In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

This passage contains contrasting images of gratitude and a lack of it, as well as making some powers and creatures subservient, by God’s will, to certain people even though they are not normally subordinate to any human being. God’s will and power are not limited to what is normal or familiar to humans. Through these images we learn certain things about the jinn whom some idolaters worshipped.

Others tried to learn through them news from the world beyond perception, but they themselves know nothing about that realm. We also have additional information about how Satan can prevail over man, despite the fact that Satan has no power over man except in as much as man gives him this by his own choice. Other clear elements within the passage concern the means by which God reveals some secret human actions so that they appear before us in real terms. He will then give those responsible for them reward in the life to come. This passage concludes, like the first one, with a reference to the life to come.

“We graced David with Our favour. We said: ‘You mountains, sing with him God’s praises! And likewise you birds!’ We caused iron to become soft for him, saying: Make coats of mail and measure their links with care. Do good, all of you. I certainly see all that you do.” (Verses 10-11) David was the type of servant described at the end of the first part of the sūrah:” In all this, there is a sign for every servant of God turning to Him in repentance.” (Verse 9) The sūrah follows this reference by recounting some of his history, preambled by details of the grace God bestowed on him: “You mountains, sing with him God’s praises! And likewise you birds!” (Verse 10) Reports suggest that David had an unusually beautiful voice, and he used to sing his Psalms, which are praises of God mentioned in the Old Testament, but God knows which of them were truly David’s. An authentic ĥadīth tells us that the Prophet overheard Abū Mūsā al-Ash`arī reciting the Qur’ān deep at night. He stopped to listen to him, and then commented:

‘This man has been given one of David’s Psalms.’ The Qur’ānic description shows that David (peace be upon him) attained such a sublime standard of devotion and transparency in his praises that barriers between him and other creatures disappeared. Thus the truth between them became interrelated as they all praise God. Hence the mountains and the birds echoed his praises of God. When all of them had direct links with God, whatever separates species and creatures was removed. They felt that their bond with God overcame all barriers between them. Hence, they echoed one another in praising God, attaining an extraordinary level of transparency which can only be attained through God’s grace.

When David raised his voice singing God’s praises and glorifying Him, the mountains and the birds echoed him. The universe returned their songs as these were presented to God, the One. This is a remarkably splendid point in time which cannot be appreciated except by one who so experiences it, and even then only momentarily.

“We caused iron to become soft for him.” (Verse 10) This is another aspect of the grace God bestowed on David. Within the context wherein it occurs, this seems to be a miracle going beyond what is familiar to us. The sūrah is not speaking here of heating iron until it becomes soft and moulding it into the required shape. Rather, it appears that the iron was softened in a different way from what normally occurs, yet God knows best. Although guiding man to the softening of iron by heating is in itself an aspect of God’s grace, our assumption here rests on the fact that the overall atmosphere is one of miracles and unfamiliar phenomena.

“Make coats of mail and measure their links with care.” (Verse 11) Reports suggest that prior to David’s time, armour was plated, each coat being made up of one plate or sheet, which was very heavy for soldiers making them stiff and rigid. God instructed David in how to make armour from fine links which could be easily moulded so as to move in accordance with the body. David was also ordered to make these links narrow so that they could give complete protection against spears, preventing them from penetrating through. This is the reference in the verse to measuring the links with care. All this was taught to David through divine inspiration.

David and his household were told: “Do good, all of you. I certainly see all that you do.” (Verse 11) This does not apply to their making coats of mail. Instead it is clear that they must be on their guard in all that they do because God sees all and rewards everyone in accordance with what they deserve. Nothing escapes Him.

All this grace was given to David. Solomon was also given the ability to perform extraordinary feats, as a manifestation of God’s grace: “To Solomon [We made subservient] the wind: its morning course [covered the distance of] a month’s journey, and its evening course a month’s journey. We caused a fountain of molten brass to flow for him, and some of the jinn worked under his control by permission of his Lord. Whoever of them deviated from Our command We shall make him taste suffering through a blazing flame. They made for him whatever he pleased: shrines and statues, basins as large as watering troughs, and firmly anchored cauldrons. We said ‘Work thankfully, family of David, for few of My servants are truly thankful.’“ (Verses 12-13)

There are plenty of reports about the wind being subservient to Solomon, but many appear to have an Israelite origin even though the original Jewish texts do not mention anything about this. It is, therefore, much better to refrain from discussing these reports and to confine ourselves to the Qur’ānic text, going no further than its surface meaning. Thus we can say that God placed the wind at Solomon’s command, making it travel forward to a specific place [which according to Sūrah 21, The Prophets, is the Holy Land] for a month, and then making its return journey over a period of a month. Certain objectives were achieved by these two journeys. These were known to Solomon and he accomplished them by God’s command. We prefer not to say any more on this point so as not to indulge in unsubstantiated legends.

