Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 40

(Ayah 40) ➊ { قَالَ الَّذِيْ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ …:} Ibn Abi Hatim has narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with a reliable chain from Ali bin Abi Talhah that Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "I want it sooner." Upon this, the person who had some knowledge of the Book said, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." Sulayman (peace be upon him) saw, and the throne was lying before him. Instead of arrogance and pride, he expressed gratitude to Allah Almighty.

➋ Who was the person who brought the throne before the blink of an eye, what Book did he have knowledge of, and what was that knowledge? The Quran or any authentic hadith does not specify this. Therefore, we are only obliged to accept what is stated in the Quran: that he was a person who had knowledge of the Book. Most commentators say that he was Sulayman’s (peace be upon him) minister Asif bin Barkhiya, who was from the Children of Israel and had knowledge of the Greatest Name of Allah, by which if supplication is made, Allah surely accepts it, and bringing the throne was a miracle (karamah) of Asif bin Barkhiya. However, it is clear that this statement of the commentators is from Isra’iliyyat, because these people were not present at that time, nor do they say who told them this, nor is there any chain from them to Sulayman (peace be upon him) that can be relied upon. Some commentators have considered him to be Jibril (peace be upon him), and some have considered him to be Khidr (peace be upon him), but this is entirely baseless. Some commentators have considered Sulayman (peace be upon him) himself to be that person and said that when the strong demon (ifrit) said he would bring the throne before Sulayman (peace be upon him) rose from his assembly, Sulayman (peace be upon him), who had knowledge of the Book of Allah, addressed him and said, "I will bring it to you even before the blink of an eye." Thus, he brought it, and this was his miracle, upon which he thanked Allah. Razi and some other commentators have considered only this view to be authentic, but the difficulty in it is not hidden. A contemporary commentator, Muhammad Ishaq Khan, has mentioned a possibility, which a modern commentator before him has also mentioned. He writes: "Apparently, by knowledge of the Book here is meant the knowledge of the Divine Book and Shariah, i.e., the Torah, which in its time was the source of knowledge, guidance, and light. Along with this, it seems that this scholar of the Book also had a share of the knowledge of the Divine Names and the special properties of words, which was granted to the Children of Israel through two angels named Harut and Marut during the Babylonian captivity, as a means to counter lower sciences like magic and sorcery. This knowledge was not part of the Torah or other heavenly scriptures, but was a separate, special knowledge taught to the Children of Israel for a particular period and need, as mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah in the story of Harut and Marut. So, this person who had knowledge of the Book and Shariah, through the effect and influence of this knowledge, brought the throne of Queen Bilqis to Sulayman (peace be upon him) with such speed." But this too is not free from difficulty. After studying the Quran and its commentaries, two points seem closer to the truth, and either of them could be intended. (And Allah knows best.) The first is that the chiefs whom Sulayman (peace be upon him) asked to bring the throne were chiefs of three types of armies: jinn, humans, and birds. Among them, Jibril (peace be upon him) was not included as a chief, and for Khidr (peace be upon him) to be alive at that time, included among Sulayman’s chiefs, and to possess such power is entirely baseless. The most likely possibility is that the one who brought the throne was a righteous jinn, one of those jinn whom Allah had subjected to Sulayman (peace be upon him). The rapid movement of jinn is well established, i.e., they can move from one place to another with great speed, as they reach beneath the lowest heaven to listen to the words of the angels; neither humans nor birds can move with such speed. Even today, the fastest of fast airplanes cannot act as quickly as the ifrit claimed. The words of the Quran indicate that the ifrit (wicked, rebellious) jinn claimed to be able to bring the throne out from its guards and chambers within an hour or two, or more or less, and to have such power, but the person who had some knowledge of the Book brought it in the blink of an eye. In {’’ الَّذِيْ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ ‘‘}, by {’’ الَّذِيْ ‘‘} can be meant a human or a jinn. This word is not exclusive to humans that it must be said he was a human. Therefore, either the meaning of the verse is that the speed of the ifrit was up to the time of rising from the assembly, but the speed of the righteous jinn who had some knowledge of the Book was even faster than the blink of an eye.

