The Story of Prophet Solomon( as) -3-

Lecture No.3

This is a transcription of a lecture by Sayyed Usama Alattar. You can listen to it from here:
http://www.4shared.com/audio/tePLTzku/soleimanpart3.html

The story of Prophet Solomon(as) and the city of Saba':

Prophet Solomon(as) used to take care of every detail in his society because he was the king.
( Some people ask us: does the Holy Quran talk about anything else beside telling us stories? Does the Quran talk about leadership?
Of course. When the Qur'an is telling us a story, it is not only for the sake of telling a story. There are so many wisdoms that we can learn from this story).

The Holy Qur'an tells us that Prophet Solomon(as) was a king, a leader who had great characteristics to be followed. He had a good communication among all his subjects, all over the place.

" و تفقد الطير فقال مالي لا أرى الهدهد أم كان من الغائبين(20)
لأعذبنه عذاباً شديداً أو لأذبحنه أو ليأتيني بسلطان مبين(21)
فمكث غير بعيد فقال أحطت بما لم تحط به و جئتك من سبإ بنبإ يقين(22)
إني وجدت امرأة تملكهم و أوتيت من كل شيء و لها عرش عظيم(23)
وجدتها و قومها يسجدون للشمس من دون الله و زين لهم الشيطان أعمالهم فصدهم عن السبيل فهم لا يهتدون(24)
ألا يسجدوا لله الذي يخرج الخبء في السماوات و الأرض و يعلم ما تخفون و ما تعلنون(25)
الله لا إله إلا هو رب العرش العظيم(26)
قال سننظر أصدقت أم كنت من الكاذبين(27)
اذهب بكتابي هذا فألقه إليهم ثم تول عنهم فانظر ماذا يرجعون(28)
قالت يا أيها الملأ إني ألقي إلي كتاب كريم(29)
إنه من سليمان و إنه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم(30)
ألا تعلوا علي و أتوني مسلمين(31)
قالت يا أيها الملأ أفتوني في أمري ما كنت قاطعة أمراً حتى تشهدون(32)
قالوا نحن أولوا قوة و أولوا بأس شديد و الأمر إليك فانظري ماذا تأمرين(33)
قالت إن الملوك إذا دخلوا قرية أفسدوها و جعلوا أعزة أهلها أذلة و كذلك يفعلون(34)
و إني مرسلة إليهم بهدية فناظرة بم يرجع المرسلون(35)
فلما جاء سليمان قال أتمدونن بمال فما آتاني الله خير مما آتاكم بل أنتم بهديتكم تفرحون(36)
ارجع إليهم فلنأتينهم بجنود لا قبل لهم بها و لنخرجنهم منها أذلة و هم صاغرون(37)
سورة النمل

Prophet Solomon( as) was looking around and missed one of the birds. " Why do not I see the hoopoe? Is he absent today?" he said. ( Another characteristic in the leader is that he takes a look around and makes sure that everything in his society is running smoothly. He takes care of every subject in his kingdom even the birds!). " I am going to punish him with a severe punishment, or I shall even kill him" he continued.( And because he is the leader, he had to teach other people in the society to be responsible.)

Why did he say so?

This hoopoe had a job. He was responsible for a certain thing in his society. His job was to look for water and tell the other workers to get it out. When he does not do his job properly, what is going to happen? The society is dependent one on another. This is how we run as human beings in a society. Every person has a role in the society. There is nothing called a small role or a big role or somebody is a doctor and somebody collects trash. Each person contributes to society. They are equal in that sense.
The hoopoe used to contribute, and now it is missing. He cannot go missing without a reason. If he is, then, he deserves to be punished.

" أو ليأتيني بسلطان مبين"= "I will punish him unless he has a good excuse" said prophet Solomon(as)
( He does not take a free judgment on his subjects. He gives them the chance to explain themselves.)

" فمكث غير بعيد فقال أحطت بما لم تحط به" = Prophet Solomon( as) waited not too long. The hoopoe came back and spoke to prophet Solomon( as) and said" Prophet Solomon, I have news and carry information that even you do not know about."
( Even though he is the leader, the hoopoe has a good relationship with him that he spoke to him in such a manner. He is a very easygoing person.)

