Seeking truth over pride; wisdom in leadership
Do you remember last night's story, when a little hoopoe bird flew with a letter from Prophet Sulayman (AS) to a faraway land called Saba? Tonight, we find out what happened when that letter arrived. This is the story of Queen Bilqis, one of the most intelligent and courageous leaders mentioned in the Quran, a woman who chose truth over pride, and wisdom over stubbornness.
In the land of Saba, far to the south in what is now Yemen, there ruled a queen whose name was Bilqis. She was no ordinary ruler. The Quran tells us that she had been given "from all things," meaning her kingdom was rich with everything: wealth, power, a strong army, and a magnificent throne encrusted with gold and precious jewels. She was wise and careful, and her advisors respected her judgment.
But there was one thing missing from her kingdom. Bilqis and her people worshipped the sun instead of Allah, the Creator of the sun. They bowed to the creation rather than the Creator. It was this that had troubled the little hoopoe bird so much that it flew back to report to Sulayman (AS).
When the hoopoe arrived in Saba carrying Sulayman's letter, it dropped the small scroll before the queen. Bilqis picked it up and read: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Do not be arrogant toward me, but come to me in submission to Allah."
Now, many rulers receiving such a letter might have been offended. They might have thrown it away, or sent their army to teach the sender a lesson. But Bilqis was different. She was wise enough to take it seriously.
She called her advisors together. "O chiefs," she said, "an important letter has been delivered to me. Indeed, it is from Sulayman, and indeed it reads: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful.' Advise me in my affair. I would not decide any matter until you are present with me."
Her advisors puffed up their chests. "We are people of strength and great military might," they said. "The decision is yours, so look into what you will command." In other words, they were ready for war. They wanted to fight.
But Bilqis was wiser than that. She said something remarkable: "Indeed, when kings enter a city, they ruin it and render the most honored of its people humiliated. And thus do they do." She understood that war would bring only destruction, no matter who won. She chose diplomacy.
"I will send them a gift," she decided, "and see with what answer the messengers return." This was a clever strategy. By sending a rich gift, she would test Sulayman's intentions. Was he a king hungry for wealth? Or was he something more?
When the gift arrived, carried by a grand delegation with treasures of gold and jewels, Sulayman (AS) was not impressed. He turned to the messengers and said: "Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather, you rejoice in your gift!" He was not a king who could be bought with gold. He sent the delegation back with a message: come to me, or face an army the likes of which you have never seen.
Bilqis understood now that this was no ordinary king. She decided to go herself, to see this Prophet Sulayman with her own eyes and judge his claim for herself. This decision took courage. She was leaving her throne, her comfort, and her familiar world behind.
While she was on her way, Sulayman (AS) decided to demonstrate the power Allah had given him. He turned to his court and asked, "Which of you can bring me her throne before they arrive?"
An ifrit, a powerful jinn, said, "I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. Indeed, I am strong and trustworthy for it." But one who had knowledge from the Book said, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And in the blinking of an eye, the throne of Bilqis, that massive, jewel-encrusted seat of power from hundreds of miles away, appeared before Sulayman.
When Sulayman (AS) saw it, he said, "This is from the bounty of my Lord, to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful, his gratitude is only for himself; and whoever is ungrateful, then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous." Even in this moment of astonishing power, he turned to Allah in humility.
He then had the throne disguised, altered slightly, to test Bilqis's intelligence. When she arrived and was shown the throne, they asked her, "Is your throne like this?" She looked at it carefully and gave a brilliant answer: "It is as though it were the very one." She did not say yes outright, because it looked different. She did not say no, because she recognized it. Her answer showed remarkable intelligence and careful observation.
Then came the final test. Bilqis was invited to enter a magnificent palace. When she approached the entrance, she saw what appeared to be a vast pool of water covering the floor. She lifted her garment to wade through it, as anyone would.
But Sulayman (AS) told her, "Indeed, it is a palace made smooth with glass." The floor was not water at all. It was crystal-clear glass with water flowing beneath it, creating the perfect illusion. What she had taken for reality was not what it seemed.
And in that moment, something shifted inside Bilqis. She realized that all along, she had been like someone looking at a glass floor and thinking it was water. She had been looking at the sun and thinking it was God. The reality was different from what it appeared to be. The sun was a creation; Allah was the Creator.
The Quran records her words: "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Sulayman to Allah, Lord of the worlds."
She did not say she submitted to Sulayman. She said she submitted with Sulayman to Allah. She was not giving up her dignity or her intelligence. She was recognizing the truth and having the courage to embrace it, even though it meant changing everything she had believed.
This is what makes Bilqis's story so powerful. She was a queen, a ruler of a great kingdom, and yet she had the humility to say: "I was wrong." She did not cling to falsehood out of pride. She did not refuse the truth because accepting it meant changing her ways. She chose truth over everything.
In the Shia tradition, this quality of recognizing truth when you see it, regardless of where it comes from, is deeply valued. Imam Ali (AS) said: "Look at what is said, not at who says it." Bilqis did exactly this. She did not judge the truth based on who was delivering it. She judged it on its own merit.
Imam Sadiq (AS) taught that seeking knowledge and truth is a duty that knows no borders, no gender, and no social rank. Bilqis, a woman and a queen, made her own decision about faith. No one forced her. She reasoned, she investigated, she tested, and when she saw the truth, she embraced it willingly.
The next time you learn something new that challenges what you used to believe, remember Bilqis. It takes more courage to change your mind when you discover the truth than it does to stubbornly hold onto what is comfortable. That is the courage of a queen.
"Qalat rabbi inni zalamtu nafsi wa aslamtu ma'a Sulaymana lillahi Rabbil-'alamin" "She said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Sulayman to Allah, Lord of the worlds.'" -- An-Naml (27:44)