The Ants (Al-Naml)
Verses 38-40 GROUP_978 27.38-40
38
قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا المَلَأُ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَن يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ
Solomon then said, ‘O Counsellors, which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?
39
قَالَ عِفْريتٌ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَن تَقُومَ مِن مَّقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ
A demon from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you get up from your seat. I am strong and trustworthy enough to do it.’
40
قَالَ الَّذِي عِندَهُ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُ قَالَ هَذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ وَمَن شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ
But one of them who had some knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ When Solomon saw it placed before him, he exclaimed, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test whether I am grateful or ungrateful. Whosoever is grateful, it is for the good of his own self; and whosoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is self-sufficient and generous.’
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Commentary
(a) Though Solomon was endowed with extraordinary power, he planned to subjugate the Sabean people by demonstrating his power rather than by using it. So, through a special agent of his, he arranged to have the Queen’s throne shifted from her palace in Ma‘arib to Jerusalem (Palestine). The idea of having the throne brought to him probably occurred to him when on the return of the presents, the Queen of Sheba started out from Yemen for Palestine, so that she could come to Solomon’s court and have direct talks with him. This journey of the Queen, undertaken with much pomp and ceremony, must have started after her diplomatic deputation had returned and narrated to her the wise words of Solomon, testified to the nobility of his character and described the magnificence of his court. The distance between Ma‘arib and Jerusalem is about fifteen hundred miles. This long distance was covered in such a way that no sooner had the words of command fallen from Solomon’s lips than the jewel-studded throne was there before him. In spite of this extraordinary power, feelings of pride did not arise in him. He remained the embodiment of modesty and kept bowing down before God.