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And We granted to David, Solomon. . . . . .

This is the second narrative. Regarding His saying: {What an excellent servant}, there are several points of discussion:

The specific person praised in {What an excellent servant} is omitted.

• Some say it is Solomon.
• Others say it is David.

The former (Solomon) is more likely because:

1. He is the closest person mentioned previously.
2. The verse continues, {Indeed, he was ever turning back [to Allah]} (awwāb). It cannot refer to David here because his description as awwāb was already mentioned in the preceding verse: {And remember Our servant, David, the man of strength; indeed, he was ever turning back} (Surah Sad: 17). If we said awwāb here also described David, it would be redundant. If it describes Solomon, it implies the son shares the father's perfect virtues, making this interpretation preferable.

He first said {What an excellent servant} and then followed it with {Indeed, he was ever turning back}. This second phrase serves as a cause (taʿlīl).

This indicates that he was {What an excellent servant} because he was awwāb (one who frequently returns to God). Therefore, anyone who frequently returns to God in most times and in most matters deserves to be described as {What an excellent servant}. This is the undeniable truth, as human perfection lies in knowing the Truth for its own sake and knowing the Good for the sake of acting upon it. The head of all knowledge is knowing God, and the head of all obedience is acknowledging that no good can be achieved without God's help. Whoever possesses this quality frequently turns back to God and is thus awwāb. Hence, every awwāb must necessarily be {What an excellent servant}.

Regarding His saying: {When there were shown to him} (idh ʿurida ʿalayhi), there are two interpretations:

1. The implied meaning is: {What an excellent servant} when one of his deeds was that he did such-and-such.
2. It is the beginning of a new statement. The meaning is: O Muhammad, remember when such and such was presented to him.

The Horses:

• العشي (al-ʿashiyy): This refers to the time from the afternoon prayer until the end of the day.
• The horses were presented to him so he could look at them and ascertain their condition.
• الصافنات الجياد (al-ṣāfināt al-jiyād): The horses were described with two attributes:

1. الصَافِنَات (al-Ṣāfināt): According to Ṣiḥāḥ, ṣāfin is one who stands on his hind legs, resting his weight on the front legs. In a Hadith, it is mentioned: "When we prayed behind him, and he raised his head from bowing, we stood in rows (ṣaffanā)," meaning we stood with our feet positioned like the ṣāfin stance. In either interpretation, ṣafūn describes a virtue of the horse.
   2. الجِيَاد (al-Jiyād): Al-Mubarrid said this is the plural of jawād, meaning swift in running, just as a generous person (jawād) is swift in giving.

The purpose is to describe the horses as possessing virtue and perfection in both their standing and moving states. When standing, they are described by ṣafūn (calm and well-formed); when moving, they are described by jiyād (swift runners).

Then the Almighty said: {He said, "Indeed, I preferred the love of good things over the remembrance of my Lord"}. There are several interpretations of this phrase:

1. The verb aḥbabtu (I preferred/loved) implies a verb that takes ʿan (over/from) as a preposition, as if saying: "The love of good things grew out of my remembrance of my Lord."
2. Aḥbabtu means "I obligated." The meaning is: "I obligated myself to love horses because of the remembrance of my Lord," meaning because of His Book (the Torah), as keeping horses ready for war is praised in the Torah just as it is praised in the Qur'an.
3. A person might love something but wish they did not love it (like a sick person desiring what worsens their illness, or a father loving a wicked son). However, if someone loves something and loves that very love, that represents the ultimate degree of love. Thus, {I preferred the love of good things} means "I loved my love for these horses."

Then the Almighty said: {over the remembrance of my Lord} (ʿan dhikri rabbī), meaning this intense love arose from the remembrance of God and His command, not from mere desire or whim. This interpretation is the clearest.

Then the Almighty said: {until they were hidden} (ḥattā tawārat).

The pronoun in {until they were hidden} and in {Bring them back to me} (ruddūhā ʿalayya) has four possibilities:

1. Both pronouns refer to the horses (al-ṣāfināt). Meaning: Until the horses were hidden from view, bring the horses back to me.
2. Both pronouns refer to the sun. Meaning: Until the sun was hidden (set), bring the sun back to me. It is narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) missed the Asr prayer because he was occupied with the horses, and he asked God to return the sun.
3. The first pronoun refers to the sun, and the second refers to the horses.
4. The first pronoun refers to the horses, and the second refers to the sun.

Analysis of Possibilities:

• Possibility 2 (Both refer to the Sun): This interpretation is weak in my view for several reasons:
  1. The horses (al-ṣāfināt) are explicitly mentioned, while the sun is not. A pronoun usually refers back to the explicitly mentioned antecedent.
  2. The structure {I preferred the love of good things over the remembrance of my Lord until they were hidden} suggests Solomon was repeating this statement until the hiding occurred. If "they" refers to the horses, it means he kept saying this while watching them run until they disappeared from sight—which is fitting. If "they" refers to the sun, it means he repeated this statement from Asr time until sunset, which is highly improbable.
  3. If we assume he missed the Asr prayer due to preoccupation with the horses, this contradicts {I preferred the love of good things over the remembrance of my Lord}, because if that love stemmed from God's remembrance, he would not have forgotten prayer or abandoned the remembrance of God.
  4. If he remained occupied until sunset and missed Asr, that would be a grave sin. The appropriate response would be intense supplication, weeping, and exaggerated repentance. To respond to such a great offense by arrogantly commanding the Lord of the Worlds, {Bring them back to me}, using language suitable only for a lowly servant, is not expected even from the most wicked person, let alone a purified Prophet.
  5. The One capable of moving the celestial bodies is God Almighty. Solomon should have said, "Bring it back to me" (rudd-hā), not "Bring them back to me" (ruddū-hā). If they argue the plural form was used to signify the greatness of the addressee, we respond that {Bring them back} is a term implying great humiliation, which is unsuitable for addressing God.
  6. If the sun returned after setting, this would be witnessed by everyone on earth. If so, there would be overwhelming motivation to transmit and publicize this event. Since no one has reported this, we know it is false.
  7. The verse states: {When there were shown to him in the afternoon the swift, noble horses}, then {until they were hidden}. It is more appropriate for the pronoun to refer to the closest mentioned noun, which is the horses. The afternoon (al-ʿashiyy) is the furthest mentioned element. Therefore, referring the pronoun to the horses is more appropriate.

