The Christian and Jewish Solomon considered he turned away from God. The Islamic Solomon never turned from God. In the Qu'ran, his names translates at Sulayman, Suleiman, Sulaimaan, etc. It translates to man of peace. It refers to him as the son of David.He is considered a prophet and a great ruler imparted by God with tremendous wisdom, favor, and special powers. It states he ruled people and hosts of Jinn. He understood the language of birds and ants, and was able to see a hidden glory of the world that other human beings could not. The accounts of Solomon and the Bible differ on a number of aspects. The Muslim faith forbids involvement with magic, being the work of devils. Yet there seems to be much magic in the Islamic Solomon. Although Solomon was the Prophet and Messenger of God, he was accused by some of his opponents to be practicing magic. Those who claimed this could not distinguish between magic and miracles. Almost all messengers of God were granted miracles as a proof of their authenticity. To name only a few: Moses was granted the staff by which he could divide the sea and make water gush from rocks. Abraham was flung in the middle of a huge raging fire, which Allah made cool and peaceful to him. Jesus Christ could heal the blind and the leper and bring back the dead to life.
The Hebrew Bible states Solomon declined to idolatry in his old age, the Qu'ran states he remembered God forever. His name is listed with his father, David, and other prophets to show his ranking in mankind. In reference to Solomon, the Islamic view states:Solomon's Knowledge
Solomon inherited David's prophethood and dominion. This was not a material inheritance, as prophets do not bequeath their property. It is given away to the poor and needy, not to their relatives. Prophet Muhammad said: 'The prophets' property will not be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be used for charity."
Solomon Becomes King
After his father's death, Solomon became king. He begged Allah for a kingdom such as none after him would have, and Allah granted his wish. Besides wisdom, Allah had blessed Solomon with many abilities. He could command the winds and understand and talk to birds and animals. Allah directed him to teach both men and jinns to mine the earth and extract its minerals to make tools and weapons. He also favored him with a mine of copper, which was a rare metal in those days. (A recent Nova special shows the discovery of these copper mines)
Solomon Admiration of Horses
During his time horses were the common mode of transportation. They were very essential for defense, to carry soldiers and cart provisions and weapons of war. The animals were well cared for and well trained. One day Solomon was reviewing a parade of his stable. The fitness, beauty and posture of the horses fascinated him so much that he kept on stroking and admiring them. The sun was nearly setting, and the time for the middle prayer was passing by. When he realized this, he exclaimed: "I surely love the finer things of life than the service of my Lord! Return them to me." ( He owned more horses than anyone which was forbidden by Jewish law for kings.)
Solomon Hears the Ant's Warning
One day Solomon gathered his army, which had different battalions of men, jinns, birds, and animals. He marched them to the country of Askalon.While they were passing through a valley, an ant saw the approaching army and cried out to warn the other ants: "Run to your homes! Otherwise, unaware, Solomon and his army might crush you!" Solomon, hearing the cry of the ant, smiled. He was glad that the ant knew him to be a prophet who would not intentionally harm Allah's creation. He thanked Allah for saving the ants' lives. (I wonder what its voice sounded like?)
Solomon's Travels
In Jerusalem, on a huge rock, Solomon built a beautiful temple to draw the people to worship Allah. Today this building is known as 'The Dome of the Rock." From there, a large band of followers joined Solomon on pilgrimage to the Holy Mosque in Mecca. After they had completed their hajj, they traveled to Yemen and arrived in the city of Sana. Solomon was impressed by their clever method of channeling water all over their cities. He was keen to build similar water systems in his own country but did not have enough springs. (He did do extensive irrigation during his reign on both accords.)
Solomon Rejects the Queen's Gifts
The envoys marveled at the splendor surrounding them. They eagerly presented their queen's precious gifts and told Solomon that the queen wished that he would accept them as an act of friendship. They were shocked by his reaction: he did not even ask to open the covers of the containers! He told them: "Allah has given me plenty of wealth, a large kingdom, and prophethood. I am, therefore, beyond bribery. My only objective is to spread the belief in Tawheed, the Oneness of Allah." He also directed them to take back the gifts to the queen and to tell her that if she did not stop her kind of worship he would uproot her kingdom and drive its people out of the land.(Ethiopia became Jewish, Yemen and other countries embrace the Muslim religion.)
The Queen's Visit with Solomon
She was amazed. She had never seen such things before. Bilqis realized that she was in the company of a very knowledgeable person who was not only a ruler of a great kingdom but a messenger of Allah, as well. She repented, gave up sun worship, accepted the faith of Allah, and asked her people to do the same.It was finished; Bilqis saw her people's creed fall apart before Solomon. She realized that the sun which her people worshipped was nothing but one of Allah's creatures. The sun eclipsed within her for the first time, and her heart was lit by a never-fading light, the light of Islam.
Jinns and Solomon
Solomon's public work was largely carried out by the jinns. This was a punishment for their sins of making people believe that they were all powerful, knew the unseen, and could foresee the future. As a prophet, it was Solomon's duty to remove such false beliefs from his followers.
Solomon's Death - Qur'anic
Allah the Exalted revealed: And We caused a fount of (molten) brass to flow for him, and there were jinns that worked in front of him by the Leave of his Lord, and whosoever of them turned aside from Our Command, We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire. They worked for him what he desired, (making) high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and (making) cauldrons fixed (in their places). 'Work you, 0 family of David, with thanks!" But few of My slaves are grateful. Then when we decreed death for him (Solomon), nothing informed them (jinns) of his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing a way at his stick, so when he fell down, the jinns saw clearly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment. Surah 34: 12-1
Producing Children
Narrated Abu Huraira: (The Prophet) Solomon said, "Tonight I will sleep with (my) ninety wives, each of whom will get a male child who will fight for Allah's Cause." On that, his companion (Sufyan said that his companion was an angel) said to him, "Say, "If Allah will (Allah willing)." But Solomon forgot (to say it). He slept with all his wives, but none of the women gave birth to a child, except one who gave birth to a halfboy. Abu Huraira added: The Prophet said, "If Solomon had said, "If Allah will" (Allah willing), he would not have been unsuccessful in his action, and would have attained what he had desired." Once Abu Huraira added: Allah apostle said, "If he had accepted." (Sahih Bukhari 8.711)
So there are differences in the tales of Solomon, much of it directed through the religions, which are the only references of his reign as king. This blog has tried to lay out the Islamic Solomon references from the Qu'ran to give you an idea of how the differences show. Solomon married many women from different faiths and traditions. Over the course of time, these stories take on the perception of these religions. Our biases may play on our perceptions of what is more correct. It does mine. These differences play a part in how we perceive and communicate events today. What is correct and what is myth, what is perpetuated through religion and what is the truth? Solomon certainly must have existed to have such a rich historical accounting of him.
resources: answers.com, Wikipedia, http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/Prophet/sulaiman.htm, http://www.islamawareness.net/BlackMagic/magic.html,
No comments:
Post a Comment