An Exchange With a Powerful Queen
Commentary by Sayyid Qutb
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In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
(The Queen of Sheba) said: Know, my nobles, that a worthy letter has been
delivered to me. It is from Solomon, and it reads, In the name of God, the
Most Merciful, the beneficent: Do not exalt yourselves against me, but come to
me in submission (to God). Nobles, counsel me in this my affair; no decision
on any matter do I take unless you are present.
They said: We are endowed with power and with mighty prowess in war; but the
command is yours. Consider, then, what you would command.
Said she: When kings enter a country, they despoil it, and make the noble
ones of its people the most abject. Thus do they behave. Hence, I am going to
send these people a gift and wait to see what the envoys bring back.
When (the queens envoy) came to Solomon, he said: Is it gold that you would
give me? What God has given me is much better than all that He has given you.
Yet you rejoice with your own gift. Go back to them, for we shall certainly
come to them with forces they cannot match, and we shall certainly drive them
from the land in disgrace, and they will be utterly humbled. (The Ants;
Al-Naml: 27: 29-37)
When Solomon heard the hoopoes story informing him of the Queen of Sheba and
her people who worshipped the sun in place of God, Solomon decided to test the
situation so that he could first establish how truthful the hoopoe has been,
and then learn what the Sheba peoples reply will be to his orders. He,
therefore, sends the hoopoe back to them with instructions to drop it so that
the queen will read it. On looking at the letter, the queen summoned her
counselors to discuss a matter that she deemed to be very serious indeed.
What the letter said was very clear, simple and powerful. It began with the
name of God, the Most Merciful, and made a single demand: That the queen and
her people must not take a hostile or belligerent attitude toward its sender;
rather, they should go to him declaring their submission to God, in whose name
he addressed them.
Having reported on the letter and its contents, the queen went on requesting
advice, and declaring that she would not make a decision without their advice
and consent: Nobles, counsel me in this my affair; no decision on any matter
do I take unless you are present. (Verse 32) Thus she appears to be a very
wise queen. It is clear at the outset that she was greatly impressed by the
letter that was delivered to her in some mysterious way, yet appears serious
and decisive. She imparted this to her advisers by describing the letter as
worthy. It is clear that she wants neither opposition nor belligerency. But
she does not say this openly; she only prepares the way for it by the line she
takes. She then requests their advice.
As customary with courtiers, they declared their readiness to do whatever is
demanded of them, but they left the final decision to the queen: They said: We
are endowed with power and with mighty prowess in war; but the command is
yours. Consider, then, what you would command. (Verse 33)
Now we see the woman, rather than the queen, expressing her feeling. A woman
hates war and the destruction it brings in its trail. Therefore, she resorts to
tactics of peace and conciliation rather than resistance and conflict: Said
she: When kings enter a country, they despoil it, and make the noble ones of
its people the most abject. Thus do they behave. Hence, I am going to send
these people a gift and wait to see what the envoys bring back. (Verses 34-35)
The queen is fully aware that when kings occupy a city or a country, they
wreak havoc, destroying everything, and breaking its resistance. They
particularly target its chiefs and humiliate them because they are the ones who
put up resistance. This is clearly the habit of all domineering kings. She is
also aware that a gift wins hearts and stresses friendship. It may also remove
the threat of war. It is certainly worth a try. If Solomon accepts the gift,
then he is after something that belongs to this world. She would then know that
normal worldly means could be effective. If he refuses the gift, then it is all
a question of faith which he will pursue with diligence, and will accept no
compromise.
This scene is concluded at this point. When the curtains are lifted again we
see the queens emissaries bringing her gift to Solomon who takes them to task
for thinking that they could buy his peace with money so as to divert him from
calling on them to believe in God. He announces his final ultimatum, which is
clear and powerful: When (the queens envoy) came to Solomon, he said: Is it
gold that you would give me? What God has given me is much better than all that
He has given you. Yet you rejoice with your own gift. Go back to them, for we
shall certainly come to them with forces they cannot match, and we shall
certainly drive them from the land in disgrace, and they will be utterly
humbled. (Verses 36-37)
His answer derides money and scorns using it in a situation involving the
advocacy of faith, where it can be of no use: Is it gold that you would give
me? Are you making me such a trivial offer? What God has given me is much
better than all that He has given you. He has given me things that are far
superior to wealth, namely, knowledge, prophethood and the service of the jinn
and birds. No material thing, rich as it may be, presents any attraction to me:
Yet you rejoice with your own gift. Such worldly luxuries may please the like
of you who have no bond with God and receive no gifts from Him.
He follows this with a new ultimatum, saying to the queens envoy: Go back
to them, and take your gift with you, and tell them to await their inevitable
defeat: We shall certainly come to them with forces they cannot match. (Verse
37) Such forces have never been placed under any persons command. The queen
and her powerful army are no match to them. And we shall certainly drive them
from the land in disgrace, and they will be utterly humbled. (Verse 37)
The curtains are drawn, and the envoys are dismissed. The surah does not add
a word about them, as if the whole matter is settled and needs no further
comment.
AB [EMAIL PROTECTED]
First They Came for the EXTREMIST, FUNDAMENTALIST & MODERATE Muslims. And I
DIDNT Speak Out Because I Wasn't An Extremist, Fundamentalist or a Moderate
Muslim. Then FINALLY They Came for Me the NON-PRACTICING Muslim And NO Muslims
Were Left to Speak Out for ME.
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