Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 38

(Ayah 38) {قَالَ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الْمَلَؤُا اَيُّكُمْ يَاْتِيْنِيْ بِعَرْشِهَا …:} From the context of the verses, it is understood that when the envoy reached the Queen of Sheba and described to her what he had witnessed about Solomon (peace be upon him) and conveyed his message, she realized that she could not compete with him. Therefore, she decided that she herself would go to him and have a discussion with him. Thus, she set out with her army and chiefs, and while she was still on the way and about to arrive, Solomon (peace be upon him) addressed his chiefs and said: "Which one of you will bring her throne to me before they come to me in submission?" The purpose of Solomon (peace be upon him) in this was that when she arrived and found her throne present, she would realize what extraordinary powers Allah grants to His prophets, so that she would be convinced that he was truly a prophet of Allah, and also to test her intellect—whether, after some alteration, she would recognize her throne or not. Some commentators have stated that the reason Solomon (peace be upon him) summoned the Queen's throne was that he wanted to seize it before her arrival, because once she arrived and accepted Islam, it would not be permissible to take possession of her property. But this is completely incorrect, because Solomon (peace be upon him) already possessed things far better and greater than the Queen, and to be concerned with seizing someone's property in anticipation of their accepting Islam, instead of helping them, is not befitting even for the caliphs of Islam, let alone a prophet. Moreover, for previous communities, war booty was not lawful.