Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:12
And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind - its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month, and We made flow for him a spring of [liquid] copper. And among the jinn were those who worked for him by the permission of his Lord. And whoever deviated among them from Our command - We will make him taste of the punishment of the Blaze.
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ (12) (And to Sulaymān (We subjected) the wind: its morning course was a month and its evening course was a month. And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him. And among the jinn were those who worked before him by the permission of his Lord; and whoever of them deviated from Our command, We made him taste of the punishment of the blazing Fire.) (12)
The reciters differed in the reading of His saying (And to Sulaymān the wind). The general reciters of the regions read it (وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ) with naṣb (accusative) upon "the wind," with the meaning: And We gave to Dāwūd a favor from Us, and We subjected to Sulaymān the wind. And ʿĀṣim read it: (وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحُ) with rafʿ (nominative), by means of the prepositional particle (of the apposition), since the governing (accusative-causing) verb was not expressed.
And the correct reading in this, according to us, is the naṣb (accusative), because of the consensus of the authoritative proof of the reciters upon it.
And His saying (its morning course was a month) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And We subjected to Sulaymān the wind, its morning course until midday being a journey-distance of a month, and its evening course from midday until night being a journey-distance of a month.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying (And to Sulaymān the wind: its morning course was a month and its evening course was a month), he said: it travels in the morning a journey-distance of a month and it travels in the evening a journey-distance of a month. He said: a journey-distance of two months in one day.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of someone from the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih (And to Sulaymān the wind: its morning course was a month and its evening course was a month), he said: It was related to me that in a dwelling on the side of the Tigris there is engraved an inscription that one of the companions of Sulaymān wrote — whether from the jinn or from the humans: "We took up our residence here and we did not build it, and we found it already built; we departed in the morning from Iṣṭakhr and took our midday rest here, and we depart from here this evening, if Allah wills, and shall spend the night in al-Shām (Syria)."
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying (And to Sulaymān the wind: its morning course was a month and its evening course was a month), he said: He had a vehicle of wood, and in it were a thousand pillars; in each pillar were a thousand chambers in which the jinn and the humans rode along; beneath each pillar were a thousand devils (shayāṭīn), who lifted that vehicle, they and the whirlwind. When it had risen, the wind came gently and carried it along, and they journeyed with it; he would take his midday rest among a people who were a month's journey distant from him, and he would stay in the evening among a people who were a month's journey distant from him, and the people would notice nothing until the armies and the troops had already overshadowed them with him.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Qurra related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying (its morning course was a month and its evening course was a month), he said: he departed in the morning and took his midday rest in Iṣṭakhr, then he set out from there in the evening, and his evening course ended in Kabul.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: Qurra related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan something similar.
And His saying (And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him) says: And We melted for him the spring of copper and made it flow for him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda (And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him): the spring of copper was in the land of Yemen, and today one derives benefit only from what Allah produced for Sulaymān.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying (And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him), he said: The copper flowed as the water flows; it was worked as one works dough in milk.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying (And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him), he says: the copper.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying (And We made the spring of molten copper flow for him), that is to say: the spring of copper was made to flow.
And His saying (And among the jinn were those who worked before him by the permission of his Lord) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And among the jinn were those who obeyed him and followed his command and observed his prohibition; and so he performed for him what he ordered him, in obedience to him, by the permission of his Lord. He says: by the command of Allah for that and His subjecting him to him. (and whoever of them deviated from Our command) says: and whoever of the jinn strays and deviates from Our command which We have given him, namely obedience to Sulaymān, (We made him taste of the punishment of the blazing Fire) in the Hereafter; and that is the punishment of the kindled fire of Hell (jahannam).
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, and (concerning) His saying (and whoever of them deviated from Our command), that is to say: whoever of them deviates from Our command, from what Sulaymān had commanded him, (We made him taste of the punishment of the blazing Fire).
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The footnotes:
(6) In (al-Lisān, entry ʿaṣar): al-iʿṣār and al-ʿuṣār (in the form of kitāb) mean that the wind rises and lifts it up. And al-ʿuṣār: the heavy dust-cloud.