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I.e., not only worldly wealth but also faith, wisdom and an insight into realities normally hidden from other men.
I.e., people who prize only material things and have no inkling of spiritual values.
Poor Bilqis! she thought she had arranged with womanly tact to conciliate Solomon, and at the same time pacify her warlike subjects! But the effect of the embassy with presents was the very opposite. Solomon took it as an insult that she should send her presents instead of her submission to the true Religion! He flung back the presents at her, as much as to say, "Let these baubles delight your own hearts! Allah has blessed me with plenty of worldly goods, and something infinitely better, viz.; His Light and Guidance! Why do you say nothing about that?"
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Lit., "and they will be humbled". Since the Qur'an explicitly prohibits all wars of aggression (see {2:19-194} and the corresponding notes), it is not plausible that this same Qur'an should place a crude threat of warlike aggression in the mouth of a prophet. We must, therefore, assume that here again, as in verse {31} above, it is God who, through His prophet, warns the people of Sheba of His "coming upon them"-i.e., punishing them - unless they abandon their blasphemous belief that they "ought not" to worship God. This interpretation finds considerable support in the sudden change from the singular in which Solomon speaks of himself in the preceding (as well as in the subsequent) verses, to the majestic plural "We" appearing in the above sentence.
If they refuse to submit.
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I.e., evidently in response to his message (Razi, Ibn Kathir).
Lit., "before they come unto me as people who surrender themselves (muslimin)" i.e. to God (see verse {31} above). The term "throne" ('arsh) is used here and in the sequence - as well as at the end of verse {23} - in its metonymic sense of "dominion" or "regal power" (Raghib). It appears that Solomon intends to confront his guest with an image of her worldly power, and thus to convince her that her "throne" is as nothing when compared with the awesome almightiness of God.
To explain why Prophet Solomon brought the Queen’s magnificent throne and built the marvellous palace, many traditional commentators cite some folkloric or legendary stories. However, none of these stories is supported by reliable Islamic sources.
The throne is symbolical of power and dignity. So far her throne was based on material wealth: Solomon is going to alter it to a basis of Faith and the Religion of Unity.
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Ifrit: a large, powerful jinn.
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Lit., "he who had knowledge out of [or "through"] revelation (al-kitab)"-i.e., Solomon himself (Razi).
I.e., faster than any magic could achieve: thus alluding to the symbolic nature of the forthcoming appearance of the "throne". Here, as in the whole of the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, symbolism and legendary "fact" are subtly intertwined, evolving into an allegory of the human soul's awakening to a gradual realization of spiritual values.
Lit., "established before him". Since the verbal form istaqarra and its participle mustaqirr often indicate no more than that something "has being" or "exists" (cf. Lane VII, 2500), the phrase ra'ahu mustaqirran 'indahu may be understood as "he saw it being [i.e., actually] before him": hence my rendering.
I.e., "whether I attribute my spiritual powers to God or, vaingloriously, to myself".
This refers to ’Aṣif ibn Barkhiya, a knowledgeable and righteous assistant of Solomon.
Solomon was thankful to Allah that he had men endowed with such power, and he had the throne of Bilqis transported to his Court and transformed as he desired, without Bilqis even knowing it.
If Solomon had been ungrateful to Allah, i.e., if he had worked for his own selfish or worldly ends, he could have used the brute strength of 'Ifrit to add to his worldly strength and glory. Instead of it he uses the higher magic of the Book,-Of the Spirit-to transform the throne of Bilqis for her highest good, which means also the highest good of her subjects, by the divine Light. He had the two alternatives, and he chooses the better, and he thus shows his gratitude to Allah for the Grace He had given him.
Man's gratitude to Allah is not a thing that benefits Allah, for Allah is high above all needs: it benefits a man's own soul and gives him higher rank in the life to come. Per contra, man's ingratitude will not detract from Allah's Glory and Honour or the value of Allah's generous gifts to man: for Allah is supreme in honour, glory, and generosity. Karim in Arabic involves all three significations.
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I.e., whether she remains satisfied with perceiving only the outward appearance of things and happenings, or endeavours to fathom their spiritual reality. Seeing that the people of Sheba were, until then, motivated by love of luxury and worldly power, Solomon intends to show the Queen her "throne", or the image of her domainion, as it could be if it were inspired by faith in God and hence, by a consciousness of moral responsibility.
The throne having been disguised, it will be a test to see whether Bilqis recognises it as her own or not.
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Sc., "and yet not quite the same": thus, she expresses doubt - and doubt is the first step in all spiritual progress. She realizes that the "altered throne" is outwardly the same as that which she has left behind; but she percieves intuitively that it is imbued witha spiritual quality which the other did not possess, and which she cannot quite yet understand.
Thus Tabari, Zamakhshari and Ibn Kathir, on whose interpretation of this passage my rendering and the above interpolation are based.
Because he had refused her tribute.
Bringing her well-guarded, mighty throne all the way from Sheba, Yemen.
Bilqis stands the test. She knows it was her throne, yet not exactly the same, for it was now much better. And she is proud of her good fortune, and acknowledges, for herself and her people, with gratitude, the light which was given to them by Allah, by which they recognised Allah's prophet in Solomon, and received the true Religion with all their will and heart and soul.
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An allusion to her and her people's worship of celestial bodies (cf. verses {2-25} and the corresponding notes [20] and [21]).
Lit., "she was [sc., "born"] of people...", etc. - thus stressing the role of the idolatrous tradition in which she had grown up, and which in the past had made it difficult for her to find the right path. Considering this cultural background, Solomon points out, her awakening at the very moment of her leaving her ancestral environment must be deemed most remarkable and praise-worthy.
