16347 - Yunus ibn 'Abd al-A'la informed us by way of recitation, Ibn Wahb informed us, Ibn Lahi'ah informed us, who said: She—meaning Bilqis—had twelve qayl (chieftains), and with every qayl were twelve thousand. She said: "Advise me, for I am sending them a gift." So she sent to him a hundred horses with a hundred servants on them. When they came to Sulayman, he recognized that and said: "But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Nay, it is you who rejoice in your gift." He said: When they came, she said to those under her authority: "I am going to ask him about three things; if he informs me about them, I will place my kingdom under his kingdom." So she asked him and said: "Inform me: what is a water that is not from the earth nor from the sky, and what is the color of the Lord, may He be exalted and glorified?" He said: Sulayman understood that when she asked him about the color of the Lord, so Allah revealed to him: "I will make her forget what she asked about." He said: So Sulayman ordered horses to be run until they sweated, then he wiped off the foam and sweat that was on them and said to her: "This is water that is not from the earth nor from the sky." She said: "You have spoken the truth." Then he said: "What was the other thing you asked me about?" He said: "I do not know," so Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, made her forget it.
16348 - Muhammad ibn al-'Abbas narrated to us, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Salamah narrated to us, Salamah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Yazid ibn Ruman, regarding: "Nay, it is you who rejoice in your gift," i.e., that I have no need for your gift, and my opinion regarding it is not like your opinion.
His saying, the Exalted: "Return to them, for we will surely come to them with armies."
[The First Aspect]
16349 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, al-'Abbas informed us, Yazid narrated to us, Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatadah regarding his saying: "Return to them, for we will surely come to them with armies," he said: He does not see it meaning anything other than the messengers.
The Second Aspect:
16350 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, Safwan ibn Salih narrated to us, al-Walid narrated to us, Zuhayr ibn Muhammad narrated to us, who said: Sulayman rejected her gift and said to the hoopoe: "Return to them, for we will surely come to them with armies they have no power to resist."
16351 - Muhammad ibn al-'Abbas narrated to us, 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, Salamah narrated to us, from Ibn Ishaq, from Yazid ibn Ruman, regarding: "Return to them," i.e., that I have no need for your gift, and my opinion regarding it is not like your opinion, so return to her with what you brought from her.
His saying, the Exalted: "For we will surely come to them with armies."
16352 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, Safwan ibn Salih narrated to us, al-Walid narrated to us, Zuhayr ibn Muhammad narrated to us, regarding: "For we will surely come to them with armies they have no power to resist," he says: Because of the armies of humans and jinn that follow me, "and we will surely drive them out of it as humiliation."