“We caused a fountain of molten brass to flow for him.” (Verse 12) The general context of these verses again suggests that this was also a miracle, like the softening of iron for David. This might have taken place in the form of a volcanic fountain pouring forth brass that had been molten underground. Likewise, God might have instructed Solomon on how to get brass to become fluid and mould it into different shapes.

Regardless of how all this took place, it was nonetheless an act of God’s abundant grace.

“Some of the jinn worked under his control by permission of his Lord.” (Verse 12) God also gave him jinn to work under His command. Linguistically speaking, the word jinn refers to anything that people cannot see. There is also a type of creature God gave the name jinn to and about whom we know nothing except what God states. He mentions here that He placed a group of them under Solomon’s command. Whoever disobeys will be punished by God. “Whoever of them deviated from Our command We shall make him taste suffering through a blazing flame.” (Verse 12) That this comment occurs here, before completing the aspects of their subservience to Solomon, highlights the fact that the jinn are also subject to God, even though some idolaters worshipped them. Like mankind, the jinn are liable to God’s punishment should they deviate from His orders.

They were placed under Solomon’s command: “They made for him whatever he pleased: shrines and statues, basins as large as watering troughs, and firmly anchored cauldrons.” (Verse 13) All these articles are examples of what the jinn used to make, by God’s leave, whenever Solomon bid them. Again all these are miraculous things, and we cannot imagine them to be anything but. This is the only interpretation we can give to this statement.

The verse concludes with an address to David’s household: “We said: ‘Work thankfully, family of David.’“ (Verse 13) All this was given you by God’s grace, through David and Solomon. You must not take false pride in it, but instead give proper thanks. Good action is an important form of thanksgiving.

However, “few of My servants are truly thankful.” (Verse 13) This comment also serves as a directive. It tells us on the one hand that the grace and favours God bestows on His servants are so great that few of them are able to express due thanks for them, and on the other that people often neglect their thanksgiving duty. In fact, however much people try to express their gratitude, they cannot give due thanks for what God bestows on them. What is their status, then, if they slacken and overlook this duty?

Yet the question is: how can a human being, with limited ability, be sufficiently grateful for God’s unlimited favours? God tells us in the Qur’ān: “Should you try to count God’s blessings, you will never be able to compute them.” (14: 34) These blessings are constantly around man no matter where he looks. They are both within him and within his surroundings. Indeed, he himself is one major blessing in this world. For example, at one time we were a group of people chatting about a wide variety of subjects when our little cat came over and started walking around us as if looking for something. It was clear that the cat needed something in particular, but it could not tell us what it was, and we could not understand his purpose. Then it occurred to us that he might be looking for water, and we were right. When we put the water before him we realized that he was very thirsty but could not express himself. We realized then just how much God has favoured us with the gift of communication. We expressed our gratitude to God for this blessing, but what thanks, heartfelt as they may be, can be enough for such a blessing! On a prolonged occasion we were deprived of sunshine. At times, however, a ray of sunlight as small as a little coin would creep in, and we would take turns to stand in it, moving ourselves so as to let it fall on our faces, hands, chests, backs, abdomens and legs. I cannot forget the time when all this was over and we were allowed out:

one of us was beaming with delight as he said: ‘Oh God! How lovely to see the sun again! It still rises every day! All praise to God for this blessing!”8

How much of this light, which is necessary for life, do we waste every day as we enjoy the sun and its warmth? Indeed we always bathe in this blessing granted to us freely by God. We neither pay for it, nor do we exert any effort to come by it.

When we reflect on God’s blessings in this way, we can spend all our lives and energy covering but a little. Therefore, we only make this brief reference, following the Qur’ānic method of giving a hint or a pointer. It is up to everyone to reflect on it and try to express gratitude to God as they can. Indeed to be thankful to God is itself a blessing enjoyed by those who are sincere in their devotion.

