Editing Solomon in Islam (section)

== Quran and interpretation ==
[[File:Persischer Meister 002.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Queen of Sheba]]]]

=== Judgment on the field ===
In the earliest narrative involving Sulayman, the [[Quran]] ({{qref|21|78|pl=y}}) briefly alludes to a story that Sulayman was in the company of his father, when two men came to ask [[David in Islam|David]] to judge between them regarding a ''ḥarth'' ({{lang|ar|حَرْث}}, field).<ref>{{qref|21|78|b=y}}</ref> Later Muslim commentators expanded on the allusion, including [[al-Tabari]], [[Al-Baydawi|Baidawi]], and [[Ibn Kathir]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Helewa|first=Sami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsc8DwAAQBAJ&q=sheep+vineyard|title=Models of Leadership in the Adab Narratives of Joseph, David, and Solomon: Lament for the Sacred|date=2017-11-01|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-5267-7|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis|title=The literary sources of the Kebra Nagast|url=https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/544|publisher=University of St Andrews|date=1956|degree=Thesis|language=en|first=David Allan|last=Hubbard|hdl=10023/544}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Brannon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SIWxAwAAQBAJ&q=sheep+vineyard&pg=PA277|title=Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis|date=2002-06-01|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-0405-2|language=en}}</ref> They said that the first of the two men said that he owned a [[vineyard]] of which he took great care the whole year through. But one day, when he was absent, the other man's [[sheep]] had strayed into the vineyard and devoured the [[grape]]s. He asked to be compensated for this damage.<ref name="Azzam">{{cite book |title=Lives of the Prophets |first=L. |last=Azzam |chapter=David and Solomon |pages=62–64 |publisher=Suhail Academy}}</ref>{{rp|62}} Upon hearing the man's complaint, Solomon suggested that the owner of the sheep take the other man's vineyard to repair and cultivate until the vines returned to their former state, whereupon he should return it to its owner. At the same time, the owner of the vineyard would care for the sheep and benefit from their [[wool]] and [[sheep milk|milk]] until his land was returned to him, at which point he would return the sheep to their owner. This response shows Solomon's level of judgment, which, the Quran says,<ref>{{qref|21|79|b=y}}</ref> would characterize Sulayman throughout his life. ''[[Hikmah|Ḥikmah]]'' ([[Wisdom]]), according to Muslim tradition, would always be associated with Solomon, who would later even be referred to as ''Sulaymān al-Ḥakīm'' ({{lang|ar|سُلَيْمَان ٱلْحَكِيْم}}, "Sulayman the Wise"). This story is adapted in the [[Kebra Nagast]], but as a dispute adjudicated by a son of Sulayman.

=== Solomon and the demons ===
The Quran narrates that Solomon,<ref name="quran3412">{{qref|34|12|b=y}}</ref> controlled the wind and the jinn. The jinn helped strengthen Solomon's reign. God caused a miraculous ''ʿayn'' ({{lang|ar|عَيْن}}, 'fount' or 'spring') of molten ''qiṭr'' ({{lang|ar|قِطْر}}, 'brass' or 'copper') to flow for Solomon, used by the jinn in their construction.<ref name="quran3412"/> The [[shaitan|devils]] (''shayatin'')<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Lebling |title=Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-857-73063-3}}</ref> and demons were forced building for him monuments.<ref>{{qref|34|13|b=y}}</ref>

When David died, Solomon inherited his position as the prophetic king of the Israelites. Solomon once permitted a woman to build a statue of her father. Later, she began to worship the statue and Solomon was rebuked for tolerating idolatry in his kingdom. As a punishment, God enabled one of the enslaved demons to steal Solomon's ring and take over his kingdom ([[Surah]] 38:34). He later repents his sin and gains control over the demons again, focusing on building the temple again.<ref>Shalev-Eyni, Sarit. "Solomon, his demons and jongleurs: The meeting of Islamic, Judaic and Christian culture". Al-Masaq 18.2 (2006): 145–160.</ref> He prayed to God to grant him a kingdom which would be unlike any after him.<ref name="Cite quran|38|35|s=ns">{{Cite quran|38|35|s=ns}}</ref> God accepted Solomon's prayer and gave him what he pleased

