The Ant, The Ants — Verse 26

How the Hoopoe came before Sulayman and told Him about Saba' Allah says: فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ (But (the hoopoe) stayed not long,) meaning, he was absent for only a short time. Then he came and said to Sulayman: أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ (I have grasped which you have not grasped) meaning, `I have come to know something that you and your troops do not know.' وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ (and I have come to you from Saba' with true news.) meaning, with true and certain news. Saba' (Sheba) refers to Himyar, they were a dynasty in Yemen. Then the hoopoe said: إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ (I found a woman ruling over them,) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "This is Bilqis bint Sharahil, the queen of Saba'." Allah's saying: وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ (she has been given all things,) means, all the conveniences of this world that a powerful monarch could need. وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ (and she has a great throne.) meaning, a tremendous chair adorned with gold and different kinds of jewels and pearls. The historians said, "This throne was in a great, strong palace which was high and firmly constructed. In it there were three hundred and sixty windows on the east side, and a similar number on the west, and it was constructed in such a way that each day when the sun rose it would shine through one window, and when it set it would shine through the opposite window. And the people used to prostrate to the sun morning and evening. This is why the hoopoe said: وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ (I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way,) meaning, from the way of truth, فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ (so they have no guidance.) Allah's saying: وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَأَلاَّ يَسْجُدُواْ للَّهِ (and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way, so they have no guidance, so they do not prostrate themselves before Allah.) They do not know the way of truth, prostrating only before Allah alone and not before anything that He has created, whether heavenly bodies or anything else. This is like the Ayah: وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ الَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لاَ تَسْجُدُواْ لِلشَّمْسِ وَلاَ لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ (And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate yourselves not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you indeed worship Him.) (41:37) الَّذِى يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ (Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth,) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "He knows everything that is hidden in the heavens and on earth." This was also the view of `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and others. His saying: وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ (and knows what you conceal and what you reveal.) means, He knows what His servants say and do in secret, and what they say and do openly. This is like the Ayah: سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ (It is the same whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day) (13:10). His saying: اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ (Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa, the Lord of the Supreme Throne!) means, He is the One to be called upon, Allah, He is the One other than Whom there is no god, the Lord of the Supreme Throne, and there is none greater than Him in all of creation. Since the hoopoe was calling to what is good, and for people to worship and prostrate to Allah alone, it would have been forbidden to kill him. Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet forbade killing four kinds of animals: ants, bees, hoopoes and the sparrow hawks. Its chain of narration is Sahih.

God — there is no god except Him the Lord of the Mighty Throne’ this clause constitutes an independent new sentence which is a eulogy comprising praise of the Throne of the Compassionate One to counter the description of the throne of Bilqīs between the two however is an unfathomable difference.

حسَّن لهم الشيطان ذلك؛ لئلا يسجدوا لله الذي يُخرج المخبوء المستور في السموات والأرض من المطر والنبات وغير ذلك، ويعلم ما تُسرُّون وما تظهرون. الله الذي لا معبود يستحق العبادة سواه، رب العرش العظيم.

أي هو المدعو وهو الله الذي لا إله إلا هو رب العرش العظيم أي الذي ليس في المخلوقات أعظم منه ولما كان الهدهد داعي إلى الخير وعبادة الله وحده والسجود له نهى عن قتله كما رواه الإمام أحمد وأبو داود وابن ماجه عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال نهى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن أربع من الدواب: النملة والنحلة والهدهد والصرد وإسناده صحيح.

وقوله - تعالى - : ( الله لاَ إله إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ العرش العظيم ) فى معنى التعليل لحقيقة السجود لله - تعالى - وحده .أى : اجعلوا سجودكم لله - تعالى - وحده ، واتركوا السجود لغيره ، لأنه - سبحانه - لا إله بحق سواه ، وهو - سبحانه - صاحب العرش العظيم ، الذى لا يدانيه ولا يشبه شىء مما يطلق عليه هذا اللفظ .