Another possibility, stated by our teacher Hafiz Muhammad Gondalwi (may Allah have mercy on him), is that in reality, Allah Almighty did not describe the nature of this knowledge, because if it had been described at the time of the Quran’s revelation, no one could have understood it. For example, two hundred years ago, if someone claimed that a picture could be transmitted thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, no one would have believed it, but today this has become a reality before everyone. In the same way, the chief of Sulayman (peace be upon him) had such knowledge by which even a material object could be transferred thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. Today, scientists are striving hard for this, but it seems that this blessing was unique to Sulayman (peace be upon him), because he prayed: «{ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِيْ وَهَبْ لِيْ مُلْكًا لَّا يَنْۢبَغِيْ لِاَحَدٍ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِيْ }» [ صٓ : ۳۵ ] "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me." As for whether the one who had this knowledge was a jinn or a human, Allah Almighty knows best. If he was a human, it is not unlikely that he was the one whose name our commentators have reported from the People of the Book as Asif. In any case, knowing the name is neither necessary nor of any particular benefit, otherwise Allah Almighty would have mentioned the name. The greatness of Sulayman’s (peace be upon him) kingdom is established in every case, which was not granted to anyone after him nor will be. Even if this power was under natural knowledge, it is still a miracle of Sulayman (peace be upon him) that such accomplished individuals were under his command, which no one after him ever had. As for how this natural knowledge became {’’ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ ‘‘}, the answer is that the heavenly books have drawn much attention to natural sciences, as He said: «{ اِنَّ فِيْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ وَ اخْتِلَافِ الَّيْلِ وَ النَّهَارِ وَ الْفُلْكِ الَّتِيْ تَجْرِيْ فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ }» [ البقرۃ : ۱۶۴ ] "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships that sail in the sea with what benefits people..." and see Surah Al Imran and many other verses.

➌ Some saint-worshipping people of our time say that if a follower-saint of Sulayman (peace be upon him) had such power, then the saints of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) have even greater power, so transporting someone from one place to another in the blink of an eye is a minor feat of the saints. But what answer do these people have to the question that if such saints exist, why do they not challenge the disbelievers of America, Britain, Israel, or India like the follower-saint of Sulayman (peace be upon him), and why do they not pick up their atom bombs, and why are they content with the servitude of the disbelievers? There is no doubt that our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is superior to all the prophets and our Ummah is superior to all the nations, but if any worldly blessing, such as an army of jinn or birds, or any knowledge from the sciences of the world, is granted to another prophet or his nation which the Muslim Ummah does not possess, it does not affect the superiority of the Muslim Ummah. The superiority of other prophets and their nations is partial; the superiority of our Prophet and his Ummah is absolute. Our Prophet and his companions also conquered the world through jihad and raised the banner of Islam, even though they did not have the resources that Sulayman (peace be upon him) had. With such limited resources, conquering more lands than Sulayman (peace be upon him) with astonishing courage and unparalleled sacrifice is proof of the superiority of the Chief of the Prophets and his Ummah.

➍ {فَلَمَّا رَاٰهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِنْدَهٗ:} Al-Biqa'i said: "Apparently, these words would have sufficed: {’’ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ عِنْدَهُ ‘‘} because the word {’’ عِنْدَهُ ‘‘} relates to the omitted {’’مُسْتَقِرٌّ ‘‘}. The purpose of expressing this word and saying {’’ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِنْدَهٗ ‘‘} instead of just {’’ عِنْدَهٗ ‘‘} is that he actually found it lying before him, which was neither the effect of magic, nor a dream, nor an imaginary form."

➎ { قَالَ هٰذَا مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّيْ …:} When Sulayman (peace be upon him) actually saw the throne lying before his eyes, instead of swelling with pride or arrogance, he acknowledged the favor of his Lord, that there is no merit of mine in having such knowledgeable companions, but this is solely the grace of my Lord, whose purpose is to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. The word kufr (disbelief) is used as the opposite of gratitude as well as the opposite of faith. Because whoever values Allah’s blessing and gives thanks for it, he also brings faith in it, and whoever is ungrateful and undervalues His blessing is deprived of bringing faith in it. The reality is that being deprived of a blessing is also a test, and being given a blessing is also a test. A believer is patient in adversity and succeeds in the test, and then is grateful for the blessing and succeeds again. In reality, only the grateful are patient, and only the patient are grateful. In this incident, there is a great virtue of Sulayman (peace be upon him) that despite having such a great kingdom and armies with amazing powers, neither did he have any thought of pride in his heart, nor did any such word come to his tongue, but he considered every blessing solely as the grace of Allah.

