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Nearly all modern readers of the Qur’an are like the queen of Saba’ in some respects. We have a coterie of pet desires that surround and flatter us; we have a comfortable sense of superiority or security in our habitual delusions; and we would like very much to be unmolested by the Truth in any form that goes beyond reading the occasional short message from afar. If the Truth looks as if it might imperil our snug little kingdom and its guilty pleasures, we are ready to sacrifice some of our ordinary goods to quell Its demands. If hush money is required to make It go away, we will be glad to pay.
A truly active intellect, however, will not leave us alone. It will respond to our inaction with all the force that it has at its disposal.
(36)
When [her envoy] came to Sulaiman, he said, “Are you providing me with wealth? What GOD has given me is better than what He has given you. Yet with your present you exult!”
فَلَمَّا جَاءَ سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ أَتُمِدُّونَنِ بِمَالٍ فَمَا آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا آتَاكُمْ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ بِهَدِيَّتِكُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ
It has become clear to Sulaiman (peace be upon him) that the queen is unaware of her condition and what is superior to it, namely what GOD has given him. The confused intellect has only the dimmest conception of what GOD’s gifts could mean, as everything is measured by its own impoverished experience. The queen thinks that his power is like hers, that she is dealing with a court full of powerful nobles (i.e., I am sending them a gift) rather than a single decisive authority, that Sulaiman would act unjustly like other kings, and that he could be swayed by the things that commonly move them to change their minds. Her gift to him is, at best, a tentative groping in the dark, seeking – and failing – to reach past her ignorance to some form of understanding on her terms.
(37)
“Return to them, for we are bringing to them forces they cannot resist and we shall drive them out of there disgraced and lowly.”
ارْجِعْ إِلَيْهِمْ فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بِجُنُودٍ لاَ قِبَلَ لَهُمْ بِهَا وَلَنُخْرِجَنَّهُمْ مِنْهَا أَذِلَّةً وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ
The active intellect not only has the courage of its convictions but the means with which to subordinate its confused counterpart. If she will not come to him, he will go to her. Either way, there is no question of leaving her alone.
How is it that the confused intellect cannot resist? It is simply this: when the active intellect is determined to accomplish its end, there is no mortal power that can deter it. Full authority has been given to the soul of man, when subordinated to the Will of GOD, to drive out or conquer whatever assumes a false dominion to oppose its commands.
In Chapter 31, I provided some examples of souls who had to be brought low before they could become open to a new vision of reality. The old frames of assured survival, health, wealth, reputation, self-respect, and general comfort needed to be demolished before new, more expansive frames could take their place. Nothing in the queen’s environment was supporting or encouraging such a creative destruction. Sulaiman (peace be upon him) recognizes that, and so promises her nothing but defeat and humiliation if she does not dismantle her customs and comforts by an act of submission. It is only in a state of lowliness and self-abandonment, like a child coming to school for the first time, that we can be truly ready to learn.
Is persuasion an option? Yes, even with Satan. There are many passages in the Qur’an where we find the devil engaged in wordplay, justifying his insubordination by various excuses. GOD refrains, however, from forcing Satan to obey, for that would kill the spirit and negate the whole purpose of creating intelligent beings. One cannot achieve faith, either in oneself or in someone else, by compulsion.
And if your Lord had willed it, altogether everyone on Earth would have believed [in Him]. Would you compel mankind till they become believers? (Q10:99)
وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَآمَنَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا أَفَأَنْتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ
As we shall see, moreover, Sulaiman (peace be upon him) utilizes a very subtle method to persuade the queen that she has been deluded. But she has to be in his presence for that method to work.
We are urged, however, to shape the conditions wherein faith is more likely to flourish, which is the main purpose of education, preaching, the authority of parents over children, all kinds of moral influence, the exercise of economic and political power, and even waging war against oppression in whatever form it takes.* The Arabic word for this exertion, either in one’s environment or in oneself, when the intention is to promote the conditions that facilitate the growth (not the imposition) of true faith, is jihad.
* Acts of criminal injustice (e.g., the institution of phony ‘Islamic’ banking) and connivance in oppression (e.g., the invasion of Afghanistan and ‘Iraq and the occupation of Palestine, to name just a few) are the chief reasons I consider the so-called Islamic governments of the world – let alone other governments – illegitimate. They lack the moral force needed to proclaim jihad. (At this time of posting, an Islamic government has gained power in Afghanistan; we shall see whether it lasts, and how it conducts itself.)
(38)
He said, “O you Nobles! Which of you can bring her throne to me before they come to me submissively?”
قَالَ يَاأَيُّهَا المَلَأُ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ
Between verses 37 and 38 we have an instance of ellipsis – a gap in the narrative that the reader is expected to fill. Here it is understood that Sulaiman (peace be upon him) has been informed that he does not need to marshal his forces. The queen and her court are coming to him. By this ellipsis, the reader may also conclude that the right attitude and a clear determination to follow through with action, without the necessity of a long-winded discourse, can suffice to effect the desired change in one’s relations with others or in one’s own soul.
Sulaiman (peace be upon him) intends to utilize the queen’s throne for a demonstration like that which Musa (peace be upon him) experienced when AL-LAH told him (Q27:10) to throw down his staff and then pick it up again when he saw it turn into a serpent. The confused intellect needs to see the illusion and unreliability that underlies ad-dunya – the world of change and semi-reality.
(39)
A stalwart from the jinn said, “I can bring you it before you rise from your position. Truly I am strong enough for that and trusted.”
قَالَ عِفْريتٌ مِنْ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ
The character of the jinn is apparent here. A robust representative of that race offers a technical solution, one which is speedy and reliable. His offer implies the use of force – a physical response to what he considers a physical problem (before you rise from your position).
How exactly this is to be accomplished is not really an issue here, although it is worth remembering that the jinn, as noted in Chapter 37, are made of fire, are inclined to tasks that involve know-how, and may have elemental capabilities that humans would find extraordinary. One might call this the modern answer to the problem, since technology has so completely captured our imagination over the past century or more. Indeed, one could say that we are living in an age of jinn (rather than prophets, scholars, birds, or angels).
The GOD You Already Know 