وقوله: (اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: الله الذي لا تصلح العبادة إلا له, لا إله إلا هو, لا معبود سواه تصلح له العبادة, فأخلصوا له العبادة, وأفردوه بالطاعة, ولا تشركوا به شيئا(رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ) يعني بذلك: مالك العرش العظيم الذي كل عرش, وإن عظم, فدونه, لا يُشبهه عرش ملكة سبأ ولا غيره.حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد; في قوله: أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ إلى قوله (لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ) هذا كله كلام الهدهد.حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة, عن ابن إسحاق بنحوه.

( الله لا إله إلا هو رب العرش العظيم ) أي : هو المستحق للعبادة والسجود لا غيره . وعرش ملكة سبأ وإن كان عظيما فهو صغير حقير في جنب عرشه - عز وجل - ، تم هاهنا كلام الهدهد ، فلما فرغ الهدهد من كلامه .

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ (26)ومجيء جملة : { الله لا إله إلا هو } عقب ذلك استئناف هو بمنزلة النتيجة للصفات التي أجريت على اسم الجلالة وهو المقصود من هذا التذييل ، أي ليس لغير الله شُبهة إلهية .وقوله : { رب العرش العظيم } أي مالك الفلك الأعظم المحيط بالعوالم العليا وقد تقدم . وفي هذا تعريض بأن عظمة مُلك بلقيس وعِظَم عرشها ما كان حقيقاً بأن يغرها بالإعراض عن عبادة الله تعالى لأن الله هو رب الملك الأعظم ، فتعريف { العرش } للدلالة على معنى الكمال . ووصفه ب { العظيم } للدلالة على كمال العظم في تجسم النفاسة .وفي منتهى هذه الآية موضع سجود تلاوة تحقيقاً للعمل بمقتضى قوله : { ألا يسجدوا لله } . وسواء قرىء بتشديد اللام من قوله : { ألاّ يسجدوا } أم بتخفيفها لأن مآل المعنى على القراءتين واحد وهو إنكار سجودهم لغير الله لأن الله هو الحقيق بالسجود .

اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ أي: لا تنبغي العبادة والإنابة والذل والحب إلا له لأنه المألوه لما له من الصفات الكاملة والنعم الموجبة لذلك. رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ الذي هو سقف المخلوقات ووسع الأرض والسماوات، فهذا الملك عظيم السلطان كبير الشأن هو الذي يذل له ويخضع ويسجد له ويركع، فسلم الهدهد حين ألقى إليه هذا النبأ العظيم وتعجب سليمان كيف خفي عليه.

الله لا إله إلا هو رب العرش العظيم قرأ ابن محيصن ( العظيم ) : رفعا نعتا لله . الباقون بالخفض نعتا للعرش . وخص بالذكر لأنه أعظم المخلوقات وما عداه في ضمنه وقبضته .

The Sabeans were a wealthy community of ancient times (1100 B.C. to 115B.C.). Their country was located in Ma‘arib (Yemen), where its grand ruins are still in existence. During Solomon’s period, this area was under the rule of a queen called Sheba (Bilqis). The people of this place used to worship the sun, Satan having taught them that the only thing worth worshipping was whatever was most prominent. As the sun was the most prominent of all visible things, only the sun, therefore, deserved to be considered a god and worshipped. Solomon received detailed information about the Sabeans through the hoopoe bird. This hoopoe perhaps belonged to Solomon’s army of birds and possibly received regular training.

وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ I have found her and her people prostrating to the sun - 27:24 This shows that her people were star-worshippers and used to worship the sun. Some believe that they were Zoroastrians, who worship fire and all forms of light. أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا لِلَّـهِ الَّذِي يُخْرِ‌جُ الْخَبْءَ (that is, they do not prostrate to Allah who bring forth what is hidden - 25).This sentence is linked with the previous one, "The Shaitan has beautified their deeds - 26" and the sense is that the Shaitan had engrained in their minds that they should not bow down before Allah, or had prevented them from the righteous path so that they should not prostrate before Allah Ta’ ala.

(Allah; there is no God save Him, the Lord of the tremendous Throne.