Let us move now to the last scene in the story which shows Solomon’s death while the Jinn continue to work hard as he had bid them, unaware of the fact of his death, until a worm had gnawed at his staff sufficiently for him to fall down: “When We decreed his death, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away at his staff And when he fell to the ground, the jinn saw clearly that, had they understood the reality which was beyond [their] perception, they would not have remained in humiliating servitude.” (Verse 14)

It is reported that in the position he was in at the moment of his death, he was leaning over his stick and that he remained in that position while the jinn continued performing the task he assigned them. Then a worm that eats wood came upon his stick. This type of worm gnaws persistently at wood ruining roofs, doors and buildings foundations. In parts of Upper Egypt, some villages do not use a single piece of wood in their homes for fear of woodworm. When the woodworm had gnawed at Solomon’s staff, it could no longer support him, and he fell down. Only then did the jinn realize that he was dead: “the jinn saw clearly that, had they understood the reality which was beyond [their] perception, they would not have remained in humiliating servitude.” (Verse 14)

Such, then, are the jinn whom some people worship. We see them here subservient to one of God’s servants. They are totally unable to fathom something which is hidden from them, yet is very close: how then can they gratify people’s appeals to learn the secrets of what is beyond the reach of perception!

David and his family were full of gratitude to God for all His blessings and used such favours for good purpose. The people of Sheba, however, are to be contrasted with such role models. In Sūrah 27, The Ants, we have a report of what took place between their queen and Solomon. Here, the story gives an account of what happened to them after Solomon, which suggests that the events included here date back to a period after the queen’s exchanges with Solomon. What makes this more likely is that the story here speaks of Sheba’s people becoming ungrateful for God’s blessings, which were then withdrawn and the people scattered. Under the queen mentioned in Sūrah 27, they enjoyed a plentiful period and were very powerful. The first report received by Solomon about them was from a hoopoe who told him: “I found there a woman ruling over them; and she has been given of all good things, and hers is a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating themselves to the sun instead of God; and Satan has made their deeds seem goodly to them, thus turning them away from the path [of God!, so that they cannot find the right way.” (27: 23-24)

This was subsequently followed by the queen’s submission to God, as she embraced the divine faith. The story here, then, is certainly of a subsequent period. It tells of what happened to them after they turned away from God and refused to thank Him for His favours.

The story opens with a description of the great blessings they enjoyed and the provisions they were granted, as well as the requirement that they should demonstrate their gratitude as they could: “There was a sign for the people of Sheba in their dwelling place: two gardens, one to the right and one to the left: ‘Eat of what your Lord has provided for you, and give thanks to Him: a land most goodly and a Lord Much- Forgiving.’“ (Verse 15)

Sheba is the name of a community living in southern Yemen, in a fertile land some of which remains so today. They were highly civilized and were able to make good use of their water resources, as they were blessed with much rainfall, occupying territory close to the sea in the south and east. They were thus able to build a natural dam between two mountains, erecting a great wall down the valley, with controlled openings. In this way they were able to retain water in great quantities which they used as they needed. This great darn was known as the Ma’rib Dam.

The gardens to the right and left symbolize the splendid fertility of their land which gave them beauty and affluence. Therefore, they were signs reminding them of God who gives every good thing. They were commanded to make full use of what was granted to them and to thank the Giver: “Eat of what your Lord has provided for you, and give thanks to Him.” (Verse 15) They were also reminded of the nature of their blessings: the productive land and the forgiveness of their sins: “a land most goodly and a Lord Much-Forgiving.” (Verse 15) When such priceless blessings are given in plenty, why were they unwilling to give thanks? “But they paid no heed, and so We let loose upon them a raging torrent and replaced their two gardens with others yielding bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lore trees.” (Verse 16)

When they failed to show their gratitude to God and use what God favoured them with in a goodly and beneficial way, He took away their source of affluence and let loose raging, stone-carrying torrents which destroyed their dam and its water flooded the whole area. With the dam no longer functioning, the land dried up.

Instead of beautiful gardens they now had only a desert in which only a few wild trees were to grow, bearing no good fruit. The verse says that their gardens were “replaced ...with others yielding bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees.” (Verse 16) This was the best that their land could subsequently produce and even then it was only in small quantities.

