seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 34:10. We bestowed upon David favor from Us: “O mountains, and birds: echo with him.” And We softened iron for him.
11. “Make coats of armor, and measure the links well; and work righteousness. I am Observant of everything you do.”
12. And for Solomon the wind—its outward journey was one month, and its return journey was one month. And We made a spring of tar flow for him. And there were sprites that worked under him, by the leave of his Lord. But whoever of them swerved from Our command, We make him taste of the punishment of the Inferno.
13. They made for him whatever he wished: sanctuaries, statues, bowls like pools, and heavy cauldrons. “O House of David, work with appreciation,” but a few of My servants are appreciative.
14. Then, when We decreed death for him, nothing indicated his death to them except an earthworm eating at his staff. Then, when he fell down, it became clear to the sprites that, had they known the unseen, they would not have remained in the demeaning torment.
15. In Sheba’s homeland there used to be a wonder: two gardens, on the right, and on the left. “Eat of your Lord’s provision, and give thanks to Him.” A good land, and a forgiving Lord.
16. But they turned away, so We unleashed against them the flood of the dam; and We substituted their two gardens with two gardens of bitter fruits, thorny shrubs, and meager harvest.
17. We thus penalized them for their ingratitude. Would We penalize any but the ungrateful?
18. Between them and the towns We had blessed, We placed prominent towns, and We made the travel between them easy. “Travel between them by night and day, in safety.”
19. But they said, “Our Lord, lengthen the distances of our journeys.” They wronged themselves; so We made them history, and We scattered them in every direction. In this are lessons for every steadfast and appreciative person.
20. Satan was correct in his assessment of them. They followed him, except for a group of believers.
21. He had no authority over them; except that We willed to distinguish him who believes in the Hereafter, from him who is doubtful about it. Your Lord is Guardian over all things.
Here's the commentary.
Awwaba literally signifies he returned, and applied to a company of men, it journeyed by day, and metonymically åba or awwaba signifies he returned from disobedience to obedience or repeated the praises of God. By the mountains repeating the praises of Allåh, some understand the praising of Allåh in the sense in which all inanimate objects are spoken of in the Hly Qur’ån as glorifying God, while others think that the mountains’ echoing David’s loud praises is meant. But the mention of birds, the attendants of a victorious army, and iron along with it shows that the reference is to the conquests of David; and the singing of praises by the mountains therefore carries the significance of those residing on mountains yielding to David. Or the jibål (mountains) may here signify mighty men, who are thus commanded to march along with him to conquer the enemy.
The making of the iron pliant to him signifies the extensive use of iron by him in his battles, and so do the coats of mail in the next verse.
The subject of the previous verse is continued. David is enjoined to prepare himself and his army for severe battles, hence the necessity of coats of mail to save life. Some think that the commandment signifies that David should not take anything from the treasury for his own livelihood, and that he should earn his livelihood by an industry, such as the making of coats of mail (Kf). Såbighåt is the plural of såbighah, which is an adjective meaning ample or vast, and is here considered as standing for the noun which it qualifies, for you say dir‘-un såbighat-un meaning an ample coat of mail. But you also say ni‘mat-un såbighat-un, i.e., a complete benefit (LL), and the order given here may imply the doing of perfect deeds. Sard means coats of mail or their rings (LL), and qaddara signifies he made it according to a measure or proportioned it, and also he assigned a particular time for it (LL). Rz favours the latter interpretation, i.e., David is commanded not to employ his whole time in such occupations, for the real object is to do good.
The significance is that Solomon’s ships were made to traverse a month’s journey in a day by favourable winds. For Solomon’s navy, see 1 Kings 9:26. But it should be noted that r߃ (wind) means also power or dominance or conquest (LL), and therefore the meaning may be that Solomon’s kingdom was so large that it was a month’s journey to the East and a month’s journey to the West.
“Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim” (2 Chron. 4:2).
These jinn were no other than the strangers whom Solomon subjected to his rule and forced into service. See 2 Chron. 2:2 –18: “And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain”. Note that the jinn of this verse are the shayå∆ßn of 38:37 — “(We subjected to Solomon) the devils, every builder and diver” — where the shayå∆ßn or devils are explained by the Qur’ån itself to be no others than the builders and divers whom Solomon had forced into labour. In the first volume, Tabrezß in his commentary on Ïimåsah remarks: “Ab∂ ‘Ulå says the Arabs speak of the jinn frequently, likening a man who is clever in executing affairs to the jinnß and the shai∆ån or devil, and hence they say his jinn is gone, when they mean that he became weak and abased”. This explanation, along with that which the Qur’ån itself affords, settles the question of the jinn and the devils employed by Solomon.
The reference in the creature of the earth that ate away his staff is to his son’s weak rule, under whom the kingdom of Solomon went to pieces. It appears that Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam, led a life of luxury and ease, and instead of acting on the advice of the older men, he yielded to the pleasure-seeking wishes of his companions (1 Kings 12:13), and it is to his luxurious habits and easy mode of life that the Holy Qur’ån refers when it calls him a creature of the earth. The eating away of his staff signifies the disruption of the kingdom. The jinn, as already remarked, mean the rebellious tribes who had been reduced to subjection by Solomon, and who remained in subjection to the Israelites for a time, until the kingdom was shattered. This instance, as well as the one following, contains a warning for the Muslims as to the result of falling into luxury and ease, by which, however, they benefited little; the ultimate fate of the respective kingdoms of the Umayyads and Abbasides was the same as that of Solomon’s kingdom.
Saba’ was “a city of Yaman, also called Ma’årab; it was about three days’ journey from ˝an‘å. The bursting of the dyke of Ma’årab and the destruction of the city by a flood are historical facts, and happened in about the first or second century of our era.
It is usual to speak of two gardens, for large cultivated areas were bounded by a garden on each side.
The cities were so close to each other that one could be seen from the other, or they were conspicuous from the road. It is an indication of the great prosperity of the country. The blessed towns are the towns of Syria, with which they carried on trade.
It is not necessary that they should have thus prayed in words. It is a description of their actual condition, i.e., they were not grateful for the blessings and fell into evil ways, which resulted in punishment overtaking them.
The book I use for the commentary titled these verses... "Favours followed by Retribution".David, Solomon, and Rehoboam are all mentioned here.
David nailed a giant with a rock and went on to sing for the king and then to be king himself. While king, David ran so many battles it became unsafe for him to be on the battle field so he was relegated to stay around the palace. He got fat and lazy at home... living on the riches he didn't have on the battle fields. That's when he saw Bathsheba and got into trouble.... the cover up attempt, the murder, the abortion.... they were all a result of his wealth and boredom.
Solomon.... got the call to build the Temple. He was quite the ruler... and he had to be in order to build the Temple in Jerusalem! He built it on the backs of the poor and enslaved. He got his though... His son had no respect for him. He got used to luxury too... he didn't even have to woo a woman.... he had 300 wives and 700 concubines. He was the king of "pick one".
And then there was Rehoboam.... the bum kid of Solomon. He was raised to be a spoiled brat.... who thought his poop didn't stink. He thought he knew it all.... and thus was the cause of the demise of Solomon's great kingdom. His wasteful, lustful, Jinn loving son never learned to consider the consequences of his actions.
God gives us good... we turn good to crap.
