Surah Saad (38) — Ayah 34

(Ayah 34) ➊ According to the author of Ruh al-Ma'ani, Alusi, the most apparent meaning of this trial is the incident mentioned in the hadith, in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوٗدَ لَأَطُوْفَنَّ اللَّيْلَةَ عَلٰی سَبْعِيْنَ امْرَأَةً تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ فَارِسًا يُجَاهِدُ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ صَاحِبُهُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ فَلَمْ يَقُلْ، وَلَمْ تَحْمِلْ شَيْئًا إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا سَاقِطًا أَحَدُ شِقَّيْهِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ لَوْ قَالَهَا لَجَاهَدُوْا فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ، قَالَ شُعَيْبٌ وَ ابْنُ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ تِسْعِيْنَ وَ هُوَ أَصَحُّ ] [بخاري، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب قول اللہ تعالٰی: « و وھبنا لداوٗد سلیمان نعم العبد…» : ۳۴۲۴ ] "Sulaiman bin Dawud (peace be upon them) said: 'Tonight I will go around to seventy (70) women of mine, and each woman will conceive a horseman who will fight in the way of Allah.'" So his companion (the angel) said: "Say, Insha'Allah (if Allah wills)." But he did not say it, so none of them conceived except one, and even she gave birth to a child with one side incomplete." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he had said 'Insha'Allah,' they would all have fought in the way of Allah." Shu'ayb and Ibn Abi al-Zinad said "ninety (90) women," and this is more authentic." Thus, the trial of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was that, instead of ninety warrior sons as he wished, there was no heir to his throne except one body. By "body" is meant the child whose one side was incomplete. The scholars say that Sulaiman (peace be upon him) desired warrior sons, and this was a very good desire, but because he did not say "Insha'Allah," he was tested, and only one son with an incomplete side was born. Although this shortcoming was due to forgetfulness, because of the high status of the prophets, even forgetfulness leads to their being tested, for which they seek forgiveness. As Allah has clearly stated about Adam (peace be upon him) that he tasted the plant out of forgetfulness: « فَنَسِيَ وَ لَمْ نَجِدْ لَهٗ عَزْمًا » [ طٰہٰ : ۱۱۵ ] "Then he forgot, and We did not find in him any firm resolve." But his clothing was removed and he sought forgiveness: « رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَاۤ اَنْفُسَنَا وَ اِنْ لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَ تَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخٰسِرِيْنَ» [ الأعراف : ۲۳ ] "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers." Similarly, when Sulaiman (peace be upon him)'s wish was not fulfilled due to his forgetfulness, he turned to Allah and prayed for forgiveness, saying: « قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِيْ وَهَبْ لِيْ مُلْكًا لَّا يَنْۢبَغِيْ لِاَحَدٍ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِيْ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ » [ صٓ : ۳۵ ] "He said: My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower." In my opinion, this is the correct interpretation of this verse, because the incident mentioned in Bukhari, Muslim, and others is in accordance with this, and there is nothing in it contrary to the dignity of the prophets.

➋ Some scholars have said, it is possible that the trial mentioned in the verses refers to the incident mentioned in this hadith, and by "body" is meant the child with the incomplete side. Although this is a strong possibility, what we can say with certainty is that this was some trial from Allah for Sulaiman (peace be upon him), the details of which Allah has not explained, nor has He clarified the "body" that was placed on his throne. Therefore, it is sufficient to say that Allah tested Sulaiman (peace be upon him) in some way, upon which he became alert and prayed to Allah for forgiveness. (And Allah knows best)

➌ In the interpretation of these verses, some commentators have written many things for which there is no evidence and which are completely contrary to the status of the prophets. Among them is the claim that for some time Allah allowed a jinn named Sakhr to take over the throne of Sulaiman (peace be upon him). Among the various reasons for this, one is that one of Sulaiman (peace be upon him)'s wives was an idolater, and as a punishment for this, Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was deprived of his throne for as long as that wife practiced idolatry, and his ring, which contained the Greatest Name, came into the hands of Sakhr through a slave girl. Then the ring fell from his hand into the river, and a fish swallowed it. Later, that fish was caught and brought to Sulaiman (peace be upon him), and thus he took the ring from its belly and regained his throne. But this entire story is taken from the People of the Book, and most of them do not even consider Sulaiman (peace be upon him) a prophet of Allah, and their aim is to defame him as much as possible. (Ibn Kathir) Many other such baseless stories, which are neither proven by transmission nor accepted by reason, have been written in books without evidence by careless people, and preachers and storytellers continue to narrate them.

