Solomon — The Great King of Israel
by Mr. Mirza Abdur-Rahman Baig
The Light & Islamic Review (US), January/February 1996 Issue (Vol. 73, No. 1, p. 12)
وَ لِسُلَیۡمٰنَ الرِّیۡحَ غُدُوُّہَا شَہۡرٌ وَّ رَوَاحُہَا شَہۡرٌ ۚ وَ اَسَلۡنَا لَہٗ عَیۡنَ الۡقِطۡرِ ؕ وَ مِنَ الۡجِنِّ مَنۡ یَّعۡمَلُ بَیۡنَ یَدَیۡہِ بِاِذۡنِ رَبِّہٖ ؕ وَ مَنۡ یَّزِغۡ مِنۡہُمۡ عَنۡ اَمۡرِنَا نُذِقۡہُ مِنۡ عَذَابِ السَّعِیۡرِ ﴿۱۲﴾ یَعۡمَلُوۡنَ لَہٗ مَا یَشَآءُ مِنۡ مَّحَارِیۡبَ وَ تَمَاثِیۡلَ وَ جِفَانٍ کَالۡجَوَابِ وَ قُدُوۡرٍ رّٰسِیٰتٍ ؕ اِعۡمَلُوۡۤا اٰلَ دَاوٗدَ شُکۡرًا ؕ وَ قَلِیۡلٌ مِّنۡ عِبَادِیَ الشَّکُوۡرُ ﴿۱۳﴾
“And We made the wind subservient to Solomon; it made a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening; and We made a fountain of molten brass to flow for him. And of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord. And whoever turned aside from Our command from among them, We made him taste of the chastisement of burning. They made for him what he pleased, of synagogues and images, and bowls (large) as watering troughs and fixed cooking-pots. Give thanks, O people of David! and very few of My servants are grateful.” (The Holy Quran 34:12–13)
Solomon was the second son of David and Beth Sheba, and the third king of Israel. It is said that at the beginning of his reign God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered him gifts, and the young king chose wisdom instead of fame from the gifts offered by God.
By virtue of his piety and the extraordinary qualities of his head and heart, as bestowed by God, he was indeed a king of kings.
Solomon ruled from 970 to 930 B.C. Israel had assumed the leadership of the world and great kingdoms flourished starting with David and Solomon. He came when the Israelites were in the ascendent, following prophet David, and rose to giddy heights in Jerusalem. Even today you can see there scores of the kingdom’s ruins spread over miles of hill and dale, especially in the neighbourhood of the Bait-ul-Muqaddas — the great Aqsa Mosque — and the “Wailing Wall”, the remanent of the wall around the ancient Jewish temple, which is the popular place of worship and prayer. Tradition holds that it will never be destroyed. And, in fact, what is left is in pretty good shape; the construction is solid and robust at the bottom and tapers off towards the top.
Solomon appears to have had a canny political sense in making alliances that would make Israel the world power of the day, and he hoped that the small but strategically-located country would become powerful. Accordingly, he made alliances with the reigning Pharaoh and married his daughter.
Solomon cemented his ties of friendship established by David with King Hiram of Tyre, in order to carry out the long-cherished desire of his father to build a great Temple for the Lord. So, from the forests of Lebanon, Hiram sent the cedars and firs Solomon wanted, and supplied skilled craftsmen needed to build the magnificent building.
Hiram and Solomon made a mutually profitable pact that lasted many years even after the Temple was finished. He made grandiose schemes even for housing his foreign wives. He fortified his cities and even built a navy with Hiram’s help and guidance, who supplied experienced sailors.
Solomon was a born engineer and under Divine guidance he mass produced easy-fitting steel armour for his army, and even discovered a new metal — bronze — by melting copper and tin together in right proportions, an alloy suitable for wide application and usages. He set up training facilities for producing highly skilled workers from raw apprentices under well-organised schemes.
Historically, we can say that Solomon started dabbling in international finance where he was aided by the Phoenicians in building his navy, and the biblical money changers conducted a foreign exchange business, converting foreign currency into coins that were acceptable in Jerusalem.