Biblical Stories in the Qur'an: [Surah Al-Naml, 27:15-44]

We verily gave knowledge unto David and Solomon, and they said: Praise be to Allah, Who hath preferred us above many of His believing slaves!
And Solomon was David's heir. And he said: O mankind! Lo! we have been taught the language of birds, and have been given abundance of all things. This surely is evident favour.

And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of the jinn and humankind, and of the birds, and they were set in battle order; Till, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant exclaimed: O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you, unperceiving.

And Solomon smiled, laughing at her speech, and said: My Lord, arouse me to be thankful for Thy favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and to do good that shall be pleasing unto Thee, and include me in the number of Thy righteous slaves. And he sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse.

But he was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings. Lo! I found a woman ruling over them, and she hath been given abundance of all things, and hers is a mighty throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah; and Satan maketh their works fairseeming unto them, and debarreth them from the way (of Truth), so that they go not aright;

So that they worship not Allah, Who bringeth forth the hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knoweth what ye hide and what ye proclaim, Allah; there is no God save Him, the Lord of the tremendous Throne.

Solomon said: We shall see whether thou speakest truth or whether thou art of the liars. Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them; then turn away and see what answer they return,

The Queen of Sheba said (when she received the letter): O chieftains! Lo! there hath been thrown unto me a noble letter. Lo! it is from Solomon, and lo! it is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Exalt not yourselves against me, but come unto me as those who surrender.

She said: O chieftains! Pronounce for me in my case. I decide no case till ye are present with me.

They said: We are lords of might and lords of great prowess, but it is for thee to command; so consider what thou wilt command.

She said: Lo! kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the honour of its people shame. Thus will they do. But lo! I am going to send a present unto them, and to see with what (answer) the messengers return.

So when the envoy came unto Solomon, the King said: What! Would ye help me with wealth? But that which Allah hath given me is better than that which He hath given you. Nay it is ye ,and not I, who exult in your gift. Return unto them. We verily shall come unto them with hosts that they cannot resist, and we shall drive them out from thence with shame, and they will be abased.

He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering?

A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.

One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee.

And when he saw it set in his presence, Solomon said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for the good of his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.

He said: Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will go aright or be of those not rightly guided.

So, when she came, it was said unto her: Is thy throne like this? She said: It is as though it were the very one.

And Solomon said: We were given the knowledge before her and we had surrendered to Allah. And all that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk.

It was said unto her: Enter the hall. And when she saw it she deemed it a pool and bared her legs.

Solomon said: Lo! it is a hall, made smooth, of glass.

She said: My Lord! Lo! I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
[ Surah Al-Naml, 27 : 15-44 ]



"And Lo! This religion is one religion and I am your Lord, so keep your duty to Me.
But they mankind have broken their religion into sects, each sect rejoicing in its tenets.So leave them in error till a time."
[ Surah Al- Mukminun, 23: 52-54]