اَلْحَمْدُ لله ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِنَا محمد وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ
I want you to listen to these Ahadith(احاديث) and keep in mind that, Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد) was a king.
He was an a Nabi(نَبِي), and he was a king.
He was busy with establishing a kingdom, with fighting his enemies, with establishing justice, with establishing services for his people.
And then look at! What else he is doing.
Even though, he's doing all of this; look at what else
Rasool Allah ﷺ says he was doing;
أفْضَلَ الصَّوْمِ صَوْمُ اَخِى دَاوُدَ كانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا
The best fasting, is the fasting of my brother; Dawood(داؤد).
He would fast one day and break the next.
So he would alternate between fasting.
He would alternate between fasting throughout his life.
This is the king; whatever types of food or drink he wants; he can just point and they would approach him.
But he would fast.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ tells us something else about this Nabi(نَبِي) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى,
Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
ولا يَفِرُّ إذا لاقَى
He would never run away from battle.
If he's in the battlefield; Dawood(داؤد) would never show the enemy his back; brave and strong.
Rasool Allah ﷺ also says about Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد);
أَحَبَّ الصِّيَامِ إلى اللهِ، صِيَامُ دَاوُدَ،
وَأَحَبَّ الصَّلَاةِ إلى اللهِ، صَلَاةُ دَاوُدَ،
كانَ يَنَامُ نِصْفَهُ، ويقومُ ثُلُثَهُ، وَيَنَامُ سُدُسَهُ،
وَكانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا، وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا
Rasool Allah ﷺ says; The best fasting is the fasting of Dawood(داؤد); and the best prayers are the prayers of Dawood(داؤد).
He used to sleep the first half of the night; and then he would wake up and pray for one third of the night;
and then he would sleep for the remaining one sixth of the night.
So every night, he would pray one third of the night.
He had time for Ibadah(عبادة).
You have to find time for Ibadah(عبادة).
You might say; well, he's busy, he's king, he's is busy with running the affairs of his kingdom, how could he find time for this Ibadah(عبادة).
We need to understand that we cannot be good in whatever we're doing, and be successful in applying the law of Allah and making Da'wah(دعوة);
If we are not having these moments of deep worship with Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
In the depth of the night, and the Dhikr(ذكر), and the fasting are important for any Muslim
who's in the field of Da'wah(دعوة), or in the field of politics, or in the field of jihad or whatever.
This Ibadah(عبادة) is what prepares you for the work of the day.
Because one of the worst things, that could erode your heart and put permanent scars in it is; the political work.
I mean; working in politics can really wear down the heart and destroy it,
and take the Taqwa(تقوى) out of the heart like a drainage; it just take it out.
So anyone; who's working in that field which is political,
whether it is a king like, Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد); or a Khalifah(خليفه) like, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب); or a military general like, Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد).
You need that worship; you need that prayer of Qiyam-Al-Layl(قيام اليل) and Dhikr(ذكر), to keep you always on the right track.
So that is the energy, that they use to go ahead.
With the Kafir(كافر); Shaytan(شَيْطَانْ) is giving them energy to continue.
Because this is very difficult work.
But for the believer, if you do not have this Qiyam-Al-Layl(قيام اليل) and Dhikr(ذكر) of Allah and fasting; you could easily be misled and misguided.
Because these are very difficult field to work in; you're dealing with many conflicting ideas and things,
and it could take the concentration away from one's mind and heart.
So that's why, they need this Ibadah(عبادة).
And Sayidina Dawoodعليه السلام would pray one third of the night.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب); I remind you once again with the story.
When Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani(ابو مسلم ال-خولانى) came to deliver the news to Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) that certain area in Ash-Sham(ألشَّام) was opened.
Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani(ابو مسلم ال-خولانى) came into Madinah(مَدِينَه) when it was the time of noon.
And it was the tradition of the Arabs to sleep at noon.
Because it was very hot.
Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani(ابو مسلم ال-خولانى) did not want to go and disturb Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب).
So he went to the Masjid(مسجد).
He felt that, maybe Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) is sleeping; so I'll go to the Masjid(مسجد).
He went to the Masjid(مسجد) and he gave out the news; he spread the news to the people that; We won! We were victorious.
Somehow, the news reached to Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) called Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani(ابو مسلم ال-خولانى), he told him;
How come you didn't come and tell me first?
Who should you report to?
To the Khalifah(خليفه)!
You go and tell the people in the Masjid(مسجد).?
You should come and tell me first.
Why didn't you come and let me know?
Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani(ابو مسلم ال-خولانى) said;
Oh Ameer Ul-Mo'mineen(أميرالمؤمنين)! I came into Madinah(مَدِينَه) when it was time of noon; so I did not want to disturb you.
Because I thought that you were asleep.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) said;
هيهات هيهات انا نوم ،ان انمت بالنهار زيأت حق العباد، وان انمت باليل زیات حق الله
He said; How can I sleep!
If I sleep during the daytime, I would not fulfill my duties toward the people; toward my nation.
And if I sleep at night, I would not be able to fulfill my duties towards Allah.
If I sleep at the daytime; I would not fulfill my duties towards the creation.
And if I sleep at night; I would not be able to fill my duties towards the Creator.
They said that, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب); when he became Khalifah(خليفه), he never slept the traditional way of sleeping on a bed with a blanket.
He would sleep sitting down, or leaning on a wall, or take a nap here and there,
and keep on moving, keep on working; Mujahideen(مجاهدين); these were the graduates from the training of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Dawoodعليه السلام was very protective of his family.
He would not allow any man to see his wives.
And this is mentioned in a Hadith(حديث),
so when he would leave his home, or palace, or whatever; he would close all the doors, and not allow any man to get in.
Suddenly one day; the wife of Dawood(داؤد) sees a man in the middle of the house.
There's a man in our home.
She said;
والله لنفتضحن بداود
If Dawood(داؤد) knows about this; we're in big trouble.
How did this man get in?
Dawoodعليه السلام did come.
And he saw this man.
And he said; Who are you?
The man said;
انا الذي لا هاب الملوك ، ولا يمتنع منى شئى
He said; I am the one who never fears the kings; and nothing can run away from me.
I'm the one, who does not fear the kings, and nothing can run away from me.
Dawoodعليه السلام said;
والله إذا ملك الموت . مرحبا بأمر الله
In the name of Allah! You must be the angel of death; welcome with the decree of Allah.
A king; he has everything, a person would want in this life.
I mean; we are holding to this world; holding so tight to this world for a few bucks, that we make here and there.
We don't really have much, none of us are kings.
We don't have that much; and we're holding so tight to this world.
For the small part of the world which is allocated for us, we became servants to it.
And Dawoodعليه السلام is the king of the strongest nation of its time, and the Muslim ummah(امة) of that time; Bani Israel(بني أسرائيل).
And when he saw the angel of death, he said; Welcome!
