Yesterday a king was buried, and tens of thousands walked behind his bier, because he had been a just man: Dawud, peace be upon him. Today his son inherits him. Not his gold, because a prophet leaves no gold to inherit, but his prophethood, his throne, and a gift no king before or since has been handed: the kingdom of Sulayman, peace be upon him.
This is day twenty-seven of twenty-nine. Watch closely, because the most powerful man who ever lived spends this entire episode doing one thing with that power: bending it back, again and again, into gratitude. He commands the wind and the jinn, he hears the speech of birds and ants, and the only thing he ever begs Allah for is the ability to say thank you.
What it means to inherit a prophet
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَٰنُ دَاوُۥدَ ۖ وَقَالَ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ ٱلطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
“And Solomon inherited David. He said, "O people, we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is evident bounty."”
Surah an-Naml 27:16 Read 27:16 with tafsir
Mufti Menk stops on the word inherited, because it is easy to read it wrong. The prophets do not leave wealth. The Prophet ﷺ said it plainly: we, the company of prophets, are not inherited from; whatever we leave is charity. So what passed from Dawud to Sulayman, peace be upon them, was not a treasury. It was prophethood, and kingship, and the knowledge that the prophets actually do leave behind, the one inheritance that is up for grabs, where whoever takes the most of it gains the most.
And so Sulayman stands before his people and tells them what he has been given, not to boast, but to name the Giver. We have been taught the speech of the birds. We have been given from everything. This, he says, is clearly a favour. Hold that word, favour, fadl, because it is the thread that runs through this whole day. Everything that follows, the wind, the jinn, the throne, he will keep tracing back to the same source: this is from the favour of my Lord. The Qur'an gathers nearly the whole of his story into one surah, an-Naml, the chapter of the ant, and it opens it right here, at the moment of inheritance.
A kingdom no one after him would have
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكًا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍ مِّنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
“He said, "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower."”
Surah Sad 38:35 Read 38:35 with tafsir
The kingdom did not simply land in his lap. It came after a test. Allah says He tested Sulayman, peace be upon him, until a body was set upon his throne, and then he turned back. Here Mufti Menk does something important, and it is the discipline this whole pillar is built on. There is a famous story attached to this verse, carried in from the Hebrew narrations, the Israiliyyat, that Sulayman went around his many wives in one night hoping for sons who would fight for Allah. Mufti Menk calls it by its name: a fabricated, blasphemous report, and he tells you to throw it out the window. The rule he hands you is the Sunnah's rule: when a story comes from the People of the Book and carries any disrespect for a prophet, it is discarded, because the prophets of Allah were far above it. Do not chase details beyond what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ told us.
The reading he leans on instead, from the mufassir al-Fakhr al-Razi, is that Allah tried Sulayman with a severe illness. The most powerful man alive lay on his throne like a dead man, and not one of his armies could help him, not mankind, not the jinn, not the birds that flew to the corners of the earth searching for a cure. And in that helplessness he understood the thing the powerful forget: with all this kingdom, no one can take my life but You; I depend entirely on You. Only then did he ask. And look at the order of the asking, because Mufti Menk points to it as a pattern for our own du'a: first he cleans the slate, my Lord, forgive me, and only then does he ask, and grant me a kingdom that will belong to no one after me. He is not greedy for the world. He is asking for a sign that would still be standing, unrepeatable, long after he was gone.
The wind and the jinn at his command
وَلِسُلَيْمَٰنَ ٱلرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ ۖ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُۥ عَيْنَ ٱلْقِطْرِ ۖ وَمِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ مَن يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِۦ ۖ وَمَن يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ
“And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind - its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month, and We made flow for him a spring of [liquid] copper. And among the jinn were those who worked for him by the permission of his Lord. And whoever deviated among them from Our command - We will make him taste of the punishment of the Blaze.”
Surah Saba 34:12 Read 34:12 with tafsir
Allah answered, and the answer is staggering. He gave Sulayman, peace be upon him, command of the wind itself: its morning run was a month's journey and its evening run another month's journey, so that in a single day it carried him a distance that would take ordinary travel two months to cross. And He placed the jinn under his authority, working before him by their Lord's permission, building him whatever he willed and diving into the seas to bring up what he asked for, with any of them who strayed from the command tasting punishment.
Sulayman was a worshipper before he was a king; Allah calls him an excellent servant. And here is the thing Mufti Menk will not let you miss. For most of us, the more we are given, the further the shaytan drags us from remembering Allah. For Sulayman it ran the other way: the more he was given, the closer he drew. He held the wind in his army and the jinn in his ranks and one of the largest armies in history, and stayed humble, and stayed just. Power did to him the opposite of what power usually does.
The ant, and the prayer it pulled out of a king
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوْا۟ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمْلُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ مَسَٰكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
“Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, "O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not."”
Surah an-Naml 27:18 Read 27:18 with tafsir
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
“So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech, and said, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants."”
Surah an-Naml 27:19 Read 27:19 with tafsir
Now the picture the whole surah is named for. His armies are on the move in formation, men and jinn and birds, marching in disciplined rows, and they come upon the valley of the ants. One ant calls out to her colony: get into your homes, or Sulayman and his soldiers will crush you without even noticing. And Sulayman, given the hearing for it, catches her warning, and stops. The most powerful army in history halts for an ant. Mufti Menk lingers here on how an ant lives: how it finds a crumb and goes back to fetch the others rather than hiding it, how a whole nation of them streams along one road, brushing past each other, carrying word that the food is still there. They have an umma. They look out for one another, he says, in a way we often do not.
