Surah Sad, Ayah 40

How Allah tested Sulayman then made Things easy for Him

Allah says,

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَـنَ

(And indeed, We tried Sulayman) meaning, `We tested him.'

وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَى كُرْسِيِّهِ جَسَداً

(and We placed on his throne Jasad (a body)).

ثُمَّ أَنَابَ

(and he returned.) means, after this test, he turned back to Him and asked for forgiveness and to be given a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after him.

قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكاً لاَّ يَنبَغِى لاًّحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِى إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ

(He said: "My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me. Verily, You are the Bestower.") Some of them said, "No one after me will have the right to ask Allah for such a kingdom." This is the apparent meaning from the context of the Ayah, and several Hadiths with a similar meaning have been narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In his Tafsir of this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:

In verse 38, it was said: مُقَرَّ‌نِينَ فِي الْأَصْفَادِ (held in chains). Details about the subjugation of Jinns and the services they performed have appeared earlier in the commentary on Surah Saba' within this Volume VII. Here, it has been said that Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) was holding the unruly Jinns by having them chained. Now, it is not necessary that these chains be the visible chains of iron. It is possible that there could have been some other method used to tie them up more tightly or securely - and it has been expressed as 'chains' for the sake of common comprehension.

Every human being is liable to err. But, for the pious and righteous subjects of God, a wrongful act leads to great virtue, because after the misdeed, they turn towards their Lord with much more devotion and thus become entitled to a much better reward. On one occasion, Solomon made an error in judgement which required an interpretation and making a decision. When the truth dawned on him, he turned towards God with the utmost devotion. Almighty God forgave him and in addition gave him the reward of a great empire; He also gave him such extraordinary powers as no other man had ever enjoyed.