" و جئتك من سبأ بنبأ يقين" = " I have just come back from Saba' with certain news" The hoopoe continued.

How can prophet Solomon( as) not know of what the bird knows?

The knowledge given to the prophets comes from Allah( swt). If Allah decides not to give them certain knowledge, they will not have an idea about it unless Allah gives it to them. He gives them the knowledge to test them. He is trying to tell prophet Solomon( as)" Despite the great authority you have, there are still some things on earth that you do not know about".

The bird continued about the news:
إني وجدت امرأة تملكهم و أوتيت من كل شيء و لها عرش عظيم""
1- I found a woman as a leader.( At their age, it was rare to have a woman as a leader or as a queen)
2- She has everything.
3- She has a large throne.

So interesting!

Solomon's throne was a great one. It is said that he had two lions sitting down in the throne. Whenever prophet Solomon( as) wants to sit on the throne, the lions would stretch their arms. So, prophet Solomon( as) uses the arms of the lions as steps. His throne was made of gold, jewelry, diamond, silver, masterpiece, etc. Peacocks open their tails to shade him from the sun. Birds are the ones who bring his crown. Yet, the hoopoe was surprised by the throne of Balqees, the queen of Saba'.

What is the sad news?

وجدتها و قومها يسجدون للشمس من دون الله و زين لهم الشيطان أعمالهم فصدهم عن السبيل فهم لا يهتدون""
= "I found her and her tribe doing sojood( kneeling) to the sun instead of Allah (swt). They were worshiping the sun, not Allah. Shaitan ( Daemon) made their bad deeds and acts appear good to them. Because of that, they could not find the true path. They will never be guided."
The hoopoe was surprised " Do not they kneel to Allah?! Do not they worship Allah( swt), the one who knows all the secrets in the heavens and the earth. Allah has the great throne."

( Loqman(as) said" Remember Allah constantly, for Allah knows about everything even a seed of mustard that is in a rock or hidden in somewhere in heaven or earth, Allah knows about it and will get it out . Allah knows every single detail we hide or show").

Do we think about Allah in the same way this bird thinking about Allah?! Allah knows everything about us, and in the day of judgment, it will all be presented for us.

Solomon(as) does not neglect what the smallest one of his subjects says.

" قال سننظر أصدقت أم كنت من الكاذبين"= " We are going to see whether you are telling the truth or not. We have to do some investigation. What you brought to us is a serious matter."
( A characteristic in the great leader: before you have any judgment, investigate. Do not come to conclusions. Be patient. Find out the truth then act and the best way to know the truth is to establish communication between you and the other person. This is exactly what Solomon(as) decided to do.)

اذهب بكتابي هذا فألقه إليهم ثم تول عنهم فانظر ماذا يرجعون(28)""= Prophet Solomon( as) told the hoopoe " Take this book of mine( a letter) and give it to them and hide somewhere. See how they react to my letter."
The hoopoe did what Solomon(as) ordered him to do. When the queen read the letter, she realized that there was something interesting in the letter. The first thing she did was that she had called for a meeting and said
" قالت يا أيها الملأ إني ألقي إلي كتاب كريم(29)إنه من سليمان و إنه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم(30) ألا تعلوا علي و أتوني مسلمين(31)"
= " O' my people.. my ministers.. I have received a letter that is honorable. It is from Solomon(as) and starts with the name of Allah, The beneficent the merciful. Do not become so mighty and powerful against me. Be humble. Come to me as Muslims."

( Note: Islam is not a religion that is first introduced by prophet Mohammad( pbuh). Islam is the same religion that was taught by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, Moses, Jesus and by Mohammad( peace be upon them). It is one message coming from Allah. There is no difference in the message of God. As Muslims, we believe in all the prophets as much as we believe in prophet Mohammad(pbuh)).

What does she do?
قالت يا أيها الملأ أفتوني في أمري ما كنت قاطعة أمراً حتى تشهدون(32)
= She asked her ministers about what she shall do. "Advice me. I am not going to make any decision unless you are all witnessing to my decision and you all approve it." she said.

