[This article is being republished. Due to an oversight on our part in the February 2024 issue, some sections of it were omitted. We apologize to the esteemed author and our respected readers for this. – The Editorial Team]
Solomon (PBUH) controlled Jinns throughout his life. He had also imprisoned several rebellious jinns in chains as mentioned in the following verse of Surah Sad:
Until the end of his time, not even the mightiest of the jinn could dare to oppose him. However, when he passed away, the imprisoned jinns were released from their chains, and the other jinns engaged in various tasks were freed from their duties. They did not realize his death on time as they were busy building fortresses and towering structures in the outskirts of the kingdom. But, when they became aware of the chaos that had spread within the kingdom due to Solomon’s unfit successor, “Rehoboam,” similar to the decay that befell the vast and firm empire of Emperor Aurangzeb in India because of his unfit successor ‘Mu’azzam Shah,’ and just like the vast empire of Muawiya, may God be pleased with him, failed to be managed by his son, Yazid, the jinns sought the cause of the disorder and found out that Prophet Solomon had passed away, and his son Rehoboam had succeeded him on the throne. Upon learning this, they withdrew from their tasks and freed their fellow kin from imprisonment.
وَءَاخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِى ٱلْأَصْفَادِ
They regretted that if they had known about Solomon’s death earlier, they would not have endured such hardships. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was like a termite or rot that was consuming Solomon’s staff, i.e., his authority. As a result, and was bringing his illustrious rule to dust. Eventually, the glorious palace of Solomon’s rule collapsed. The kingdom was split into two rival nations, Judah and Israel. And both Jewish states, abandoning monotheism, fell into the pit of polytheism and immorality until both Israel and then Judah were eradicated from existence.
In short, the jinns became aware of Prophet Solomon’s death through ‘Rehoboam,’ his unworthy son, who like a creature of the earth was devouring his father’s unparalleled rule. As commanded:
Indeed, this interpretation I have mentioned differs from other scholars, but a comparative analysis will prove it the best and the most accurate interpretation. All praises are due to Allah for that.
Here, I would like to critique the statement of Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, may Allah’s mercy be upon him, by quoting it as an example. May Allah grant success. He writes:
“Prophet Solomon was having the jinns renovate Al-Aqsa Mosque. When he sensed his death approaching, after assigning tasks to the jinns, he secluded himself in a glass chamber for worship, as was his habit to spend months in solitude in worship. In that state, the angel took his soul, and his blessed body remained erect, supported by wood. No one realized his death. For a long duration after his death, the jinns continued the construction. Once the construction was completed, the staff he leaned on, eaten by termites, fell, and then everyone learned about his death. This incident revealed the truth about the jinns’ own claim of knowing the unseen, and it also informed the humans who esteemed them that if the jinns had knowledge of the unseen, they would not have remained in such disgraceful suffering. They would have stopped working immediately upon sensing Prophet Solomon’s death.”
Note: I believe, in this command, ‘الرض ۃداب‘ metaphorically refers to Prophet Solomon’s incompetent son, Rehoboam, who became the heir of the kingdom after his demise. Just as a brave man is metaphorically called ‘lion,’ likewise, a low-spirited and harmful person is referred to as ‘a creature of the earth,’ and the ‘staff,’ or ‘ِم ْنسأۃ,’ is metaphorically known to mean authority. ‘َْت َب َّی َن‘ here means ‘َْت َف َّر َق,’ which comes from the root ‘َب ْین,’ meaning separation; and ‘ال َغ ْیب‘ refers to the knowledge of Prophet Solomon’s death, which the jinns did not have in time since they were engaged in construction services in remote locations from the capital, Jerusalem.
So when We decreed for him (Solomon) death, nothing informed them (the jinn) of his death except a terrestrial creature eating away his staff. And when he fell down, the jinn realized if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating torment. (Surah Saba 34:14)
فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ ٱلْمَوْتَ مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَوْتِهِۦٓ إِلَّا دَآبَّةُ ٱلْأَرْضِ تَأْكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُۥ ۖ فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ ٱلْجِنُّ أَن لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ ٱلْغَيْبَ مَا لَبِثُوا۟ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْمُهِينِ
Here, it must be noted that the said narrative is a fabricated story by some myth maker from the era of the Prophet’s successors (Tabi’een) or their followers, which has been transmitted without investigation. The reasons for the falsity of this story are: (a) There are only two sources of knowledge about the conditions of the previous Prophets: first, that they are mentioned in the Holy Quran or in authentic Hadith. Second, that they are mentioned in the Israeli scriptures. The first source is certain, while the second is speculative. And a story about any prophet prior to Jesus (peace be upon him) that is neither found in the Quran and Hadith nor in Israeli scriptures is certainly incorrect, and this tale is such that it is found neither in the Quran, nor in the Hadith, nor in the Bible.
(b) Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) was not a hermit who lived in seclusion from the world in a forest, so his illness and death could remain hidden for a long period of time. He had wives, maids, and servants in his palace. It is impossible that all of them were so indifferent to him that even after his death, none of them would know about it for an extended period.
(c) The claim that it was his practice to engage in worship in seclusion for months requires proof. Is this mentioned in the Quran or was it stated by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? Absolutely not. So, can it be found in the Bible or any other Israeli scripture? Absolutely not. Thus, this is an unsubstantiated claim, and sound reason cannot accept that Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) would seclude himself for months without any contact with people, without any worldly concerns, without eating or drinking, without excreting, without sleeping or lying down, only to remain constantly engaged in worship. God Almighty had made him the ruler of a great kingdom. It was his duty to govern with justice and to look after his subjects, it is unimaginable that he would neglect this duty for months and embody the adage “nekibarbadgunahlazim (The good forgotten and evil returned).” Pilgrims from across the kingdom and delegations from other countries were constantly coming to his service. To ignore them for months cannot even be conceived of.
(d) It’s not possible for a person to stand supported by a staff and remain in that position when death overtakes him. Because at the time of death, there would certainly be some movement in the body, even a slight movement would disrupt the balance and inevitably the body would fall.
(e) Even in the time of Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him), jinns were concealed and hidden from the eyes of ordinary humans. Think that during his era there was interaction between jinn and humans is entirely nonsensical.
(f) Although Jews do not include Prophet Solomon (PBUH) among the respected prophets, they do consider him a mighty ruler, very wise and a noble monarch. They have written many things in their scriptures that indicate his grandeur, and various situations and conditions he encountered. Had Prophet Solomon’s death occurred in a glass house and his corpse stood propped up by a staff for a long period and nobody had known about his death for an extended time, it would have been a significant and strange event. Undoubtedly, Jews would have written about it with even more elaboration. But there is no mention of this in the Israeli scriptures, which is a clear proof that this event did not happen at all. Instead, some myth makers have fabricated this story and spread it among Muslims.
Thus, in the Bible, there is no detailed account of the death of Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him); only a brief mention of his death has been made. “The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. Solomon rested with his forefathers and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.” (Book 11, Verses: 42-43, Old Testament, p. 342) And in Chronicles, it is stated: “Solomon (PBUH) reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. Then Solomon (PBUH) rested with his father and grandfather, and he was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam, his son took the throne as a king.” (Book 9, Verse 13, Chronicles, Old Testament, p. 432) It is also noteworthy that in both places in the Bible, there is mention of his death and burial, as evident from these excerpts.