|
|
over them, surrounded with every kind of possession, and having a magnificent
Throne. I found her and her people worshipping the Sun apart from God. Satan
hath made their deeds pleasant unto them, and hath turned them aside from the
right way, and they are not rightly directed, - lest they should worship God who
manifesteth that which is in heaven and earth, and knoweth what they conceal and
what they discover. God! there is no God but he, the Lord of the great Throne!
Solomon said: We shall see whether thou tellest the truth or art amongst the
liars. Go with this my letter, and having delivered it to them turn aside, and
see what answer they return. The Queen having received it, said: O ye Nobles!
verily an honourable letter hath been delivered unto me. It is from Solomon. It
is in the name of the Most Merciful God; -"Rise not up against me; but come
ye submissive unto me." She said: O ye Nobles! advise me in the affair; I
will not resolve upon it, until ye be witnesses thereof. They said: We are men
of strength and of great prowess; but the matter belongeth unto thee; see
therefore what thou wilt command. She said: Verily kings when they enter a city
waste it, and abuse its most powerful inhabitants; and so will they do. But I
will send gifts unto them, and wait to see what the messengers will return with.
So when they went to Solomon, he said: Ah! do ye present me with wealth? Verily
that which God hath given unto me is better than that which he hath given you,
but ye do rejoice in your gifts. Return unto them; we will surely come unto them
with an army which they cannot withstand, and we shall drive them thence humbled
and contemptible. O ye Nobles (he continued), which of you will bring me her
Throne, before they come submissive unto me? A giant of the Genii cried, I will
bring it unto thee before thou gettest up from thy place, for I am strong in
this, and to be trusted. And one who had knowledge of the Scriptures: I will
bring it unto thee before the twinkling of thine eye. Now when (Solomon) saw it
placed before him he said: This is a favour of my Lord, that he may try me
whether I am grateful or ungrateful; he that is grateful is grateful for his own
benefit; but he that is ungrateful, verily the, Lord is rich and beneficent. And
(Solomon) said: Alter her throne, that we may see whether she be
|
|
|
|
rightly directed, or be amongst those who are not rightly directed. And when
she came, it was said, Is this thy throne? She said, It is as if it were; and
knowledge hath been bestowed upon us before this, and we are resigned (unto
God). But that which she worshipped besides had turned her aside, for she was of
an unbelieving people. It was said to her, Enter the Palace. And when she saw
it, she imagined that it was a great surface of water, and she uncovered her
legs, when (Solomon) said, Verily it is a palace floored with glass. And she
said, Truly I have done injury to my own soul, and I resign myself, along with
Solomon, unto God, the Lord of all creatures.1
|
|
Such is the account the Qur'an gives us of Queen of Saba. What it tells us of
the Throne differs but little from the Targum, where it is said to have belonged
to Solomon, and to have had no other like it in any land. There were six steps
of gold to ascend, and on each twelve golden Lions, while twelve eagles of gold
were perched around. Four-and-twenty other eagles cast their shadow from above
upon the King, and when he wished to move anywhere, these powerful eagles
descending would lift the Throne and carry it wherever he wished. Thus they
performed, according to the Targum, the same duty the Qur'an tells us the Genii
did. But otherwise in respect of Queen of Saba, her visit to Solomon, the letter
sent by him to her, etc., there is a marvellous resemblance between the two,
excepting this, indeed, that in place of the Lapwing of the Qur'an, the Targum
speaks of a Red-cock, — not a very vital difference after all! The whole story is
told in the Targum as follows:—
|
At another time, when the heart of Solomon was gladdened with wine, he gave
orders for the beasts of the land, the birds
|
|
|