But the heart of the scene is the prayer the ant pulls out of him. He smiles at her words, and then he does not say thank you, Allah. He says, my Lord, enable me to be grateful. Mufti Menk presses on the difference, because it is everything. We toss out shukran and alhamdulillah with our tongues while we are missing our prayers; that is lip service. Sulayman asks for the real thing: not to mouth gratitude, but to be made into someone who truly is grateful, and who acts on it with deeds Allah is pleased with. And Mufti Menk reminds you of a permission worth keeping: these are Qur'anic words, so they are yours to pray. You may stand tonight and ask in the exact words of a prophet: my Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour upon me and my parents, and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous servants.
One missing bird, and the news from Sheba
وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ
“And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?”
Surah an-Naml 27:20 Read 27:20 with tafsir
وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ
“I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allāh, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are not guided,”
Surah an-Naml 27:24 Read 27:24 with tafsir
Then, inspecting his vast army, this king notices that one small bird is gone. Out of an army of that size, he registers a single absent hoopoe. And notice the justice even in his anger, because Mufti Menk does: he does not simply vow to kill it. He says he will punish it severely, or slaughter it, unless it brings a clear reason. The door is left open for a good excuse. A just man, even when displeased.
The hoopoe arrives and says something audacious to a prophet with armies that could scout an enemy before the enemy knew he existed: I have grasped what you have not, and I bring you certain news from Sheba. There is a woman ruling a people there, the queen of Sheba, given abundance and seated on a tremendous throne, and yet, the bird reports, I found her and her people bowing to the sun instead of to Allah, the shaytan having dressed up their deeds and turned them from the path. This is the verse at which a reciter and listeners make the prostration of recitation, sajdat al-tilawah: when we hear how Sheba refused to bow to Allah, we bow. And Mufti Menk turns it on us. The shaytan strips guidance from people; he comes even for the believer, to thin out our iman, our salah, our certainty. Sheba's sun-worship is a mirror: what, quietly, have we let take Allah's place?
The letter, and a king who would not be bribed
إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
“Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it is [i.e., reads]: 'In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,”
Surah an-Naml 27:30 Read 27:30 with tafsir
فَلَمَّا جَآءَ سُلَيْمَٰنَ قَالَ أَتُمِدُّونَنِ بِمَالٍ فَمَآ ءَاتَىٰنِۦَ ٱللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّآ ءَاتَىٰكُم بَلْ أَنتُم بِهَدِيَّتِكُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ
“So when they came to Solomon, he said, "Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allāh has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather, it is you who rejoice in your gift.”
Surah an-Naml 27:36 Read 27:36 with tafsir
Sulayman, peace be upon him, does not march on Sheba. He writes. He hands the hoopoe a letter and tells it to deliver it and then withdraw and watch what they do, because he means to verify the bird's report before he acts on it, and because he wants to win her to Allah, not crush her. The queen gathers her chiefs over a noble letter: it is from Sulayman, and it reads, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful; do not be haughty with me, and come to me in submission. Mufti Menk notes the wisdom even in the order of the words, a point some scholars have drawn: he leads with his own name before Allah's, so that if the message angered her, her curse would not fall on the name of Allah.
She is too shrewd to fight blind, so she sends a lavish gift, partly to test him, partly to have her envoys count his soldiers. When the gift reaches Sulayman, his answer is one of the great refusals in the Qur'an: are you trying to enrich me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than anything He has given you; it is you who are pleased with your gift. Send it back. He had no hunger for their treasure, because he already read everything as fadl, favour from Allah, not a possession to be flattered with. He tells the envoys plainly that an army they cannot face will come, and they go home to their queen shaken, telling her she must come herself.
A throne in the blink of an eye, and the line that holds the whole day
قَالَ ٱلَّذِى عِندَهُۥ عِلْمٌ مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ أَنَا۠ ءَاتِيكَ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ ۚ فَلَمَّا رَءَاهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُۥ قَالَ هَٰذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّى لِيَبْلُوَنِىٓ ءَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ ۖ وَمَن شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّى غَنِىٌّ كَرِيمٌ
“Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."”
Surah an-Naml 27:40 Read 27:40 with tafsir
Knowing she is on her way, Sulayman, peace be upon him, asks his assembly: which of you can bring me her throne before they arrive in submission? A mighty one of the jinn offers to fetch it before he rises from his seat, before the morning sitting is done. But another answers, the one who had knowledge of the Book: I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you. And in the blink of an eye, the throne of Sheba, lifted from her own palace far away, was standing in front of him. Mufti Menk admits we are not even certain who this knower was; he leaves the gap rather than fill it, because the point is the knowledge Allah gave him, not a name we do not have.
And here is the line the whole day has been climbing toward. Faced with a wonder that crossed an empire in an instant, Sulayman does not say look what I can do. He says: this is from the favour of my Lord, to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; whoever is grateful, his gratitude is only for his own good, and whoever is ungrateful, my Lord is free of all need, generous. The most powerful man who ever lived read his own miracle as an exam in gratitude. That is the verse to carry out of today, and it is exactly where this episode pauses, with Sheba still on the road, her surrender still to come tomorrow.