Tafsir of Saba' 34:14

• "When We decreed death for him": It is read as falammā qaḍā ʿalayhi al-mawt (when death decreed upon him).
• "The creature of the earth": This refers to the arḍah (termite), a small creature known as the sirfah. The action is attributed to it; one says, "The wood was arḍat (eaten by termites)." It is also read with a fatḥah on the rāʾ (araḍat), following the pattern of faʿaltuhu fa-faʿala (I did it, so it happened), similar to saying, "The pests ate the teeth."
• "His staff" (minsaʾatuhu): The staff, so named because one yansau (drives away/delays) with it. It is read with a fatḥah on the mīm and with the softening or omission of the hamzah, though neither is standard; the standard softening is to pronounce the hamzah "between-between." Minsāʾatuhu follows the pattern mifʿālah, like miḍāʾah (ablution place) becoming miḍāʾah. It is also said to be from the "end" of the staff, metaphorically named after the saʾah (nock) of a bow. There are two dialects here, like quḥah and qiḥah. It is also read as akalat minsaʾatahu.
• "The Jinn became clear": Tabayyanat means to become manifest and evident.
• "That if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in the humiliating punishment": This clause, along with its connection, is a badal (substitute) for "the Jinn"—specifically a badal ishtimāl (substitution of inclusion). It is as if you said, "Zayd’s ignorance became clear." The meaning is: It became clear that if the Jinn had known the unseen, they would not have remained in the humiliating punishment. Or, it means the Jinn collectively realized—after the matter had been confused for the commoners and the weak among them who believed their leaders’ claims of knowing the unseen—that they were incapable of knowing it. This is a form of mockery, like mocking a liar whose argument has been refuted by saying, "Has it become clear to you that you are a liar?" even though you know they were always aware of their own falsehood.
• "The Jinn became clear": Read in the passive voice (tubayyanat), where the "clear" thing is the clause "that if they had known..."
• "The humans became clear": In Ubayy’s reading. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk says tabāyanat al-ins means they came to know and recognize one another. The pronoun in "they remained" (kānū) refers to the Jinn. In Ibn Masʿūd’s reading: "The humans realized that if the Jinn had known the unseen..."

He said to the Angel of Death, "If you are commanded regarding me, inform me." The Angel replied, "I have been commanded regarding you, and only an hour of your life remains." Solomon summoned the devils, and they built him a palace of glass without doors. He stood praying, leaning on his staff, and his soul was taken while he was leaning. The devils used to gather around his niche wherever he prayed; no devil could look at him while he prayed without burning. A devil passed by him and did not hear his voice, then returned and still did not hear it. He looked and saw Solomon had fallen dead. They opened the palace and found the staff had been eaten by the termite. To determine the time of his death, they placed the termite on the staff, and it ate a certain amount in a day and night. Calculating by that, they found he had been dead for a year. They had been working before him, thinking he was alive. Thus, people became certain that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in the humiliating punishment for a year.

It is reported that David (peace be upon him) laid the foundation of Jerusalem on the site of Moses’ tent, but died before completing it. He entrusted it to Solomon, who ordered the devils to finish it. When only a year of his life remained, he asked that his death be concealed from them until they finished, to invalidate their claim of knowing the unseen.

It is reported that when Solomon was born, he was 53 years old. He became king at 13, reigned for 40 years, and began building Jerusalem four years into his reign.