Prophet Sulayman (Solomon)

Sulayman ibn Dawud (Solomon, son of David, peace be upon him) is a prophet and king of the Israelites, the son and successor of Dawud. Allah granted him a kingdom and authority of a scale unparalleled in human history. He prayed for it himself: Surah Sad (38:35): "He said, 'My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.'" Allah granted this supplication, giving Sulayman dominion over jinn and men, the ability to understand and communicate with birds and animals, command over the wind which carried his armies vast distances, and the ability to draw up molten copper as a resource.

The Quran recounts several remarkable episodes. When he reviewed his armies of men, jinn, and birds, Sulayman noticed the absence of the hoopoe (hudhud). The bird returned with news of the Queen of Sheba (Bilqis) and her kingdom in Yemen, whose people worshipped the sun. Sulayman sent her a letter beginning with the Basmalah, inviting her to submission. He then had her throne transported from Yemen to his court instantaneously, before she could arrive. When she came and was shown the magnificent palace with its glass floor (which she mistook for water), she submitted to Allah. Surah An-Naml (27:44): "She said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds.'"

He communicated with ants: Surah An-Naml (27:18-19): "Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, 'O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not.' So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech, and said, 'My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve.'" Despite ruling over jinn, humans, birds, animals, and the wind, Sulayman never forgot that everything he possessed was from Allah.

His relationship with the jinn was instrumental in his construction projects: Surah Saba (34:12-13): "And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind — its morning [journey was that of] a month — and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month... The jinn made for him what he willed of elevated chambers, statues, bowls like reservoirs, and stationary kettles." When Sulayman died while leaning on his staff, the jinn continued laboring, unaware he had died, until a termite ate through the staff and he fell — revealing to the jinn that they did not know the unseen and had been subject only to Allah's command.

His story spans Surahs Al-Baqarah, An-Naml, Saba, and Sad. Sulayman's life teaches that power, wealth, and authority, when combined with genuine gratitude and constant remembrance of Allah, become the highest forms of worship — and that the greatest kingdom is the one whose ruler knows it belongs entirely to Allah.