Construed [[Allegory|allegorically]], Solomon's loss of his ring to the demons, may be understood to represent a human losing its soul to demonic passion.<ref>{{cite web|author=Moiseeva Anna Vladimirovna |title=Prophet Sulaimān V Klassische Persische Poesie: Semantik Und Struktur Des Bildes{{!}}  Orientalistik {{!}}  Afrikanistik (volume 3)|year= 2020|url= https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/prorok-sulaym-n-v-klassicheskoy-persidskoy-poezii-semantika-i-struktura-obraza|website=CyberLeninka|accessdate=October 14, 2021}}</ref> [[Attar of Nishapur]] writes: "If you bind the ''div'' (demon), you will set out for the royal pavilion with Solomon" and "You have no command over your self's kingdom, for in your case the ''div'' is in the place of Solomon".<ref>Hamori, Andras. On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature. USA: Princeton University Press, 2015. p. 158</ref>

Unlike the Talmudic tradition, Solomon was unaware and never participated in idolatry.<ref>Shalev-Eyni, Sarit. "Solomon, his demons and jongleurs: The meeting of Islamic, Judaic and Christian culture". Al-Masaq 18.2 (2006): 155.</ref> Further, the Quran rejects that Solomon was a magician: "Never did Solomon disbelieve, rather the devils disbelieved. They taught magic to the people..." ({{qref|2|102|pl=y}})

=== Solomon and the ant ===
Solomon was taught the languages of various animals, such as [[ant]]s. The Quran recounts that, one day, Solomon and his army entered a ''wādin-naml'' ({{lang|ar|وَادِ ٱلْنَّمْل}}, [[ant colony|valley of the ant]]). On seeing Solomon and his army, a ''namlah'' ({{lang|ar|نَمْلَة}}, female ant) warned all the others to "get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it."<ref>{{qref|27|18|b=y}}</ref> Immediately understanding what the ant said, Solomon, as always, prayed to God, thanking him for bestowing upon him such gifts<ref>{{qref|27|19|b=y}}</ref> and further avoided trampling over the ant colonies.<ref name="Azzam" />{{rp|63}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Mawil Y. Izzi|last=Deen|chapter=Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society|title=Ethics of Environment and Development|editor1=Engel JR |editor2=JG Engel |year=1990|publisher=Bellhaven Press, London|chapter-url=http://www.mbcru.com/Texas%20Tech%20Mypage/Conservation%20Biology/Assignment%202/IzziDeenIslamicEcol.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714055330/http://www.mbcru.com/Texas%20Tech%20Mypage/Conservation%20Biology/Assignment%202/IzziDeenIslamicEcol.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-14}}</ref> Solomon's wisdom, however, was yet another of the gifts he received from God, and Muslims maintain that Solomon never forgot his daily prayer, which was more important to him than any of his gifts.

Exegetical literature emphasizes the ant's wisdom and explains the meaning behind Solomon's gift to control the wind. According to the ''Siraj al-Qulub'', a popular text with versions in Persian, [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz Turkic]], and [[Karluk languages|Karluc Turkic]],<ref name=Peacock />{{rp|style=ama|p=191}} the ant asked Solomon if he knows why he is called "Solomon" (''Süleyman''). Solomon says he does not, whereupon the ant goes on to explain: "Although your heart was sound (''selim'') and you know the circumstances of the next world, you have accepted a few pleasures of this world and have been deceived by its possession and kingship; therefore you are called Solomon." Afterwards, the ant asks Solomon if he knows why God has subdued the wind for him. Once again, Solomon negates and the ant answers: "He has subdued the wind for a reason: that which you have accepted is nothing. Just as the wind passes, the world's wealth and kingship pass too." Scholars like [[Fakhr al-Din Razi]] and [[al-Qurtubi]] elevated the ant to the rank of an exemplar for humans to follow.<ref name=Peacock>{{Cite book |first1=A.C.S.|last1=Peacock|title=Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia|publisher= Cambridge University Press| date=2019|doi= 10.1017/9781108582124|isbn=978-1-108-58212-4|s2cid=211657444}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=198}}

=== Conquest of Saba' ===
[[File:078 Tempelj sonca 2.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Temple of Awwam]] at [[Marib|Ma'rib]], the former capital of [[Sabaeans|Saba']] in what is now [[Yemen]]]]

Another important aspect of Solomon's kingship was the size of his army, which consisted of both men and jinn. Solomon would frequently assess his troops and warriors as well as the jinn and all the animals who worked under him. One day, when inspecting his troops, Solomon found the ''[[Hudhud (mythology)|Hud-hud]]'' ({{lang|ar|هُدْهُد}}, [[Hoopoe]]) missing from the assembly.<ref name="Qur'an,27:15–19">{{qref|27|15-19|b=y}}</ref> Soon afterwards, however, the Hud-hud arrived at Solomon's court, saying "I have found out something you do not know. I have just come to you from [[Sheba]] with sure news."<ref>{{qref|27|22|b=y}}</ref> The Hud-hud further told Solomon that the people of [[Sheba]] [[Solar deity|worshiped the Sun]], and that the woman who ruled the kingdom was highly intelligent and powerful. Solomon, who listened closely, chose to write a letter to the land of Sheba, through which he would try to convince the people of Sheba to cease their idolatrous worship of the [[Sun]], and come to the worship of [[God]]. Solomon ordered the Hud-hud to give the letter to the [[Queen of Sheba]] (Bilqis), and then to hide and observe her reaction.<ref name="Azzam" />{{rp|64}} The Hud-hud accepted Solomon's orders, and flew straight back to Sheba to deliver the letter to the Queen. The Queen then called her ministers to court and read aloud to them the letter from Solomon stating to the people of Sheba: "[[Basmala|In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful]], Do not be arrogant with me, but come to me, fully submitting (''[[Muslim]]īn'' {{lang|ar|مُسْلِمِيْن}})." She took counsel with her ministers and other court officials, saying "O chiefs! Advise me in this matter of mine, for I would never make any decision without you." The people of the court replied: "We are a people of strength and great ˹military˺ might, but the decision is yours, so decide what you will command." At length, however, the Queen came to Solomon, announcing her submission to God.<ref>{{qref|27|15-44|b=y}}</ref>

=== Solomon and the ''ifrit'' ===
While Bilqis was journeying to Solomon's court, the king bid his servants deliver her throne thither before her arrival. An ''[[ifrit]]'' offered his services ({{qref|27|38-40|pl=y}}), but Solomon declined, entrusting this task instead to a manservant, named [[Asif ibn Barkhiya]] in traditions. Being a pious fellow, the manservant prayed to God to move the throne for him. His prayer was answered, the throne appearing in Solomon's palace by the power of God. When Bilqis arrived, Solomon asked her if she recognised her throne. Struggling to grasp the miracle God had wrought, she at first gave the king an evasive answer, but later adopting the faith of Solomon, won over by the evidence that the miracle was not that of a mere Ifrit but that of God himself. Solomon had declined the ifrit's tempting offer, because he sought to rely solely upon God and not upon a demon or any other created being, and was rewarded for his piety with success in converting Bilqis to the true faith.<ref>Die Dschinn, Teufel und Engel im Koran [microform]
by Eichler, Paul Arno, 1889-Publication date 1928
Topics Koran Publisher Leipzig : Klein
Collection microfilm; additional_collections
Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive
Contributor Internet Archive
Language German
Microfilm
Addeddate 2007-02-13 00:12:26
Foldoutcount 0
Identifier MN40251ucmf_1
Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t4zg6hn3v
Openlibrary_edition OL14024173M
Openlibrary_work OL10715783W
Page 9
Ppi 400
</ref>

=== Death ===
[[Image:Mausoleum of Nabi Suleman.JPG|thumb|right| [[:commons:Category:Kursi Suleiman|Throne of Sulayman]] in the [[Temple Mount|Masjid Al-Aqsa]] (Temple Mount), [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] of Jerusalem]]

The Quran relates that Solomon died while he was leaning upon his staff and that he remained standing, propped up by it, until a little creature – ant or worm – gnawed at it, until, finally, it gave way – and only then did his body collapse. 
{{Blockquote|When We decreed Solomon's death, nothing indicated to the ˹subjected˺ jinn that he was dead except the termites eating away his staff. So when he collapsed, the jinn realized that if they had ˹really˺ known the unseen, they would not have remained in ˹such˺ humiliating servitude.|{{qref|34|14|c=y}}}}
As he remained upright, propped on his staff, the jinn thought he was still alive and supervising them.

They realized the truth only when God sent a creature to crawl out of the ground and gnaw at Solomon's staff, until his body collapsed. This verse is understood to teach the audience that jinn do not know the ''[[Al-Ghaib|unseen]]'' (''Al-Ghaib'') – had they known it, they would not have remained toiling like fools in the service of a dead man.<ref>''Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia'' [4 Volumes]. (2017). USA: ABC-CLIO. p. 1477</ref>