Did Solomon force the Queen of the south to submit to Allah?
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When I read this chapter thist first time, I was confused about this as well seeing this verse
2737 "Go back to them. For we shall come to them with soldiers the like of which they have never seen, and we will drive them out humiliated, while they are feeble."Now that I read again the same part and the context
2724 "And I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of God! And the devil had made their works appear good to them, so he kept them away from the path, for they are not being guided."So, it does not just say they were worshiping sun, but also they were doing other works. So possibly some oppression which is why Solomon had to intervene, but he invited them to submit? It is because because of some oppression they were doing or just like that?
2725 "Will they not prostrate to God who brings out what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you declare?
2729 She said "O commanders, a noble letter has been delivered to me."
2730 "It is from Solomon, and it reads 'In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful'"
2731 "Do not be arrogant towards me and come to me as submitters'" -
Okay, I wasn't sure when I read read it the first and seeing this verse
2737 "Go back to them. For we shall come to them with soldiers the like of which they have never seen, and we will drive them out humiliated, while they are feeble."It seemed force conversion which I was confused of, but then now I read again the same part and the context
2724 "And I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of God! And the devil had made their works appear good to them, so he kept them away from the path, for they are not being guided."So, it does not just say they were worshiping sun, but also they were doing other works. So possibly some oppression which is why Solomon had to intervene.
Salamun Alaikum.
How about, "soldiers the like of which they have never seen" imply the forces of logic, reasoning and exemplary behavior; and "we will drive them out humiliated, while they are feeble" implies driving them out of ignorance into light?
Remember how Muhammad (pbuh) won over Mecca? Did he win over a city or the hearts of people? Why should we think the approach of Prophet Solomon would be any different?
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
Arman -
Salamun Alaikum.
How about, "soldiers the like of which they have never seen" imply the forces of logic, reasoning and exemplary behavior and "we will drive them out humiliated, while they are feeble" implies driving them out of ignorance into light?
Remember how Muhammad (pbuh) won over Mecca. Did he win over a city or the hearts of people? Why should we think the approach of Solomon would be any different?
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
ArmanSalaam,
That can be a possibility, but what about these verses
2725 "Will they not prostrate to God who brings out what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you declare?
2729 She said "O commanders, a noble letter has been delivered to me."
2730 "It is from Solomon, and it reads 'In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful'"
2731 "Do not be arrogant towards me and come to me as submitters'"He invited them to submit means to be muslims. I don't understand why they will be forced when we can't force people to be muslims? I have been confused about this story mentioned in this chapter even since I read it the first time. It can't be force since we are not allowed to, so it is most likely something else meant by the letter he sent, I may be interpreting it wrong.
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Salaam,
That can be a possibility, but what about these verses
2725 "Will they not prostrate to God who brings out what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you declare?
2729 She said "O commanders, a noble letter has been delivered to me."
2730 "It is from Solomon, and it reads 'In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful'"
2731 "Do not be arrogant towards me and come to me as submitters'"He invited them to submit means to be muslims. I don't understand why they will be forced when we can't force people to be muslims? I have been confused about this story mentioned in this chapter even since I read it the first time. It can't be force since we are not allowed to, so it is most likely something else meant by the letter he sent, I may be interpreting it wrong.
Salam FindingRightPath.
I do not read "Do not be arrogant towards me and come to me as submitters" to mean "... come to me as submitters to me". Rather I understand this is
Do not be arrogant towards my sincere advice and come to me as a submitter to your and our common Master - God, the Almighty, the Merciful, by upholding your God-gifted senses of right and wrong.
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
Arman -
Salaam Mike,
If Solomon was going to attack the queen's realm that was in a liberation attempt for its citizens and not an act of greed for more. The narrative reveals that Satan made their acts look seemly to them and it can beyond doubt be inferred that its government was doing some deeply erroneous deeds.
The Jinn person (simply faithless/worldly human) with limited wisdom yet able to think within the box suggested that with brute force he could bring down her dominion very quickly.
But the one with insight into knowledge had a better suggestion and had devised a plan of diplomacy instead which was fairly unique during this time some thousand years ago. So the wise man claimed that he could bring down her rule in no time with little effort by instead demonstrating the blessings of the Sustainer without the wicked deeds of her community. In external sources it indicates that the queen and Solomon became good friends after the incident and there was no conquest. This rule of Solomon was based on the layout similar as the Achiemedian Persian empire where there was a central "King of Kings" and then independent provinces with their own kings and queens. The first kind of more advanced society. The righteous "kings of kings" did this because of their faith in the Sustainer and to do good, even if there was really bad ones.
Often the provinces were satisfied with this system and it was a testament of more modern civilization with better organization. The Roman Empire worked in a similar way although not as righteously in my opinion. I think the Roman Empire has often been underestimated and exaggerated in evilness. It was simply on its level of progression in human development and unrighteous people always exist. It is not like our contemporary communities are as innocent as sheep either but only that it is not as visualized today.
If there was an "Islamic Golden Age" it was simply the Persian Empire in disguise with rebelling leaders against the Old Persia. Persia was left mainly intact and kept culture after its "defeat" and it is more that it was brought into submission. The religions Zoroastrianism and Judaism are basically the same one as Islam just with sectarian variations. They worship the same image and retain similar rites and rituals (invented) while they have forgotten or rejected the teachings of tbe prophets.
Old Persia had citizens all over its former empire and probably also had domestic enemies who would wage "civil war" using religious pretenses. I doubt highly the sudden rise of a united force against Persia with its resources and cultural influence but I find it as a treason within its borders. The Shia-Sunni conflict is an aftermath of that. Shia is the Persian-influenced part of "Islam" while Sunni is the uprising based in northern Arabia and part of modern Iraq. They never had any real permanent victory against the other but it has remained a stalemate for thousand years. And both argue about conjecture and why the Sustainer does not give permanent victory to the other.
Importantly it is Persian clergymen (Jewish/Zoroastrian) who shaped modern Islam and are the foundation of this sect with its denominations. It is mostly a ripoff from Zoroastrianism based on that you can treat Allah as an image (a person) and thus can apply Middle-Eastern customs in worship of it by claiming that prostration is part of a Paganistic behavior. Prostration does not come from religion but it is an ancient custom in the Middle-East just like you today shake your hand to be polite except that prostration shows emphasized humbleness towards.
Salaam
