Stories of the prophets; Solomon and his cavalry

Solomon, despite possessing great wealth such as a grand cavalry 38:30-3, attributed them all to Allah and appreciated these gifts due to his constant remembrance of God, just like the pious King Dhul Qarnayn, and considered his faith more important than any worldly advantages 

38:30"And to David We gave, Solomon. Excellent was the servant; indeed, he was (always) returning (to Allah)". 

Contrary to the lowly depiction that is made of him by the scribes of the Bible, instead of his possessions and power leading him to excess and sin, the Quran depicts him as increasing in gratitude and never faltering from God's remembrance. Despite, or more precisely through these favours, he is instead increased in God-awareness. 

These noble rulers that passed away, knew very well that despite their worldly powers and grand kingdoms, a day would come when it will be manifest that the true kingdom was always and never ceased to be Allah's 40:16. Anytime he experienced God's bounties upon him, Solomon did not neglect the spiritual implications and, as is the case in 27:19 when he perceived the communications of ants beneath him, requested from Allah to be increased in spiritual awareness and gratefulness so as to never fall into complacency. Again later in 27:40 as he witnessed some of the supernatural abilities of one of the beings put at his service by God 

"this is of the grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or am ungrateful; and whoever is grateful, verily he is grateful for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful, then my Lord is Self-Sufficient, Bounteous". 

Every time Sulayman could have fallen into arrogance and conceit, the alarm bell of God-consciousness was there to remind him of God's favor. This awareness was both internally and outwardly expressed. Even when addressing the rulers of neighboring kingdoms, which are contexts where a king would naturally boast of his own power and prestige, Sulayman severely rebuked a Queen's emissary that humbly came to him with precious gifts 

27:36"But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you". 

The wording itself reveals Sulayman's gratitude to God, the source of all that he, and all human beings might possess.

In 38:30-40 Solomon's spiritual awareness is again depicted. The passage begins by praising his nobility of character. It then gives 2 examples to illustrate this point:

- his love for the worldly benefits under his possession stemmed from his constant remembrance of God

 "Verily, I have come to love the love of all that is because of/AAN my remembrence of my Sustainer" 

He always kept in mind the higher meaning of things. It is a mark of the God-conscious to remain grateful when deriving both concrete and abstract benefits from the nature upon which mankind has been assigned vicegerency 40:79-81. Aan is a preposition with at least 10 meanings, all of which depend on the context and the sentence. One of those meanings is to denote causality "because of" as in 9:114,11:53etc and the passage gives several examples, including that of the horses, that attest to Solomon being God-conscious in all situations as stated in the beginning. To a great commander such as Solomon, the scene of his grand cavalry must have been so spectacular, that he personally was eager to touch and sooth his horses 

"(Then he ordered:) ‘Bring them (horses) back to me’. And he began to rub (their) legs and necks".

Although the HB includes his grand cavalry among his list of failures 1Kings11:1-10,Deut17:16, besides indulging in idolatry, it does portray him with similar wisdom as the above. After speaking of the abundance of wealth and all kinds of possessions he had acquired and enjoyed, the prophet-king Solomon declares that despite the opulence, God-consciousness never departed from him

Ecc2:4-9"...So I became great, and I increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me". 

- The second example used to illustrate Sulayman's lofty and pious character was his successful passing of the test he was put through, as he saw his unworthy son's body sitting on his throne. He immediately sought God's protection from sin, then dissociated himself even from his progeny for God's sake. How could anyone willing to go to such extent to safeguard his integrity and piety, be accused of idolatry? It is with such impeccable pattern of behavior and higher outlook of life that the prophet Solomon lived and ruled. One finds that this pattern of thinking was established in Solomon even in his youth, when he had just inherited the throne from his father David and requested from God

 1Kings3"..give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil..."Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days".

His immaterial request was thus granted 38:40, and as a reward of his humility and turning-away from worldly ambition, and as part of the spiritual kingdom he was exclusively given, he was granted mastery over entities of the spiritual realm 38:36-38.

Here it is to be noted that the sequence is the same as the preceding passage concerning the prophet David; It begins with a praise of his spiritual excellence, followed by 2 examples to illustrate. 

So exceedingly above the ordinary was Solomon's wisdom that it could not but have been specially given to him. When he received Prophetic vision during his sleep, he was asked by God what would be his wish, now that he had been made to inherit a grand kingdom. And instead of asking what any worldly leader would normally give preference to, he demanded the following 

2Chr1:7-"give me wisdom and knowledge, and I shall go forth before this people and come in, for who will be able to judge this great people of Yours? And God said to Solomon, "Since this was in your heart, and you did not request riches, possessions, and honor, neither have you requested the life of your enemies, nor have you requested many days, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge, that you should judge My people, over whom I have enthroned you. And wisdom and knowledge are granted you, and riches, possessions, and honor I shall grant you, such as that the kings before you did not possess, and which will not be so after you." 

1Kings10:23-4"Now King Solomon transcended all the kings of the earth in affluence and wisdom. And all the [inhabitants of] the earth sought Solomon's presence to hear the wisdom with which God had endowed him".

Further reading

 Islam critiqued reveals a Quran source; Solomon and the jinn taken from Talmud?