The commentator Abu Hayyan said: "The commentators have reported many things about this trial and the placing of this body, from which it is obligatory to consider the prophets pure. These things can be seen in their books, and they are such that it is not permissible to narrate them. Either the Jews have fabricated them or the heretics. Allah has not explained what that trial was, nor what the body placed on Sulaiman (peace be upon him)'s throne was. The closest thing that has been said about it is that the trial refers to Sulaiman (peace be upon him)'s not saying 'Insha'Allah' in the incident of the seventy (70) women mentioned in the hadith, and the body refers to the incomplete child that was born."

34. 1. What was this trial, what was the body that was placed on the throne, and what does it mean? There is also no detail about this in the Noble Quran or Hadith. However, some commentators have attached an incident proven by an authentic hadith to this, and that is: Once, Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) عليه السلام said that tonight he would have relations with all his wives (whose number was 70 or 90) so that horsemen would be born from them who would fight in Allah’s path. And he did not say insha’Allah (i.e., he relied entirely on his own planning). As a result, except for one wife, none became pregnant. And the wife who did become pregnant gave birth to a child who was incomplete, i.e., half-formed. The Prophet ﷺ said: If Sulaiman عليه السلام had said insha’Allah, then all would have produced warriors (Sahih Bukhari).

34. And We certainly tested Solomon and placed a body on his throne [41], then he turned (to Us) in repentance.

[41] Under this verse, some commentators have included the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: Sayyiduna Sulaiman ؑ said, "Tonight I will go to my ninety wives, and each of them will give birth to a horseman who will fight in the way of Allah." One of his companions said, "Say Insha'Allah!" But he did not say this, so none of them became pregnant except one, and she also gave birth to an incomplete child. By the Lord in whose hand is the life of Muhammad ﷺ, if he had said Insha'Allah, all of them would have given birth to children and they would have fought in the way of Allah as horsemen. [بخاري۔ كتاب الايمان والنذور۔ باب كيف كانت يمين النبي]
But it seems that this hadith has nothing to do with the interpretation of this verse, and the reasons are as follows:
1. This hadith is found in books of hadith other than Bukhari, but no hadith scholar has included this hadith in the interpretation of this verse in their book of tafsir.
2. Imam Bukhari has included this hadith in four different places, which are these: [كتاب بدء الخلق۔ كتاب الانبياء، كتاب الاَيمان والنذور۔ باب كيف كانت يمين النبيﷺ، اور باب الكفارة قبل الحنث اور كتاب التوحيد، باب فى المشيئة والارادة] but not in the book of tafsir.
3. Although there are verbal differences in this hadith, in no text are these words found that this incomplete child was placed by the midwife or people on the throne or chair of Sayyiduna Sulaiman ؑ. This is an addition from the commentators themselves. Whereas the trial of Sayyiduna Sulaiman ؑ is related to this very matter.

In What Trial Did Allah Put Sayyiduna Sulaiman:

In addition, some commentators have narrated some things, but they are completely baseless, unreasonable, and meaningless. From the Quran, it is only known that the trial of Sayyiduna Sulaiman ؑ was related to a lifeless body that was placed on his throne. Upon this, he realized that he had fallen into a trial, so he immediately turned to Allah, sought forgiveness for his fault, and at the same time prayed, "Grant me such a kingdom as will not be fitting for anyone after me." Thus, his fault was also forgiven, and his prayer was accepted, so that the winds and the jinn were subjected to him, as will be mentioned ahead, and the following hadith explains this:

The Jinn Who Confronted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: Last night a huge jinn confronted me. The Prophet ﷺ said this or something similar. Then Allah Almighty gave me power over him. I wanted to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that in the morning you could see him. Then I remembered the prayer of my brother Sulaiman ؑ: "O my Lord! Grant me such a kingdom as will not be fitting for anyone after me." The narrator Ruh said that the Prophet ﷺ drove that jinn away in disgrace. [بخاری۔ کتاب التفسیر نیز کتاب الصلوۃ باب الاسیر اوالغریم یربطہ فی المسجد]
And this is such a virtue that neither any prophet nor any king attained it after (or before) him. As for what the actual trial was, and to which incident the lifeless body refers, I have not found any reasonable explanation for it anywhere, nor has it come to my mind. ﴿واللّٰه اعلم بالصواب﴾