The story in short
- Arabic name
- سليمان
- English name
- Solomon
- Named in the Quran
- 17 times
- Sent to
- The Children of Israel, as prophet and king; he also called the Queen of Saba to Allah
- In the list of 25
- 18 of 25
In short: Sulaiman inherited prophethood and kingship from his father Dawud. Allah taught him the language of birds, made the wind and the jinn serve him, and gave him a kingdom no one after him would have. He heard an ant warn its colony, learned of the sun-worshipping Queen of Saba from a hoopoe, and called her to Allah. She came, saw his palace, and submitted to Allah with him. He died leaning on his staff, and the jinn did not know until a termite gnawed it.
The story of Sulaiman
The ant
"And Sulaiman inherited Dawud. He said, 'O people, we have been taught the language of birds'" (27:16). Marching with his army of jinn, men and birds, he came to the valley of the ants. An ant said: "O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Sulaiman and his soldiers while they perceive not." Sulaiman smiled and prayed: "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness of which You approve" (27:18-19).
The hoopoe and the Queen of Saba
Sulaiman noticed the hoopoe was missing. It returned with news of a woman ruling Saba, with a great throne, whose people prostrated to the sun (27:20-24). Sulaiman sent a letter: "Indeed, it is from Sulaiman, and indeed, it reads: In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Be not haughty with me but come to me in submission" (27:30-31). She sent a gift, which he refused (27:36). One who had knowledge of the Book brought her throne "before your glance returns to you", and Sulaiman said: "This is from the favour of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful" (27:40). When she entered his palace, its floor of glass looked like water. She said: "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Sulaiman to Allah, Lord of the worlds" (27:44).
The wind and the jinn
The wind was made to serve him, "its morning journey a month and its afternoon journey a month", and the jinn worked for him by his Lord's permission, making shrines, statues, basins and cauldrons (34:12-13). He asked: "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me" (38:35). The Prophet ﷺ once caught a jinn who tried to disturb his prayer, and wanted to tie it to a pillar of the masjid, but remembered the dua of his brother Sulaiman and let it go.1
Wisdom in judgement
The Prophet ﷺ told of two women whose sons a wolf attacked, and who both claimed the surviving child. Dawud judged for the older woman. Sulaiman said: "Bring me a knife so I can divide him between you." The younger woman cried: "Do not, may Allah have mercy on you, he is her son", and Sulaiman gave the child to her.2
His death
"And when We decreed for him death, nothing indicated to the jinn his death except a creature of the earth eating his staff. But when he fell, it became clear to the jinn that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment" (34:14). The Quran also clears him of sorcery: "It was not Sulaiman who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic" (2:102).
Key verses
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوْا۟ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌۭ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمْلُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ مَسَٰكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿١٨﴾ فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًۭا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًۭا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ﴿١٩﴾
hattaaa izaaa ataw 'alaa waadin namli qaalat namlatuny yaaa aiyuhan namlud khuloo masaakinakum laa yahtimannakum Sulaimaanu wa junooduhoo wa hum laa yash'uroon Fatabassama daahikam min qawlihaa wa qaala Rabbi awzi'nee an ashkura ni'mata kal lateee an'amta 'alaiya wa 'alaa waalidaiya wa an a'mala saalihan tardaahu wa adkhilnee birahmatika fee 'ibaadikas saaliheen
(18) 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." (19) 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."
Quran 27:18-19 · Sahih International · Read in Surah An-Naml
قَالَ ٱلَّذِى عِندَهُۥ عِلْمٌۭ 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 غَنِىٌّۭ كَرِيمٌۭ ﴿٤٠﴾
Qaalal lazee indahoo 'ilmum minal Kitaabi ana aateeka bihee qabla ai yartadda ilaika tarfuk; falammaa ra aahu mustaqirran 'indahoo qaala haazaa min fadli Rabbee li yabluwaneee 'a-ashkuru am akfuru wa man shakara fa innamaa yashkuru linafsihee wa man kafara fa inna Rabbee Ghaniyyun Kareem
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."
Quran 27:40 · Sahih International · Read in Surah An-Naml
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكًۭا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍۢ مِّنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ ﴿٣٥﴾
Qaala Rabbigh fir lee wa hab lee mulkal laa yambaghee li ahadim mim ba'de inaka Antal Wahhab
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."
Quran 38:35 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Sad
Lessons from the story
- Every blessing is a test: will I be grateful? Sulaiman asked for gratitude first.
- Power is a means of calling to Allah, as his letter to the queen began with Bismillah.
- Even a small creature has a voice that a just ruler listens to.
- No one knows the unseen except Allah, not even the jinn.
Where it is in the Quran
The main passages about Sulaiman, with links to read and listen to each surah:
- Surah An-Naml 27:15-44
- Surah Al-Anbiya 21:78-82
- Surah Saba 34:12-14
- Surah Sad 38:30-40
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:102
What is authentic, and what is not
The Quran calls her the Queen of Saba without naming her. The name Bilqis comes from later reports. Stories of a magic ring that gave Sulaiman his power, of a devil sitting on his throne in his likeness (in explanation of 38:34), and of his hundreds of wives as told in some books, come from Isra'iliyyat, and careful commentators, Ibn Kathir among them, warned against them. The meaning of the horses passage (38:31-33) is explained in two ways by the commentators.
We follow Ibn Kathir's Qasas al-Anbiya only where it rests on the Quran and sound hadith. Isra'iliyyat are reports taken from earlier scriptures and storytellers. Scholars allow mentioning them only when they do not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, and they are never treated as certain.
Questions
Could Sulaiman talk to animals?
He was taught the language of birds (27:16) and understood the ant (27:18-19).
Who was the Queen of Sheba in the Quran?
The ruler of Saba in southern Arabia, whose people worshipped the sun. She came to Sulaiman and submitted to Allah (27:44). The Quran does not name her.
Did Sulaiman control the jinn?
By Allah's permission the jinn worked for him (34:12-13), and the wind was made to serve him (21:81).
Was Sulaiman a magician?
No. The Quran says: "It was not Sulaiman who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic" (2:102).
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 461; Sahih Muslim 541.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3427; Sahih Muslim 1720.
- Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya, chapter on Sulaiman, and his tafsir of Surah An-Naml and 38:30-40.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. In quotations within the text, the prophets' names are given in their Arabic form (Musa for Moses, Ibrahim for Abraham).
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.