The Letter Sad — Verse 37

How Allah tested Sulayman then made Things easy for Him Allah says, وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَـنَ (And indeed, We tried Sulayman) meaning, `We tested him.' وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَى كُرْسِيِّهِ جَسَداً (and We placed on his throne Jasad (a body)). ثُمَّ أَنَابَ (and he returned.) means, after this test, he turned back to Him and asked for forgiveness and to be given a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after him. قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكاً لاَّ يَنبَغِى لاًّحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِى إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ (He said: "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.") Some of them said, "No one after me will have the right to ask Allah for such a kingdom." This is the apparent meaning from the context of the Ayah, and several Hadiths with a similar meaning have been narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In his Tafsir of this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said: «إِنَّ عِفْرِيتًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ تَفَلَّتَ عَلَيَّ الْبَارِحَةَ أَوْ كَلِمَةً نَحْوَهَا لِيَقْطَعَ عَلَيَّ الصَّلَاةَ فَأَمْكَنَنِي اللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى مِنْهُ، وَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَرْبِطَهُ إِلَى سَارِيَةٍ مِنَ سَوَارِي الْمَسْجِدِ حَتْى تُصْبِحُوا،وَتَنْظُرُوا إِلَيْهِ كُلُّكُمْ، فَذَكَرْتُ قَوْلَ أَخِي سُلَيْمَانَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكاً لاَّ يَنبَغِى لاًّحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِى» (An `Ifrit from among the Jinn came and bothered me last night- or he said something similar -Trying to stop me from praying. Allah enabled me to overpower him, and I wanted to tie him to one of the pillars in the Masjid so that you could see him this morning. Then I remembered what my brother Sulayman said, (My Lord! Forgive me and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me)) Rawh said, "so he let him go, humiliated." ) This was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Abu Ad-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up to pray and we heard him say, r «أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْك» (I seek refuge with Allah from you.) Then he said, «أَلْعَنُكَ بِلَعْنَةِ الله» (I curse you with the curse of Allah.) three times, and he stretched out his hand as if he was reaching out to take something. When he finished his prayer, we said, `O Messenger of Allah, we heard you say something in your prayer which we have never heard you say before, and we saw you stretching out your hand.' He said: «إِنَّ عَدُوَّ اللهِ إِبْلِيسَ جَاءَ بِشِهَابٍ مِنْ نَارٍ لِيَجْعَلَهُ فِي وَجْهِي فَقُلْتُ: أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْكَ، ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ: أَلْعَنُكَ بِلَعْنَةِ اللهِ التَّامَّةِ، فَلَمْ يَتَأَخَّرْ، ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ ثُمَّ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ آخُذَهُ،وَاللهِ لَوْلَا دَعْوَةُ أَخِينَا سُلَيْمَانَ لَأَصْبَحَ مُوثَقًا، يَلْعَبُ بِهِ صِبْيَانُ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَة» (The enemy of Allah Iblis came with a flame of fire to throw in my face, so I said, "I seek refuge with Allah from you" three times, then I said, "I curse you with the complete curse of Allah," but he did not back off. I said it three times. Then I wanted to seize him. By Allah, if it were not for the words of our brother Sulayman, he would have been chained up and he would have become a plaything for the children of the people of Al-Madinah.)" Allah says: فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِى بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَآءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ (So, We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently by his order wherever he willed.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "When Sulayman, peace be upon him, slaughtered the horses out of anger for the sake of Allah, Allah compensated him with something better and swifter, the wind whose morning was a month's (journey), and its afternoon was a month's (journey)." حَيْثُ أَصَابَ (wherever he willed.) means, wherever in the world he wanted. وَالشَّيَـطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّآءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ (And also the Shayatin, from every kind of builder and diver,) means, among them were some whom he used to build high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and cauldrons fixed (in their places), and other difficult tasks which humans were unable to do. And there was another group, who dived into the sea recovering pearls, jewels and other precious things which cannot be found anywhere else. وَآخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِي الْأَصْفَادِ (And also others bound in fetters.) means, tied up in chains. These were the ones who had rebelled and refused to work, or else their work was bad and they were wrongdoers. هَـذَا عَطَآؤُنَا فَامْنُنْ أَوْ أَمْسِكْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ (Allah said to Sulayman: "This is Our Gift, so spend you or withhold, no account will be asked of you.") means, `this that We have given to you of kingship and perfect power, as you asked for, you may give to whomsoever you wish and deny to whomsoever you wish, and you will not be brought to account. Whatever you do is permissible for you, so however you judge, it will be right.' It was reported in the Two Sahihs that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was given the choice between being a servant and a Messenger -- who does what he is commanded to do and distributes things among the people as Allah commands him to do -- or being a Prophet and a king, who can give to whomever he wishes and withhold from whomever he wishes without being held accountable for anything, he chose the former. He consulted with Jibril, peace be upon him, who said, "Be humble." So he chose the former because it has a greater value before Allah and brings a higher status in the Hereafter, even though the second option, prophethood combined with kingship, is also a great thing both in this world and in the Hereafter, when Allah tells us what He gave to Sulayman, peace be upon him, in this world, He tells us that he will have a great share with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. He says: وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَـَابٍ (And verily, for him is a near access to Us, and a good (final) return.) meaning, in this world and the Hereafter.

