1706 - سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام‏

1706. SOLOMON (AS) [SULAYMAN]

(وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُدَ وَقَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ عُلِّمْنَا مَنْطِقَ الطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ إِنَّ هذا لَهُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْمُبِينُ) .¹

"Solomon inherited from David, and he said, 'O people! We have been taught the speech of the birds, and we have been given out of everything. Indeed this is a manifest advantage." ²

(اُنظر) النساء : 163 والأنعام : 84 والأنبياء : 81 ، 82 وسبأ : 12 ، 13 وص : 30 - 40 والنمل : 17 - 44 والبقرة : 102 .

(See also: Qur'an 4:163, 6:84, 21:81-82, 34:12-13, 38:30-40, 27:17-44, 2:102)

5996.سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام - لمّا رأى‏ عُصفوراً يَقولُ لِعُصفورَةٍ : لِمَ تَمنَعينَ نَفسَكِ مِنّي ، ولو شِئتُ أخَذتُ قُبّةَ سُلَيمانَ بمِنقارِي فألقَيتُها في البَحرِ ؟! فَقال لَهُ وهو يتبسّم - : أتُطيقُ أن تَفعَلَ ذلكَ ؟ ! فقالَ : لا يا رسولَ اللَّهِ ، ولكنَّ المَرءَ قد يُزَيِّنُ نَفسَهُ ويُعَظِّمُها عِندَ زَوجَتِهِ ، والمُحِبُّ لا يُلامُ على‏ ما يقولُ ، فقالَ سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام لِلعُصفورَةِ : لِمَ تَمنَعينَهُ مِن نَفسِكَ وهُو يُحِبُّكِ ؟ فقالت : يا نَبيَّ اللَّهِ ، إنّهُ لَيس مُحِبّاً ولكنّهُ مُدَّعٍ ؛ لأ نّهُ يُحِبُّ مَعي غَيري ! فأثَّرَ كلامُ العُصفورَةِ في قَلبِ سُلَيمانَ وبَكى‏ بُكاءً شَديداً واحتَجَبَ عنِ النّاسِ أربَعينَ يَوماً يَدعُو اللَّهَ أن يُفَرِّغَ قَلبَهُ لمَحَبّتِهِ وأن لا يُخالِطَها بمَحَبَّةِ غَيرِهِ .³

5996. Solomon (AS), when he saw a male sparrow saying to a female sparrow, 'Why do you deprive me of yourself, for if I wanted I could take Solomon's crown with my beak and throw it in the sea!' Solomon said to him, smiling, 'Are you really able to do so?' The bird said, 'No, O Messenger of Allah, but a man may embellish himself and greaten himself in front of his wife, and a lover cannot be rebuked for what he says.' Solomon then asked the female sparrow, 'Why do you deprive him of yourself when he loves you?' She said, 'O Prophet of Allah, he is not a lover, but a claimant [of love], for he loves someone else besides me!' The words of this sparrow affected Solomon's heart and he cried very much, and secluded himself from people for forty days praying to Allah to empty his heart for his love for Him, and to not mix it with love for anything other than Him.' ⁴

5997.سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام : اُوتِينا ما اُوتِيَ النّاس وما لَم يُؤتَوا ، وعَلِمنا ما عَلِمَ الناسُ وما لَم يَعلَموا ، فلم نَجِدْ شيئاً أفضَلَ مِن خَشيَةِ اللَّهِ في الغَيبِ والمَشهَدِ، والقَصدِ في الغِنى‏ والفَقرِ ، وكَلِمَةِ الحَقِّ في الرِّضا والغَضبِ، والتَّضَرُّعِ إلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّوجلَّ على‏ كلِّ حالٍ .⁵

5997. Solomon (AS) said, 'We have been given what people [in the past] were given as well as what they were not given, and we know what other people know as well as what they do not know. But we did not find anything better [in all of that] than fearing Allah in secret and in public, and moderation in times of wealth as well as poverty, speaking the truth both in [states of] pleasure and anger, and humility before Allah Almighty in every situation.' ⁶

