Tafsir of An-Naml 27:38

{He said, "O assembly, which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?"}

There is an omission in the discourse; that is: the messenger returned to her and informed her of what Solomon had sworn. She then prepared to travel to him, as she knew he was a prophet and that she lacked the strength to fight him. It is narrated that she commanded [that it be done] upon her departure, so her throne was placed within the innermost of seven houses, some inside others, at the back of her palaces. She locked the doors and assigned guards to protect it, then set out towards Solomon accompanied by her kings and followers. She had sent word to Solomon: "I am coming to you with the kings of my people to see what your command is and what religion you invite to."

Abdullah ibn Shaddad said: When she was a parasang away from Solomon, he said: "Which of you will bring me her throne?"

From Ibn Abbas: Solomon was held in such awe that no one would initiate a matter with him unless he himself asked about it. One day, he saw dust nearby and asked, "What is this?" They replied, "Bilqis." He then said, "Which of you..." etc.

The meaning of "in submission" (muslimin) is—as narrated from him—"obedient." Others said it means "believers."

They differed regarding his purpose—peace be upon him—in requesting her throne. According to Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zayd, he requested it to show her the power that comes from Allah the Exalted, and to surprise her. Hence, the author of Al-Kashshaf stated: "Perhaps it was revealed to him, peace be upon him, regarding her safeguarding of her throne, so he wished to surprise her and show her some of what Allah the Exalted had singled him out with—the manifestation of wonders at his hand—while making her aware of the great power of Allah the Exalted, and what bears witness to the prophethood of Solomon, peace be upon him, and verifies it." End quote.

The qualification of the bringing with the phrase "before..." is because that is more wondrous, more surprising, and further from what usually occurs, and it is more indicative of the great power of Allah the Exalted and the validity of his prophethood, so that she might witness the wonders of miracles upon her first arrival.

At-Tabari said: He intended, peace be upon him, to test the truthfulness of the hoopoe in its statement, "and she has a great throne." This is considered unlikely, as he had no need for such a test; the signs of truthfulness in that matter were perfectly clear to him, especially if what is narrated from Wahb and others is authentic.

It was also said: He wanted it brought so that he might deny it [as hers] and alter it, then observe whether she would recognize it or deny it, as a test of her intellect.

Qatadah and Ibn Jurayj said: He intended, peace be upon him, to take it before she and her people attained faith, which would prevent the seizure of their wealth. Regarding this, the author of Al-Kashf said: "It contains [the implication] that taking spoils was specific to our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace." In At-Tahqiq, it is stated: "This does not harmonize with his rejection of the gift and his reasoning for it by saying, 'What Allah has given me is better than what He has given you.'" It was answered that this is not a matter of taking spoils of war, but rather taking the property of a belligerent and disposing of it without consent, although it is apparent that he was receiving revelation, and it may have been among his specificities for a divine wisdom. This was not a gift to her such that it would conflict with the previous rejection. There is room for debate here.

Perhaps the most plausible view is that this was to deny it in order to test her intelligence, while simultaneously showing her some of his supernatural signs that indicate the validity of his prophethood and the great power of Allah the Exalted. It is apparent that this statement occurred after the rejection of the gift, and this is the position held by the majority.

In a narration from Ibn Abbas, he said this when he began to look into the truthfulness or falsehood of the hoopoe when it said, "and she has a great throne." Thus, there is a transposition of events in the ordering of the narratives, and I think this is not authentic from Ibn Abbas.