Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ {وَ لِسُلَيْمٰنَ الرِّيْحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ … :} Among the servants who turn to Allah, after Dawud (peace be upon him), mention is made of his noble son Sulaiman (peace be upon him). Allah made the wind subservient to him. It would cover the distance of a month in the first part of the day and a month’s distance in the latter part of the day. Some commentators have written that this means that in that era, sea ships would travel with favorable winds. In the verse, {’’غُدُوٌّ‘‘} refers to going, and {’’رَوَاحٌ‘‘} refers to returning, and the meaning is that for a month, the favorable wind would blow from Sulaiman’s (peace be upon him) capital towards the east, through which his sea ships would depart for trade and other purposes towards the east, then for a month, for the return journey, it would blow towards the west, bringing those ships back towards Palestine, and this is the meaning of the verse: «تَجْرِيْ بِاَمْرِهٖۤ اِلَى الْاَرْضِ الَّتِيْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا وَ كُنَّا بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عٰلِمِيْنَ» [ الأنبیاء : ۸۱ ] “By His command, it would go towards the land in which We placed blessing, and We were Knowing of all things.” For the reality of this and similar interpretations, see Surah Al-Anbiya (81).

While interpreting these verses, it is necessary to keep in mind that they mention the things granted to that personality who had 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.” And a man of knowledge from whose armies brought the throne of the Queen of Sheba from Yemen in the blink of an eye. Whatever progress has been made in the present era, or will be made in the future, is nothing compared to the powers granted to Sulaiman (peace be upon him). So if the wind, by his command, covers a month’s journey in the first part of the day and a month’s journey in the latter part, what is surprising about that? As for the manner in which the wind would make him cover this distance, Allah has not explained it, and one should not be pretentious about what is unknown. In Surah Sad, it is said: « قُلْ مَاۤ اَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ اَجْرٍ وَّ مَاۤ اَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِيْنَ » [ صٓ : ۸۶ ] “Say, I do not ask you for any reward for this, nor am I of those who pretend.” See also Surah Al-Anbiya (81).

➋ { وَ اَسَلْنَا لَهٗ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ : ’’سَالَ يَسِيْلُ سَيْلًا‘‘} (ض) To flow. {’’أَسَالَ يُسِيْلُ إِسَالَةً‘‘} (If‘al) To make flow, to cause to run. {’’ اَسَلْنَا ‘‘} The verb in the past tense, first person plural, from the If‘al form. Iron was made soft for Dawud (peace be upon him), and Sulaiman (peace be upon him) inherited this blessing, and in addition, a spring of copper was made to flow for him, so that it would be available to him in abundance, and under his command, humans and jinn would prepare from it everything needed for him and his armies, such as all kinds of small and large vessels and items used inside and outside homes. According to a report, even now, Jews in Israel are searching for this site of copper.

➌ { وَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَّعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِاِذْنِ رَبِّهٖ :} In Surah Al-Anbiya, these jinn are mentioned with the word “shayatin,” from which it is understood that the shayatin mentioned in Surah Al-Anbiya are not human shayatin, but jinn shayatin. The mention of those jinn who used to work can also be seen in Surah Al-Anbiya (82) and Surah Sad (37, 38).

➍ { وَ مَنْ يَّزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ اَمْرِنَا … :} Its explanation can be seen in Surah Al-Anbiya (82).