Bilqis
بلقيسDefinition
Bilqis — though not named in the Quran, identified in Islamic tradition as the Queen of Sheba — was one of the most powerful rulers of her era, possessing 'everything' and a magnificent throne, according to the hoopoe's report. Sulayman invited her to submit to Allah rather than threatening military conquest; she sent gifts, which Sulayman returned; she came to his court and was shown a miracle (the materialization of her throne in an instant); and she declared 'My Lord, I have wronged myself, and I submit with Sulayman to Allah, Lord of all worlds.' Ibn Kathir presents her submission as the ideal outcome of prophetic diplomacy: a powerful person who chose faith through the persuasion of genuine wisdom, not through coercion.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Bilqis.
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"Let its beginning be mercy, its middle a blessing, and its end an honor and forgiveness. Praise be to Allah, before whom everything is humble due to His greatness, everything is subdued before His might, everything submits to His sovereignty, and everything surrenders to His power. Praise be to Allah, from whose awe everything is at peace, with whose wisdom everything is manifest, and before whose greatness everything is humbled."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 9: The Mysteries of Supplication
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"that drove you to worship beings other than him? If you had thought of him as is his due, that he is all-knowing of everything, all-powerful over everything, that he is independent of everything else, and everything else is dependent on him, and that he upholds justice among his creation, and that he is uniquely managing his creation with no partners, all-knowing of the specifics of his creation, for nothing escapes him, and sufficient for them alone, thus needing no helper, and the compassionate himself not needing anyone to plead for his compassion."
— Ibn al-Qayyim, The Disease and The Cure
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"and the Righteous Indeed, God compensates for everything other than himself, and nothing can compensate for him. He suffices for everything, and nothing suffices for him. He prevents everything, and nothing prevents him. He protects from everything, and nothing protects from him. How then can a servant become independent from obeying the one who possesses such attributes even for the blink of an eye?"
— Ibn al-Qayyim, The Disease and The Cure
Appears in
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