A017
Surah: 027 - Ayah: 017
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27:17
Although it is true that Hazrat Sulayman, whose kingdom was the example of the spiritual kingdom of the prophets and Imams, was king both in physical and spiritual sense, nevertheless, benefit of knowledge and awareness lies in proper understanding of the real state (of things). And the reality is that he was king more in a spiritual sense than the physical sense. His army which consisted of jinn, mankind and birds (27:17) was in spiritual form, and whatever power or miracle which is related to him in the story was in spiritual form. This means that every prophet and Imam in his time is the master of the spiritual kingdom, like Hazrat Sulayman.
Spiritual Hoopoe
Q. 59. According to your statement, we accept that Hazrat Sulaym&n knew the language of both the spiritual and physical birds. However, from this arises another question: Was the Hoopoe, which is mentioned in connection with the Qur'anic story of Hazrat Sulayman and the Queen of Saba (BilqTs), in spiritual and ta'wlli (esoteric) sense or in the material sense? Whatever work the Hoopoe did, such as bringing the news of the Queen of Saba to Hazrat Sulayman or conveying his letter to her and other events in this regard, are they spiritual matters or external miracles?
It should be known that this Hoopoe was not in a physical, rather, in a spiritual sense and its entire work was esoteric and spiritual. The story of the Queen of Saba has two aspects: One is exoteric and the other is esoteric and related to ta'wil. Ta'wil also is of many kinds. One of them is that in this story, the enquiring soul (ruh-i tajassus) is called the "Hoopoe". For Sulayman's kingdom, in reality, is a spiritual kingdom, in which all the administrations of the Divine kingdom are at hand.
The army of Hazrat Sulayman, which consisted of jinns, men and birds, was in the form of the spirits (27:17); wind, which was subjugated to him, is also a matter of a spiritual miracle (34:12). In spirituality, the jinns, in addition to many other works, also used to do spiritual painting (34:13). The ta'wTl of throne (arsh) here is the subtle form and spiritual existence of man (27:23), for the "I" or "self' of man is on the throne of his soul and the soul, in reality, is a subtle luminous picture. On this occasion, it would be better if we mention here (the ta'wil) of the Divine Throne also. The Divine Throne also is in human form. Thus, when you observe the luminous existence of the holy and pure Imam with the eye of heart on the highest level of your spirituality, this will be the place of the Divine Throne. In the Wise Qur'an, where, in the verse (27:23), the throne of the Queen of Saba is mentioned, there in the verse (27:26), the Supreme Throne (al-arsh al- Aazim). namely the Throne of the Divine King is also mentioned, so that the wise people may reflect on this.
Hushira (Were gathered together)
It is mentioned in verse (27:17): “And there were gathered together to Sulayman his armies of jinn and men and birds, and they were arrayed in order and ranks." In this are mentioned the armies of (spiritual) particles, which appear as a result of the individual resurrection in order to do spiritual jihad.
There were jinns and human beings as well as birds (27:17) in the army of Hazrat Sulayman, but the most powerful was proven to be the one who had the knowledge of the Heavenly Book, the book of the universe and the personal book. He brought the throne of the Queen of Sheba to the presence of Hazrat Sulayman in less time than the twinkling of an eye (47:40). The overwhelming power and effect of knowledge can be well estimated from this miraculous work.
In verse (27:17), it is said: "And there were gathered together to Sulayman his armies of jinn and men and birds,
and they were arrayed in order and ranks." Here a natural question is about the nature of these armies, since birds normally run away from men and men are scared of jinn, then how is it possible for them to be gathered together? In the world of particles all creatures and things are (in the form of) similar particles, therefore one has to accept that his armies were in the form of spiritual particles (and not in physical bodies).
Question: "And there were gathered together (hushira) unto Sulayman his hosts of jinn and men and
birds and they were arrayed in order and ranks (yuzacun)." (27:17). You have often said that there is a semantic link and relationship between Qur’anic words, so please explain to us what the relationship is between "hushira" used in this verse and the word "hashr" which is used in the sense of the "Resurrection" in many of the verses in the Qur’an? From where were the hosts of Hazrat Sulayman gathered together
and what does "yuzacun" mean?
Answer: There is a very close link between these two words. They have the same meaning in that in this instance it relates to the event of the personal resurrection of Hazrat Sulayman, in which the hordes were gathered together spiritually in the form of subtle particles. These particles were hidden in the people. In the Wise Qur’an the word "hashr" is mentioned 43 times in different forms but each time it is used in the sense of Resurrection, including the story of Pharoah in which it is related to the conscious and personal Resurrection of Hazrat Musa when the magicians of Pharoah were defeated. The word "yuzacun" has several different meanings such as to array, to arrange, to control etc. When the sur (trumpet) starts to blow in the Perfect Man’s spirituality, his personal Resurrection takes place and his hosts gather in the form of jinns, men and birds (i.e.angels) and they take up the task of the spiritual jihad so that the religion of God overcomes all other religions in the world (9:33, 48:28, 61:9).
Q427 Please explain the ta’wil of verse (27:17): “And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of jinn and humankind, and of the birds and they were set in battle order.”
A427
- The war aspect of the resurrection is prominent in this verse, because resurrection is the final dacwat of the true religion, as well as the spiritual jihad.
- Hazrat Solomon(c) had the rank of Imamat, therefore [in his personal world] there was the spiritual resurrection of his time. All his armies were in the form of spiritual particles.
This verse has been referred 8 times.