مرحبا بأمر الله
Welcome with the decree of Allah, I'm ready! I'm ready to die!
Because, I wasn't the king for the kingdom;
I wasn't the king for the gold and silver;
I wasn't the king to love this world; I was a king to serve Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
I was doing this as a service for Allah.
I'm doing it for you Oh Allah! If you want me to leave, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى I want to meet You.
مرحبا بأمر الله
The Angel of Death took away the soul of Dawoodعليه السلام on the spot.
Sulaimanعليه السلام; his son, ordered the birds to cover the body of Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد), and to provide shade for him from the sun,
until they would finish the process of death.
And when night-time came; Sulaiman(سليمان) ordered the birds to Protect him,
and come closer to him, and to protect them with their wings, until they finish the process of making Dafan(دفن) of Sayidina Dawoodعليه السلام.
And this shows you that, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى made the birds servants for them.
The one who worships Allahسُبحانه وتعالى and he's righteous towards Allah; Allah can make steel; iron soft in his hands; Dawoodعليه السلام.
And Allahسُبحانه وتعالى can have the birds serve him.
This is the story of our beloved prophet of Allah, David; Dawoodعليه السلام.
We start with the story of Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَدَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَٰنَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِى ٱلْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ ٱلْقَوْمِ
إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ ٱلْقَوْمِ وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَٰهِدِينَ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
And remember Dawood(داؤد) and Sulaiman(سليمان); when they gave judgment in the case of the field,
in which the sheep of certain people had pastured at night, and We were witnesses to their judgment.
There are two neighbours.
One of them had a farm, and the other one had sheep.
The owner of the sheep forgot to lock his gate at night-time.
So the sheep, they went into the farm, and they enjoyed themselves.
And they destroyed everything in the farm.
The owner of the farm wakes up in the morning and sees that his farm is eaten and by his neighbour's goats or sheep.
They went to Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد), to ask him to give his Hukum(حكم); his judgment.
Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد) listen to both sides, and his Hukum(حكم) was; his judgment was that;
the owner of the farm takes over the sheep.
Because it was due to the carelessness of the owner of the sheep.
The owner of the sheep should give up his sheep to the owner of the farm; as a compensation.
You damaged his farm, give up the sheep; give it to him.
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام was outside of the court.
When they came out; he asked them; What happened?
They told him; What was the Hukum(حكم).?
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان), he took them back and he told his father; I have another Hukum(حكم).
My Hukum(حكم) is that; the owner of the sheep, should give the owner of the farm; the sheep.
The owner of the farm will keep the sheep with him, and make use of their milk; will drink from the milk.
While, the owner of the sheep fixes the farm.
And as soon as the farm is fixed and returned to its to its normal state that it was in,
then the owner of the sheep takes back his sheep again.
So the Fatwa(فتوى) of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) is that;
the sheep are given to the owner of the farm for a while, so that he can live off the milk of the sheep.
While, the owner of the sheep fixes the problems caused by his sheep.
As soon as the problem is fixed, and the farm is back to the state it was before;
then he takes his sheep, and the owner of the farm goes back to his farm.
And Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد) realize that this is the right Hukum(حكم), so he approved it.
And Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says in Qur'an;
فَفَهَّمْنَٰهَا سُلَيْمَٰنَ ۚ
We gave the right understanding to Sulaiman(سليمان).
Judgment in court; Al-Qadha(ال قضا); it's not a matter of only knowing the law.
Because both Dawood(داؤد) and Sulaiman(سليمان), they know the law.
We cannot say that, Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد) did not know the Hukum(حكم); did not know the law; did not know the Shariah(شريعة).
They both knew the law. But to apply the law; to apply the law in situations that is where people are different according to their understanding.
Now Allahسُبحانه وتعالى makes it clear to us that both of them had the understanding in applying the Shariah(شريعة) of Allah.
So Allahسُبحانه وتعالى after he said;
فَفَهَّمْنَٰهَا سُلَيْمَٰنَ ۚ
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَكُلًّا ءَاتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا ۚ
We gave them both; knowledge and the right judgment.
Both Dawood(داؤد) and Sulaiman(سليمان) had the knowledge, and had the right judgment.
It is just that, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى gave this understanding to Sulaiman(سليمان) in these situations.
And where was Sulaiman(سليمان) learning anyway; Who was training him?
It was his father.
I mean; he was learning from his father.
But sometimes, the son can be better than the father in some things.
But both of them, Dawood(داؤد) and Sulaiman(سليمان); Allahسُبحانه وتعالى blessed them with the law of Allah, and the ability to apply it.
At this point I mentioned it again; not everyone who has the understanding of the law; know how to apply it.
You could have memorized all of the laws; all of the books of Fiqh(فقه); all of the books of Hadith(حديث), but you might not know how to apply it.
This is a Mowhibah(مؤهبه); it's a gift from Allahسُبحانه وتعالى to some people, that they have the ability to apply the law in real situations.
And this is something, that some of the Sahabahرضى الله عنهم were better than others in.
And they excel like, for example; Sayidina Ali Ibn Abi Talib(سيدنا علي ابن ابي طالب) was famous among the Sahabah(صحابه) as being a very wise judge.
And Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) used to get assistance from Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب), and he would appoint him as a judge.
This is an understanding that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى gives to the people.
There is another case that was presented to Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد).
And this is in a Hadith(حديث) narrated by Al-Bukhari(البخاريْ).
Two women disputed, what happened is; these two women were shepherds.
So they went out with their sheep and they had their infants; the infants were the same age.
And they left their infant somewhere, and they went talking or maybe shepherding; a wolf came and ate one of the infants.
When the women came back, and they found that one of the infants is eaten.
Both of them claim that, the infant who is alive belongs to them.
Every one of them is saying; He's my son.
And they fought with each other, and they couldn't solve the problem.
They went to Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد).
Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد); he listened to both sides of the story.
He made the judgment that; the child should go to the eldest of them; Al-Kubra(الكبرى).
When they were leaving from the court; Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) asked them; What happened?
They told them what happened.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said; Get me the child.
And he said; Bring me a knife.
So the woman said; What do you want to do with a knife?
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said;
If you're not able to solve the problem, and know who this child belongs to; I'm going to split the child in two, between you.
The youngest woman immediately said; No! It belongs to her.
It's her son.
Sulaimanعليه السلام used this surprise against these two women.
Because he knew that the mother would not want this to happen to her child, and reaction would immediately show on her.
So Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) by this, was able to tell that the youngest one is the mother.
The one who said; No, it belongs to the eldest one.
Because she wanted to save her son.
So she said; No, it belongs to her.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said; Then you take the child.
And he gave it back to the youngest among them.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says; Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام inherited his father Dawood(داؤد).
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ عِلْمًا ۖ
We have given knowledge to David and Sulaiman(سليمان).
