An-Naml · Makki · ayah 16 of 93

An-Naml 27:16

وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَـٰنُ دَاوُۥدَ ۖ وَقَالَ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ ٱلطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْمُبِينُ

“And Solomon inherited David. He said, "O people, we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is evident bounty."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Sulayman inherited what no will can divide, then spoke of his gifts aloud as thanks, not boast, and named them plainly: clear favour.

A reflection

What a son inherits that cannot be auctioned

A stonemason dies after fifty years in the trade. His six children sell the workshop tools at auction and divide the money evenly. The youngest worked beside him for twenty years. From the sale she takes the same share as the rest. Yet when a church needs a cracked window arch matched, it is her number people ring. What she inherited was never in the sale.

Wa-waritha sulaymānu dāwūd: and Sulayman inherited from Dawud. The lexicons picture this root as a thing passing from one people to others, without any contract. They also stretch it: rain is said to leave the plants their bloom, as an inheritance. What passes is what the one before leaves behind in you.

So what passed here? The commentaries note that Dawud had many sons; one gives the number as nineteen. If wealth were meant, Sulayman would have shared it with all of them. Naming him alone makes no sense for money. Several commentaries therefore read it as prophethood and kingship, his father's place. One, in strong terms, says it was knowledge and prophethood, nothing else.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "We are not inherited from; what we leave is charity" (Sahih al-Bukhari). Another narration says the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets left no gold or silver coin, only knowledge (Abu Dawud; graded ṣaḥīḥ, another grading considers it weaker).

That turns a line of history into a question for every parent. What will pass from you that cannot be auctioned? Your property will be divided by law. Your prayer, your patience and the way you treat a waiter will pass, too. No solicitor will read them out, but someone at your table is already inheriting them.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.