5998.الإمامُ عليٌّ عليه السلام : لَو أ نَّ أحَداً يَجِدُ إلَى البَقاءِ سُلَّماً ، أو لِدَفعِ المَوتِ سَبيلاً ، لَكانَ ذلكَ سُلَيمانُ بنُ داوودَ عليه السلام ، الّذي سُخِّرَ لَهُ مُلكُ الجِنِّ والإنسِ ، مَع النُّبُوّةِ وعَظيمِ الزُّلفَةِ ، فلَمّا استَوفى‏ طُعمَتَهُ ، واستَكمَلَ مُدَّتَهُ ، رَمَتهُ قِسِيُّ الفَناءِ بنِبالِ المَوتِ ، وأصبَحَتِ الدِّيارُ مِنهُ خالِيَةً ، والمَساكِنُ مُعَطَّلَةً ، ووَرِثَها قَومٌ آخَرونَ .⁷

5998.Imam Ali (AS) said, 'If there was anyone who could secure a ladder to everlasting life or a way to avoid death, it would have been Solomon son of David (AS) who was given control over the domain of the jinn and humans, along with prophethood and a great position [before Allah]. But when he finished his allotment of sustenance [in this world] and exhausted his [fixed] time, the bow of destruction shot him with the arrow of death, houses became vacant of him and his habitations became empty, and another group of people inherited them.' ⁸

5999.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام: كانَ سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام يُطعِمُ أضيافَهُ اللَّحمَ بالحُوّارى‏ ، وعِيالَهُ الخُشكارَ ، ويأكُلُ هُو الشَّعيرَ (غَيرَ) مَنخولٍ .⁹

5999.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'Solomon (AS) would feed his guests meat in white flour, and his family brown bread with bran, and he himself would eat unsifted barley.' ¹⁰

6000.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام : آخِرُ مَن يَدخُلُ الجَنّةَ مِن النَّبيِّينَ سُلَيمانُ بنُ داوودَ عليه السلام ، وذلكَ لِما اُعطِيَ في الدُّنيا .¹¹

6000.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'The last person to enter Heaven from among the prophets is Solomon, son of David (AS), because of all that he was given in this world.' ¹²

6001.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام : إنّ سُلَيمانَ بنَ داوودَ عليه السلام قالَ ذاتَ يَومٍ لأصحابِهِ : إنّ اللَّهَ تباركَ وتعالى‏ قد وَهَبَ لِي مُلكاً لا يَنبَغي لأحَدٍ مِن بَعدي ، سَخَّرَ لِي الرِّيحَ والإنسَ والجِنَّ والطَّيرَ والوُحوشَ ، وعَلَّمَني مَنطِقَ الطَّيرِ ، وآتاني مِن كلِّ شي‏ءٍ ، ومَعَ جَميعِ ما اُوتِيتُ مِن المُلكِ ماتَمَّ لِي سُروري يَوم إلَى اللّيلِ ، وقد أحبَبتُ أن أدخُلَ قَصري في غَدٍ فأصعَدَ أعلاهُ وأنظُرَ إلى‏ مَمالِكي ، فلا تَأذَنوا لأحَدٍ علَيَّ لِئلّا يَرِدَ علَيَّ ما يُنَغِّصُ علَيَّ يَومي ، فقالوا : نَعَم . فلَمّا كانَ مِن الغَدِ أخَذَ عَصاهُ بيَدِهِ وصَعِدَ إلى‏ أعلى‏ مَوضِعٍ مِن قَصرِهِ ، ووَقَفَ مُتَّكِئاً على‏ عَصاهُ يَنظُرُ إلى‏ مَمالِكِهِ مَسروراً بِما اُوتِيَ فَرِحاً بِما اُعطِيَ ، إذ نَظَرَ إلى‏ شابٍّ حَسَنِ الوَجهِ واللِّباسِ قَد خَرَجَ علَيهِ مِن بَعضِ زَوايا قَصرِهِ ، فلَمّا أبصَرَهُ سُلَيمانُ قالَ لَهُ : مَن أدخَلَكَ إلى‏ هذا القَصرِ ، وقد أرَدتُ أن أخلُوَ فيهِ اليَومَ ؟!
وبإذنِ مَن دَخَلتَ ؟! فقالَ الشابُّ : أدخَلَني هذا القَصرَ رَبُّهُ وبإذنِهِ دَخَلتُ . فقالَ : ربُّهُ أحَقُّ بهِ مِنّي ، فمَن أنتَ ؟ قالَ : أنا مَلَكُ المَوتِ ، قالَ : وفيما جِئتَ ؟ قالَ : جِئتُ لأقبِضَ رُوحَكَ . قالَ : إمضِ لِما اُمِرتَ بهِ فهذا يَومُ سُروري ، وأبَى اللَّهُ عَزَّوجلَّ أن يكونَ لِي سُرورٌ دُونَ لِقائهِ . فقَبَضَ مَلَكُ المَوتِ رُوحَهُ وهُو مُتَّكئٌ على‏ عَصاهُ ، فبَقِيَ سُلَيمانُ مُتّكِئاً على‏ عَصاهُ وهُو مَيِّتٌ ما شاءَ اللَّهُ والنّاسُ يَنظُرونَ إلَيهِ وهُم يُقَدِّرونَ أنّهُ حَيٌّ ، فافتُتِنوا فيهِ واختَلَفوا ؛ فمِنهُم مَن قالَ : إنّ سُلَيمانَ قَد بَقِيَ مُتَّكِئاً على‏ عَصاهُ هذهِ الأيّامَ الكَثيرَةَ ولَم يَتعَبْ ولَم يَنَمْ ولَم يَشرَبْ ولَم يَأكُلْ، إنّهُ لَرَبُّنا الّذي يَجِبُ علَينا أن نَعبُدَهُ ! وقالَ قَومٌ : إنّ سُلَيمانَ ساحِرٌ وإنّهُ يُرِينا أ نّهُ واقِفٌ مُتّكِئٌ على‏ عَصاهُ ، يَسحَرُ أعيُنَنا ولَيس كذلكَ ! وقالَ المؤمنونَ : إنّ سُلَيمانَ ، هُو عَبدُ اللَّهِ ونَبيُّهُ يُدَبِّرُ اللَّهُ أمرَهُ بما شاءَ ؛ فلَمّا اختَلَفوا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ عَزَّوجلَّ الأرضَةَ فدَبَّت في عَصاةِ سُلَيمانَ، فلَمّا أكَلَت جَوفَها انكَسَرَتِ العَصا وخَرَّ سُلَيمانُ عليه السلام مِن قَصرِهِ على‏ وَجهِهِ .¹³