What was their advice?
قالوا نحن أولوا قوة و أولوا بأس شديد و الأمر إليك فانظري ماذا تأمرين(33)
They said "We are people of power and perseverance. We are powerful and strong and we can fight. But, you have the final say. See what you recommend."
Even though the majority of them have the opinion of fighting, she disagreed with them. She had a different opinion.

" قالت إن الملوك إذا دخلوا قرية أفسدوها و جعلوا أعزة أهلها أذلة و كذلك يفعلون(34)"
She said" Whenever the kings get into a city, they destroy it because wordly kings usually think of increasing their power. Anybody stands in their way, they will kill them and destroy the whole city. The leaders in the society will become weak, servants and slaves. And that what will happen to us." ( she is very wise)

( Note: The majority of them agreed to fight and she was a minority. This tells us that just because the majority takes a vote in something, this does not mean that it is a right decision. This is really interesting because when it comes to khilafa (leadership) of Ali bin Abi Talib(as), people say that the majority of the society there voted to have the first khalifa as the successor of the prophet. Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, Salman Alfaresi, and Abu Ther Alghafari contested. Ibn Abbas came to the second khalifa and said" Just because your guys voted to have the first one as the successor does not mean that your guys made the right choice. Majority does not mean the right choice. Your guys neglected the choice of Allah and the Quran.
Allah(swt) said = " إنما وليكم الله و رسوله و الذين آمنوا الذين يقيمون الصلاة و يؤتون الزكاة و هم راكعون(55)" المائدة " your leaders are Allah, his messenger and the believers who gave the charity while they are in the state of kneeling." The one who gave charity while he was in the state of kneeling was Imam Ali bin Abi Talib. It is the decision of Allah( swt) to make Ali bin Abi Talib the successor of the prophet.)

What did she suggest?
و إني مرسلة إليهم بهدية فناظرة بم يرجع المرسلون(35)""
She said" I am going to send them a gift and I will wait to see their reaction. If he were truly a king, kings always love presents."
She sent him 500 slaves ( males and females) dressed in gold and silver and they carry boxes of gold, jewelry and diamonds. Any king would have been pleased with her present. She told the ambassador to see his reaction. If he gets pleased with the present, this means that he is a king who has no other interest but to satisfy his desire and conquer more lands. If he rejects her present, this means that he is truly a man of God.

How did Solomon(as) react when he gave him the gift?
" فلما جاء سليمان قال أتمدونن بمال فما آتاني الله خير مما آتاكم بل أنتم بهديتكم تفرحون(36)"
He said" You are sending me some money?! whatever Allah has given me is much greater than what you have given me. It is you who enjoy this present. You really want to see what I have. Look at my kingdom."
The ambassador looked around and was really surprised. Solomon is served by jinns, animals talk to him, etc.
ارجع إليهم فلنأتينهم بجنود لا قبل لهم بها و لنخرجنهم منها أذلة و هم صاغرون(37)" "
Solomon( as) told the ambassador" Go back to them. We shall come with an army that they cannot stand in its face, a mighty army. They shall come out of it very weak and humiliated because they disobeyed the word of God."
Beautifully, he did not say we will go and kill them, he said their power will be taken from them and they will be very weak because they disobeyed Allah(swt).

( When Muslims decided to conquer Persia during the time of the second khalifa, they took the daughters of the king of Persia as prisoners of war. They brought them back to Medina and wanted to sell them. When Imam Ali bin Abi Talib(as) heard of that, he became upset and he rushed to the mosque. He told the second khalifa" How can you deal with the king's daughters in this way?! You cannot sell them as prisoners of war. They were the king's daughters. You have to give them respect even though that their father was a bad guy and fought against Islam. He got killed but his daughters had no sin. They were not partners in the crime to punish them. In addition, they were the king's daughters. They are not treated like other people." The second khalifa asked" What shall I do?" Imam Ali said" Set them free and ask them if they want to get married to anyone." Indeed, they were two daughters. One of them chose to get married to Imam Hassan( as) and the other chose Imam Hussain( as). The one who got married to Imam Hussain, later, she gave birth to Imam Alsajjad(as). She died when she was giving birth to Imam Alsajjad( as). So he was born as an orphan.
This is to tell us that Islam is a great religion which respects each and every person.)