Knowledge is one of the things that, we could become proud with and it is similar to money.
We always tend to give credit to our hard work.
I am successful because, I studied hard; or I'm rich because, I worked hard.
But with anything; whether it is money, wealth or knowledge; all; all of the credit goes back to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
It is Allah who made it possible for you to study.
It is Allah who made it possible for you to work hard.
Allah could have inflicted you with the disease, and no matter how hard worker you are; you wouldn't be able to do anything.
So it's a Tawfeeq(توفيق) from Allah; Allah is the one who made it possible for you to do this.
Sayidina Dawood(سيدناداؤد) and Sulaiman(سليمان); who were at the highest levels of knowledge in their time.
Nobody else had more knowledge than they did.
Nobody had more understanding than they did.
They were the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء) of Allah.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى say that; We gave them knowledge; What was their response?
They said;
وَقَالَا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي فَضَّلَنَا عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّنْ عِبَادِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ۝
They said; All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has preferred us above many of His believing slaves.
So the blessing is from Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
And Allahسُبحانه وتعالى is the One, Who is thanked.
And the issue of thanking, is a very, very important Ibadah(عبادة).
Ibn Al-Qayyim(إبنِ ألقَيِّم) says that, There are two wings for the bird;
one of them is Shukr(شكر) and one of them is Sabr(صبر).
We have to have these two wings.
On one side we have thanks; and on one side we have patience.
If anything good happens to us; we think Allah.
If anything bad happens to us; we have patience.
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَٰنُ دَاوُۥدَ ۖ
And Sulaiman(سليمان) inherited David.
What did Sulaiman(سليمان) inherit from his father?
He Inherited from him; An-Nabuwwah(اَلنَّبُوَّة); Prophet-hood and Kingdom.
It is not the wealth; because Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء); they do not leave behind wealth.
What they leave behind is; Sadaqah(صدقة), but it is the kingdom and it is the Nabuwwah(نبُوَّة) the Prophethood.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى tested Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام with some tests.
إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِٱلْعَشِىِّ ٱلصَّٰفِنَٰتُ ٱلْجِيَادُ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says; When there were displayed before him in the afternoon; well trained horses of the highest breed.
This was like an army parade in front of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان), to show his army.
So they were marching the horses in front of him, and he was inspecting the horses.
When he was inspecting the horses, he got busy with that.
And the time of Salah(صلوة) passed, and he missed the Salah(صلوة).
فَقَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ ٱلْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّى حَتَّىٰ تَوَارَتْ بِٱلْحِجَابِ۝
And he said; Alas! I did love the good, instead of remembering my Lord
in my Asr(عصر) prayer, this is in Paranthesis;
till the time was over, and the sun had hidden in the veil of night.
Sulaiman(سليمان) was inspecting these horses, and the time of Maghrib(مغرب) came before he prayed Asr(عصر); So, he missed Asr(عصر).
The next Ayah(آية) says;
رُدُّوهَا عَلَىَّ ۖ فَطَفِقَ مَسْحًۢا بِٱلسُّوقِ وَٱلْأَعْنَاقِ۝
Then he said; Bring these horses back to me, and he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks.
There are two opinions, given in the Tafseer(تفسير) of this Ayah(آية).
And both of them are nothing more than opinions.
There's no strong Hadith(حديث) or evidence, that either one of them is right, or maybe if both of them could be wrong.
The two opinions are; one of them is that;
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); he passed his hands over the horses, as an honoring for these horses of Jihad(جهاد).
The other opinion is that;
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) who was upset; because the horses were the cause of distracting him from Salah(صلوة).
So he cut off their necks, and killed them.
Ibn Jarir At-Tabari(ابن جرير ألطبري) refuses to accept the second opinion, because he says;
How come Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) would blame the horses, who are innocent, for this.
So there's no way to choose any one of the opinions.
And then the first opinion; what does it mean by passing his hand over them?
But the lesson that we learn from the Ayah(آية) is clear.
And first of all, we believe in the Ayaat(آيات) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
And the lesson is clear that, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى was testing him.
And this test did also happen to Rasool Allah ﷺ in one of the battles.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was busy with fighting, and they missed the Salah(صلوة), and Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
قاتل هم الله او لعنهم الله شغلونا عن الصلاة
May Allah curse them! or May Allah fight them! They have distracted us from Salah(صلوة).
And Rasool Allah ﷺ could not pray until, the sun has already set.
Some of the Ulama(عُلَمَا) derive a Hukum(حكم) from this؛
that If the battle ground allows you to pray Salat-ul-Khauf(صلوةالخوف), then pray Salat-ul-Khauf(صلوةالخوف).
In case, the fighting is so vicious and tough, and you're not even able to pray Salat-ul-Khauf(صلوةالخوف); then you can delay it and pray it when the battle is over.
This is the Hukum(حكم) of some of the Ulama(عُلَمَا) derived from this Hadith(حديث).
Another test happened to Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان). Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَٰنَ وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَىٰ كُرْسِيِّهِۦ جَسَدًا ثُمَّ أَنَابَ۝
And We indeed, did try Solomon, and he placed on his throne; Jasadan(جَسَدًا), but he did return to Allah with obedience and repentance.
There is a Hadith(حديث) that is Sahih(صحيح), which could explain what this Ayah(آية) means.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
قالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بنُ دَاوُدَ: لَأَطُوفَنَّ اللَّيْلَةَ علَى سَبْعِينَ امْرَأَةً، تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ فَارِسًا يُجَاهِدُ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ،
فَقالَ له صَاحِبُهُ: إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، فَلَمْ يَقُلْ، ولَمْ تَحْمِلْ شيئًا إلَّا واحِدًا، سَاقِطًا أَحَدُ شِقَّيْهِ،
فَقالَ النبيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ: لو قالَهَا لَجَاهَدُوا في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام in this Hadith(حديث); Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
He said that, he will pass by all of his 70 wives.
Another Hadith(حديث), it is 90, and this Hadith(حديث) is Sahih(صحيح) in Bukhari(بخاريْ).
So he's going to sleep with every one of his wives.
And he did that with the intention of; all of the children that will be born, they will fight in the sake of Allah.
He wants to have Mujahideen(مجاهدين);
so he decided that, he will sleep with every one of his wife; So that, she could give birth to a Mujahid(مُجَاهِد) in the sake of Allah.
His associates told him; In Sha Allah(إنْ شاءالله)! Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) did not say, In Sha Allah(إنْ شاءالله).
And he went ahead, and slept with every one of the wives.
None of them became pregnant except, one of them.
And then; she delivered half a child.
Somehow, it was mutilated, and only half of the child was remaining; and it was a dead body.
And this is the meaning of the Ayah(آية); We tested Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); It's a trial from Allah.
وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَىٰ كُرْسِيِّهِۦ جَسَدًا
We threw on his throne, a dead body.
