Allah the Almighty says :{ And he took attendance of the birds and said, “Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent? I will surely punish him with a severe punishment or slaughter him unless he brings me clear authorization.” But the hoopoe stayed not long and said, “I have encompassed [in knowledge] that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news Indeed, I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things, and she has a great throne. Found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are not guided, [And] so they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare - Allah - there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Great Throne.”
[Solomon] said, “We will see whether you were truthful or were of the liars.Take this letter of mine and deliver it to them. Then leave them and see what [answer] they will return.” She said, “O eminent ones, indeed, to me has been delivered a noble letter.
Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it reads: ‘In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Be not haughty with me but come to me in submission [as Muslims].’ She said, “O eminent ones, advise me in my affair. I would not decide a matter until you witness [for] me.”
They said, “We are men of strength and of great military might, but the command is yours, so see what you will command.” She said, “Indeed kings - when they enter a city, they ruin it and render the honoured of its people humbled. And thus do they do. But indeed, I will send to them a gift and see with what [reply] the messengers will return.” So when they came to Solomon, he said, “Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather, it is you who rejoice in your gift. Return to them, for we will surely come to them with soldiers that they will be powerless to encounter, and we will surely expel them therefrom in humiliation, and they will be debased.”
[Solomon] said, “O assembly [of jinn], which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?” A powerful one from among the jinn said, “I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am for this [task] strong and trustworthy.” Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, “I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you.”
And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, “This is from the favour of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous”1He said, “Disguise for her throne; we will see whether she will be guided [to truth] or will be of those who is not guided.” So when she arrived, it was said [to her], “Is your throne like this?” She said, “[It is] as though it was it.” [Solomon said], “And we were given knowledge before her, and we have been Muslims [in submission to Allah ].And that which she was worshipping other than Allah had averted her [from submission to Him]. Indeed, she was from a disbelieving people.” She was told, “Enter the palace.” But when she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her shins [to wade through]. He said, “Indeed, it is a palace [whose floor is] made smooth with glass.” She said, “My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds.”20-44 Surah An-Naml
Solomon had a very large army of men, jinn, and birds. One day, he was reviewing this army when he noted that the hoopoe bird was absent without permission. It was the job of the hoopoe to look for water when the army needed it. The bird had been travelling in the country of Saba (Sheba), which is in modern-day Yemen, and it returned and declared to Solomon :{ I come to you from Sheba with sure news. I found a woman ruling over the people, she has been given many blessings and has a mighty throne! I found her and her people worshiping the sun instead of Allah} (27:22-4)
Solomon was deeply distressed that a whole people should be lost in worshiping the sun, rather than the One God who created it. He decided to send a message to the Queen, inviting her and her people to worship God :{ Allah! – There is no god but He! – Lord of the Throne supreme! (Solomon) said: “Soon shall we see whether thou hast told the truth or lied! Go thou, with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them} (27:26-7)
The queen was a wise ruler and when she received the letter, she was suspicious that Solomon really wanted to control her territory. She decided to send him gifts and to see what his reaction to her splendid gifts would be. In this way, she would know if Solomon was only interested in wealth. She was impressed by Solomon’s reaction. Not only was he not interested in her gifts of gold and jewels, but he was actually quite offended to receive them. The belief in God was better to him than precious jewels: {Will ye give me abundance in wealth? But that which Allah has given me is better than that which He has given you!}(27:36)
The Queen of Sheba decided to travel to Solomon to see with her own eyes the one who had sent a message to her. Travelling a long distance with her courtiers, she eventually arrived at the court of Solomon. She was known to have a magnificent throne, and one of the jinn offered to Solomon to bring this throne before he could have time to stand up. Another wise man at the court offered to bring the throne to him within the blinking of an eye, and sure enough, the throne of Sheba was transported to him, so that it was waiting for her, in disguise, when she arrived:{ So when she arrived, she was asked, “Is this thy throne?” She said, “It seems the same. And knowledge was bestowed on us in advance of this, and we have submitted to Allah (in Islam).”}(27:42)
Having recognised her throne and recognised the Wisdom of Solomon, the queen entered the magnificent palace. Its floor was made of shimmering glass, which shined like water, and the queen, thinking it to be real water, lifted her skirts so that she would not get wet, which must have been very undignified for a queen, especially when Solomon told her: {...This is but a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass.. }(27:44)
The story of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon has a very beautiful ending. The queen declares:
{O my Lord! I have indeed wronged my soul: I do (now) submit (in Islam), with Solomon, to the Lord of the Worlds.} (27:44)
Moral lessons from the Sura
This Sura no.27, titled Sura Naml (The Ant), is a clear indication for human beings on fulfilling any lawful need, to overcome any difficulty and to settle matrimonial disputes.
One should pay attention to fulfilling any debts, keep it written and take measures to avoid poverty and financial issues by being active.
Other areas that the Sura touched upon are, how one needs to find good job or employment, to win a court’s case, release from imprisonment, how to get better offspring, how to overcome famine and drought, prayers for rain, necessity to defeat and overpower enemies and tyrant leaders, and to treat deadly incurable disease and sickness.
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