Solomon's Exemplary Devotion
To David we granted Solomon; a good and obedient servant.

Solomon was a prophet of God and the son and heir of David. God gave David a son, "a good and obedient servant" (38:30). God inspired him as He inspired Noah, Abraham and the prophets after them (4:163), and counted him among the descendants of Noah whom He guided (6:84). He was a king of the Children of Israel, and the Quran presents him as a ruler whose kingdom carried God's message. His letter to the people of Sheba opened "In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" and called them to "come to me as submitters" (27:30-31). God gave both him and David knowledge, and they answered by praising God for blessing them "more than many of His believing servants" (27:15). Solomon showed this early. When he and David judged a case of a crop destroyed by another man's sheep, God gave Solomon "the correct understanding," though He had endowed both with wisdom (21:78-79).
When Solomon inherited David's kingdom, he announced that he had been taught "the language of the birds" and that "all kinds of things" had been given to him (27:16). His army was made of jinns, humans and birds (27:17). Once he became so taken up with beautiful horses that the sun set before he worshiped. He admitted, "I enjoyed the material things more than I enjoyed worshiping my Lord," and had the horses brought back so he could bid them farewell (38:31-33). Dr. Khalifa explains that he had missed his afternoon prayer, and that he gave up the horses so Satan could never claim he loved them more than God. The Quran calls this a test of "vast material wealth" that Solomon passed, since "he steadfastly submitted" (38:34). He then asked God for forgiveness and for a kingship no one else would ever attain (38:35). God answered by placing the wind under his command. The wind carried him a month's journey going and a month coming. God also made a spring of oil gush out for him, and jinns and devils built for him and dived in the sea for him, by God's leave (38:36-39, 21:81-82, 34:12-13).
Marching with his army, Solomon came to the valley of the ants and heard one ant warn the others to take cover so they would not be crushed. He smiled and asked God to help him be appreciative of his blessings and to do righteous works (27:18-19). Inspecting the birds, he noticed the hoopoe was missing. The hoopoe soon came back with news from Sheba: a woman ruled there with a tremendous palace, and she and her people prostrated to the sun instead of God (27:20-24). Solomon sent her a letter. She asked her advisers what to do, then sent him a gift. He refused it: "What GOD has given me is far better than what He has given you" (27:29-37). Before she arrived, he asked who could bring him her mansion. A powerful jinn, an afrit, offered to bring it before Solomon stood up, but "the one who possessed knowledge from the book" brought it "in the blink of your eye" (27:38-40). Solomon did not take credit. He said it was a blessing from his Lord to test whether he would be appreciative (27:40). When the queen came, she recognized her mansion. Then, inside his crystal-paved palace, she said, "My Lord, I have wronged my soul. I now submit with Solomon to GOD, Lord of the universe" (27:41-44).
His death taught a lesson of its own. He died while the jinns were still working for him, and they did not notice. Only when an animal ate at his staff and his body fell did they realize he was gone. That showed them that if they really knew the unseen, they would have stopped their hard labor long before (34:14).
The Quran draws several lessons from his life. The first is gratitude: "O family of David, work (righteousness) to show your appreciation. Only a few of My servants are appreciative" (34:13). His greatest wealth and power were tests, and he passed them by submitting to God alone. Dr. Khalifa notes that Solomon and Job "represent both ends of the testing spectrum": one was tested with wealth, the other with losing it, to see whether we worship God alone in every circumstance. The story also clears his name. The sorcery people attached to his kingdom came from the devils: "Solomon, however, was not a disbeliever, but the devils were disbelievers" (2:102). God's verdict on him is that "He has deserved an honorable position with us, and a wonderful abode" (38:40).
Verses
SubmissionAI can make mistakes. Check the sources.
To David we granted Solomon; a good and obedient servant.
One day he became preoccupied with beautiful horses, until the night fell.
He then said, "I enjoyed the material things more than I enjoyed worshiping my Lord, until the sun was gone.*
*38:32 Solomon missed his afternoon prayer because of his horses. To nullify Satan's possible claim that Solomon loved his horses more than loving God, he got rid of his horses.
"Bring them back." (To bid farewell,) he rubbed their legs and necks.
