Prophet Suleiman (a.s) and the hoopoe bird

Prophet Suleiman (a.s) and the hoopoe bird Prophet Suleiman (a.s) had a very large army of men, jinn and birds. One day, he was checking the army. “And he looked amongst the birds and he said: “Why can’t I see the hoopoe bird or is he absent?” (Sura Naml, Verse 20) hoopoe bird has the duty of searching for water when the army needed it.On that day, it had left without asking for permission to do so and Prophet Suleiman (a.s) decided to punish it if it came back without a good excuse for its absence. When the bird came back, it explained to Prophet Suleiman (a.s) what it had seen: “… I come to you from Sheba with sure news. I found a woman ruling over the people, she has been given many blessings and has a mighty throne! I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah…” (Sura Naml, Verses 22-24). When Prophet Suleiman (a.s) heard about Queen Bilqis and her city in Yemen, he was very surprised and decided to find out if what the bird had said was true. He wrote a letter to her asking her and her people to accept Allah (S. W.T) as their God and to stop worshipping the sun. Then he sent the hoopoe bird to take the letter to the Queen and see what her answer was. When Bilqis read it, she did not know what to do and asked her ministers for advice. Her commanders told her that they were willing to follow her decision. Queen Bilqis knew that an ordinary king would be greedy for power and try to take over her land. She decided to test Prophet Suleiman (a.s) to see if he was a true prophet of Allah (S.W.T) or if he just wanted her wealth. She sent a group of men with gifts of gold, silver and other treasures to Suleiman (a.s) as a gift from her. When Prophet Suleiman (a.s) saw all this, he said: “What? Will you try to help me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than what He has given you and your gifts look valuable to your eyes (not mine).” (Sura Naml, Verses 36-37) The envoy returned with all their gifts to Sheba and told Queen Bilqis all the wonders that they had seen and heard. When Bilqis heard of the grand kingdom of Ptaphet Suleiman (a.s), she realised that he was a prophet of Allah (S.W.T) who had been granted such great powers by Him. She decided to go to him and see his kingdom for herself. When Prophet Suleiman (a.s) heard of her intentions, he wanted to show her some of the favours Allah (S.W.T) had given him, so that she would believe and accept one God. He said: “O Chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before she arrives?” (Sura Maml. Verse 38) One of the Jinn offered to do it before Prophet Suleiman (a.s) stood up from his throne, but one of his ministers, Asef Ben Barkhia said: “I will bring it to you in the blink of an eye!” (Sura Naml, Verse 40) Queen Bilqis’s throne appeared infront of Prophet Suleiman (a.s) before he opened his eyes, even though the distance between the two kingdoms was great as Bilqis ruled over Yemen and he ruled over Palestine. Prophet Suleiman (a.s) thanked Allah (S.W.T) when he saw this! He then ordered that a palace should be built whose floor was made of clear glass. The floor itself was to be laid over a large pool of water, so that when a person walked over it, it looked like he was walking on water! When Queen Bilqis arrived, he welcomed her into this palace. As she entered the huge doors, she saw the floor and assumed it was water. Gently lifting her skirt so that it would not get wet, she put out her foot to step into the wondrous room. Prophet Suleiman (a.s) saw this and smiled. He told her she did not need to do such a thing and explained that the floor was made of glass and it only seemed that the water was on it. Queen Bilqis was a clever woman and as soon as she heard this, she realised the lesson he was trying to teach her. She understood that she had been mistaken in worshipping the sun when there was a Being who could not be seen but who was much greater than the sun – Allah (S.W.T)! Immediately asking for forgiveness, she surrendered to Allah (S.W.T) saying:”I surrender with Suleiman to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.”(Surd Naml, Verse 44)