An-Naml: (44) It was said to her, "Enter..."

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Know that when the Almighty recounted her persistence in disbelief, despite all the preceding proofs, He mentioned that Solomon (peace be upon him) revealed a matter that prompted her to accept Islam. This is His saying: {It was said to her, "Enter the palace"} (An-Naml: 44).

The Sarih (صرح) means the palace, as in the verse: {Pharaoh, "O Haman, build me a lofty palace"} (Ghafir: 36). Some say it means the courtyard of the house. Ibn Kathir recited {its shanks/legs} (referring to the next part of the story, though not explicitly in this verse) with a hamza (glottal stop), justifying it by saying he heard suqan (سؤقا) and applied the singular form to it. The mumarrad (ممرد) means polished or smoothed.

It is narrated that Solomon (peace be upon him), before her arrival, ordered the construction of a palace for her on her path, made of white glass, as clear as water. Then, water was made to flow beneath it, and fish and other things were placed within it. He sat upon his throne in the center of it, surrounded by humans, jinn, and birds paying him homage. He did this only to increase her awe of his authority and to confirm his prophethood.

They claimed that the jinn disliked him marrying her because she might reveal their secrets to him, as she was the daughter of a jinn. Another reason suggested was that they feared a child born to them would combine the intellect of jinn and humans, leading to a king more powerful than Solomon, thus usurping his dominion. Therefore, they claimed she had some deficiency in intellect, that her shanks were hairy, and her feet resembled a donkey's hoof. Solomon tested her intellect by disguising the throne, and he constructed the palace to ascertain the appearance of her shanks.

It is known that clear glass is like water. When she saw it, she thought it was stagnant water and uncovered her shanks to wade through it. Behold, she had the most beautiful shanks and feet among people. This interpretation aligns with the view that he married her.

Others said the purpose of the palace was to make the assembly imposing and grand, and the uncovering of her shanks happened incidentally. When she was told, "It is a polished palace made of glass," she covered herself, marveled at it, and derived from it proof of Monotheism (Tawhid) and Prophethood.

She then said: {My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself} (An-Naml: 44), referring to her previous persistence in disbelief. Then she said: {and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds} (An-Naml: 44).

Another interpretation is that she thought Solomon (peace be upon him) was going to drown her in the deep water. Thus, she said, "I wronged myself by having a bad opinion of Solomon."

There is disagreement on whether he actually married her, and whether he married her in this state or before she uncovered her shanks. The more apparent view among people is that he married her, although there is no mention of this in the Book (Qur'an), nor in an authentic, conclusive report.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that when she embraced Islam, he told her, "Choose a man from your people whom I shall marry you to." She replied, "A woman like me is not married to men while holding sovereignty." He said, "Marriage is part of Islam." She then said, "If so, marry me to Dhu Yazan, the king of Hamdan." So he married her to him, then returned them both to Yemen, and he remained the king over them. And Allah knows best.

The Third Story: The Story of Salih (peace be upon him)

{And indeed, We sent to Thamud their brother Salih, saying, "Worship Allah." And behold, they became two factions disputing.} (Ash-Shu'ara: 45)

{He said, "O my people, why do you hasten to evil before good? Why do you not seek forgiveness from Allah that you may receive mercy?"} (An-Naml: 46)

{They said, "We have taken ill omens from you and those who are with you." He said, "Your omen is with Allah; rather, you are a people being tested."} (An-Naml: 47)

{And there were in the city nine individuals who were causing corruption in the land and were not setting things right.} (An-Naml: 48)

{They said, "Let us swear by Allah solemnly that we will attack him and his household by night, and then we will surely say to his guardian [i.e., his heir], 'We did not witness the destruction of his household, and indeed, we are truthful.'"} (An-Naml: 49)

{And they plotted a plot, and We plotted a plot, while they perceived not.} (An-Naml: 50)

{Then observe how the end of their plot was: indeed, We destroyed them and their people, all of them.} (An-Naml: 51)

{So those are their houses, desolate because of their wrongdoing. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who know.} (An-Naml: 52)

{And We saved those who believed and used to fear Allah.} (An-Naml: 53)