Question: When Solomon (sws)
asked his followers ‘who would bring the throne of Bilqis?’ an ‘Ifrit
told him he will bring it before he rises from his place. However,
a human being brought it to him in the blink of an eye. Will you please
give me details on how the man did this?
Answer: I am afraid I will
not be able to present the explanations offered by all the authorities
on this matter. I will restrict myself to the most plausible and well-argued
stance in this regard. First of all, I quote the relevant verse:
He [Solomon] said: O courtiers! Which of you
will bring me her throne before they present themselves humbly before me?
An ‘Ifrit [stalwart] from the Jinn said: I will bring it before
you before you rise from your place. Lo! I am indeed strong and trustworthy
for such work. The man [among the courtiers] who possessed the knowledge
of the Scripture said: I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an
eye. And [there it was]. When he [Solomon] saw it set before him, he said:
This is boundless bounty of my Lord, that [has been showered upon me] so
that He may try me whether I offer thanks or prove ungrateful. Whosoever
shows thankfulness only does so for his own benefit: and whosoever is ungrateful
[harms his own interest]. For My Lord is Independent, Bountiful. (27:38-40)
From these verses we can see that the
Holy Qur’an did not mention the specific method employed by the
person for transferring the throne of the queen. Therefore we can only
make a conjecture in this regard, something which is never going to be
substantiated. The Qur’an, however, has alluded to the fact that
the knowledge which was used by the man was the divine guidance contained
in the Scripture. It seems that some people had learnt this kind of knowledge,
which could be used to make miraculous performances.
At another place in the Holy Qur’an,
it is told that two angels were sent to the earth who would teach this
kind of supernatural knowledge (Qur’an: 2:102). This knowledge was
to be used very cautiously. The angels would clearly indicate that it was
a sort of test for the people who learnt it and that it could be used both
for positive as well as negative ends. This indicates that there existed
in the ancient times knowledge of such powers though the specific mode
of operation of this knowledge cannot be elaborated in absence of any divine
guidance.
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