Tafsir of Sad 38:35

(He said) is an appositive to (he turned/returned) and an explanation of it, according to what is in Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, and this is the apparent meaning. It is also possible that it is a rhetorical resumption (istia'naf bayani) arising from the narrative that preceded it, as if it were said: "Did he have a state wherein the massaging of the horses, their driving and their necks, did not harm him? And was he in a state where wisdom necessitated his trial?" Thus, the answer was what was given, the gist of which is: Yes, he had a state where the massaging did not harm him, and he was in a state where wisdom necessitated his trial. He prayed for a great kingdom, and it was granted to him. The resumption can also be established in another way, and it may also be a grammatical resumption to narrate some of his states—peace be upon him—so reflect on this.

(My Lord, forgive me) for what I did not approve of emanating from myself.

(And grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me), meaning: it is not fitting for anyone other than me due to its magnitude. "After" (ba'di) here is analogous to what is in His saying, the Exalted: "Who can guide him after (min ba'di) Allah?" meaning: other than Allah, the Exalted. This is more general than meaning "other" in his own era. The intention is to describe the kingdom with magnitude by way of metonymy, like saying: "Such-and-such person has honor and wealth that no one else possesses," while perhaps there are those among the people who have similar things; you mean that he has a great portion of that, not that no one else will be given anything like it, so as to avoid competition.

The report narrated by 'Abd ibn Humayd, al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Nasa'i, al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in Nawadir al-Usul, and Ibn Mardawayh from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "An Ifrit from the Jinn appeared before me last night to disrupt my prayer, but Allah, the Exalted, enabled me to overpower him. I intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that you could all see him in the morning. Then I remembered the words of my brother Solomon: 'My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me,' so Allah, the Exalted, sent him away humiliated." This does not contradict the interpretation, because he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to perfectly honor the invocation of his brother Solomon (peace be upon him) by abandoning something that the great kingdom entailed. Otherwise, the "great kingdom" is not merely tying an Ifrit to a pillar; rather, it is everything else that is entailed by His saying, the Exalted, which follows: "(So We subjected the wind to him)..." and so on. It is said that there is no contradiction because metonymy allows for the intended truth just as it allows for the absence of it. Perhaps he (peace be upon him) requested this to be a sign of the acceptance of his petition for forgiveness and to mend his heart regarding what he had missed by omitting the exception (in his oath), or to use it as a means to increase his obedience to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. The good things of this world for a righteous servant are a blessing, so there is no difficulty in requesting a kingdom in this context if we accept what the apparent wording of the noble order necessitates: that the two requests emanated simultaneously.

Al-Zamakhshari said: Solomon (peace be upon him) grew up in a house of kingship and prophethood, and was an heir to both. He wanted to request a miracle from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, so, based on his familiarity, he requested a kingdom exceeding other kingdoms—an extraordinary increase that reached the limit of a miracle, so that it would be a proof of his prophethood and overpowering to those to whom he was sent. A miracle is not a miracle unless it breaks established habits. That is the meaning of "not fitting for anyone after me." His saying "after me" (min ba'di) means "other than me" (min duni/ghayri), as in the previous view. The appropriateness of requesting this as a miracle, apart from familiarity, is that he (peace be upon him) lived in the era of the tyrants, and they took pride in kingship. The miracle of every prophet is of the same genus as that which was famous in his era. Do you not see that when magic was famous and prevalent in the era of the Interlocutor (Moses, peace be upon him), he came to them with that which swallowed what they had produced? When medicine was famous in the era of the Messiah (peace be upon him), he came to them with the healing of the blind and the leper, and the raising of the dead? And when eloquence was famous in the era of the Seal of the Messengers (peace and blessings be upon him), he came to them with a speech to which they could not produce even the shortest of its segments?

It is objected that what is fitting for the request of a miracle is at the beginning of prophethood, and the apparent wording of the noble order is that this request was after the trial and turning back. How could it be otherwise, when His saying, the Exalted, "He said..." etc., is an appositive to "he turned" (anaba) and an explanation of it? And the trial was not at the beginning, as the order suggests. It is answered that we do not concede that it is fitting for the miracle request to be only at the beginning of prophethood; and even if we were to concede it, there is nothing in the verse that contradicts its occurrence [later], nor the occurrence of the trial in its time, especially if we say that His saying, the Exalted, "He said, 'My Lord, forgive me...'" is an explanation of "he turned." It is also answered, regarding the view that the trial was the loss of the kingdom, that his return after it is like a new beginning.

Some of those who hold this view mentioned that he (peace be upon him) stayed in his kingdom for twenty years before this trial, and stayed for twenty years after it as well. They said regarding this verse that the focus of the supplication is the attribute: the meaning of the verse is "Grant me a kingdom that is not fitting for anyone other than me among those in my era, such that he [the enemy] could take it away from me as this one was taken away." This meaning is reported from 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah and Qatadah. The gist is the assertion that his kingdom was not taken from him during his life. It is understood from the context of the deduction that his request was answered, and that what was granted to him would not be taken from him afterward. It is permitted that this is a prayer for non-seizure even if no seizure had previously occurred, and the persistence of Allah's blessing is something for which supplication is appropriate, and the traditions are full of this. Thus, this view does not necessarily have to be built upon interpreting the "trial" as the loss of the kingdom, as previously mentioned.

