Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 44

(Ayah 44) ➊ {قِيْلَ لَهَا ادْخُلِي الصَّرْحَ …:’’ قَوَارِيْرَ ‘‘ ’’قَارُوْرَةٌ‘‘} is the plural of 'qārūrah', meaning glass. {’’ لُجَّةً ‘‘} means very much and deep water. {’’ مُمَرَّدٌ ‘‘} “Made smooth and polished.” {’’ الصَّرْحَ ‘‘} means palace as well as courtyard. This was the final thing that opened the queen’s eyes. The first thing was the letter of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) and its strange and unique way of being delivered, in which she was ordered to come in submission. The second thing was Sulaiman (peace be upon him) returning her precious gifts and threatening to march with his army. The third thing was her throne arriving from a distance of about fifteen hundred miles before her arrival. After the initial meeting and conversation, she was asked to walk into the palace of Sulaiman (peace be upon him). When she saw the courtyard, she thought it was deep water and lifted her garment from her shins, just as someone crossing deep water would lift their trousers. Because it was a crystal floor, constructed in such a way that instead of glass, it appeared to be deep water. Sulaiman (peace be upon him) said that this is not water but a smooth, polished floor made by joining glasses together with great cleanliness.

➋ From this incident of entering the palace, the perfect wisdom of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) is evident, which he adopted to invite the Queen of Sheba to Islam. Sulaiman (peace be upon him) arranged this glass palace and courtyard so that the queen would realize that the luxury and possessions she and her people were proud of were far surpassed here, and at the same time, she would understand that being dazzled by the brightness of the sun and stars and considering them as Lord is just as much a deception as mistaking shining glass for water. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “She realized her own lack of intellect and the perfection of their (i.e., Sulaiman’s) intellect, and understood that what they believe in religion is the authentic one.” (Muwadhih) This compelled her to make the confession that follows. In this, along with the perfect wisdom of Sulaiman (peace be upon him), the perfect intelligence and understanding of the queen is also evident, as she understood what Sulaiman (peace be upon him) wanted to convey to her in this way. The truth is that conversation according to each person’s mental level is what truly affects them.

➌ { قَالَتْ رَبِّ اِنِّيْ ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِيْ …:} The awareness of the reality of the floor became a means for the queen to become aware of monotheism. Thus, she said, O my Lord! I have wronged myself that until now I remained involved in polytheism and neglected You, and now I have submitted with Sulaiman (peace be upon him) to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and have become His completely obedient servant.

Note: Many things have been inserted into the story of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) from Isra’iliyyat, for example, that the mother of the Queen of Sheba was from the jinn, and that when Sulaiman (peace be upon him) intended to marry her, he was told that her feet were like those of a donkey and that there was much hair on her shins. So he had this glass palace built so that when she lifted her garment, her feet and shins could be seen. When she lifted her garment and Sulaiman (peace be upon him) saw that she was very beautiful, but yes, there was hair on her shins, he asked the jinn what to do about the hair, so they invented a hair removal powder, and thus Sulaiman (peace be upon him) married her, etc. All these things are completely baseless, rather they are vile accusations against a person like Sulaiman (peace be upon him), about whom Allah testifies: «{ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ اِنَّهٗۤ اَوَّابٌ }» [ صٓ : ۴۴ ] “(Sulaiman) was an excellent servant, indeed he was ever turning (to Allah).” The real truth is that whatever Sulaiman (peace be upon him) did was to spread the call of Islam and to raise its word, and all these events are lessons for us.