“Thus We requited them for their ingratitude: would We thus requite any but the totally ungrateful.” (Verse 17) Until then they had remained in their villages and homes. God stinted their provisions and replaced their riches with austerity, but He had not yet scattered them over a wider area. They had easy contacts with the cities blessed by God: Makkah and Jerusalem. To the north of Sheba, Yemen was well inhabited and its land routes to other areas were safe and comfortable: “We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed towns within sight of one another so that they could travel in measured stages: ‘Travel through them by night and day in safety.” (Verse 18) It is reported that a traveller would leave one township in the morning and arrive at the next before dark. This meant that journey times were short, making travel easy, safe and comfortable.

Yet Sheba’s people paid no heed to the first warning. Nor did the change in their circumstances make them turn to God and appeal to Him to give back their comfortable lives. On the contrary, their prayer betrayed stupidity and ignorance:

“But they said: ‘Our Lord! Make our journeys longer.” They wanted long distance travel, which is undertaken only infrequently. In so doing, they demonstrated nothing but arrogance: They sinned against their souls.” Their prayer was answered, but only as such a prayer should be answered: “So We caused them to become a tale, and scattered them throughout the land.” (Verse 19) They became like refugees scattered throughout Arabia. They also became the subject of discussions in others’ gatherings. In other words, they were no longer a recognized community, but a tale people told. “Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful.” (Verse 19)

We note that patience and steadfastness are mentioned alongside thanksgiving in times of plenty. The history of Sheba gives signs on both counts.

This is one way of understanding the last two verses. However, they may also be understood in a different way, which would then render the first statement as: “We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed towns that have dominance.” As these places had power and dominance, the people of Sheba became poor, living like desert dwellers, and having to travel time after time to find pasture and water.

They could not withstand the test that this entailed. Therefore, they prayed to God, and in this case their supplication would be rendered as: ‘Our Lord! Lengthen the time between our journeys,’ or make them less frequent, as travel has become too tiring for us. They did not couple this prayer with turning to God with repentance and seeking His forgiveness, so that He would grant them what they prayed for. Since they behaved arrogantly when they had God’s blessings, and did not persevere when they faced adversity, God punished them by scattering them and so they disappeared, featuring only in people’s tales. This makes the comment at the end of these verses fitting for their lack of gratitude for God’s favour and lack of patience in adversity: “Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful.” (Verse 19) I feel this understanding of the verses to be also acceptable. God, however, knows His own purpose best.

As the story concludes, the ninth mentions the overall divine planning and the rules God operates in life generally. It tells us what lessons we should draw from this and what lies behind it: “Indeed Iblīs proved that his opinion of them was right: they all followed him, except for a group of believers. Yet he had no power at all over them; it is only for the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who truly believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord watches over all things.” (Verses 20- 21)

The people of Sheba went the way that leads to a miserable end: Iblīs felt that he could lead them astray, and they let him do so. Thus, except for a group of believers, they all followed him. This is what normally happens in all communities. It is rare that a community is totally bereft of believers who will not give in to Satan and his machinations. They thus prove that the truth remains, even in the worst of conditions, available to everyone who seeks it and wants to hold to it. Iblīs never had an overpowering authority over them from which they could not be free. He can only approach them in order that they be tested, and everyone who wishes to stick to the truth could do so, while everyone else will go astray. Thus, in life, a type of person emerges who ‘truly believe in the life to come’, and thus his beliefs keep him on the right path. This type are distinct from the other ‘who are in doubt’ about the life to come. It is the latter who succumb to Iblīs’s temptations, heedless of the Day of Judgement. God certainly knows what happens before it actually takes place.

However, He makes His reward dependent upon the thing actually taking place.

When we look at the story of Sheba’s people from a broader angle, we see that its moral can apply to all communities at all times. The story can then be seen as demonstrating what happens when communities follow divine guidance or stray away from it. It also shows the reasons that make people take the direction they do.

“Your Lord watches over all things.” (Verse 21) Nothing is lost or overlooked.

Thus the second passage of the sūrah concludes, speaking of the life to come, just as did the first passage. It also emphasizes the limitless nature of God’s knowledge and His awareness of all things. Both subjects are given much emphasis in this sūrah.