Sulayman

Sulayman AS (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام) inherited his father Dawud's kingdom and his father's prophethood. The Qur'an records his first words about that inheritance.

And he said, "O people, we have been taught the language of the birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is evident favour." (Qur'an 27:16)

He named the gift as a favour from Allah before he used it. Then he asked Allah for a kingdom no one would have after him.

My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. You are the Bestower. (Qur'an 38:35)

Allah gave it. The wind under his command, soft when he wanted it soft and strong when he needed it strong. The jinn building for him whatever he ordered. Molten copper flowing for him from a fountain. Birds and animals and creatures of the sea brought into the discipline of one kingdom under one Lord (Qur'an 38:36-38, Qur'an 34:12-13).

This is the part most people remember. The miracles. The dominion. The Quran records something else first. The gratitude.

Stop the army for an ant

The army of Sulayman AS once passed through the valley of the ants. One ant called out to the others.

O ants, enter your dwellings so Sulayman and his soldiers do not crush you while they perceive not. (Qur'an 27:18)

Sulayman AS smiled at this. He was a prophet-king with armies of men and jinn and birds, and he understood what an ant said to the other ants. He smiled because the ant had been fair to him. The ant said they do not perceive. The ant assumed the king of all this dominion would never crush her people on purpose.

He turned to Allah and made one of the most precious duas in the Qur'an.

My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into the company of Your righteous servants. (Qur'an 27:19)

He asked to be grateful. To work righteousness. To be included with the righteous. He did not ask for more dominion. He had been given everything and he asked Allah to keep his heart in its place. A king who could move armies stopped to listen to an ant, then praised Allah for the favour of hearing her at all.

The hoopoe and the queen

The next scene in Surah An-Naml is one of the gentlest stories in the Qur'an. Sulayman AS held inspection of the birds. He noticed the hoopoe was missing.

And he inspected the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe, or is he among the absent?" (Qur'an 27:20)

He promised to punish the bird if he had no good excuse for being absent. The hoopoe arrived not long after with news. He had been to Saba, in present-day Yemen. He had seen a woman ruling there with a great throne, and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah.

Sulayman AS sent a letter with the hoopoe.

Indeed, it is from Sulayman, and indeed, it is in the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Do not exalt yourselves against me but come to me in submission. (Qur'an 27:30-31)

Bilqis, queen of Saba, tested him with gifts. He sent the gifts back. He told her envoys he had no need for her wealth. He had been given more than her by Allah, and what he wanted was her tawhid, not her treasure (Qur'an 27:36-37).

When she travelled to him, he had her throne brought before her by one of those gifted with knowledge from the Book, in less time than the blink of an eye. She arrived. She saw her own throne. She recognised what she was standing inside.

She said, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself. I submit with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of the worlds." (Qur'an 27:44)

She did not say I submit to Sulayman. She submitted with Sulayman to Allah. The Qur'an preserves the preposition deliberately. A king with the kingdom no one else would inherit did not draw worshippers to himself. He pointed them to the Lord who had given him the kingdom. This redirect, from the king to the mercy that introduces Allah by name, sits at the heart of the surah, and the line of kingship reaches back into his father Dawud's reign.

The justice counterweight

Sulayman AS was a prophet, not a god. The Qur'an records a test he went through. He turned to his Lord and asked for forgiveness (Qur'an 38:34-35). The kingdom did not place him above repentance.

His death carries the final lesson. He died standing, leaning on his staff, watching the jinn at their work. They did not realise he was dead until a termite ate through the staff and his body fell. They learned then that they did not know the unseen (Qur'an 34:14). The greatest king and the most powerful workforce on earth, and only Allah knew the unseen.

What this teaches the reader

Three small things.

One. Power is for tawhid, not for the powerful. Sulayman AS used the kingdom Allah gave him to bring a queen to la ilaha illa Allah. If Allah has given you any influence at work or in your home, the first question is what you have used it for.

Two. The dua of Sulayman AS is the dua for anyone who has been given anything. Rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'mataka. My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour. Memorise the opening words. Say them after every blessing you remember.

Three. Stop the army for the ant. The big people in the Qur'an are the ones who hear the small voices. If you cannot hear the ant in the room, your dominion has gotten between you and your akhirah.