Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:42
So when she arrived, it was said [to her], "Is your throne like this?" She said, "[It is] as though it was it." [Solomon said], "And we were given knowledge before her, and we have been Muslims [in submission to Allah].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: when the lady of Sabaʾ had come to Sulaymān, he brought forth her throne for her and asked her: أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ ('is your throne like this?'). She likened it to it and said: كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ ('it is as though it were it').
In accordance with what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
*Mention of who said that:*
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of a number of the scholars, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: when she had come to Sulaymān and he had addressed her, he brought forth her throne for her and asked: أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ: he said: she likened it to it, while she had left it behind her.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: my father used to relate to us this entire story, namely the story of Sulaymān and this woman. فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ: she was in doubt.
His saying وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِهَا ('and we were given the knowledge before her'): Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says, as a report of what Sulaymān said — and Sulaymān said: وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِهَا — that is to say: before this woman — from Allah and of His power over what He wills, وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ('and we were submitted to Allah') before her.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
*Mention of who said that:*
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, his saying وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِهَا: he said: Sulaymān says this.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, identically.