ثُمَّ أَنَابَ۝
Then, he returned to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
It's a test from Allahسُبحانه وتعالى for him; to say, In Sha Allah(إنْ شاءالله)!
And therefore, whenever we want to do something in the future; we always need to tie it to the will of Allah.
Because nothing can happen, if Allah does not will.
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام; as Allah says; Returned to Allah.
ثُمَّ أَنَابَ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَّا يَنبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِي ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ۝
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said; Oh Allah! Forgive me.
And after he asked Allah for forgiveness, he made a Dua(دُعَا).
He said; Oh Allah! Give me a kingdom that will occur to nobody else after me.
My Lord! Forgive me; and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me; verily You are the bestower.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) is not asking kingdom, for the sake of kingdom; that is not the acture of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء).
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) is asking for a kingdom, that would be a miracle; that would be his miracle.
So the miracle of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) would be his kingdom.
Because every Nabi(نَبِي) Allahسُبحانه وتعالى gives him a miracle.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) asked Allah to give him a kingdom that will be unique; different from any other.
And that would be the miracle of Sulaiman(سليمان); and we will see that it was truly a miracle.
And Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); no other person, Nabi(نَبِي) or not a Nabi(نَبِي), was given a kingdom similar to Sulaiman(سليمان).
The kingdom of Sulaiman(سليمان) was unique.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى accepted the Dua(دُعَا) of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان). Allah says;
فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ ٱلرِّيحَ تَجْرِى بِأَمْرِهِۦ رُخَآءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ۝
So We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently to his order, wherever he willed.
And we're going to talk about some other things in this kingdom.
But first, let me read to you this Ayah(آية);
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَٰنُ دَاوُۥدَ ۖ وَقَالَ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ ٱلطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ۖ
إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْمُبِينُ۝
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said;
Oh mankind! We have been taught the language of birds, and on us have been bestowed all things.
What does all things mean?
Some of these things that the Ayah(آية) talked about is; Number one;
Wind.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) had control over the wind for distance of a month.
So he can use wind to travel for him, and accomplish things, a distance of a month.
That's the span, that Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) had control over; distance of a month; that is the area of his control.
Number one; control over wind.
وَٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّآءٍۢ وَغَوَّاصٍۢ۝
And also the devils from the Jinn(جِن), every kind of builder and diver.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى made the Shayateen(شَيَاطِين); the Devils, servants with Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
And he would command them, with whatever order he want.
Some of them would dive in the oceans, and some of them would build for him.
And there's other Ayaat(آيات) that talk about this.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى also taught him the language of birds.
And we also know from another Ayah(آية); that he knew the language of; the ants.
And the other Ayah(آية);
وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ ۖ
And We made a fountain of brass to flow for him.
This was a fountain Allah-u-Aa'lam(اللَّهُ أَعْلمَ) how; but it would flow with brass.
We know that his father, Dawoodعليه السلام had the ability to mold iron; steel.
With Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); Allahسُبحانه وتعالى provided him with a fountain of brass.
This brass would come out molten; he can mold it in whatever form he wants.
وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَن يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ ۖ
وَمَن يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِييرِ۝
And there were Jinn(جِن), that worked in front of him, by the leave of his Lord,
and whomsoever of them turned aside from our command; we shall cause him to taste the torment of the blazing fire.
Anyone of these Jinn(جِن), who would go against the order of Sulaiman(سليمان); would be punished.
يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُۥ مَا يَشَآءُ مِن مَّحَٰرِيبَ وَتَمَٰثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍۢ كَٱلْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍۢ رَّاسِيَٰتٍ ۚ
ٱعْمَلُوٓاْ ءَالَ دَااوُۥدَ شُكْرًا ۚ وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
They worked for him what he desired; making high rooms, images, basins, as large as resolvers, and cooking cauldrons fixed in their places.
These are things that the Jinn(جِن) would do for Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
And then, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
ٱعْمَلُوٓاْ ءَالَ دَاوُۥدَ شُكْرًا ۚ
Allah here, is commanding the family of Dawood(داؤد); Dawood(داؤد) and his son, to give thanks.
But notice here, an important word in the Ayah(آية).
What does the Ayah(آية) says;
ٱعْمَلُوٓاْ
We always think of thanks as a word, to say; Alhamdulillah(اَلْحَمْدُ لله)!
But Allahسُبحانه وتعالى is saying in the Ayah(آية); and act with thanks.
ٱعْمَلُوٓاْ شُكْرًا ۚ
So thanking Allah is not only through the word; it is also through the actions.
عَمَل
ٱعْمَلُوٓاْ ءَالَ دَاوُۥدَ شُكْرًا ۚ
Act with gratitude, and thanks to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
So Shukr(شكر) needs action.
You thank Allahسُبحانه وتعالى through your actions.
And then, Allah says;
وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ۝
Only a few of my servants are thankful and grateful.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was praying, and he started making moves in a Salah(صلوة).
So the Sahabahرضى الله عنهم asked Rasool Allah ﷺ; What were you doing?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; Ash-Shaytan(الشَّيْطَانْ) came in front of my face; and he wanted to distract me from my Salah(صلوة).
یلبس علیہ قراۃ القرآن
Shaytan(شَيْطَانْ) was trying to confuse Rasool Allah ﷺ and his Qirah(قراة).
Rasool Allah ﷺ pushed him first, he came back; push him a second time, he came back; pushed him a third time, the Shaytan(شَيْطَانْ) came back;
Rasool Allah ﷺ grabbed him and chocked him.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; I felt his saliva dripping on my hand.
He choked him so hard.
And then Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
And I was about to bring him forward, and tie him to a pillar in the Masjid(مسجد) so that the kids could play with.
Throw things at him, and he's tied to a pillar.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; But I didn't do so; because I remember the Dua(دُعَا) of my brother Sulaiman(سليمان), when he said;
Oh Allah! Give me a kingdom that will occur to no one else.
What does this mean?
Rasool Allah ﷺ was about to take control of this Jinn(جِن); this Shaytan(شَيْطَانْ), and tie it to the Masjid(مسجد).
But the reason, why he didn't do so،
is because; he remembered that this is something that was unique with Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان).
The control over Jinn(جِن) was something unique given to Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان).
Nobody else had the control over the Jinn(جِن).
And that's why, Rasool Allah ﷺ released the Jinn(جِن);
because he knew that, that's something that belongs to the uniqueness of the Kingdom of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان).
The control of the wind; the control of the Jinn(جِن); the ability to speak the language of the bird and the ant;
these are some things that were unique with Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
And he made a Dua(دُعَا) to Allah and Allah promised him that your kingdom will be unique.
And that's the uniqueness of the kingdom of Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
We talk about the Dua(دُعَا) of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان).
We would talk about one of the major events or the accomplishments of Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام,
and that was the rebuilding and expansion of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa(مسجد الاقصى); the furthest mosque.