Thus, interpreting {until they were hidden} as the sun setting, and {Bring them back to me} as a request to return the sun after sunset, is extremely inconsistent with the text's structure.

Then the Almighty said: {Then he began wiping their shanks and necks} (fa-ṭafiq masḥan bi-l-suq wa-l-aʿnāq).

The majority of commentators say this means Solomon struck their shanks and necks with a sword, i.e., he slaughtered them. They argue that since he missed the Asr prayer due to preoccupation with the horses, he brought them back and slaughtered their shanks and necks as an act of repentance to God.

I find this interpretation also weak for several reasons:

1. If masḥ (wiping/stroking) meant slaughtering, then the command in ablution, {and wipe over your heads and your feet} (Al-Ma'idah: 6), would mean cutting them off—a notion no sane person would accept. Even if a sword were mentioned alongside wiping the head, one might understand a blow to the neck, but without the sword, masḥ never implies slaughter.
2. Those who hold this view attribute several blameworthy actions to Solomon:
   • First: Abandoning prayer.
   • Second: Being so consumed by worldly love that he forgot prayer (and the Prophet ﷺ said, "Love of the world is the head of every sin").
   • Third: After committing this great sin, he did not engage in repentance or return to God.
   • Fourth: He addressed the Lord of the Worlds with {Bring them back to me}, a phrase a sensible man would only use with a lowly servant.
   • Fifth: He followed these sins by slaughtering the horses at their shanks and necks. The Prophet ﷺ forbade slaughtering animals except for food. They attribute major sins to Solomon when the text of the Qur'an does not indicate any of this.
   • Sixth: This story is mentioned immediately after the disbelievers said: {Our Lord, hasten to us our portion before the Day of Reckoning} (Surah Sad: 17). When the disbelievers reached such foolishness, God commanded Muhammad ﷺ to be patient with their foolishness and remember Our servant David, and then mentioned Solomon's story. The context implies God told Muhammad ﷺ: "Be patient with what they say, and remember Our servant Solomon." This context is appropriate only if Solomon performed virtuous deeds, exhibited noble character, persevered in obedience, and turned away from desires. If the purpose of mentioning Solomon's story here was that he committed great sins, this narrative would be misplaced.

The Book of God clearly refutes these corrupt interpretations.

The Correct Interpretation: The keeping of horses for war was commendable in their religion, just as it is in the religion of Muhammad ﷺ. Solomon needed to go to war, so he sat down, ordered the horses to be brought forth, and commanded them to be run. He stated that he loved them not for worldly gain or selfish desire, but for the command of God and to strengthen his religion—this is the meaning of {over the remembrance of my Lord}.

Then, he commanded that they be prepared and run until {they were hidden} (out of sight). Then he ordered the riders to bring them back to him. When they returned, {he began wiping their shanks and necks}. The purpose of this wiping was:

1. Honoring them: Showing their dignity as great aids in repelling the enemy.
2. Demonstrating governance: Showing that in political management, he was humble enough to handle many matters himself.
3. Inspection: He was the most knowledgeable about the horses' conditions, diseases, and defects. Wiping their shanks and necks was a way to examine them for any signs of illness.

This interpretation perfectly aligns with the wording of the Qur'an and does not require attributing any reprehensible acts to him. I am greatly astonished that people accepted those flimsy interpretations when both reason (ʿaql) and transmission (naql) reject them, and they have no semblance of proof, let alone evidence, for their claims.

If they argue that the majority interpreted the verse that way, we have two positions:

First Position: We assert that the wording of the verse does not indicate any of the interpretations they mention. Praise be to God, it is clear that the matter is as we have stated, and any rational person would not doubt it.

Second Position: Even if the wording did not imply it, what is your opinion on the accounts people narrated? Our response is that strong evidence confirms the infallibility (ʿiṣmah) of the Prophets (peace be upon them). No evidence supports the authenticity of these narratives, and isolated reports (aḥād) cannot contradict strong proofs, especially when the narrators are considered unreliable. And God knows best.

| 7 < { And indeed We tried Solomon, and We cast upon his throne a [mere] body, then he turned [to God] in repentance. * He said, "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as no one after me [will have]. Indeed, You are the Bestower." * So We subjected the wind to him, blowing gently by his command wherever he directed, * And [We subjected] the devils, every builder and diver, * And others bound in chains. * [We said], "This is Our gift, so bestow favor or withhold, without account." * And indeed, for him is a nearness to Us and a good place of return. } > 7

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