Sulayman (Solomon), peace be upon him, the son of Dawood (David), peace be upon him

[Henry]

I take refuge with Allaah from the accursed devil.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Welcome to my blog and praise the Magnificent Lord as you enter: Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Greatest .

May the Peace and Blessing of Allah Azza wa Jal, our Lord Glorified and Praised be He, be upon our beloved Prophet, his Family, and Companions.

Sulayman (Solomon) Alaihi Salaam, the son of Dawood (David) Alaihi Salaam.

وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُودَ سُلَيْمَـنَ نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ

(30. And to Dawud We gave Sulayman. How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever turning in repentance (to Us)!)

إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِىِّ الصَّـفِنَـتُ الْجِيَادُ

(31. When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed.)

فَقَالَ إِنِّى أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِى حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ

(32. He said: “I did love the good instead of remembering my Lord,” till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night).)

رُدُّوهَا عَلَىَّ فَطَفِقَ مَسْحاً بِالسُّوقِ وَالاٌّعْنَاقِ

(33. Then he said: “Bring them back to me.” Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.)

Surah 38 Sad, Verse 30-33

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Allah tells us that he gave Sulayman to Dawud as a Prophet, as He says elsewhere:

(And Sulayman inherited Dawud) (27:1). meaning, he inherited prophethood from him. Dawud had other sons besides Sulayman, for he had one hundred free wives.

(How excellent a servant! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!) This is praise for Sulayman, because he was very much obedient, worshipping Allah much and always turning to Allah in repentance.

(When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed.) means, these well trained horses were shown to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in his capacity as king and ruler. Mujahid said, “They were the kind of horses which stand on three legs and raise the fourth, and they were swift horses.” This was also the view of several others among the Salaf. Abu Dawud recorded that `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger of Allah came back from the campaign of Tabuk or Khaybar, and there was a curtain covering her room. The wind came and lifted the curtain, revealing some toys belonging to `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. The Prophet said:

(What is this, O `A’ishah) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “My toys.” Among them he saw a horse with two wings made of cloth. He said:

(What is this that I see in the midst of them) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “A horse.” The Messenger of Allah said,

(And what is this on it) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “Wings.” The Messenger of Allah said,

(A horse with two wings) She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “Did you not hear that Sulayman, peace be upon him, had a horse that had wings” She, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that I could see his molars.”

(He (Sulayman) said: “I did love the good (i.e., horses) instead of remembering my Lord” till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night)) More than one of the Salaf and scholars of Tafsir mentioned that he was so busy looking at the horses that he missed the time of `Asr prayer. He did not miss it deliberately, but because of forgetfulness, as happened to the Prophet on the day of Khandaq, when he was too busy to pray `Asr and he prayed it after the sun had set. This was recorded in the Two Sahihs with more than one chain of narration, including the report from Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, “On the day of Khandaq, `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, came after the sun had set and started cursing the disbelievers of the Quraysh. He said, `O Messenger of Allah, I could not pray `Asr until the sun had almost set.’ The Messenger of Allah said,

(By Allah, I did not pray it either.)” He (Jabir) said, “So we got up and went to Buthan. Allah’s Prophet performed ablution for the prayer and we too performed ablution. He prayed `Asr after the sun had set, then he prayed Maghrib after that.”

(Then he (Sulayman) said: “Bring them (horses) back to me.” Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “He said, `No, by Allah, you will not keep me from worshipping my Lord again,’ then he ordered that they should be slaughtered.” This was also the view of Qatadah. As-Suddi said, “Their necks and hamstrings were struck with swords.” `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “He began patting the horses’ heads and legs out of love for them.” This is the view that was favored by Ibn Jarir. He said, “Because he would not punish an animal by cutting its hamstrings or destroy his own wealth for no other reason than that he had been distracted from his prayer by looking at it, and it was not the animals’ fault. ” This view which Ibn Jarir thought more correct is subject to further review, because such action may have been permissible according to their law, especially since he got angry for the sake of Allah for being distracted by these horses until the time for prayer had lapsed. Then, since he dispensed with them for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better, the wind which blew gently by his order wherever he willed. Its morning lasted a month’s (journey), and its afternoon lasted a month’s (journey). This was faster and better than horses.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Qatadah and Abu Ad-Dahma’, who traveled a lot to the Ka`bah, said, “We met a man from among the bedouins who said to us: `The Messenger of Allah took my hand and started teaching me some of that which Allah had taught him. He said,

(You do not give up anything for the sake of Allah, but Allah will give you something better than it.)”’

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَـنَ وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَى كُرْسِيِّهِ جَسَداً ثُمَّ أَنَابَ

(34. And indeed, We tried Sulayman and We placed on his throne Jasad (a body), and he returned.)

قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكاً لاَّ يَنبَغِى لاًّحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِى إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ

(35. He said: “My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me. Verily, You are the Bestower.”)

فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِى بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَآءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ

(36. So, We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently by his order wherever he willed,)

وَالشَّيَـطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّآءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ

(37. And the Shayatin, from every kind of builder and diver,)

وَءَاخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِى الاٌّصْفَادِ

(38. And also others bound in fetters.)