Contrary to the belief of Jews; it is not Sulaiman(سليمان) who established the so called temple; they call it the temple.
It's not a temple; it’s a Masjid(مسجد).
They say; Sulaiman(سليمان) is the one, who built the temple.
They call it; Solomon's temple.
No!
The Masjid Al-Aqsa(مسجد الاقصى) was not established by Sulaiman(سليمان).
Who's the one who built it?
Sayidina Yaqubعليه السلام.
Because in the Hadith(حديث), Rasool Allah ﷺ is telling Abu Dhar(ابو زر);
that the first Masjid(مسجد) that was built is; Al-Masjid Al-Haram(المسجد الحرام); Al-Ka'bah(الكعبه).
That was the first house that was built.
Abu Dhar(ابو زر) said; And then what next?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; The furthest mosque; Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa(المسجد الاقصى);
وبينهما اربعون سنه
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; And then the furthest mosque, and that was built by Sayidina Isra'il; Yaqubعليه السلام,
and between the time of building Al-Ka'bah(الكعبه) and the furthest mosque is 40 years, and that's mentioned in the Hadith(حديث).
What Sulaiman(سليمان) did is that; he expanded it or rebuilt it.
After he finished the building of a Masjid Al-Aqsa(مسجد الاقصى); he made a Dua(دُعَا) to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى and he asked Allah for three things.
يقول صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن سليمان بن داود عليهما السلام ، سأل الله ثلاثا فأعطاه اثنتين ، ونحن نرجو أن تكون له الثالثة ؛
فسأله حكما يصادف حكمه ، فأعطاه إياه ،
Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
Sulaiman(سليمان) asked Allah for three things, Allah has given him two; Allah granted him two.
And we hope that Allah has granted him the third.
Sulaiman(سليمان) asked Allah, number one;
To give him a Hukm(حکم)
يصادف حكمه
To give him judgment that will be the same as the judgment of Allah.
Meaning that; Sulaiman(سليمان) asked Allah to make his judgment according to what Allah wants; what pleases Allah.
So whatever I would judge, that would be the right judgment.
That is what Allah is pleased with.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
فأعطاه إياه ،
Allah has given him that; He was granted that Dua(دُعَا).
The second Dua(دُعَا);
وسأله ملكا لا ينبغي لأحد من بعده ، فأعطاه إياه ،
And he asked Allah to give him a kingdom that will occur to nobody else; a unique kingdom.
Rasool Ullah says; And Allah has given Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); granted him that Dua(دُعَا).
The third Dua(دُعَا);
وسأله أيَّما رجلٍ خرج من بيته لا يريد إلا الصلاة في هذا المسجد
خرج من خطيئته مثل يوم ولدته أمه
فنحن نرجو أن يكون الله عز وجل قد أعطاه إياه
Rasool Allah ﷺ says; And the third Dua(دُعَا) of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) was that;
If any man leaves his home with no intention other than praying in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa(المسجد الاقصى); the furthest mosque,
than Oh Allah! Take him out of the Masjid(مسجد), as if he has left out with no sins just like the day he was born.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ says; And we ask Allah that He has given him that Dua(دُعَا).
So this Dua(دُعَا) was done by Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) and it was repeated by Sayidina Rasool Allah ﷺ;
and we expect that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى will accept that Dua(دُعَا).
Therefore, the Ulama(عُلَمَا) say,
that if you leave from your home with no intention other than praying in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa(المسجد الاقصى);
if you go there and pray two Raka'ah(ركعه) with the sincerity,
by the time you leave the door of the Masjid(مسجد); you would be leaving as if you were born with no sins.
So we ask Allahسُبحانه وتعالى to grant us a Salah(صلوة) in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa(المسجد الاقصى)
and to free it from al Al-Yahood(ال يهود); the Jewish terrorists who have taken over the third holy site of Islam; Masjid Al-Aqsa(مسجد الاقصى).
We ask Allahسُبحانه وتعالى to free it from their hands and to give it back to the Ummah(امة) of Islam; the ummah(امة) of Muhammadﷺ.
Allah says and these Ayaat(آيات) are from Surat-ul Namal(سورة النمل).
Surat-ul Namal(سورة النمل) mentions a portion of the story of Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان).
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَٰنَ جُنُودُهُۥ مِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ وَٱلطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُيُوزَعُونَ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
And there were gathered before Sulaiman(سليمان); Solomon, his soldiers of Jinn(جِن), and men, and birds, and they were all set in battle order.
وَحُشِرَ
Hushira(حُشِرَ) means; assembled and gathered in one place.
Hushira(حُشِرَ); when you have things in different areas and you bring them together that's called Hashar(حَشَر).
That's why the Day of Judgment is called yaum-al-hashr(يوم الحشر).
Because you have people all over the world, and you're bringing them to one place; you're assembling them together.
Over here Sayidina Sulaiman علیہ السلام is gathering his army.
And the Ayah(آية) says that, he has a battalion of men; soldiers, and a battalion of Jinn(جِن), and the squadron of birds.
Imagine that army, that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى put under his command and control, creation, which nobody else had control over.
So Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام had control over the Jinn(جِن) or at least part of them or maybe all, Allah-u-Aalam(اللَّهُ أَعْلمَ).
And he also had control over this, army of birds, that would join him in his army.
Allah-u-Aalam(اللَّهُ أَعْلمَ)! What uses he would find for them?
But they were part of his army.
فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ۝
Yuzaoon(يُوزَعُونَ) Because the army is so large, and so huge and vast, and contains thousands or maybe millions of soldiers.
They had to have security guards to monitor the army, and to make sure that all the army is there and we're not leaving anybody behind.
So they have to have the security around the army to make sure that everyone is moving together because it's like an ocean moving.
They were marching, and they came into a valley.
This Valley was occupied by ants.
There are many ants in this valley.
And Allahسُبحانه وتعالى called it wadiy namal(وَادِ ٱلنَّمْلِ); the valley of ants.
There were so many ants living in that valley; it was called the Valley of ants.
They found residents in that valley and there were millions of them living in it.
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام doesn't know that, this is the valley of ants, he was passing through it; his army was marching.
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوْاْ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمْلِ
And when they came across the valley of ants.
One of the ants saw the army approaching; it was the first and to see the army coming.
What would be a natural reaction?
When you see an army of humans, and Jinn(جِن), and birds in the air marching towards you, and you are the small creation; an insect,
what would be the natural reaction in such a situation?
To run; you would run; run away from danger.
This was not the reaction of the ant.
We would expect the natural reaction is that, you would immediately run away from this approaching danger.
But the ant didn't do that, and Subhan Allah(سُبْحان الله)! We find a lesson.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى doesn't mention anything in Qur'an except for a reason.
