How Did Sulaiman (PBUH) Find Out About Balquees, the Queen of Sheba, and That She and Her People Were Not Believers?
كيف علم سليمان عليه السلام ببلقيس ملكة سبأ، و أنها و قومها كانوا كافرين؟
The hoopoe came to Sulaiman pbuh and told him that he had found a woman ruling a people, and that they worshipped and prostrated to the sun instead of prostrating to Allah.
(˹One day˺ he inspected the birds, and wondered, “Why is it that I cannot see the hoopoe? Or could he be absent? I will surely subject him to a severe punishment, or ˹even˺ slaughter him, unless he brings me a compelling excuse.” It was not long before the bird came and said, “I have found out something you do not know. I have just come to you from Sheba with sure news. Indeed, I found a woman ruling over them, who has been given everything ˹she needs˺, and who has a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah. For Satan has made their deeds appealing to them, hindering them from the ˹Right˺ Way and leaving them unguided.”) An-Naml 27:20-24
جاء الهدهد عند سليمان عليه السلام وقال له إنه وجد امرأةً تحكم قومًا وإنهم يعبدون ويسجدون للشمس بدلاً من أن يسجدوا لله.
(وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾ لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَذْبَحَنَّهُ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّي بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٢١﴾ فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ﴿٢٢﴾ إِنِّي وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿٢٣﴾ وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ) النمل 27: 20-24
1. A Missing Bird Noticed | طائر غائب يُلاحَظ
The episode begins with Sulaiman personally inspecting his birds and noticing the hoopoe’s absence. This connects to the armies of jinn, humans, and birds subjected to him, showing that his command over them was detailed enough to track a single missing member, not a vague or symbolic authority.
تبدأ الحادثة بتفقد سليمان بنفسه لطيوره وملاحظته غياب الهدهد. ويرتبط هذا بجيوش الجن والإنس والطير المسخرة له، مما يظهر أن إمرته عليهم كانت دقيقة بما يكفي لتتبع عضو واحد غائب، لا سلطة مبهمة أو رمزية.
2. A Warning of Punishment, Answered With Real Evidence | تهديد بالعقاب يُقابَل بدليل حقيقي
Sulaiman warns of severe punishment unless the hoopoe returns with a clear justification. The hoopoe’s report is that justification, and al-Sa’di describes its absence as having a clear excuse: it opens with “I have found out something you do not know” and calls its news “sure news” (27:22), certain information Sulaiman himself lacked, not a plea for mercy. What it found is told in what the hoopoe found out during its absence.
يهدد سليمان بعقاب شديد ما لم يعد الهدهد بمبرر واضح. وكان خبر الهدهد هو ذلك المبرر، ويصف السعدي غيابه بأنه كان لعذر واضح؛ إذ يفتتح بقوله “أحطت بما لم تحط به” ويصف تقريره بأنه “نبأ يقين”، وهي صياغة تؤطر ما يلي بوصفه معلومة يقينية كان سليمان نفسه يفتقدها، لا التماسا للرحمة.
3. A Queen Given Much, Yet Missing the One Thing That Matters | ملكة أُوتيت الكثير وافتقدت الأهم
The hoopoe describes the queen as having “been given everything she needs” and possessing “a magnificent throne,” phrasing that echoes how Sulaiman himself was described as given everything he needed in Surah An-Naml 27:16. The parallel sharpens the contrast the passage is building toward: worldly provision on its own, without correct worship, is exactly what the rest of the report exposes as insufficient.
يصف الهدهد الملكة بأنها “أُوتيت من كل شيء” وتملك “عرشا عظيما”، وهي صياغة تردد وصف سليمان نفسه بأنه أُوتي من كل شيء في سورة النمل 27: 16. ويشحذ هذا التوازي التباين الذي يبنيه المقطع تدريجيا: العطاء الدنيوي وحده، دون عبادة صحيحة، هو بالضبط ما يكشف بقية التقرير أنه غير كافٍ.
4. Sun-Worship Named and Traced to Satan | عبادة الشمس منسوبة إلى تزيين الشيطان
The hoopoe states plainly that the queen and her people prostrate to the sun instead of Allah, then adds that Satan made their deeds appealing to them, hindering them from the right way. This second detail matters because it explains the sun-worship as misguidance: people led astray by having wrong actions made to look good to them (27:24).
يذكر الهدهد صراحة أن الملكة وقومها يسجدون للشمس بدلا من الله، ثم يضيف أن الشيطان زين لهم أعمالهم فصدهم عن السبيل. ولهذا التفصيل الثاني أهميته لأنه يفسر عبادة الشمس بوصفها ضلالا: أناسا أُضلوا بتزيين أفعالهم الخاطئة لهم (النمل 27: 24).
5. A Report, Not Yet a Verdict | تقرير لا حكم نهائي
At this point in the Surah, the hoopoe has only delivered information; Sulaiman has not yet acted on it. Sulaiman then says he will see whether the hoopoe has told the truth or lied (27:27), so everything that follows in the story is a response grounded in verified evidence rather than assumption.
عند هذه النقطة من السورة، لم يفعل الهدهد أكثر من نقل المعلومة؛ ولم يتصرف سليمان بعد بناء عليها. ثم يقول سليمان: “سننظر أصدقت أم كنت من الكاذبين” (النمل 27: 27)، فيأتي كل ما يلي في القصة استجابة قائمة على التثبت لا على الافتراض.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did Sulaiman find out about Balquees, the Queen of Sheba?
The hoopoe bird, absent during an inspection of his birds, returned with a report describing her rule and her people’s sun-worship.
Why did Sulaiman threaten the hoopoe?
He had noticed the bird missing and warned of severe punishment unless it returned with a clear justification for its absence.
What did the hoopoe say about the queen?
That she ruled her people, had been given everything she needed, and possessed a magnificent throne.
What were the queen and her people doing instead of worshipping Allah?
Prostrating to the sun, a practice the hoopoe attributed to Satan making their deeds appealing to them.
Did Sulaiman act immediately on the hoopoe’s report?
He did not treat it as settled: he said he would see whether the hoopoe had told the truth or lied (27:27), and sent it with his letter to see how they would respond (27:28).