سورة النمل

Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) narrated: Fatima (peace be upon her), the daughter of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), came to Abu Bakr and demanded Fadak. Abu Bakr said: "No one inherits from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)." She said: "Allah the Exalted says: وَ وَرِثَ سُلَیْمانُ داوُدَ [And Sulayman was Dawud's heir]." When she brought proof to him, and Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and Umm Ayman testified, he ordered that a document be written for her assigning Fadak to her.

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Sayf narrates from one of our companions who said: I said to Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): "They object to your young age." He said: "When Allah the Exalted revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him) that he should appoint Sulayman (peace be upon him) as his successor, Sulayman (peace be upon him) was a child and was busy shepherding sheep. Therefore, a group of the worshippers and scholars of Bani Israel denied this matter. Allah said to Dawud (peace be upon him): 'Take the staffs of the objectors from them, and also take the staff of Sulayman (peace be upon him), and place the seal of the owners of the staffs upon their staffs, and leave all those staffs in a house until tomorrow. Tomorrow, whoever's staff turns green and produces leaves and fruit, he shall be the successor.' Dawud (peace be upon him) informed them of this matter, and they all said: 'We are content with this proposal and we submit to it.'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Dawud (peace be upon him) wanted to appoint Sulayman (peace be upon him) as his successor, because Allah had commanded him to do so. When the Children of Israel heard this news, they objected, saying: "Are you appointing a young man as your successor while there are others among us who are older than him?" So he summoned the elders of the Children of Israel and said to them: "Your words have reached me. Show me your staffs. Whichever of your staffs bears fruit, its owner will be my successor." They said: "We accept." And he said: "Let each of you write his name on his staff." So they wrote. Then Sulayman (peace be upon him) brought his staff and wrote his name on it. Then the staffs were placed in a house, the door of the house was locked, and the elders of the Children of Israel themselves guarded that house. The next day, Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) prayed the noon prayer with them. Then he came and opened the door and brought out the staffs, and the staff of Sulayman (peace be upon him) had sprouted leaves and borne fruit. They handed over the staff of Sulayman (peace be upon him) to Dawud (peace be upon him), and in the presence of the Children of Israel he tested him. He said to him: "O my son, what thing gives a person a feeling of coolness [peace]?" He answered: "Allah's forgiveness of His servants, and people's forgiveness of one another." Dawud (peace be upon him) asked: "What thing is the sweetest?" He answered: "Love, and it is the spirit of Allah in His servants." Dawud (peace be upon him) was pleased with him with a smile, and took him among the people and said: "Sulayman (peace be upon him) is my successor after me." Then afterwards Sulayman (peace be upon him) concealed his affair from the people, married a woman, and hid himself from his followers for as long as Allah had decreed. One day his wife said to him: "May I be your ransom, how excellent is your character and how sweet is your fragrance, and none of your conduct troubles me. Except that you have one trait which does not please me, and it is that you are still under the guardianship of your father. If you were to go to the market and seek to earn a livelihood, I hope that Allah would not disappoint you." Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah! I have never done any work up to now, and I do not know any craft well." He went to the market and roamed about in the market all day, then returned home without having obtained anything. He said to his wife: "I did not obtain anything." His wife said: "It does not matter. If you did not obtain anything today, you will obtain something tomorrow." The next day he also went to the market and roamed about in the market and did not obtain anything, and he gave his wife this news. His wife said: "Allah willing, you will obtain something tomorrow." On the third day, he passed through the market until he reached the seashore, and there he met a fisherman. He said to the fisherman: "Would you like me to help you in your work, and in the end you give me a share?" The fisherman agreed. Sulayman (peace be upon him) helped the fisherman, and when their work was finished, he gave him two fish. Sulayman (peace be upon him) took them and thanked Allah. Then when he cut open the belly of one of the fish, he suddenly found a ring in its belly. He took it and tied it in his garment and thanked Allah, and set the fish right and took them home. His wife was delighted with them and said: "I want to invite my father and mother, so that they may know that you yourself have obtained something." He invited them and together they ate the two fish. After the meal, Sulayman said to them: "Do you recognise me well?" They said: "By Allah! No, but we have seen nothing from you but goodness." He brought out the ring and put it on his finger. Suddenly the birds and the wind prostrated to