through injustice,
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or through the loss of authority from their hands."
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Neglecting specialists and failing to appoint them to the positions they deserve
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is caused by the spread of ignorance regarding the rulings of the Shari'ah in societies,
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and the dominance of the ignorant over the scholars.
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Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, said, commenting on al-Bukhari’s inclusion of this hadith in the 'Book of Knowledge':
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The relevance of this text to the 'Book of Knowledge' is
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that entrusting authority to those who are not fit for it
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only occurs when ignorance prevails and knowledge is lifted.
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This is among the signs of the Hour.
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The implication is that as long as knowledge remains,
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there is still room for the matter to be rectified.
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Here, a question arises:
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Why did the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, request
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the bringing of the Queen of Sheba's throne,
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even though she was on her way to him in submission?
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Abu Mansur al-Maturidi mentioned two reasons.
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He said, one of them is:
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He wanted to show them his power and authority,
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that one of his soldiers could lift her throne despite its grandeur,
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with them witnessing and observing it,
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and carrying it from among them,
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so that they would know that whoever is capable of that
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is also capable of bringing them armies they have no power to resist.
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And in confirmation of what he said,
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“Return unto them. We verily shall come unto them with hosts that they cannot resist, and we shall drive them out from thence with shame, and they will be abased.” (27:37)
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he is capable of overpowering and defeating them.
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The second reason:
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He wanted to show them a sign of his prophethood when they arrived,
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before they came as Muslims,
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so that they would know he is a Prophet, not merely a king.
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When the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, requested it,
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an 'Ifrit from the jinn said:
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“A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.” (27:39)
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“A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.” (27:39)
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“One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.” (27:40)
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“A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.” (27:39)
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“A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.” (27:39)
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“One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.” (27:40)
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Each of them offered their capabilities in the speed of executing the order,
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while meeting the condition of strength and integrity.
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Because this throne contained precious jewels and contents,
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it was a magnificent throne.
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Its magnificence required strength to carry it,
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and integrity to preserve its contents,
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especially since the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him,
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was going to display it to the Queen of Sheba
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to demonstrate to her his power and the capability of his troops,
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so that perhaps she might enter into Islam.
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The first offer came from an 'Ifrit of the jinn,
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and he spoke of the time he needed to bring the throne:
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“A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.” (27:39)
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meaning before you finish the session you are in and leave it,
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the throne will be before you.
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The second offer was from the same troops,
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but he spoke of the time he needed:
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“One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.” (27:40)
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"The glance" is the blink of an eye.
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Meaning, in the blink of an eye,
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the throne will be before you.
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So what made the second one superior to the first?
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Allah explained to us in the verses the secret of the second one's superiority over the first:
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it is knowledge.
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“One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.” (27:40)
7:38
This is the distinguishing piece of information that Allah has clarified for us,
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and it is sufficient to draw a lesson from the story.
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It is that knowledge elevates the status of the learner,
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and helps him fulfill his needs in a better and faster way than the ignorant,
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regardless of whether this learner is human or jinn.
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Knowledge shortens time for the knowledgeable
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so that they may attain the reward of the greatest righteous deeds,
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while the path is long for the ignorant
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as they seek reward from righteous deeds.
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This is because the knowledgeable person knows the honor of time and the honor of place,
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and which act of worship is to be offered at this time rather than another,
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and what are the best acts of worship to be performed,
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and whose reward is greater than others.
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So he walks his path to Allah with knowledge and insight that draws him closer to Allah,
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raises his rank, and weighs down the scales of his good deeds.
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As for the ignorant,
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even if his intention is good in seeking reward,
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he takes the long and arduous paths,
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and misses out on much good due to his ignorance.
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And Satan may enter upon him through the door of whisperings,
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wasting his time and his deeds.
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And Allah, the Exalted in His Majesty,
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when He mentioned to us this situation of the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, and his troops
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regarding the matter of bringing the throne of the Queen of Sheba,
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did not tell us who this person was who had knowledge from the Book—
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whether he was a jinn or a human,
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or what type of knowledge he possessed,
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or from which book he obtained this knowledge.
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And as long as Allah, the Exalted in His Majesty,
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the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the All-Aware,
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did not mention these details when relating the story,
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then searching for them without evidence from the Book or the Sunnah
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is a waste of time.
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It will not return any benefit to us,
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and there is no hoped-for benefit in searching for it,
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nor is there a lesson added to the story.
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What Allah has hidden from us,
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we should not burden ourselves with searching for it,
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for this is one of the ways of Satan
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to distract us from contemplation and reflection,
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and from taking the lesson from what was mentioned in the verses,
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and what Allah has related to us in His Book.
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So contemplate this well, my sister,
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in your reflection upon the verses of Allah in the Noble Qur'an,
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and in your research into the stories of those who came before.
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You will succeed.
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But how did the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, receive
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the throne of the Queen of Sheba
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when it reached him?
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And what did he comment?
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And what did he want to convey to those around him from the world?
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After the arrival of the throne,
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what did he command his troops to do?
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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.