We can have a whole talk about ants, and learn lessons from it,
and find that we are lacking in things which this and it's kingdom had.
This ants knew that if it runs away, it's not gonna survive.
Because it's part of an ummah; it's part of a nation.
And the survival of that ant depends on the survival of its ummah(امة).
Because if the ummah(امة) is destroyed; it wouldn't do the ant any good even if it's alive; it's going to end up dying in the end.
And this is something that every Muslim should learn and realize, that your survival is based on the survival of your ummah(امة).
Never think that you can make it alone.
You have to have the support of the ummah(امة), and you need to take care of the ummah(امة), and you need to be concerned about the ummah(امة).
If you are not concerned about the ummah(امة), then realize that you're dead.
If you do not have the concern that this ant had for its ummah(امة), then know that you are already dead before you even die.
This ant said;
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمْلُ ٱدْخُلُواْ مَسَٰكِنَكُمْ
Oh you ants! Enter into your dwellings.
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمْلُ ٱدْخُلُواْ مَسَٰكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ۝
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says; And one of the ants said;
Oh ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulaiman(سليمان) and his hosts should crush you, while they perceive not.
They might crush you.
So it gave the advice to the whole ummah(امة) of ants, to go down in your dwellings.
So it fulfilled its responsibility towards his ummah(امة).
There's also something else we notice in the end of the Ayah(آية);
وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ۝
The ant said; that Sulaiman(سليمان) and his army would crush you.
And what's worse than killing; I mean, the whole ummah(امة) of the ant could be dead.
Nevertheless, the ant found an excuse for Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) and said;
وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ۝
And they don't proceed so; they don't know.
It didn't say that, they're intentionally going to kill us and get rid of us; It said;
وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ۝
Even though, it's a matter of life and death; We are going to die; if we don't move from this place.
Even though, we're going to lose our life; we're still going to give them an excuse.
And we're going to say that, he's doing so; he doesn't intend to do so.
وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ۝
The ant is finding an excuse for Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) in something that has so importance, in the issue of life and death.
Sometimes very minor things could happen between us, very minor things and we wouldn't find an excuse.
In fact, we would try to indict a person, and to accuse a person.
We, instead of trying to find 70 excuses for the person; we would try to find 70 ways to accuse a person.
Over here, it's an issue of life and death, and the ant is still find an excuse for Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان), and saying;
They don't perceive so; they don't know.
These are important things that we can learn from An-Namlah(اَلنَّمْلَة); the ant.
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام understands the language of the ants.
And he heard what the ant said.
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا
So he smiled.
When he heard this announcement from the ants; he smiled.
So he; Solomon smiled; amused at her speech.
This is a skill that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); the ability to understand the language of the birds, and the ants.
He attributed the credit and the thanks to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
He said;
قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ
Oh Allah! Gives me the ability to thank you and be grateful, for what you have given me.
We; the ummah(امة) of Muhammadﷺ are the followers of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء).
And we inherited all of the valid teachings of the prophets of Allah; in the form of the stories of Qur'an and the stories of Hadith(حديث).
And all of the falsifications; that were attributed to the prophets and they are free from.
Alhamdulillah(اَلْحَمْدُ لله)! In the religion of Islam; we, with the protection of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى for the book of Islam; none of these crept in to the religion.
So the valid teachings of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء);
whether we're talking about Eesa(عيسى), or Musa(موسى), or Dawood(داؤد), or Sulaiman(سليمان), or Nuh(نوح), or Hud(هود), or Saleh(صالح);
their teachings are given to us through Qur'an.
And we follow the Sunan(سنن) of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء).
We just talked about, for example; in Hajj(حَجْ); Rasool Allah ﷺ was standing in Hajj(حَجْ) and said;
قِفوا على مشاعِرِكُم فإنَّكم على إرثٍ من إرثِ أبيكم إبراهيمَ
Stand on your Masha'ir(مشاعِر).
Masha'ir(مشاعِر) are the places of worship.
Because you are on the inheritance of your father Ibrahim(اِبْراهِيْم).
These are things we inherited from Sayidina Ibrahimعليه السلام.
Over here, we find an important Sunnah(سنة).
Whenever, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى blesses you with a skill; or blesses you with any Ni'mah(نعمة); whether it is wealth, or intelligence, or any ability.
Whenever, Allahسُبحانه وتعالى gives you this Ni'mah(نعمة); always thank Allahسُبحانه وتعالى for it.
And whenever something good happens to you, due to that skill, then immediately follow it with Hamd(حَمد).
For example; when you pass an exam; the first reaction should not be jumping up and down in happiness.
Your first reaction should be Alhamdulillah(الحمدللہ)!
If your business goes well; the first reaction should be not to say MashaAllah(ماشاالله); I'm a very intelligent and wise businessman.
The first reaction which should be what?
Alhamdulillah(اَلْحَمْدُ لله)!
If Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given you knowledge, and you are able to benefit someone with this knowledge,
and you noticed that knowledge that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given you, and you notice the fruits of that knowledge on somebody else,
say; Alhamdulillah(اَلْحَمْدُ لله)!
If Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given you money and you have given away that money in the form of Sadaqah(صدقة).
Immediately, after you give this Sadaqah(صدقة) say; Alhamdulillah(اَلْحَمْدُ لله)!
Follow up every Ni'mah(نعمة) that Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given you with Shukr(شكر).
That is the least that we could do to be grateful to Allahسُبحانه وتعالى for what He has given us.
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰللِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًا
وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ۝
He said; My Lord!
Inspire me, and bestow upon me the power and ability, that I may be grateful for Your favours, which You have bestowed on me and on my parents,
and that I may do righteous good deeds, that would please You and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous slaves.
A beautiful Dua(دُعَا) that we could remember.
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ
وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ۝
Let's go back to the Ayah(آية) we talked about earlier.
وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَٰنَ جُنُودُهُۥ مِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ وَٱلطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ۝
And the army of Sulaiman(سليمان) was assembled; the humans, the soldiers, the men, and the Jinn(جِن), and the birds; huge army.
Keep this in mind and then let's look at the next Ayah(آية);
وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ اللْغَائِبِينَ۝
He inspected the birds and said;
What is the matter that I see not the hoopoe or is he among the absentees?
Al-Hudhud(الهدهد) is a bird; hoopoe.
We call it a bird.
Sulaiman(سليمان) was inspecting his army.
His army of thousands, or maybe millions.
This huge army, which Allahسُبحانه وتعالى said;
فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ۝
And he noticed the absence of one bird.
We find an important tip for leaders in this.
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) was a king.
He could spend his time in a palace.
But he was there, in the battlefield, inspecting the army and he was able to notice the absence of one bird.
One bird out of many.
مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ۝
So as I said; this might be a good tip or important lesson, for anybody who's in a position of leadership;
to be able to realize their responsibility that they have towards their followers.
