Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 22

(Ayah 22) ➊ { فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيْدٍ …:} The meaning of "ihata" is to have complete knowledge and full information about something. Even the hoopoe was concerned about what punishment could be given for absence, so it returned after a short while and began to present its excuse for being absent. First of all, it aroused curiosity and interest in the heart of Sulayman (peace be upon him) about the news it was about to deliver, so it said that it had obtained complete information about a matter of which you do not have complete information, and I have brought you certain news from Saba.

➋ From this, it is understood that Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not have full knowledge of the conditions of Saba. Shah Abdul Qadir writes: "Sulayman (peace be upon him) had not received detailed information about this country; now he has." (Mawdhih) Here, a question arises: Despite such a magnificent kingdom, why did Sulayman (peace be upon him) not have knowledge of Saba and Yemen? The answer is that it is not correct to say that Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not have knowledge of Yemen; the matter is only that due to being occupied with affairs of other regions, he could not pay full attention to it. Therefore, the eyewitness accounts given by the hoopoe were not known to him before. The hoopoe also negated the "ihata" (encompassing knowledge), not knowledge itself. Besides this, the hoopoe highlighted the fact that the ruler was a woman and that she and her people worshipped the sun, because in its view, neither of these things was tolerable.

➌ Sulayman (peace be upon him) was that great prophet about whom Allah Almighty said: «{ وَ لَقَدْ اٰتَيْنَا دَاوٗدَ وَ سُلَيْمٰنَ عِلْمًا }» [ النمل : ۱۵ ] "And indeed We gave knowledge to Dawud and Sulayman." In comparison, the hoopoe had no scholarly status, yet the hoopoe claimed that it had encompassed something which you had not encompassed. Sulayman (peace be upon him) was neither angry at this nor did he consider it disrespectful. From this, it is understood that a person of lower rank may know something that is unknown to someone of higher rank. For example, the issue that permission should be sought three times, and after that one should return, was not known to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), but was known to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him). [ دیکھیے أبوداوٗد : ۵۱۸۰ ] The issue of tayammum for janabah was remembered by Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them both), but not by Umar and Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both). Therefore, they did not accept tayammum for one in a state of janabah. [ دیکھیے بخاري : ۳۴۶، ۳۴۷ ] The tree that is like a Muslim, Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and other attendees in the gathering of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recall it, but Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) did. [ دیکھیے بخاري : ۶۱ ] There is a hadith in Sahih Bukhari: [ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أُقَاتِلَ النَّاسَ حَتّٰی يَشْهَدُوْا أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ وَ يُقِيْمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَ يُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ] This hadith was known to Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), but not to Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). On this, Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqalani writes: "In this story is evidence that sometimes the Sunnah remains hidden from the senior Companions, and other Companions become aware of it. Therefore, attention should not be paid to opinions, no matter how strong they are, when there is a Sunnah contrary to them, and it should not be said, 'How could this Sunnah remain hidden from so-and-so?'" (And Allah is the Grantor of success) [ فتح الباري، الإیمان، باب : «فإن تابوا و أقاموا الصلاۃ…» ، تحت ح : ۲۵ ]

➍ Farwah bin Musayk al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the verses about Saba were revealed (such as Saba: 15), a man asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What is Saba, is it a land or a woman?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَيْسَ بِأَرْضٍ وَلَا امْرَأَةٍ وَلٰكِنَّهُ رَجُلٌ وَلَدَ عَشْرَةً مِنَ الْعَرَبِ، فَتَيَامَنَ مِنْهُمْ سِتَّةٌ وَ تَشَاءَمَ مِنْهُمْ أَرْبَعَةٌ، فَأَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ تَشَاءَمُوْا : فَلَخْمٌ وَ جُذَامٌ وَ غَسَّانُ وَ عَامِلَةُ، وَ أَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ تَيَامَنُوْا فَالْأَزْدُ وَالْأَشْعَرِيُّوْنَ وَحِمْيَرٌ وَكِنْدَةُ وَمَذْحِجٌ وَأَنْمَارٌ، فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! وَمَا أَنْمَارُ؟ قَالَ : الَّذِيْنَ مِنْهُمْ خَثْعَمٌ وَبَجِيْلَةُ ] [ ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، باب و من سورۃ سبا : ۳۲۲۲، قال الألباني صحیح حسن ] "It is neither a land nor a woman, but an Arab man who had ten children. Of them, six went to Yemen and four went to Syria. Those who went to Syria are: Lakhm, Juzam, Ghassan, and Amilah; and those who went to Yemen are: Azd, Ash'arun, Himyar, Madhhij, and Anmar." He asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Who are meant by Anmar?" He said, "They are those among whom are Khath'am and Bajilah." Later, the name of this nation and the city in Yemen also became Saba, as mentioned in this verse. This city was located about twenty-five miles from the present capital of Yemen, Sana'a.

➎ Here is a subtle point: Sulayman (peace be upon him) was a prophet, but this {’’ نَبَأٌ ‘‘} (news) was not with him. The hoopoe was not a prophet, but this {’’ نَبَأٌ ‘‘} (news) was with it. It is understood that a prophet does not have every {’’ نَبَأٌ‘‘}, nor is he the knower of the unseen, but he only has as much {’’ نَبَأٌ ‘‘} as Allah Almighty informs him, and no one becomes a prophet merely by having some {’’ نَبَأٌ ‘‘}, unless he is informed by divine revelation. (Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Shiekhopuri, may Allah have mercy on him)

➏ From this incident, it is understood that it is necessary for a ruler to appoint spies in all directions to remain informed of the circumstances.