him, and kingship came to him. And he took his wife and his wife's father and mother with him to the city of Istakhr. There his followers gathered around him, and they gave the people the good news of his coming, and Allah, with his coming, brought them the relief and victory of which they had been deprived during the time of his occultation. At the time of his death, by the permission of Allah, he appointed Asaf ibn Barkhiya as his successor. So his followers were always coming and going to him, and taking the tokens of their religion from him. Then Allah kept Asaf too hidden from them for a long period. Then he appeared to them, and remained among them for as long as Allah willed, and then he bade them farewell. They said to him: "Where shall we meet one another?" He said: "On the Sirat," and he was hidden from them for as long as Allah had willed. With his occultation, misfortune among the Children of Israel increased, and Bukhtnasr [Nebuchadnezzar] overcame them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Dawud (peace be upon him) passed away, Sulayman (peace be upon him) took charge of the kingdom. He knew the language of birds, and the jinn and mankind were made subject to him. In his time, in every region of the earth the people were under his command and entered his religion. The wind too was subject to him. Whenever he went out to hold audience, the jinn and mankind and all the birds would stand in ranks before him. Whenever he intended to wage war, he would give the order to his army; a platform of wood would be prepared for him, and all the beasts, the people and the weapons would be placed upon it. Then he would command the wind to move it and carry it to the place he intended, and in a single day and night he would traverse a distance that would normally be covered in two months.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The kingdom of the east and the west of the world was given to Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him). He reigned for seven hundred years and seven months and ruled over all the inhabitants of the world — the jinn, mankind, the satans, the beasts, the birds and the wild animals. The knowledge of every thing and the language of every thing was given to him. In his time wondrous crafts were produced, of which all people heard the report; and the verse عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ الطَّیْرِ وَ أُوتِینَا مِن کُلِّ شَیْءٍ إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ الْفَضْلُ المُبِینُ [We have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given of every thing; indeed this is manifest grace] is a proof of this very matter.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): To Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him), in addition to his knowledge, was given the ability to speak in all tongues and the knowledge of the languages and the speech of birds, four-legged animals and wild beasts. So that when he was present in battles, he would speak in Persian; and if he was among his officials and soldiers and the people of his kingdom, he would speak in Roman (Rumi); and if he was in private with his wives, he would speak in Syriac and Nabatean; and if he stood for prayer and private supplication to Allah in his prayer niche, he would speak in Arabic; and if he sat with the representatives and envoys of other lands and with enemies, he would speak in Hebrew.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The signs that were given to Dawud and Sulayman (peace be upon them) were not given to any of the prophets of Allah. [Allah the Exalted] taught the two of them the language of birds, and softened iron and copper for them without the heat of fire, and the mountains were made to glorify Allah along with Dawud (peace be upon him), and Allah sent down upon him the Zabur, in which He placed monotheism (tawhid), praise, and supplication to His court, and likewise placed in it the reports of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and the other Imams who are from the progeny of the two of them, and the reports of the Return (raj'a) and of Hazrat al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance). For this reason He says: In the Zabur, after the Reminder [the Torah], We wrote: "My righteous servants shall inherit [the rule of] the earth"! (al-Anbiya/105). Sulayman (peace be upon him) sat upon his throne, and the wind carried him along and passed him over Wadi al-Naml, in which gold and silver used to grow and which Allah had appointed the ants to guard. This is also the saying of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), who said: "Allah has a valley in which gold and silver grow, and He protected this valley with the weakest of His creatures, namely the ants, in such a way that even if strong-bodied camels intended to reach it, they could not overcome the ants that guarded it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: Sulayman (peace be upon him) had with him the Greatest Name of Allah — whenever he called upon Allah by that Name, whatever he wanted was given to him, and if he supplicated, He would answer him. [But] if Sulayman (peace be upon him) were in our time, he would be in need of us.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I heard Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) saying: یا أَیُّهَا النَّاسُ عُلِّمْنا مَنْطِقَ الطَّیْرِ وَ أُوتِینا مِنْ کُلِّ شَیْءٍ إِنَّ هذا لَهُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْمُبِینُ [O men! we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given all things; most surely this is manifest grace].