Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 23

(Ayah 23) ➊ { اِنِّيْ وَجَدْتُّ امْرَاَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ:} It was a matter of great astonishment for the hoopoe that the ruler of any nation was a woman. Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: “When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) received the news that the people of Persia had made the daughter of Kisra their ruler, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَنْ يُّفْلِحَ قَوْمٌ وَلَّوْا أَمْرَهُمُ امْرَأَةً ] [ بخاري، المغازي، باب کتاب النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم إلٰی کسرٰی و قیصر : ۴۴۲۵، ۷۰۹۹ ] ‘A nation will never prosper that makes a woman its ruler over its affairs.’”

➋ { وَ اُوْتِيَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ:} That is, she has been given everything required for sovereignty. The meaning of {’’ كُلِّ ‘‘} is determined according to the context of each place; otherwise, she was not given literally everything.

➌ The commentators have stated that the name of this woman was Bilqis; some have written that her mother was from the jinn, but this is not established from the Qur’an or hadith. If it were necessary, the Qur’an would have surely mentioned her name and also the relationship between humans and jinn. Certainly, there is wisdom in not mentioning her name and lineage. Therefore, you may refer to her as the Queen of Sheba instead of Bilqis.

➍ The extent of exaggeration in Isra’iliyyat (narratives from Jewish and Christian sources), regardless of how reliable or eminent the narrators may be, can be gauged from the statements of the commentators regarding the number of the Queen of Sheba’s armies. Consider these three statements from Tafsir Ibn Kathir: (1) Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the woman who was involved in the matter with Sulayman (peace be upon him) had a thousand commanders, and under each commander were one hundred thousand warriors (totaling one hundred million). (2) Mujahid said, the Queen of Sheba had twelve thousand commanders, and under each commander were one hundred thousand warriors (totaling one billion two hundred million). (3) Qatadah said, she had three hundred and twelve advisors, each of whom was a commander over ten thousand (totaling three million one hundred and twenty thousand). Ibn Kathir said: “This statement is closer to reality, although even this is too much considering the country of Yemen.”

Although these narrations have come from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), Mujahid, and Qatadah, they are not narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Their Isra’ili origin is evident, and Ibn Kathir has, in two words, declared them unreliable. It is worth pondering that such a large army is out of the question; was the population of Yemen at that time, or perhaps the entire world, even one billion two hundred million? Previously, the number of Sulayman’s (peace be upon him) armies has also been stated by commentators in a similar manner, and many commentators have not even quoted them, considering them unreliable. In any case, {’’ وَ اُوْتِيَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ‘‘} shows that the Queen was the owner of a magnificent kingdom and possessed all the wealth, armies, weapons, and other things required for governance.

➎ { وَ لَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيْمٌ:} The hoopoe specifically mentioned her throne, which indicates that there was some quality in this throne that even the hoopoe, who lived in the company of a king as magnificent as Sulayman (peace be upon him), considered it great. Here too, some commentators have mentioned such Isra’ili narrations that appear absurd at first glance, for example, that it was eighty (80) cubits (120 feet) long and forty (40) cubits (60 feet) wide. Why would a woman need such a large throne just to sit on? Tabari has made a very beautiful point here that “great” here means great in value and worth, not in length and width.

23-1. That is, even for the hoopoe, it was a matter of astonishment that in Saba, a woman was the ruler. But nowadays it is said that women are equal to men in every matter. If a man can be a ruler, then why can't a woman be? However, this view is against Islamic teachings. There are clear evidences in the Quran and Hadith regarding the impermissibility of female leadership.

23-2. It is said that its length was 80 cubits, its width 40 cubits, and its height 30 cubits, and it was adorned with pearls, red rubies, and green emeralds, wallahu a‘lam. (Fath al-Qadeer) However, this statement does not seem free from exaggeration. The palace of Bilqis that exists in a dilapidated form in Yemen does not have the capacity for such a large throne.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).