➏ { وَ مَنْ شَكَرَ فَاِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهٖ …:} That is, whoever gives thanks does not benefit Allah in any way; the benefit is only for himself, because by it he will receive more blessings, as He said: «{ لَىِٕنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَاَزِيْدَنَّكُمْ }» [ إبراھیم : ۷ ] "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you." And whoever is ungrateful and denies Allah’s blessings only harms himself; he does not harm Allah in any way. He neither needs nor cares for His servants, nor for their worship, because He is Self-Sufficient and so exceedingly generous that He continues to give blessings even in the face of people’s disbelief and ingratitude, and instead of immediate punishment, He has granted respite so that people may turn back to Him. There are other verses with this meaning, as He said: «{ مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهٖ وَ مَنْ اَسَآءَ فَعَلَيْهَا }» [ حٰمٓ السجدۃ : ۴۶ ] "Whoever does good, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is against himself." And He said: «{ وَ قَالَ مُوْسٰۤى اِنْ تَكْفُرُوْۤا اَنْتُمْ وَ مَنْ فِي الْاَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَغَنِيٌّ حَمِيْدٌ }» [إبراھیم : ۸ ] "And Musa said: If you and whoever is on the earth all disbelieve, then indeed Allah is Free of need, Praiseworthy." Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated from Allah the Exalted that He said: [ يَا عِبَادِيْ ! لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَ آخِرَكُمْ، وَ إِنْسَكُمْ وَ جِنَّكُمْ، كَانُوْا عَلٰی أَتْقٰی قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ، مَا زَادَ ذٰلِكَ فِيْ مُلْكِيْ شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِيْ! لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَ آخِرَكُمْ، وَ إِنْسَكُمْ وَ جِنَّكُمْ، كَانُوْا عَلٰی أَفْجَرِ قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْكُمْ، مَا نَقَصَ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ مُلْكِيْ شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِيْ! لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَ آخِرَكُمْ، وَ إِنْسَكُمْ وَ جِنَّكُمْ، قَامُوْا فِيْ صَعِيْدٍ وَاحِدٍ فَسَأَلُوْنِيْ، فَأَعْطَيْتُ كُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ مَسْأَلَتَهُ، مَا نَقَصَ ذٰلِكَ مِمَّا عِنْدِيْ إِلَّا كَمَا يَنْقُصُ الْمِخْيَطُ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْبَحْرَ، يَا عِبَادِيْ! إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ أُحْصِيْهَا لَكُمْ، ثُمَّ أُوَفِّيْكُمْ إِيَّاهَا، فَمَنْ وَجَدَ خَيْرًا فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللّٰهَ، وَمَنْ وَجَدَ غَيْرَ ذٰلِكَ فَلَا يَلُوْمَنَّ إِلَّا نَفْسَهُ ] [مسلم، البر والصلۃ، باب تحریم الظلم : ۲۵۷۷ ] "O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as pious as the most pious heart among you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as wicked as the most wicked heart among you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were to stand in one place and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he asked for, that would not decrease what I have any more than a needle decreases the sea when it is put into it. O My servants! These are your deeds which I record for you, so whoever finds good, let him thank Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself."

40-1 Who was the person who said this? Which book was this? And what was the knowledge, by virtue of which this claim was made? There are different opinions of the commentators regarding these three matters; the complete reality of all three is known only to Allah Almighty. Here, from the words of the Noble Quran, what is understood is only this much: that he was a human being, who had knowledge of the Divine Book, and Allah Almighty, as a miracle and a sign, granted him the power to bring the throne in the blink of an eye. A Karamat (saintly miracle) and a Mu'jizah (prophetic miracle) are, by definition, such acts that are completely contrary to apparent causes and customary matters, and they manifest only by the power and will of Allah Almighty. Therefore, neither the personal strength is surprising, nor is there a need to trace the knowledge mentioned here, because this is merely an introduction of the person through whom this act was outwardly accomplished; otherwise, in reality, it is the will of Allah Almighty that is at work, which can do whatever it wills in the twinkling of an eye. Prophet Sulaiman (علیہ السلام) was also aware of this reality, so when he saw that the throne was present, he described it as the grace of my Lord.

40. Then another person, who had knowledge of the Book [34], said, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." So when Solomon saw the throne placed firmly before him, he exclaimed, "This is by the grace [35] of my Lord, so that He may test me whether I give thanks [36] or am ungrateful. And whoever gives thanks, it is only for his own benefit [37]. And whoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is Self-Sufficient, Most Generous [38]."