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Fayd ibn Mukhtar said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) saying: "Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) said: عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ الطَّیْرِ وَأُوتِینَا مِن کُلِّ شَیْءٍ [We have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given of every thing]. And by Allah! we too have been taught the language of birds and have been given the knowledge of every thing."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali said: I was with Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him). In his house there was a tree on which sparrows were sitting. Suddenly they flew up and made a sound. He said: "Abu Hamza! Do you know what they said?" I said: "No!" He said: "They glorified the Lord and asked for their sustenance for this day." Then he said: "O Abu Hamza (may Allah have mercy on him)! The language of the birds has been taught to us and we have been given from everything."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The language of the birds has been taught to us, just as Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) was taught the language of every animal of the land and the sea.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Durays al-Kunasi said: I was in the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and Abu Basir was also with him. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Dawud (peace be upon him) inherited the knowledge of the prophets, and Sulayman (peace be upon him) became the heir of Dawud (peace be upon him), and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) became the heir of Sulayman (peace be upon him), and we are the heirs of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and the Scriptures of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and the Tablets of Musa (peace be upon him) are with us." Abu Basir said: "This is indeed true knowledge." Then he said: "O Abu Muhammad! This is not knowledge. Rather, knowledge is that which comes into being by night and by day, day by day and hour by hour."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates that Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: "... O Abu Muhammad! Indeed, the speech of no one among the people is hidden from the Imam, nor the speech of the birds, nor the speech of the beasts, nor the speech of any living creature. So whoever does not possess these qualities is not an Imam."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Badr, the servant of Imam Rida (peace be upon him), said: Ishaq ibn Ammar came to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) and sat with him. At that moment a man from Khurasan asked for permission to enter and came in and spoke in an accent that I had never heard before; his speech was like the sound of birds. Musa (peace be upon him) answered him in that same language and same accent until their conversation ended and he left his presence. I said: "I have never heard such a language before." He said: "This is a language that a group of the people of China speak like this." Then he said: "Are you surprised that I spoke in his own language?" I said: "It is a matter of astonishment." He said: "I will tell you of something more astonishing than this; the Imam knows the language of the birds and the speech of every soul-possessing creature that Allah has created, and nothing is hidden from the Imam."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Abi Hamza said: One of the devotees of Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) came in and said: 'May I be your ransom! I would love for you to have breakfast with me this morning.' The Imam went with him and entered his house and sat on a couch that was in the room. Beneath the couch there was a pair of doves. The male dove began cooing to the female dove. The host went to bring the food. When he returned, he saw the Imam laughing. He said: 'May you always be smiling! What are you laughing at?' He said: 'This male dove was cooing to his female and saying to her: O comfort of my soul and O my bride! By Allah, on the face of the earth there is no one I love more than you, except this person sitting on the couch.' He said: 'May I be your ransom! Do you also know the language of the birds?' He said: 'Yes, عُلِّمْنا مَنْطِقَ الطَّیْرِ وَ أُوتِینا مِنْ کُلِّ شَیْءٍ [We have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given all things].'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: One day I was with Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) when a pair of ring-doves came and sat on the wall and cooed as is their habit, and Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) replied to them for a while. Then they got ready to fly, and when they flew onto another wall, the male ring-dove cooed to the female for a while, then they got ready to fly. I said: 'May I be your ransom! What was the story of these birds?' He said: 'O son of Muslim! Every bird and beast and living creature that Allah has created is more hearing and more obedient to us than a human being. This ring-dove had become suspicious of his female, and she had sworn that she had not done it, and she had said: Will you accept the judgement of Muhammad ibn Ali? So they both agreed to my judgement, and I told the male ring-dove that he had wronged his female, and he acknowledged it.'