He didn't find Al-Hudhud(الهدهد). So he said;
لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُۥ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَاْذْبَحَنَّهُۥٓ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّى بِسُلْطَٰنٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ۝
I will surely punish him with a severe torment, or even slaughter him, unless, he brings me a clear reason.
The Hudhud(هدهد) was absent, Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said;
Number one;
I would punish him, a severe punishment, or slaughter him, if the sin is greater than I would slaughter him; the bird is dead,
unless the bird presents me with a clear reason for being absent.
You find here that the rule is very strict.
Sulaiman(سليمان) didn't say I would let the bird go.
It's either as punishment,
and then he said;
عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا
It's not only punishment but severe.
The second option is execution.
أَوْ لَأَاْذْبَحَنَّهُۥ
Unless, the bird brings me with a clear reason.
The reason why the law over here is strict,
is because; here we're dealing with what?
We're dealing with a military situation; This is army.
And if we look at the Seerah(سيرة) of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
we would find when Rasool Allah ﷺ is in the battlefield and going to Jihad(جهاد), the rules are strict.
It's a military order.
It's different than the rule in Madinah(مَدِينَه).
I'll give you an example.
In the Battle of Tabook(تبوك); Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
لا يلحقن بنا الا مقوى
Only one with strong transportation should follow us.
Because the Battle of Tabook(تبوك); in that battle, they're going to be crossing the long deserts of Arabia.
They're going to go all the way until the North passing Sahara An-Nufud(انّفود), which is a very rigid and tough environment and it's a long way.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; Nobody should come with us unless their camel is strong.
If your camel is weak, don't come.
Because you're putting yourself in danger.
One of the soldiers of the army really wanted to go out and fight in the sake of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى;
he disobeyed the order and he came on a very weak camel.
And he followed Rasool Allah ﷺ on that weak camel.
Rasool Allah ﷺ has given clear orders; Don't come if you have a weak camel.
That man disobeyed the order; What happened is;
his camel fell down and the man died.
Because the camel was weak; It couldn't withhold this difficult situation.
So the camel fell down and this soldier fell off the camel and died.
The Sahabahرضى الله عنهم were saying; Ash-Shaheed(اَلشَّهِيد) ! Ash-Shaheed(اَلشَّهِيد)!
They said; Ash-Shaheed(اَلشَّهِيد); He became a Shaheed(شَهِيد); He died in the sake of Allah.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said; Don't say he's Shaheed(شَهِيد); he has disobeyed my orders.
He is not a Shaheed(شَهِيد) because he disobeyed the order Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Let's look at a similar situation in Madinah(مَدِينَه); the mother of Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) brought her son, Anas(أنس) to Rasool Allah ﷺ and said;
I'm giving you away my son to be your servant.
The Sahabah(صحابه) of Rasool Allah ﷺ; they wanted to serve Rasool Allah ﷺ with their own life.
They would give their lives for Rasool Allah ﷺ.
This mother; she came and she brought her son Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) and said; Take my son to be your servant.
So he would serve Rasool Allah ﷺ.
One day, Rasool Allah ﷺ told him; go out and buy me something, and he gave Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) some money.
Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) went to the market, he was still young.
On the way he saw some children playing.
So he took a turn and went to play with the kids and forgot about the order of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
And time was dragging and he was playing.
And then Rasool Allah ﷺ was waiting, Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) didn't come back;
Rasool Allah ﷺ went out looking for him; he found him playing with the kids.
He told him what happened?
Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك) remembered the order of Rasool Allah ﷺ; he was checking his pockets, he found that he lost the money.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him; continue playing, continue playing.
Rasool Allah ﷺ forgive Anas Ibn Malik(أنس إبن مالك).
He lost the money; he didn't bring what Rasool Allah ﷺ told him to bring.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him; continue to play.
The more severe the situation; the stricter the rules are going to be.
Because in a military situation, in an army; it is more severe situation so the rules are stricter.
And we find that the Muslims lost in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد) because of one rule that was broken.
فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍۢ
But the hoopoe stayed not long.
The hoopoe; the bird came back, and it came back with news.
فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِۦ
I have grasped knowledge which you have not grasped.
This bird is telling Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام, that I have grasped knowledge; I came over knowledge that you don't have.
A statement like this, cannot be said to many kings in the world today; If you say that; you're dead.
If you say that I have knowledge that you don't have; you could be dead.
But Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام; a Nabi(نَبِي) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى; with the humbleness of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء);
Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) was willing to listen and to learn, even if it's coming from a bird.
وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍۢ يَقِينٍ۝
I have brought you from Saba'(سَبَإٍ); true news.
Saba'(سَبَإٍ) is in Yemen, in an area called Ma'rib(معرب) that's the center or the capital of the Kingdom of Saba'(سَبَإٍ).
And the Kingdom of Saba'(سَبَإٍ) was in a very fertile land and valley.
But that area does not receive a lot of rain.
The land is very fertile but the area does not receive a lot of rain.
It only receives rain in two seasons and in very scarce amounts.
Because the rain is received in two seasons.
It is called in Arabic; Al-Antar Al-Mawsimiyyah(الانتار الموسميه).
Mawsim(موسم) means, season; seasonal rain.
The word Mawsim(موسم) was taken into English, and what is it called now; What do they call that type of rain?
Monsoon rain.
So the word monsoon comes from the Arabic word, Mawsim(موسم), which is seasonal rain.
Because that area does not receive a lot of rain; the people of Saba'(سَبَإٍ) invented a dam.
They built a dam in Ma'rib(معرب).
And this dam was holding a lot of water that was coming down from the valleys and from the mountains,
and they made an irrigation network that spread through areas, which are now in the Rub Al-Khali(ربع الخالى); in the empty quarter.
And that was all gardens and Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says in Qur'an;
لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِي مَسْكَنِهِمْ آيَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ ۖ
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى has given the people of Saba'(سَبَإٍ) in their land; an Ayah(آية); a sign, gardens from the right and left.
Even though, the land is desert but because of that dam, it turn into gardens.
This bird visited the kingdom of Saba'(سَبَإٍ).
It went all the way from Jerusalem to Yemen; Pretty long distance.
And it came back with news to Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام.
The bird said;
إِنِّي وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ
I found the woman ruling over them.
And the name of this woman is; Al-Malika Bilqees(الملكه بلقيس); Her name is Bilqees(بلقيس).
وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
And she was given from everything.
Ibn Al-Jawzi(ابن الجوزى) says; This woman was given from everything that the king would want, or a queen would want.
She had everything; wealth, power.
وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ۝
And she has a great throne.
Now Notice here that, the bird said; She has everything.
But then the bird singled out her throne.
Why?
Because that throne was a sign for the kingdom of Saba'(سَبَإٍ).
It was something that used to be a miracle of the world in its time; the throne of the queen of Saba'(سَبَإٍ).
وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ۝
She has a great thrown.