6001.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'Solomon, son of David (AS) one day said to his companions, 'Allah Almighty has endowed upon me a kingdom that no person after me will ever have. He has given me control of the wind, the humans, the jinn, the birds and the animals, and He has taught me the language of the birds. He has given me from everything, and with all that I possess, there has never been a day when my happiness has continued until night. I would like to enter my palace tomorrow and climp atop it and oversee my subjects. So, do not permit anyone to come to me for I do not want anyone to disturb my day.' They said, 'Yes.'
When the next day came, he took his walking staff in his hand and went up to the highest point of his palace. He stood there leaning on his staff looking at his kingdom, happy for where he was and pleased with what had been given to him, when suddenly he saw a young man with a handsome face and neat clothes coming out to him from a corner of the palace.
When Solomon saw him, he asked him, 'Who let you enter the palace when I wanted to be alone here for the day? And with whose per-mission did you enter?' The young man replied, 'The Lord of this palace let me enter it, and with His permission I entered.' Solomon said, 'Indeed its Lord is more rightful to it than me, so who are you?' He said, 'I am the angel of death.' Solomon asked, 'What has brought you here?' He said, 'I have come to take your soul.' Solomon said, 'Do what you have been commanded to do, for this is the day of my happiness, and Allah Almighty has refused for me to be happy but only in meeting Him.'
So the angel of death took his soul, while he was leaning on his staff. Solomon stayed leaning on his staff while dead until Allah wished so, while the people continued to look at him [from below] thinking him to be alive. People then argued and differed among each other, some saying, 'Solomon has stayed leaning on his staff for all these days, and has neither become tired nor slept nor drunk nor eaten. Surely he must be our lord whom we must worship!' Others said, 'Solomon is a magician, and he is showing us that he can stand there leaning on his staff. He is conjuring our eyes, while it is not actually so!' The believers said, 'Solomon is a servant of Allah and His prophet, and Allah controls his affairs as He wishes.' So when they differed among each other Allah Almighty sent termites who crawled into Solomon's staff. When they had eaten the inside of the staff, it broke and Solomon (AS) fell from his palace onto his face.' ¹⁴