Al-Jubba'i said: He (peace be upon him) requested a kingdom that would never belong to anyone else, and he did not request that except after being granted permission; for the prophets (peace be upon them) do not request except what they are permitted to request. It is possible that Allah, the Exalted, had informed him that if he asked for it, it would be most beneficial for him in religion, and informed him that there was no such benefit in it for anyone else. It is analogous to the statement of one who says: "O Allah, make me the wealthiest among the people of my time, if You know that is most beneficial for me." This is appropriate and its speaker is not attributed to stinginess. It is said: It is permissible that the meaning of the verse is "Grant me a kingdom that is fitting for me by wisdom, and not fitting for anyone else." By this, he intended the request to be eligible for the blessings of Allah, the Exalted. And this is as you see. Other things are also said. Among the most amazing things I have seen is what al-Sayyid al-Murtada said: It is permissible that he was only asking for the kingdom of the Hereafter and the reward of Paradise, and the meaning of his saying "not fitting for anyone after me" is that no one else deserves it after he attains it, because it is not valid for anyone to perform what would make them deserve it, due to the end of legal responsibility (taklif). It is not hidden that this is something the taste does not approve of, and the subsequent deduction rejects it completely.

Some inferred from the verse regarding some of the mentioned opinions that one who claims to use the Jinn and that they obey him is a disbeliever, and they supported this with the aforementioned Hadith. The truth is that the use of Jinn, which was established for Solomon (peace be upon him), was not by means of names and spiritual exercises (riyadat); rather, it was a divine subjection without the intermediary of anything. It was also in a more perfect manner, and with that, it was a portion of the kingdom he had requested. Therefore, the exclusive portion—upon the assumption that the verse indicates exclusivity—is the entirety of what His saying, the Exalted, entails: "So We subjected..." and so on. Thus, it appears that it is not sufficient for one who claims the use of some Jinn. We have witnessed repeatedly those who claim this, and we have witnessed evidence of the truth of their claim in a way that neither a sophist nor an obstinate person could deny. Among the strange coincidences is that on the day I was interpreting this verse, I met a man from Mosul who claimed this. I tested him in a great assembly in a way that verified his claim, and he did so and brought forth the most amazing things. The evidence for the negation of the possibility of trickery and the like was apparent to those of intellect. However, I have a difficulty in this place, which is that the Jinn servant may bring a dense object from, for example, a locked box amidst a group in a room whose doors were closed and exits blocked, and no one felt it. The direction of the difficulty is that the Jinn is subtle, so how was the dense object hidden such that it was not seen on the way? And how did he take it out of the box and bring it into the room while the exits were blocked? And the subtilizing of the dense object, then its re-densification afterward, is something that only the dense or the foolish would consider appropriate. Similar to this is the aforementioned bringing of the throne of Bilqis by way of annihilation and creation (i'dam wa ijad), as the Great Sheikh says, or by another way as others say. Perhaps the Shari'ah also rejects this. If "speed of movement" (sur'at al-murur) is of any benefit, then it [applies] to the lack of being seen on the way. The most that can be said is: perhaps the Jinn has magic or something similar by which he removed sensation (the ability to perceive), so he manipulated the box and the room's exits as he wished and brought the dense object carrying it, and not one of the people felt it. If this holds, then it is well; otherwise, the matter is difficult. The apparent meaning of making the sentence "He said, 'My Lord, forgive me'" an explanation of the "turning" requires that the seeking of forgiveness is intended for its own sake, not as a means to the requesting of the kingdom. And in the "requesting of the kingdom" being intended for its own sake, there are also two possibilities. The precedence of the "seeking of forgiveness," on the assumption that they are both intended for their own sake, is for his increased concern for the affairs of religion. It may also be made a means for the "requesting of the kingdom" which is also intended, for opening a supplication with such [acts of repentance] is more hopeful for an answer. It is permissible—though far-fetched after committing to the resumption in the sentence—that the "requesting of the kingdom" is what is intended for its own sake, and the "seeking of forgiveness" is a means for it, and what has been said in its support will come, if Allah, the Exalted, wills.

It is recited "(from me)" (min ba'di) with the opening of the ya. The recitation is also reported for "for me" (li) and His saying, the Exalted: "(Indeed, You are the Bestower)."

(Justification for the supplication for forgiveness and the granting together, not just for the latter alone; for forgiveness is also from the judgments of the attribute of Bestowal, certainly. And whoever allows the "requesting of the kingdom" to be the intended goal found support in this justification, thinking that it is for the latter prayer only, and likewise by the lack of reference to the answer for the former prayer.)