Up to this moment, it is praise of this huge and great civilization.
أُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
She has everything; she has a great throne; it's a huge kingdom.
These are the standards that the people of Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) use to classify nations.
If the nation is rich, advanced, wealthy, we view that nation as civilized and advanced, and we try to imitate such nations.
That is the standard that the people of Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) have.
But the bird was a Muslim.
Even though, the bird said that, she has everything and she has a great throne.
She said;
وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ
I found her and her nation making Sujood(سجود) to the sun, instead of Allah.
وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ
And Satan has made their deeds fair seeming to them.
فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ۝
And has barred them from Allah's way; so they have no guidance.
The end result, of this surveillance of the bird is that; these are people who are misguided.
The wealth, the power, the fact that they have everything, did not take the bird away from stating the fact that; this nation is a misguided nation.
And this is the standard that we should view nations in.
It is belief or Kuffr(كفر).
It is either believing or non believing.
And that is what counts on the day of judgment.
And nation that could be heavy and strong in Duniyah(دُنِيَّا), could be very light on the scale on the Day of Judgment.
And then the bird said;
أَلَّا يَسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى يُخْرِجُ ٱلْخَبْءَ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ۝
Satan has barred them, so they do not worship Allah; Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth,
and knows what you conceal and what you reveal.
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ۝
The bird said; Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He; The Lord of the supreme throne.
Because, the bird in the beginning said that, she has a great throne; then the bird said; Allah is the One, Who Has a supreme throne.
Even though, her throne is big but Allahسُبحانه وتعالى is the One, Who Has the supreme throne.
This is an Ayah(آية) of Sujood At-Tilawah(سجود تلاوة) so we will make Sujood(سجود).
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام said;
قَالَ سَنَنظُرُ أَصَدَقْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ۝
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام said; I will see if you are telling the truth or are you lying?
So Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام said;
سَنَنظُرُ أَصَدَقْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ۝
We will see, are you telling the truth or are you lying?
ٱذْهَب بِّكِتَٰبِى هَٰذَا فَأَلْقِهْ إِلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ فَٱنظُرْ مَاذَا يَرْجِعُونَ۝
Go you with this letter of mine and deliver it to them; then draw back from them and see; what answer they return.
Sayidina Sulaimanعليه السلام wrote a letter.
And the Hudhud(هدهد) delivered this letter to the queen of Saba'(سَبَإٍ), in English; Sheba.
Her name is Bilqees(بلقيس).
So the Hudhud(هدهد) carried this letter and the story says that, the Hudhud(هدهد) delivered the letter on her lap.
And then the Hudhud(هدهد) withdrew; so they didn't know where this letter came from.
She just saw that this letter fell down on her lap.
And Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان) said;
فَٱنظُرْ مَاذَا يَرْجِعُونَ۝
See what they're going to do.
So the Hudhud(هدهد); even though, it withdrew from their sights, but it was monitoring their actions.
The Hudhud(هدهد) was monitoring their actions to see; what their response will be.
So the Queen opened the letter and she read it.
The letter was very brief, and the contents were revealed to us in Qur'an.
She said;
قَالَتْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَؤُاْ إِنِّىٓ أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ كِتَٰبٌ كَرِيمٌ۝
She said: Oh chiefs! Verily, here is delivered to me a noble letter.
كِتَٰبٌ كَرِيمٌ۝
She said; The letter is noble.
Why did she call it noble?
Allah-u-Aalam(اللَّهُ أَعْلمَ)!
It could be because some of the Mufassireen(مفسرين) said; the way it looked, and the seal; it looked very noble.
Some of them say; because of the contents of the letter which were noble.
Some of them say; because of the source of the letter which is Sayidina Sulaiman(سيدنا سليمان); who is the noblest of his time.
She said;
أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ كِتَٰبٌ كَرِيمٌ۝
A noble letter has been sent to me.
Or actually,
أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ
Means; it fell on me.
She doesn't even know who delivered it.
And then she read the contents of this letter.
It's very brief and listen to the contents.
إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَٰنَ
It is from Sulaiman(سليمان); That's the source; That's the one who's sending the letter.
And keep in mind that Sulaiman(سليمان) is a king.
He's a prophet; but he's also a king.
And he's sending a letter to who?
To a queen.
If we don't know what the contents are, and we would be quizzed, to guess what the contents would be.
I think it would be very difficult for us to reach to the right answer.
If we're basing our opinion on the perception that we have, of what politics is, and how rulers, rule;
we would assume that the letter would have contents which we hear regularly in the letters that are sent between kings and presidents all over the world.
But if we are basing our opinion on the comprehensivity of Islam,
and that Islam includes everything in life, and that the Shar'(شرء) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى dominates everything that we do;
then we would understand the contents of this letter.
The letter is;
إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ۝
The letter starts with what?
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ۝
We start our actions in the name of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
We start eating by immensely the name of Allah.
When we start As-Surah(السورة); we start by the name of Allah.
When we ride our cars; we say; Bismillah(بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ); When we go on the airplane, we say Bismillah(بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ).
Everything that we do, we should start it in the name of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى.
And this is how, we would be following the Sunnah(سنة) of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء).
إِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ۝
Verily, it is from Sulaiman(سليمان) and verily it reads In the Name of Allah; The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.
And then, what did he say?
أَلَّا تَعْلُواْ عَلَىَّ وَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ۝
He said; Be you not exalted against me, but come to me as Muslims; submit to me.
And that's the end of the letter.
أَلَّا تَعْلُواْ عَلَىَّ
Don't be exalted over me.
Don't view yourself in a better position, or in a higher position, or in a position of arrogance.
And Sulaiman(سليمان) is not saying that to satisfy a personal desire;
but he's saying that because he's the Nabi(نَبِي) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى
and Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says;
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ
Allahسُبحانه وتعالى says; We have sent every messenger to be obeyed.
The messengers; we obey them.
They are the ones who are in the high level, and they are the ones who issued orders to us.
So he is telling her don't think that since you are in the same political rank; I'm the king and you're the queen, that we are on the same level.
I am the Nabi(نَبِي) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى;
you don't see me as a king; Now, see me as the Nabi(نَبِي) of Allahسُبحانه وتعالى;
أَلَّا تَعْلُواْ عَلَىَّ
Don't be exalted against me.
وَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ۝
And come to me;
it is translated here as Muslims, but many of the Mufassireen(مفسرين) say; it means, submission; come to me in the form of submission.
Submit to me and then, he's going to give them Da'wah(دعوة).
So over here Muslimeen(مُسْلِمِينَ) does not mean the religion; come to me as Muslims.
It means; come to me in the form of submission.
Because that's what Islam means.
وَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ۝
It means submit to my orders and commands to you.
صَلَّى الله عَلى سَيَّدِنَا محمد وَعَلى اَلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تسلیما کثیرا