And the devils also We disposed every builder building marvellous edifices and diver in the sea bringing up pearls

وسخَّرنا له الشياطين يستعملهم في أعماله: فمنهم البناؤون والغوَّاصون في البحار، وآخرون، وهم مردة الشياطين، موثوقون في الأغلال. هذا المُلْك العظيم والتسخير الخاص عطاؤنا لك يا سليمان، فأعط مَن شئت وامنع مَن شئت، لا حساب عليك.

قوله جل جلاله "والشياطين كل بناء وغواص" أي منهم من هو مستعمل في الأبنية الهائلة من محاريب وتماثيل وجفان كالجواب وقدور راسيات إلى غير ذلك من الأعمال الشاقة التي لا يقدر عليها البشر وطائفة غواصون في البحار يستخرجون ما فيها من اللآلئ والجواهر والأشياء النفيسة التي لا توجد إلا فيها "وآخرين مقرنين في الأصفاد" أي موثقون في الأغلال والأكبال ممن فد تمرد وعصى وامتنع من العمل وأبى أو قد أساء في صنيعه واعتدى.

وقوله : ( والشياطين كُلَّ بَنَّآءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ ) معطوف على الريح أى : سخرنا له الريح تجرى بأمره . . وسخرنا له الشياطين . بأن جعلناهم منقادين لطاعته ، فمنهم من يقوم ببناء المبانى العظيمة التى يطلبها سليمان منهم . ومنهم الغواصون الذين يغوصون فى البحار ليستخرجوا له منها اللؤلؤ والمرجان ، وغير ذلك من الكنوز التى اشتملت عليها البحار .

وقوله ( وَالشَّيَاطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّاءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وسخرنا له الشياطين سلطناه عليها مكان ما ابتُليناه بالذي ألقينا على كرسيّه منها يستعملها فيما يشاء من أعماله من بنَّاء وغوَّاص; فالبُناة منها يصنعون محاريب وتماثيل, والغاصة يستخرجون له الحُلِيّ من البحار, وآخرون ينحتون له جِفانا وقدورا, والمَردَة في الأغلال مُقَرَّنون.كما حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَالشَّيَاطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّاءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ ) قال: يعملون له ما يشاء من محاريب وتماثيل, وغوّاص يستخرجون الحليّ من البحر .

) ( والشياطين ) أي : وسخرنا له الشياطين ، ( كل بناء ) يبنون له ما يشاء من محاريب وتماثيل ، ) ( وغواص ) يستخرجون له اللآلئ من البحر ، وهو أول من استخرج اللؤلؤ من البحر .

وَالشَّيَاطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّاءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ (37) و { الشياطين } جمع شيطان ، وحقيقته الجنّي ، ويستعمل مجازاً للبالغ غاية المقدرة والحذق في العمل الذي يعمله . ومنه قوله تعالى : { وكذلك جعلنا لكل نبيء عدواً شياطين الإنس والجن } [ الأنعام : 112 ] ، فسخر الله النوع الأول لسليمان تسخيراً خارقاً للعادة على وجه المعجزة فهو مسخر له في الأمور الروحانية والتصرفات الخفية وليس من شأن جنسهم إيجاد الصناعات المتقنة كالبناء ، وسخر النوع الثاني له تسخير إذلال ومغلوبية لعظم سلطانه وإلقاء مهابته في قلوب الأمم فكانوا يأتون طوعاً للانضواء تحت سلطانه كما فعلت بلقيس وقد تقدم في سورة سبأ .فيجوز أن يكون { الشياطين } مستعملاً في حقيقته ومجازه .و { كُلَّ بناءٍ } بدل من { الشَيَاطِينَ } بدل بعض من كل ، أي كل بنّاء وغوّاص منهم ، أي من الشياطين . و { كُلَّ } هنا مستعملة في معنى الكثير ، وهو استعمال وارد في القرآن والكلام الفصيح ، قال تعالى : { ولو جاءتهم كل آية } [ يونس : 97 ] وقال : { ثم كلي من كل الثمرات } [ النحل : 69 ] . وقال النابغة: ... بها كلُّ ذَيَّال وخنساءَ ترعويوتقدم عند قوله تعالى : { وإن يروا كل آية لا يؤمنوا بها } في سورة [ الأنعام : 25 ] .والبنَّاء : الذي يَبني وهو اسم فاعل مصوغ على زنة المبالغة للدلالة على معنى الصناعة مثل نَجَّار وقصَّار وحدَّاد .والغواص : الذي يغوص في البحر لاستخراج محار اللؤلؤ ، وهو أيضاً مما صِيغ على وزن المبالغة للدلالة على الصناعة ، قال النابغة: ... أو درّة صدفية غوَّاصهابَهج مَتَى يَرها يَهِلَّ ويَسْجُدِ ... قال تعالى : { ومن الشياطين من يغوصون له ويعملون عملاً دون ذلك } [ الأنبياء : 82 ] .وقد بلغت الصناعة في مُلك سليمان مبلغاً من الإِتقان والجودة والجلال ، وناهيك ببناء هيكل أورشليم وهو الذي سُمي في الإِسلام المسجد الأقصى وما جلب إليه من مواد إقامته من الممالك المجاورة له ، وكذلك الصرح الذي أقامه وأدخلت عليه فيه مملكة سبَأ .