[34]
How Long Did It Take and How Was the Throne of the Queen of Sheba Brought to Sulaymanؑ:

The discussion about that mighty being had not yet ended when another person in the court spoke up, saying that he could bring that throne to you in the shortest possible time. If you cast your gaze towards the sky and then lower it, in just that much time the throne will be lying at your feet. Who was the one who brought the throne? Who was that person? Was he a jinn or a human? Which book was it? Was it Umm al-Kitab, i.e., the Preserved Tablet, or the Quran, or some other book? Was that knowledge the knowledge of divine decree, or some other kind of knowledge? These are questions for which neither the Quran nor the Hadith provide answers. And perhaps the reason is that these matters are beyond the limited intellect of humans. Some commentators say that the person was your minister Asif bin Barkhiya. By "book" is meant the revealed scriptures. And he was one who acted upon the Greatest Name and was aware of the effects of Allah’s names and the Word of Allah, but all these are conjectures. However, the result has been clearly stated by the Quran: that person was absolutely truthful in his claim. And in reality, he brought the throne of Queen Bilqis to Prophet Sulaymanؑ in the blink of an eye. Although such events are extraordinary, modern sciences have made such things much more comprehensible. For example, this very earth on which we live revolves around the sun throughout the year, and its speed is sixty-six thousand six hundred miles per hour. The astonishing thing is that such a massive globe is spinning at lightning speed, and yet we do not even feel it, and this is something we believe in with the certainty of faith. Now, compare the size and weight of Queen Bilqis’s throne to the size and weight of the earth, and keep in mind the distance from Ma’rib to Jerusalem is only fifteen hundred miles, and consider: if this is possible, why can the other not be possible? And it is obvious that the one who brought the throne in the blink of an eye was also operating under Allah’s power. It was not any personal merit of that person. Nor was the throne brought there by apparent means. Some rationalists have also let their imaginations run wild regarding this incident of the throne being brought, and have presented such absurd interpretations that reason itself is left dumbfounded. For example, that Prophet Sulaymanؑ did not desire the actual throne of Queen Bilqis, but rather a similar throne, and for this purpose he called for tenders from contractors, and other such nonsense. It is not possible to include lengthy discussions here. However, in my book “Rationalism and the Denial of Miracles,” I have presented a detailed analysis and refutation of all such interpretations.

[35] When Prophet Sulaymanؑ saw the queen’s throne lying at his feet in the blink of an eye, he immediately acknowledged that this was Allah’s favor upon him. From this it is clear that the throne was brought there in a miraculous manner, and rational explanations are impossible. Otherwise, if this had been an ordinary matter, it would not have been a special favor of Allah, nor would the thought of thanking Allah have arisen at that moment.

[36] In several places in the Quran, this theme is repeated: that the test of man in this world is only whether he gives thanks to Allah for His blessings or remains ungrateful. Also, the opposite of faith is disbelief, and the opposite of gratitude is also disbelief. From this it is clear that just as there is a deep connection between faith and gratitude, so too is there a deep connection between disbelief and ingratitude. The stronger a person’s faith, the more grateful a servant of Allah he will be, and the greater a disbeliever a person is, the more ungrateful he will be. Since Prophet Sulaymanؑ was a prophet of Allah, whenever he saw any favor or blessing from Allah, he would immediately engage in thanking Allah. And this is the practice of the prophets and the believers. On the contrary, when Allah bestows a favor upon a disbeliever, instead of giving thanks, his nature inclines even more towards rebellion and arrogance, and he begins to boast and show off.

[37]
The Effect of Gratitude:

Gratitude has a special effect within itself, and that is the increase of blessings—that is, the characteristic of gratitude is that it attracts even more blessings. On the contrary, the characteristic of ingratitude is that the ungrateful person is deprived even of the blessings he already has. Although this is a reality that every person can personally experience and test, as proof there is also a clear verse of the Noble Quran on this matter. The command of Allah is: “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you are ungrateful, then indeed, My punishment is severe.” [14: 7] For further details regarding gratitude, see the footnote under this verse. From this verse it is clearly understood that the benefit of expressing gratitude returns to the one who is grateful.

[38]
The Harm of Ingratitude:

And if a person is ungrateful, then the harm of that returns to him. Neither does Allah gain anything from anyone’s gratitude, nor does He lose anything from anyone’s ingratitude. The reason is that He is independent of His servants’ gratitude or ingratitude, because His essence and all His works are inherently praiseworthy. He is not in need of anyone’s praise. This theme has been fully clarified in the following Qudsi Hadith: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah the Exalted says: “O My servants! If all of you, from the first to the last, human and jinn, were as pious as the most pious heart among you, that would not increase My kingdom in the least. And O My servants! If all of you, from the first to the last, human and jinn, were as wicked as the most wicked heart among you, that would not decrease My kingdom in the least. And O My servants! These are your own deeds which I record for you, then I will give you full recompense for them. So whoever finds good, let him thank Allah, and whoever finds otherwise, let him blame no one but himself.” [مسلم۔ کتاب البرواصلہ۔ باب تحریم الظلم]