Some Commentators and Translators adopt an alternative construction for the last clause of the last verse and the first clause of this verse. They understand the former to be spoken by Solomon and to mean, 'we had knowledge of Allah's Message and accepted it before her.' They understand the latter to mean, 'the worship of others besides Allah diverted her (from the true Religion).' If we accept the construction adopted in this Translation, the visit to Solomon confirmed the true Faith of Bilqis and prevented her from lapsing into her ancestral false worship.
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I.e., in order to wade into it, or perhaps to swim through it, thus braving the seemingly fathomless deep: possibly a symbolic indication of the fear which a human being may feel when his own search after truth forces him to abandon the warm, soothing security of his erstwhile social and mental environment, and to venture into the - as yet - unknown realm of the spirit.
I.e., not a dangerous, bottomless deep, as it appeared at first glance, but, rather, the firm, glass-clear light of truth: and with her perception of the ever-existing difference between appearance and reality, the Queen of Sheba comes to the end of her spiritual journey.
Bilqis, having been received with honour on her arrival, and having accepted the transformation of her throne, placed presumably in an outer building of the Palace, is asked to enter the great Palace itself. Its floor was made of slabs of smooth polished glass, that glistened like water. She thought it was water, and tucked up her clothes to pass through it, showing her bare feet and ankles. This was a very undignified position for a woman, especially one of the position of a Queen. Solomon immediately told her the real facts, when she felt grateful, and joined herself with Solomon in praising Allah.
A gentle leader points out the truth. Instead of resenting it, the new entrant is grateful; acknowledges his own mistake freely and frankly; and heartily joins with the Teacher in the worship of Allah, the Source of all truth and knowledge.
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For the story of the Thamud and their prophet Salih, see notes [56] and [57] on 7:73 . My interpolation of the word "likewise" at the beginning of this verse is based on the fact that Salih's message to the tribe of Thamud is identical with that of Solomon to the Queen of Sheba - which in itself, is an indication of the sameness of the fundamental truths underlying all revealed religions.
i.e., believers and disbelievers.
The main story of the Thamud, who were broken up into two factions, the rich oppressing the poor and keeping them out of the good things of life and the test case of the She-camel, will be found in xxvi. 141-159 and the notes thereon. The point here is the secret plot of the nine men against the Prophet of Allah, whose teaching, they thought, brought them ill-luck; but what they called ill-luck was the just punishment from Allah for their own ill-deeds. Their plot was foiled, and the whole community, which was involved in evil, was destroyed.
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Lit., "hasten the evil before the good": cf. 13:6 and the corresponding note [14]; also the second sentence of 10:50 and note [71].
lit., the evil.
lit., the good.
Cf. xiii. 6. The evil-doers were really hastening on their own punishment by their feuds against the poor. The advocates of justice were not bringing ill-luck to them. They were showing the way to ward it off. Their own injustice was bringing on their disaster.
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See surah {7}, note [95].
Sc., "who has tied every human being's destiny (ta'ir) to his neck": see 17:13 and the corresponding note [17].
They were struck with famine, which they blamed on Ṣâliḥ and his followers.
All evil unpunished is not evil condoned, but evil given a chance for reform. They are on trial, by the mercy of Allah. What they call "ill omen" is really the just punishment for their ill-deeds, and that punishment rests with Allah.
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Or "nine clans", since, in the above context, the term raht is liable to either of these two interpretations. The "city" referred to is evidently the region known as Al-Hijr, in northern Hijaz (cf. surah {7}, notes [56] and [59]). - In contrast with the preceding story of the Queen of Sheba's eager way to faith, the stories of the tribe of Thamad and (in verses {54-58}) of Lot's people are meant to call attention to the hostility which a call to righteousness so often evokes in people who are strong but vain, or, alternatively, weak and addicted to senseless passions.
They had made up their minds to wage a relentless war against justice. They did not destroy justice, but justice destroyed them.
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Lit., "by God". As is evident from 7:73 ff. and from the above allusion, the Thamud did have a vague notion of God, but their erstwhile faith had been overlaid by their excessive arrogance and thus deprived of all spiritual value.
A most dastardly plot, because (1) it was to be secret, (2) by night, (3) taking their victims unawares, and (4) because careful provision was made that they should all tell lies together, saying that they knew nothing about it, in order to evade the vengeance which Salih's heirs (if any were left) or his tribe might want to exact! And yet such were exactly the plots laid against the holy Prophet himself.
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Cf. iii. 54. Their secret plotting is all known to Allah, but of Allah's just and beneficent plans they know nothing. And the wicked must come to an evil end.
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The story of Lot and the perverted people of Sodom is mentioned in several places, particularly in {7:80-84}, {11:69-83} and {26:160-173}.
Thus Zamakhshari and Razi, stressing the principle that a revolt against the God-willed nature of heterosexuality is a revolt against God Himself.
The story of Lut is referred to elsewhere. The passages to which reference may be made here are: xxvi. 160-175, and vii. 80-84. But the point emphasised here is that the crime of the Cities of the Plain was against their own nature, and they saw its enormity, and yet they indulged in it. Can degradation go further? His wife was not apparently a Believer. Her previous sympathy with the sinful people "destined her" (verse 57 below) to a miserable end, as she lagged behind and shared in the destruction of her kinsfolk.
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The ignorance referred to here is the spiritual Ignorance, the Ignorance of how grossness and sins that bring shame on their own physical and moral nature are doomed to destroy them: it is their own loss. That they knew the iniquity of their sins has already been stated in the last verse. That knowledge makes their spiritual Ignorance all the more culpable, just as a man consciously deceiving people by half-truths is a greater liar than a man who tells lies inadvertently.
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