The Hoopoe did as Solomon commanded, dropped the letter and the Queen took that letter, read it and went to meet her entourage for an emergency meeting. The Queen of Sheba told her chieftains that a noble letter that is worthy of respect has been delivered to her. It is from Solomon and its (first line) text says: "In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, and the Merciful. And its text is frightful, it says: "Do not exalt yourselves against me; do not feel too haughty towards me, and come unto me (in surrender) in submission (to the true religion).



She said, 'O [members of the] council, give me an opinion and advise me about what to do. I never decide on a matter, I never conclude it, until you are present and advise me.'

They said: We are the masters of might and of great prowess; we have weapons and we are enduring and hardy in war. The matter is for you to decide. So see what you will command', us, and we will obey you.

Then she pronounced words of wisdom. (She said: Lo! Kings) worldly kings, (when they enter a country) by force in instances of war and fighting, (ruin it) destroy it (and make the honour of its people shame and humiliate its nobles) by beating, killing and exposing them to other things. And thus they (always) do; this is how worldly kings behave because of arrogance.

Now I will send Solomon a gift and wait to see with what [response] the envoys return', in the way of accepting the gift or rejecting it. If Solomon is only a king seeking power and wealth, he will accept it; but if he is a prophet, he will reject it. Thus, she sent male and female servants, one thousand in total, together with five hundred bricks of gold, a crown studded with jewels, and musk, ambergris and other things with an envoy carrying a letter. The hoopoe thus hurried back to bring the news to Solomon.

But when the envoy, came to Solomon, with the gift and the servants, he said, 'Are you supplying me with wealth? What Allah has given me, of prophet hood and kingship, is better than what He has given you, of [the things of] this world. Nay, but it is you [and not I] who exult in your gift, for you pride yourselves upon [the possession of] the ornaments of this world!

Go back to them, with the gifts that you have brought, for We shall assuredly come to them with hosts (that they cannot resist) which they will not be able to face and they have no power to stop and we shall expel them from there, from the land of Sheba humiliated, and they shall be utterly abased', (with shame) with their hands tied to their necks, unless they come to me in submission. When the envoy returned to her with the gift, she had her throne placed inside seven doors inside her palace, with her palace inside seven palaces, and had all the doors locked with guards at them. She then prepared to make the journey to Solomon to see what he would command her. She departed with twelve thousand chieftains, each accompanied by thousands [of men] until when she came to within few miles of him, he sensed her arrival.

Now, King Solomon thought to surprise her!

(The rest of the story is coming in the next article).

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Surah (Chapter) 27:29-37

29] She (the queen of Sheba) said: 'o council, look, an honorable letter has been dropped to me.

30] Lo! It is from Solomon and it is "in the name of Allah, the merciful, the most merciful."

31] "Exalt not yourselves against me and come to me (in surrender) in submission (to the true religion).'"

32] She said: "ye chiefs! Advise me in my affair: no affair have I decided except in your presence."

33] They said: we are possessors of force and possessors of mighty prowess, and the command is yours, therefore see what you will command

34] She said: "kings, when they enter a country, damage it, ruin it and humiliate its nobles. And thus they (always) do;

35] But lo! I am going to send him a present, and (wait) to see with what (answer) my messengers return.

36] Now when (the envoy) came to Solomon, he said: "what! Would ye help me with wealth? Will ye give me abundance in wealth? But that which Allah has given me is better than that which he has given you! Nay it is ye who exult and rejoice in your gift!

37] "go back to them, and be sure we shall come to them with such hosts as they will never be able to meet: we shall expel them from there in disgrace, and they will feel humbled and shall be in a state of ignominy (indeed)."

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King Solomon and the Queen in the Bible:

The Biblical story is found in 1 Kings 10:1-13 (and also in 2 Chronicles 9); it can be summarized as follows:

The queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove him with hard questions. And Solomon told her all her questions. She realized that Solomon's wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame which she heard. Then she gave the King a lot of gifts. Moreover, Solomon gave the queen all her desire, beside that which He gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country

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It is amazing that the Quran declares that King Solomon refused to take the gifts of the Queen of Sheba. On the other hand, the Bible in 1 Kings 10:1-13 (and also in 2 Chronicles 9) says that King Solomon took the gifts of the Queen of Sheba.

It should be emphasized that the teaching of the Bible forbids taking gifts!

Moreover, the Bible, in Exodus 23:8 (and in many other verses) says: "And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous."!

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Back to the main issue of my series of articles; this is my question to you smart readers: "Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?"

By the way, the disbelieved ignorant Arabs stated that the Quran quoted from the Bible more than 1400 years ago! (Read my article about chapter 25).