Tafsir of An-Naml 27:23

"I found a woman..."

The woman is Bilqis, daughter of Sharahil. Her father was the king of all the land of Yemen, and he was the descendant of forty kings; he had no child other than her, so she took control of the kingdom. She and her people were Magians who worshipped the sun.

The pronoun in "ruling over them" refers to Saba’. If the people are intended, the matter is clear; if the city is intended, it means ruling over its inhabitants.

Regarding the description of her throne: It is said it was eighty cubits by eighty, and eighty in height. Others say thirty instead of eighty. It was made of gold and silver, studded with various jewels. Its legs were of red and green ruby, pearls, and emeralds. Upon it were seven chambers, each with a locked door.

If you ask: How could he consider her throne great, given what was seen of Solomon’s kingdom? I say: It is possible that he considered her state small compared to Solomon’s, yet still found that specific throne to be great. It is also possible that Solomon did not possess one like it, even if his kingdom was greater in every other respect, just as some provincial governors may possess something that the king who rules over them and employs them does not have.

Among the foolishness of the storytellers is one who pauses at the words "and she has a throne" and then begins with "great. I found her..." intending: "a great matter, that I found her and her people prostrating to the sun." He flees from the hoopoe considering her throne great, and falls into a greater error: distorting the Book of Allah.

If you ask: How did she say, "and we have been given of everything," alongside Solomon’s saying, "and we have been given of everything" (An-Naml: 16), as if she equated herself with him? I say: There is a clear difference between them. Solomon (peace be upon him) linked his statement to what was a miracle from Allah—the teaching of the speech of birds—so he referred first to what he was given of prophethood, wisdom, and religious matters, then to kingship and worldly matters. The hoopoe, however, linked her statement to kingship, intending only what she was given of worldly matters befitting her state. Thus, there is a vast distance between the two statements.

If you ask: How was her location hidden from Solomon, when the distance between his station and her land was short—a three-day journey between Sana’a and Ma’rib? I say: Perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) hid it from him for a benefit He saw, just as He hid the location of Joseph from Jacob.

"I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from the way, so they are not guided. [He has barred them] so that they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allah—there is no god but Him, the Lord of the Great Throne."