We thus put Solomon to the test; we blessed him with vast material wealth, but he steadfastly submitted.*
*38:34 & 41 Solomon and Job represent both ends of the testing spectrum. We are put to the test through wealth, health, or lack of them, to see if we worship God alone under all circumstances.
He said, "My Lord, forgive me, and grant me a kingship never attained by anyone else. You are the Grantor."
We (answered his prayer and) committed the wind at his disposal, pouring rain wherever he wanted.
And the devils, building and diving.
Others were placed at his disposal.
"This is our provision to you; you may give generously, or withhold, without limits."
He has deserved an honorable position with us, and a wonderful abode.
And David and Solomon, when they once ruled with regard to someone's crop that was destroyed by another's sheep. We witnessed their judgment.
We granted Solomon the correct understanding, though we endowed both of them with wisdom and knowledge. We committed the mountains to serve David in glorifying (God), as well as the birds. This is what we did.
We endowed David and Solomon with knowledge, and they said, "Praise GOD for blessing us more than many of His believing servants."
Solomon was David's heir. He said, "O people, we have been endowed with understanding the language of the birds, and all kinds of things have been bestowed upon us. This is indeed a real blessing."
Mobilized in the service of Solomon were his obedient soldiers of jinns and humans, as well as the birds; all at his disposal.
When they approached the valley of the ants, one ant said, "O you ants, go into your homes, lest you get crushed by Solomon and his soldiers, without perceiving."*
*27:18 The more unusual the events in a given sura, the stronger the mathematical evidence supporting them. This helps assure us that such strange phenomena are indicative of God's power. This sura's initials, T.S., constitute a complex part of the mathematical miracles related to the Quranic initials. The unusual birth and miracles of Jesus are in Sura 19, which is prefixed with five Quranic Initials. See Appendix 1 for the details.
He smiled and laughed at her statement,* and said, "My Lord, direct me to be appreciative of the blessings You have bestowed upon me and my parents, and to do the righteous works that please You. Admit me by Your mercy into the company of Your righteous servants."
He inspected the birds, and noted: "Why do I not see the hoopoe? Why is he missing?
"I will punish him severely or sacrifice him, unless he gives me a good excuse."
He did not wait for long. (The hoopoe) said, "I have news that you do not have. I brought to you from Sheba, some important information.
When the hoopoe returned to Solomon (he told him the news), and he responded (to Sheba's people): "Are you giving me money? What GOD has given me is far better than what He has given you. You are the ones to rejoice in such gifts."
(To the hoopoe, he said,) "Go back to them (and let them know that) we will come to them with forces they cannot imagine. We will evict them, humiliated and debased."
He said, "O you elders, which of you can bring me her mansion, before they arrive here as submitters?"
One afrit from the jinns said, "I can bring it to you before you stand up. I am powerful enough to do this."
The one who possessed knowledge from the book said, "I can bring it to you in the blink of your eye." When he saw it settled in front of him, he said, "This is a blessing from my Lord, whereby He tests me, to show whether I am appreciative or unappreciative. Whoever is appreciative is appreciative for his own good, and if one turns unappreciative, then my Lord is in no need for him, Most Honorable."
He said, "Remodel her mansion for her. Let us see if she will be guided, or continue with the misguided."
When she arrived, she was asked, "Does your mansion look like this?" She said, "It seems that this is it." (Solomon said,) "We knew beforehand what she was going to do, and we were already submitters."
She was told, "Go inside the palace." When she saw its interior, she thought it was a pool of water, and she (pulled up her dress,) exposing her legs. He said, "This interior is now paved with crystal." She said, "My Lord, I have wronged my soul. I now submit with Solomon to GOD, Lord of the universe."
To Solomon we committed the wind at his disposal, traveling one month coming and one month going. And we caused a spring of oil to gush out for him. Also, the jinns worked for him, by his Lord's leave. Any one of them who disregarded our commands, we subjected him to a severe retribution.
They made for him anything he wanted—niches, statues, deep pools, and heavy cooking pots. O family of David, work (righteousness) to show your appreciation. Only a few of My servants are appreciative.
When the appointed time for his death came, they had no clue that he had died. Not until one of the animals tried to eat his staff, and he fell down, that the jinns realized that he was dead. They thus realized that if they really knew the unseen, they would have stopped working so hard as soon as he died.