"(The Queen) said, 'here is delivered to me a letter worthy of respect. It is from Sulayman and it is as (follows): 'In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful' (Bismillahi RahmanirRaheem). Be you not arrogant against me, but come to me in submission (to the true religion)." (Q27:29-31)
BILQEES, the Queen of Saba' was wealthy and she possessed all those means of life which could cause a person to become vain, proud and conceited. In spite of her wealth, she professed Shirk - she and her people were worshipping the sun,
"I have seen a woman ruling over her people: she has hem given all sorts of provisions and she has a splendid throne. I saw that she and her people prostrate themselves before the sun, instead of Allah, and Shay tan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them and has barred them from Allah's way ..."(Q27:22-24);
Sulayrnan's (PBUH) faithful bird told him. Shirk, or the denial of Allah, was the ancestral way of life which Bilqees had to follow to maintain her position as a ruler. For her, to give up Shirk was to abandon her wealth and eminence, but when the truth of tawhid (oneness of Allah) became evident to her, nothing could stop her from accepting it. Bilqees was not a slave to her lusts and desires; her conscience was not devoid of the sense of accountability before Allah.
SULAYMAN (PBUH), a Prophet and a king, was also blessed with wealth, wisdom and grandeur; yet he regarded himself as answerable before Allah and knew that all he had was only due to Allah's bounty: He said:
"O mankind! We have hem taught the language of birds, and us have been bestowed all things. This verily is an evident grace from Allah" (Q27:16).
It was KNOWLEDGE and its application that brought the opulent queen and the wealthy prophet together.
READ SURAH AN-NAML Vs 15-44! READ IT!
There are five knowledge encounters in the story of the queen and the prophet.
OBSERVATION (V.22-24): The hoopoe knew the kingdom of Saba by observation and then informed the others. Sure knowledge must be shared.
VERIFICATION (V27): Cross-check and verify; be sure of the truth - even if you have to send a letter like Sulayman (PBUH) did.
CONSULTATION (V.29-33): Bilqees consulted his advisers for a good decision but. she was not bound by their bad advice. She chose consultation and not confrontation.
APPLICATION (V.38-40): Knowledge is greater than strength. Sulayman (PBUH) rejected the queen' s gift - he could not be bribed. When the queen's throne was to be brought, a jinn volunteered, extolling his strength; but a man of knowledge said: "I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!" and he did. Then he and Sulayman (PBUH) gave glory to whom it is due. "This is by the Grace of My Lord ... My Lord is Rich, Bountiful".
SUBMISSION (V. 41): True knowledge leads to submission to Allah: "And Sulayman (PBUH) said:
"Knowledge was bestowed on us before her aim we were submitted to Allah.
SHEBA
Saba' (or Sheba) were a well-known commercial people of Southern Arabia whose capital city of Ma'rib by about 88 km to the north-east is San'aa, the present capital city of Yemen. They rose to power about 1100 BC and flourished for about a thousand years. The Sabaeans controlled the whole trade that passed between Eastern Africa, lndia, the Far East end Arabia on one hand, and Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome on the other. They were quite prosperous and Greek historians recorded them as 'the richest people in the world at the tine. They were also known for building dams, irrigation systems and beautiful gardens:
-Indeed there was for Saba' a sign in their dwelling-place-two gardens at the right hand end on the left: 'Eat of the provision of your Lord and be grateful to Him, a fair land and an Oft- Forgiving Lord'. " (34: 15)
Over these prosperous people- after whom a chapter of the Qur'an was named (034) - reigned a queen (called Bilqees by the traditions) during the reign of Prophet Sulayman (PBUH). The Qur'an did not mention the queen by name. Sulayman (P8UHI was a king as well as a Prophet of Allah. He was the ruler of Syria, Palestine (present-day ISrael and Jordan) right up to the northern shores of the Red Sea (theGuf ofAqabah).
Sulayman (PSUH) (meaning right-minded, affable) succeeded his father, Prophet Dawud (PBUHI, in 965 BC and ruled his kingdom for about forty years, in 926 BC.
"And for Sulayman we had subjected the wind which covered a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening" (034: 12)
By his command, Sulayman's trade ships sailed from Gulf of Aqabah towards Yemen and other southern and eastern lands- Hence the contact of the two kingdoms.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited