jj_prophet_sulayman

Prophet Sulayman was the youngest son of prophet Daud (AS).After the death of his father Sulayman became the King at at the age of thirteen. Allah (SWT) granted him a mighty kingdom.

He also gave him power over the Jinn's, birds, animals, and the wind. They all had to obey his orders. Allah (swt) also taught Sulayman (as) the languages of every living creature on earth.

At the command of Sulayman (as), they built huge temples, fortresses, towers, palaces made of glass, large basins of water reserves, and immovable cooking pots.

Once, Prophet Sulayman (as) and his army of Jinn's and animals were passing over the valley of the ants. Seeing the pomp and glory of the army, the chief of the ants alerted all the ants to get into their holes so that the army would not trample over them. With the help of the wind, Prophet Sulayman (as) heard what the chief of the ants had said. He smiled and ordered his army not to move forward until the ants had got into their holes.

He then addressed the chief of the ants, "How could my army harm you and your kind when we were passing well above you in the air? And don't you know that I am the prophet of Allah and would never hurt anyone unjustly?"

The ant replied, "O Prophet of Allah, I did not warn them because of any harm that they would suffer, but I was afraid they would forget the glory of Allah (swt) after seeing your army."

In spite of his wealth, glory, and vast empire, Prophet Sulayman (as) remained a humble and devoted servant of Allah (swt). He spent his nights in prayers and fasted during the days. He used his power and might only in the way of Allah (swt) to bring humankind to the right path. For his livelihood, he used to make baskets and sell them in the market; and with the money he obtained, he bought food and shared it with the poor.

One day, when he was inspecting the birds, he noticed that a bird called Hudhud (Hoopoe) was not present. He said, "Where is Hudhud? I will punish him severely if he remains absent without a good reason."

Shortly after that, Hudhud arrived and told Prophet Sulayman (as) that he had flown over the land of Saba (Sheba) where he had seen a beautiful woman ruling over the people. Her name was Bilqees. She had plenty of wealth, a strong army and a throne made of gold, diamonds and other precious stones. He saw her and the people worshipping the sun, instead of Allah (swt).

Prophet Sulayman (as) was very pleased with Hudhud and gave him a letter to deliver to Bilqees. Hudhud flew to the land of Saba and dropped the letter in the lap of Bilqees while she was in the palace.

When Bilqees received the letter, she called her advisors and said, "I have received an honorable letter from Sulayman. It begins In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful and it reads: "Accept Allah (swt) and worship only Him. I am his prophet, believe in what I say and accept my command".

Bilqees then asked her advisors to advise her as to what she should do. They replied, "We are very strong and have a powerful army to fight against Sulayman, but the decision is yours and we will obey your order."

Bilqees was wise and decided not to fight Prophet Sulayman (as). Instead, she sent him valuable gifts to see what he would do.

Prophet Sulayman (as) became very angry when he was presented with the gifts and said, "What! Do you offer me wealth? What Allah (swt) has given me is more superior to all the wealth on this earth. Go back to your queen with her gifts and tell her that I will soon march to conquer her land with a huge army."

When Bilqees heard what had happened, she decided to surrender herself to Prophet Sulayman (as) and make preparations to go meet him.

Meanwhile, on the orders of Prophet Sulayman (as), a palace of glass was built in honor of Bilqees. Even the floor was made of glass and water was put under it with different kinds of fish. The whole floor looked like a pool of water without the glass showing on top.

Sulayman (as) then asked who could bring the throne of Bilqees to him. One man, who was given a little knowledge by Allah (swt), said, "I will bring it in the twinkling of an eye." When Prophet Sulayman (as) saw the throne before him, he praised Allah (swt) and thanked Him for His favors.

When Bilqees arrived, she was amazed to see her throne and realized what power Allah (swt) had given to Prophet Sulayman (as). She then entered the palace through the courtyard whose floor was made of glass.She thought it was a pool of water. When Prophet Sulayman (as) informed her, what it was, she was overwhelmed with wonder and accepted him to be a prophet of Allah (swt). She said, "O Lord, I have wronged myself in worshipping the sun instead of you. I therefore give in myself with Sulayman to You, the Lord of the Worlds."

Prophet Sulayman (as) then married Bilqees and thereafter she returned to her land, where he visited her frequently. The people of Saba who were sun-worshippers, were converted to believe in Allah (swt) and to worship none other than Him.

One day, Prophet Sulayman (as), with the staff in his land, was viewing the kingdom around him, when he saw a young man approaching him. He was surprised and asked him, "Who are you and who gave you permission to enter the palace?" The visitor replied, "I have come in with the permission of Allah (swt), the owner of the universe. I am the angel of death and Allah has sent me to take your life away."