فـ { قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِي إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ } فاستجاب اللّه له وغفر له، ورد عليه ملكه، وزاده ملكا لم يحصل لأحد من بعده، وهو تسخير الشياطين له، يبنون ما يريد، ويغوصون له في البحر، يستخرجون الدر والحلي، ومن عصاه منهم قرنه في الأصفاد وأوثقه.

" والشياطين " أي وسخرنا له الشياطين ، وما سخرت لأحد قبله . " كل بناء " بدل من الشياطين ، أي : كل بناء منهم ، فهم يبنون له ما يشاء . قال [ النابغة الذبياني ] :إلا سليمان إذ قال الإله له قم في البرية فاحددها عن الفندوخيس الجن إني قد أذنت لهم يبنون تدمر بالصفاح والعمد" وغواص " يعني في البحر يستخرجون له الدر . فسليمان أول من استخرج له اللؤلؤ من البحر .

Job was one of the Israeli prophets who lived probably in the ninth century B.C. He was very rich, but, far from being lost in his riches, he used to pray to God and call people towards God. Some evil-minded people started saying that Job remembered God because he was blessed by God with so much wealth. In order to settle all argument God took away all His blessings from Job but he continued to be a sincere worshipper of God. He said, ‘It was God who gave and God has taken away. Glory be to the name of God.’ Even then, mischievous people were not silenced. They said that the real test would be if he suffered physical affliction and remained patient and grateful. To prove his sincerity, God made Job contract a serious skin disease; yet he remained the embodiment of patience and gratitude. When the process of convincing the people was complete, God caused a spring to come into existence for Job’s nourishment. By bathing in this spring, his body became healthy and, restoring him to his family, God gave him much more wealth.

Commentary It was said in verse 35: هَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَّا يَنبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِي (bless me with a kingdom that will not be available to anyone after me.). Some commentators explain the sense of this prayer as 'let not a great kingdom like mine belong to anyone else during my time.' In other words, they take "min ba` di": or 'after me' in the sense of 'other than me.' Maulana Ashraf Thanavi (رح) has done his translation accordingly. But, with most commentators, the sense of the prayer is: 'Even after me, let no one have a kingdom as great as this.' Accordingly, so it happened. The kingdom that Allah Ta ala gave to Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was a kingdom the like of which never became the lot of anyone else. The reason was simple. The subjugation of the wind and the command over the genre of the Jinn were exclusive traits of his kingdom, and no kingdom that followed him had these characteristics. There are some people who carry out mysterious exercises (amaliyyat) through which they are known to subjugate Jinns, a phenomenon that does not fall contrary to this, because it cannot be compared, in the least, to the subjugation of the jinn Allah had allowed for Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) . Moreover, these experts in amaliyyat are able to make just about one or a few Jinns become obedient to them, but the kind of wide spread kingdom that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) had was not acquired by anyone. Praying for office and power At this place, it should be borne in mind that no prayer made by the noble prophets is made without the will and permission of Allah Ta’ ala. Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) had made this prayer too by the will and permission of Allah Ta’ ala. And since some bland seeking of power was not his aim, rather the driving desire to implement Divine laws and the passion to make truth triumph was behind it - and Allah Ta’ ala knew that once Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) had the power, he would work for these very high objectives, and would never entertain negative feelings of office, power and recognition - therefore, he was given the permission to make this prayer, and it was accepted as well. But, common people have been prohibited in Hadith from seeking power following their own initiative. The reason is that such an initiative usually gets to be tainted with the desire for power, influence, money and property. Accordingly, where one has the certitude of being free of such selfish desires and one really would love to see the banner of truth fly high without the least hunger for power hidden anywhere in the recesses of his heart - then, for such a person, praying for power and authority of government is permissible. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani etc.)

(And) also made subservient (the unruly) the devils, (every builder and diver) into the bottom of the sea,