هَـذَا عَطَآؤُنَا فَامْنُنْ أَوْ أَمْسِكْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

(39. [Allah said to Sulayman]: “This is Our gift, so spend you or withhold, no account will be asked of you.”)

وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَـَابٍ

(40. And verily, for him is a near access to Us, and a good (final) return.)

Surah 38 Sad, Verse 34-40

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Allah says,

(And indeed, We tried Sulayman) meaning, `We tested him.’

(and We placed on his throne Jasad (a body)).

(and he returned.) means, after this test, he turned back to Him and asked for forgiveness and to be given a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after him.

(He said: “My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me. Verily, You are the Bestower.”) Some of them said, “No one after me will have the right to ask Allah for such a kingdom.” This is the apparent meaning from the context of the Ayah, and several Hadiths with a similar meaning have been narrated from the Messenger of Allah . In his Tafsir of this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:

(An `Ifrit from among the Jinn came and bothered me last night- or he said something similar -Trying to stop me from praying. Allah enabled me to overpower him, and I wanted to tie him to one of the pillars in the Masjid so that you could see him this morning. Then I remembered what my brother Sulayman said, (My Lord! Forgive me and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me)) Rawh said, “so he let him go, humiliated.” ) This was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa’i. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah stood up to pray and we heard him say,

(I seek refuge with Allah from you.) Then he said,

(I curse you with the curse of Allah.) three times, and he stretched out his hand as if he was reaching out to take something. When he finished his prayer, we said, `O Messenger of Allah, we heard you say something in your prayer which we have never heard you say before, and we saw you stretching out your hand.’ He said:

(The enemy of Allah Iblis came with a flame of fire to throw in my face, so I said, “I seek refuge with Allah from you” three times, then I said, “I curse you with the complete curse of Allah,” but he did not back off. I said it three times. Then I wanted to seize him. By Allah, if it were not for the words of our brother Sulayman, he would have been chained up and he would have become a plaything for the children of the people of Al-Madinah.)” Allah says:

(So, We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently by his order wherever he willed.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “When Sulayman, peace be upon him, slaughtered the horses out of anger for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better and swifter, the wind whose morning was a month’s (journey), and its afternoon was a month’s (journey).”

(wherever he willed.) means, wherever in the world he wanted.

(And also the Shayatin, from every kind of builder and diver,) means, among them were some whom he used to build high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and cauldrons fixed (in their places), and other difficult tasks which humans were unable to do. And there was another group, who dived into the sea recovering pearls, jewels and other precious things which cannot be found anywhere else.

(And also others bound in fetters.) means, tied up in chains. These were the ones who had rebelled and refused to work, or else their work was bad and they were wrongdoers.

([Allah said to Sulayman]: “This is Our Gift, so spend you or withhold, no account will be asked of you.”) means, `this that We have given to you of kingship and perfect power, as you asked for, you may give to whomsoever you wish and deny to whomsoever you wish, and you will not be brought to account. Whatever you do is permissible for you, so however you judge, it will be right.’ It was reported in the Two Sahihs that when the Messenger of Allah was given the choice between being a servant and a Messenger — who does what he is commanded to do and distributes things among the people as Allah commands him to do — or being a Prophet and a king, who can give to whomever he wishes and withhold from whomever he wishes without being held accountable for anything, he chose the former. He consulted with Jibril, peace be upon him, who said, “Be humble.” So he chose the former because it has a greater value before Allah and brings a higher status in the Hereafter, even though the second option, prophethood combined with kingship, is also a great thing both in this world and in the Hereafter, when Allah tells us what He gave to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in this world, He tells us that he will have a great share with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. He says:

(And verily, for him is a near access to Us, and a good (final) return.) meaning, in this world and the Hereafter.

The Death of the Wise King

Prophet Solomon ruled for 30 years, and his public work was largely carried out by the jinns. This was a punishment for their sins of making people believe that they were all-powerful, knew the unseen, and could foresee the future. As a prophet, Solomon had the duty to remove such false beliefs from them.

And then the time destined by Allah Almighty came for the death of Solomon. Like his life, his death too was unusual; and Allah devised it as a means to teach the people that the domain of the world of the unseen including the future is known to Allah alone. Thus, even the death of Solomon served an important purpose.

Solomon was sitting holding his staff, overseeing the jinns at work in a mine. He died sitting in this position.

For a long time, no one was aware of his death, for he was seen sitting erect. (The explanations of the story of Solomon were adapted from the exegesis of the Qur'an by the Islamic scholar, Ibn Kathir).

The jinns continued with their toil, thinking that the king was watching over them. Days passed, and the king's death became known only when his supporting stick, eaten by termites gave way and the body fell to the ground:

*{They worked for him as he desired, making arches, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and cooking cauldrons fixed in their places: "Work you, sons of David, with thanks! But few of My servants are grateful.

Then, when We decreed Solomon's death, nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth that kept slowly gnawing away at his staff: So when he fell down, the jinns saw plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating penalty of their task.}* (Saba' 34:13-14)

http://heavenlypraise.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/sulayman-solomon-peace-be-upon-him-the-son-of-dawood-david-peace-be-upon-him/