seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 27:15. And We gave David and Solomon knowledge. They said, “Praise God, who has favored us over many of His believing servants.”
16. And Solomon succeeded David. He said, “O people, we were taught the language of birds, and we were given from everything. This is indeed a real blessing.”
17. To the service of Solomon were mobilized his troops of sprites, and men, and birds—all held in strict order.
18. Until, when they came upon the Valley of Ants, an ant said, “O ants! Go into your nests, lest Solomon and his troops crush you without noticing.”
19. He smiled and laughed at her words, and said, “My Lord, direct me to be thankful for the blessings you have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do good works that please You. And admit me, by Your grace, into the company of Your virtuous servants.”
20. Then he inspected the birds, and said, “Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?
21. I will punish him most severely, or slay him, unless he gives me a valid excuse.”
22. But he did not stay for long. He said, “I have learnt something you did not know. I have come to you from Sheba, with reliable information.
23. I found a woman ruling over them, and she was given of everything, and she has a magnificent throne.
24. I found her and her people worshiping the sun, instead of God. Satan made their conduct appear good to them, and diverted them from the path, so they are not guided.
25. If only they would worship God, who brings to light the mysteries of the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal.
26. God—There is no god but He, the Lord of the Sublime Throne.”
27. He said, “We will see, whether you have spoken the truth, or whether you are a liar.
28. Go with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them; then withdraw from them, and see how they respond.”
29. She said, “O Counselors, a gracious letter was delivered to me.
30. It is from Solomon, and it is, ‘In the Name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.
31. Do not defy me, and come to me submissively.’”
Oh ants and birds.... then the Queen..... here's the commentary.
The history of David and Solomon, being the history of the temporal greatness of the Israelites, forms really a part of the history of Moses, and reference to it is really prophetical, to show that Islåm was also destined to rise to greatness temporally as well as spiritually.
The root word nu∆q, from which the word man∆iq is derived, signifies originally articulate speech or jointed voices uttered by the tongue and kept by the ears (R). Its use with regard to other than human beings is looked upon as a kind of metaphor, and the use of the word is allowable when one understands the significance, though it may not be articulate speech (R). Solomon’s understanding the speech of birds may imply the use he made of birds in conveying messages from one place to another, these messages being metaphorically called the speech of birds. See also next footnote. The reference here is to the great resources of Solomon’s kingdom in his victorious marches against near and distant enemies. Note also that Solomon does not speak of himself alone; his people are included when he is made to say: We have been taught. This shows that his people also knew that speech.
The hosts of Solomon are here divided into three classes, the jinn, the men, and the ∆air. As regards the jinn, it has been shown in 21:82a that these were men belonging to certain mountain tribes whom Solomon had subjugated. Ôair may mean either birds or horse, i.e., cavalry. The gathering together of all three classes and their division into groups shows that all three were human beings. The word ∆air, or ∆å’ir, is derived from ∆åra, which indicates it flew, and is applied not only to birds, but “is also said of other things than those which have wings” (LL). Ôå’ir signifies flying thing, and as the root word applies to other than winged beings, ∆å’ir, of which ∆air (the word used here) is a plural, may also be applied to swift animals such as horses. Thus ∆ayyår, which is an intensive form of ∆å’ir, signifies, when standing alone, a sharp, spirited, vigorous horse that is almost made to fly by reason of the vehemence of its running (T, LL). It also means a company of men (LL). Ôayy∂r, which is another intensive form of the nominative ∆å’ir, signifies a man who is sharp and quick (Q, LL). Thus the context taken in the light of these explanations would justify the conclusion that ∆air here means horse, i.e., cavalry, because it could be moved quickly. This is corroborated by the statement regarding Solomon’s love of horses in 38:31–33. But it may be added that the use of birds in conveying messages made the birds a necessary adjunct to a military expedition, and hence the word may also be taken literally as meaning birds.
Many of the fables regarding Solomon have been due to a misconception of the word naml. It should be noted that wådi-l-Naml cannot be properly translated as the valley of the ants, for Naml is a proper noun, and according to T (see under the root wady), the valley of the Naml is situated between Jibrßn and ‘Asqalån. And Namlah is the name of a tribe, like Måzin, which literally signifies the eggs of the ants. Namil means a clever man (T). The name Namlah used also to be given to a child in whose hands an ant was placed at its birth, because it was said such a child would be wise and intelligent (T). And the Namlah are plainly spoken of as a tribe in the Qåm∂s, which says under the word barq, Abriqah is of the waters of Namlah.
The opening words may mean either a review of birds or a review of horses. By Hudhud is not to be understood the lapwing, but a person of that name. In every language many of the proper names given to men will be found to be identical with the names of animals. The Arab writers speak of a king of Himyar as Hudad (LA), which is almost identical with Hudhud mentioned in the Qur’ån. The Bible speaks of a king of Syria, named Ben Hadad (1 Kings 15:18, etc.). The Muntaha-l-arab states that Hudhad was the name of the father of Balqßs, the queen of Sheba. According to LA, Hudhud is also written as Hudåhad, and Hudåhad and Hadad was the name of a tribe in Yaman. This shows that there is nothing strange in such a name being given to men. The verses that follow show clearly that Solomon was speaking of one of his own officers: the infliction of severe punishment on a small bird by such a mighty monarch, as Solomon, and the exposition of the great religious doctrine of Unity by the lapwing, are quite incomprehensible.
Saba’ is the same as the Sheba of the Bible. The story as given here is not met with in the Bible, but it was known to Jewish rabbis. The Bible speaks of the coming of the queen of Sheba to Solomon with large presents to test him. See 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chron.9.And later on it speaks of many strange women as Solomon’s wives (1Kings 11).
I just do not understand all this talk about the "Valley of the Ants".... and add to it all that talk about birds and horses.... well it's confusing!OK... gotta get this word out of my brain. "Mansplaining".... is a new word... but it should have been used back when Solomon met Sheba. I'm pretty sure Solomon was good with women.... he had 300 wives and 700 concubines.... so he must have been a woman's man. While I was reading about Solomon telling Sheba all the things she did not know..... well I figure he was showing off.... like a showy rooster.
The next word that I have to get out of my brain is "hoopoe"..... what the heck.... but a hoopoe is a bird.... a real bird.... like a fancy woodpecker. I bet it's annoying. Woodpeckers are annoying. Maybe having a showy rooster mansplaining the mysteries of life is like a hoopoe!
This is from Google.
The Hoopoe, or “Duchifat” in Hebrew, is listed in the Old Testament as unclean and forbidden food for Jews. ... The Book of Leviticus groups the Hoopoe with birds such as the eagle, vulture and pelican that are “abhorrent, not to be eaten.”
Then there is the talk of the birds.... being Solomon's cavalry. Then again.... there's commentary that suggests that smart Solomon used carrier pigeons.... which would have been kind of smart... Right? So either the birds are significant because of their swift communication.... or the smart cavalry.... or it's a metaphor for a showy rooster. So what happens when a showy hoopoe finds an ant hill? This whole set of verses is dealing with a "Valley of Ants"..... insignificant beings. When I read of the Valley of Ants I thought about climbing to the top of the Washington Monument... and looking out... and seeing all those people below.... like ants... little workers who don't have a clue.
These verses show a lot of nature..... and slick talking Solomon and rich Sheba.....I wonder.... was Sheba one of Solomon's 1000?
These verses are about birds, ants, and Sheba.
