Surah an-Naml (The Ant ) 27 : 44

Explanatory Note

Solomon had already prepared another surprise for the queen, which thus far remains hidden from us. With the first one, we were told of it before it actually occurred, but here the method is different: She was told to enter the court. When she saw it, she thought it was a lake of water, and she bared her legs. Said he: “It is but a court smoothly paved with glass!’ She said: ‘0 my Lord! I have indeed wronged my soul, but now I submit myself with Solomon, to God, the Lord of all the worlds.’ (Verse 44)

This surprise consisted of a palace made of glass, and its floor placed above water so as to appear like a lake. When she was asked to enter the palace, she thought that she was meant to walk through the lake and so lifted her skirts to bare her legs. The surprise was then complete. Now Solomon tells her its secret: “It is but a court smoothly paved with glass.” (Verse 44) The queen stood agape, perfectly amazed at such wondrous accomplishments that defy human capabilities. She recognized that Solomon had been given superior powers. Therefore, she turned to God acknowledging her past error, declaring that she had wronged herself when she worshipped others, and announcing her submission, not to Solomon, but with him, “to God, the Lord of all the worlds.” (Verse 44)

Thus her heart had interacted with divine guidance and benefitted by its light. She realized that surrendering to God did not mean her submission to anyone of His creatures, not even to Solomon, the prophet and the king who had been given all these miracles. True surrender is to God, the Lord of all the worlds, being in companionship with those who believe in Him and who advocate His message, on the basis of equality.

The sūrah highlights this point in order to clarify the nature of belief in God and surrender to Him. It imparts the sort of dignity that raises the vanquished to the ranks of the victors, such that they become brothers in faith. In fact, there are no vanquished or victors. How can there be when they are truly brothers, tied by the bond of faith, feeling their equality in God’s sight?

The elders of the Quraysh who opposed the Prophet in Makkah felt it far beneath them that they should be under Muhammad’s leadership. Here we see a woman of the past teaching them that Islam places the advocate of the divine message and those who are addressed by that advocate on the same basis. Leader and subordinates are equals, treated in the same way. People simply respond to God’s Messenger and submit with him to God, the Lord of all the worlds.