The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 811
PT. 23 ṢĀD CH. 38 رُدُّوهَا عَلَى فَطَفِقَ مَسْحًا بِالسُّوقِ. Bring them back to me. 34 وَالْأَعْنَاقِ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَنَ وَالْقَيْنَا عَلَى كُرْسِيّه جَسَدًا ثُمَّ أَنَابَ ŔÇSÚLÉ قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكَالًا Then he began to stroke their legs and their necks. 3404 35. And We did try Solomon and We placed on his throne a mere body. Then he turned to God, seeking His mercy. 3405 36. He said, 'O my Lord, grant me forgiveness and bestow on يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِى إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ me a kingdom that will not suit الْوَهَّابُ anyone after me; surely Thou art the Great Bestower. '3406 a had a great liking for horses of good breed because cavalry formed strong wing of his army which was so necessary to guard and protect his God-given and far-flung kingdom-a great stronghold of truth and righteousness. So Solomon's love for horses was not that of a race-goer or a professional breeder of horses. It only sprang from his love for his Creator as the horses were used for fighting in the cause of God. 3404. Commentary: The verse shows that Solomon was seeing a horse parade and in order to show his admiration for his horses he stroked their necks and legs. 3405. Commentary: While here the words are "a mere body," in 34:15 the expression used is "a worm of the earth. " The reference in both the places may either be to Solomon's son and heir, Rehoboam, a worthless fellow, in whose reign Solomon's kingdom fell victim to disintegration and disruption, or to Jeroboam who raised the standard of revolt against the House of David and succeeded in winning the allegiance of ten tribes of Israel. Jeroboam was an idol worshipper and under his lead the Israelites relapsed into image- worship (1 Kings 12:28). The words "he turned to God" seem to imply that Solomon had realized that after his death his kingdom would not maintain its integrity under his incompetent and inefficient successor. So he turned to God and prayed to Him. The prayer is given in the next verse. 2725 3406. Commentary: As it appears from the preceding verse Solomon had foreseen that his temporal kingdom would become disrupted after his death, through the imbecility of his foolish and worthless son, so he prayed that the spiritual kingdom which God had bestowed upon his House might continue among them. If the words "a kingdom that will not suit anyone after me" are taken in their literal