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Sulayman, one of the descendants of Jafar al-Tayyar (may Allah have mercy on him), said: I was in a garden belonging to Imam Rida (peace be upon him) when a sparrow, in a state of alarm, brought itself to the presence of the Imam (peace be upon him) and made a great commotion. The Imam (peace be upon him) turned to me and said: 'O so-and-so! Do you know what this sparrow is saying?' I said: 'Allah and His Messenger and the son of His Messenger know best.' He said: 'It is saying: a snake intends to eat my chicks in the house, so take a stick with you and enter the house and kill the snake.' I took a date-palm branch and entered the house, and suddenly I saw a snake moving about in the house, so I killed it.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali said: I was with Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) in his house. In it there was a tree on which sparrows were making a commotion. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: 'Do you know what they are saying?' I said: 'I do not know.' He said: 'They are glorifying their Lord and seeking their sustenance.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Farqad said: We were setting out with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) for Mecca until we reached Saraf. There a crow came flying towards Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), cawing. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Die of hunger! There is nothing you know that we are not aware of, with this difference — that I have more knowledge of Allah than you do." We said: "Did you see something in its face?" He said: "Yes! A she-camel has fallen down at Arafat."

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): When the vulture cries out, it says: "O son of Adam, live as long as you wish — its end is death." And when the crow calls, it says: "Indeed, in distance from people there is ease." And the lark in its call says: "O Allah, curse the enemies of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." And when the swallow raises its call, it recites Surah al-Hamd and draws out الضَّالِّینَ [the astray] with a madd just as a reciter draws it out.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Recommend one another to treat the khuttaf (swallow) kindly, for it is the bird most familiar with people." Then he said: "Do you know what the swallows say when they sing? They say: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِینَ [In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (The Lord) who is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful [whose general and special mercy has encompassed all]. (The Lord) who is the Master of the Day of Judgement. [O Lord!] You alone we worship, and from You alone we seek help. Guide us to the straight path — the path of those upon whom You have bestowed Your favour, not those upon whom is Your wrath, nor of the astray. (Fatiha/1–7)] — until they finish reciting Ummul Kitab; and when they reach the end of their song, they say وَ لَا الضَّالِّینَ [nor of the astray]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sa'd ibn al-Hasan said: I was sitting in the presence of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) when I heard the call of a ring-dove. He said: "Do you know what this bird is saying?" We said: "By Allah, we do not know!" He said: "It is saying: 'I have lost you'; so lose it before it loses you."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Sinan said: We were in the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when the call of a ring-dove was heard from within the house. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Where is this bird whose voice I hear?" We said: "It is in the house. It was given as a gift to one of the household." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "We shall surely lose you before you lose us." Then he ordered it, and it was taken out of the house.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Muhammad narrates: A ringdove (fakhita), a turtle-dove (qumri) and a sweet-voiced pigeon called ra'ibi were presented as a gift to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). So His Holiness (peace be upon him) said: "The ringdove says: 'I have lost you, I have lost you (فَقَدْتُکُمْ فَقَدْتُکُمْ) [faqadtukum faqadtukum]'. So lose it before it loses you"; then he ordered that it be slaughtered. "As for the turtle-dove, it says: 'May you be sanctified, may you be sanctified (قُدِّسْتُمْ قُدِّسْتُمْ) [quddistum quddistum]'," so he gifted it to one of his companions, and he went on to say: "But the ra'ibi will stay with me, so that I may find companionship and delight in it."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): One day Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) was in a barren, waterless desert. He saw a partridge and said: "O partridge! Do you find water and food in this desert?" It said: "O Commander of the Faithful! I have been in this desert for a hundred years; whenever I become hungry, I send salawat upon you and I am satisfied, and whenever I become thirsty, I invoke a curse upon those who wronged you and I am quenched."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ هذا لَهُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْمُبینُ [Indeed this is manifest grace]; the meaning [of the manifest grace] is kingship and prophethood.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Asbagh narrates: Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) came out of Bayt al-Maqdis while three hundred thousand humans were on his right and three hundred thousand jinn on his left, and he commanded the birds and they took them under their wings, and he ordered the wind and it carried them, and they entered Mada'in. Then he returned and spent the night until morning in the land of Istakhr, then before sunrise he set off until he reached the island of Barkawan, and he ordered the wind to bring them down until it was close that the water would touch their feet, and the followers of Sulayman (peace be upon him) were saying to one another: "Have you seen a kingdom greater than this?" At that moment an angel called out from the heavens: "The reward and recompense of a single tasbih is greater than what you have seen."