Saba · Makki · ayah 12 of 54

Saba 34:12

وَلِسُلَيْمَـٰنَ ٱلرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ ۖ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُۥ عَيْنَ ٱلْقِطْرِ ۖ وَمِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ مَن يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِۦ ۖ وَمَن يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ

“And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind - its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month, and We made flow for him a spring of [liquid] copper. And among the jinn were those who worked for him by the permission of his Lord. And whoever deviated among them from Our command - We will make him taste of the punishment of the Blaze.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Sulayman was given the wind, molten copper and jinn to work for him, yet all of it ran on his Lord's leave.

A reflection

Whose leave ran the workshop?

Read the ayah slowly and notice who owns each part of it. The wind is given li-Sulaymān, for Sulayman, but the subjecting was Ours. The copper ran because asalnā: We made it flow. The jinn worked before him bi-idhni rabbihi, by his Lord's leave. And anyone who swerved, swerved ʿan amrinā: from Our command. Not from Sulayman's.

One theologian notices a detail in the wording. Where the ayah speaks of the jinn working safely in Sulayman's presence, it says 'his Lord'. Rabb is a word that carries care and nurture. Where it speaks of those who swerve, it switches to 'Our command', the plural of majesty, to deepen the awe.

The word for leave has its own picture. The lexicons trace idhn to the ear. Everything heard reaches knowing through the ear, and permission is a word let into the ear: the way is open. These are established usages. The strongest workforce any king has had moved only when a word from Someone else reached it.

Now picture a regional manager who says 'my people' at every conference. Most of his team were hired before he arrived, and most will be there after he leaves. Their skills were trained by others, and their days are counted by their Maker. 'My people' is a kind way of speaking. It is not a statement of ownership.

The ego loves the possessive. My team, my results, my empire. This ayah gave a man the wind, a spring of copper and a crew of jinn. It still would not let the possessive settle on him. Pride shrinks when it notices whose leave everything ran on.

Is that Allah guarding His credit, out of a need to be acknowledged? He is free of every need (35:15). The reminder protects the one holding power. A king who forgets whose leave he works under soon gives orders that leave never covered.

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.