The seventh clip of Quranic Thursdays was released in Nigeria

Let us start from where we left you last Friday, and here are ayahs 36 and 37 of Surah Naml:

فلمّا جاء سلیْمان قال أتمدّونن بمالٍ فما آتانی اللّـه خیْرٌ مّمّا آتاکم بلْ أنتم بهدیّتکمْ تفْرحون

ارْجعْ إلیْهمْ فلنأْتینّهم بجنودٍ لّا قبل لهم بها ولنخْرجنّهم مّنْها أذلّةً وهمْ صاغرون

“So when he (the envoy of Queen Bilqis of Sheba) came, Solomon said, ‘Are you aiding me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather you are exultant over your gift!”

“Go back to them (i.e. Bilqis and her courtiers), for we will come at them with hosts which they cannot face, and we will expel them from it, abased, and they shall be degraded.”

Last week we said that in response to Solomon’s letter, Queen Bilqis of Sheba sent envoys to Palestine with wonderful gifts as a diplomatic maneuver to find out his intentions, whether it was quest for more wealth and territorial expansion, and also to test him if he was really a Prophet, since the Messengers of God are not attracted by worldly riches. In these ayahs we see that Prophet Solomon not only is not pleased at the sight of the seemingly wonderful gifts send to him from Yemen, but considers these as a kind of bribe and deception, since the aim of his letter was to invite Sheba and its people to monotheism and the worship of the One and Only Creator. He tells the envoys that what Allah has given him is far better than what they possess and feel proud about. He means to say that I want you to submit to the truth, and if you do not, by continuing your polytheist ways of worshipping the sun, I will come with a massive force that you cannot face, in order to force you to leave the region humiliatingly. Instead of properly enquiring about my mission as Prophet, you are trying to deceive me with gifts.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Divine leaders do not have material incentives, and their actions and words are solely for guidance of humanity and decisive confrontation with the arrogant, without any consideration for wealth and material matters.
2. Logic and rationality are required during talks and negotiations, but when the arrogant stick to their intransigence by refusing to acknowledge the manifest truth, then the display of power become necessary.

Now we listen to ayah 38 of Surah Naml:

قال یا أیّها الْملأ أیّکمْ یأْتینی بعرْشها قبْل أن یأْتونی مسْلمین

“He (Solomon) said, ‘O [members of the] elite! Which of you will bring me her throne before they (people of Sheba) come to me in submission?”

The envoys of Bilqis returned to Yemen and recounted to her the reaction of Solomon at the sight of her gifts. On hearing this, the Queen of Sheba decided to go in person to Solomon, along with her courtiers, to declare she has no enmity towards him and was not planning any confrontation. Through divine knowledge Prophet Solomon became aware of this, and in order to give a demonstration of the miraculous powers granted by God Almighty to him, he asked the men, genies and birds present in his court, as to who among them can bring the throne of Bilqis from Yemen to Palestine immediately, well before she and her courtiers could come. 

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Prophets and Imams have been given part of the knowledge of the unseen by God Almighty, and whenever they deem necessary they use it in the best way – but after utmost patience and toleration of hardships.
2. To cover a fairly long distance in a few moments is possible, and not restricted by God to Prophets alone, and that was the reason Solomon asks the powerful elements present in his court, whether humans or genie, whether pious or not, as to who could bring the throne of Bilqis in the shortest possible time.

Now we listen to ayahs 39 and 40 of Surah Naml:

قال عفْریتٌ مّن الْجنّ أنا آتیک به قبْل أن تقوم من مّقامک ۖ وإنّی علیْه لقویٌّ أمینٌ

قال الّذی عنده علْمٌ مّن الْکتاب أنا آتیک به قبْل أن یرْتدّ إلیْک طرْفک ۚ فلمّا رآه مسْتقرًّا عنده قال هـٰذا من فضْل ربّی لیبْلونی أأشْکر أمْ أکْفر ۖ ومن شکر فإنّما یشْکر لنفْسه ۖ ومن کفر فإنّ ربّی غنیٌّ کریمٌ

“An afreet from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. Indeed I have the power for it and am trustworthy.”

“The one who had knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ So when he (Solomon) saw it (the throne) set near him, he said, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me if I will give thanks or be ungrateful. And whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake; and whoever is ungrateful [should know that] my Lord is indeed All-Sufficient, All-Generous.’’

In response to Solomon’s command, two of those present in his court volunteered to bring the throne of Bilqis from Yemen to Palestine in the shortest possible time. An Afreet from the species known as jinn or genie, which are not burdened by physical bodies, said he can bring it before Solomon rises from his place. A human being, however, whom God had granted part of the knowledge of the Divine Book, said he can bring the throne even faster, that is, in the twinkling of an eye. Prophet Solomon endorsed the latter’s proposal, and behold, in the twinkling of an eye the throne of Bilqis was placed before him. Solomon thanked God Almighty and realized that this is all a Divine Test to determine his degree of faith, by granting him grace and favours, as well as persons of such wonderfully miraculous powers. The person who brought the throne of Bilqis in the shortest possible time was Asaf bin Barkhiya, who was Solomon’s vizier and divinely-designated successor. The point to note here is that, Solomon does not indulge in vain pride, but quickly remembers God and humbly thanks Him, since all these miraculous powers are the gifts of God. In other words, none, whether Prophets, genies, pious humans, and other forms of creation, can possess any power, except by God’s favours to them, for which we ought to be grateful, for the sake our own soul, since God is not in need of our thanks and is much Greater and Generous than we could ever imagine.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. It is granting of knowledge and wisdom by God that makes human beings control the forces of nature.
2. For the skeptics who have still not understood what God has related to us off the miracles, Divine Power even makes the laws of nature bend to those granted part of celestial knowledge, a reality beyond the realm of science. 
3. One should not feel proud of whatever knowledge and power acquired, which are nothing but the favours of God, though we do not understand.

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