Prophet Sulaiman Dua in Quran:
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Transliteration:
Rabbi awzi’nee an ashkura ni’mata kal lateee an’amta ‘alaiya wa ‘alaa waalidaiya wa an a’mala saalihan tardaahu wa adkhilnee birahmatika fee ‘ibaadikas saaliheen
Translation:
“My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants.”
Surah Naml Ayat 19
Key Takeaways:
- Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and focusing on what we lack, we should search to find the many blessings Allah has already given us. We all have good attributes and special qualities that are unique to us.
- Prophet Sulaiman (as) was given a kingdom like no one had ever seen. Allah (swt) had also granted him the power to command winds, control both men and jinns, and he could understand the speech of ants. The power that Prophet Sulaiman had would’ve corrupted many men but it did not corrupt him because he was always grateful.
- Our culture and media will always bombard us with advertisements focusing on things we lack because they can then market and sell us the products they’ve created as solutions. But if we begin with the premise of how we are blessed rather than focusing on what we lack, we’ll begin to feel the same desire to thank Allah (swt) as Prophet Sulaiman had. Remember whatever you focus on in your mind is how you will feel, if you begin by asking yourself better questions, you’ll get a better result.
In Surah An-Naml, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala begins to disclose information and details so we can learn about Prophet Suleiman (as) and his character. It extends from ayat 15 to 44 and we encourage you to read these verses in there entirety.
In these verses, we learn that Allah (swt) had bestowed his blessings upon Prophet Suleiman and Dawud (as).
“And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, [Alhamdulillah] “Praise [is due] to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants.” (27:15)
It is a very special case as Prophet Sulaiman was the son of Dawud (as) and had inherited his Prophethood and dominion. It is clear that this inheritance was not material as Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: ‘Our property [prophets’ property] cannot be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity.
Hadith Reference
Narrated Aisha:
Fatima and Al Abbas came to Abu Bakr, seeking their share from the property of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and at that time, they were asking for their land at Fadak and their share from Khaibar. Abu Bakr said to them, “I have heard from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ‘Our property cannot be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity, but the family of Muhammad may take their provisions from this property.” Abu Bakr added, “By Allah, I will not leave the procedure I saw Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) following during his lifetime concerning this property.” Therefore Fatima left Abu Bakr and did not speak to him till she died.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6725
So when Prophet Sulaiman (as) became king he made du’a to Allah asking for a kingdom that no one has ever had or ever will have.
“My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.” (Surah Sad Ayat 35)
We are all given unique and special qualities and here we learn that Allah bestowed upon Prophet Sulaiman (as) and Dawud (as) knowledge. Prophet Sulaiman was also given power to command winds, control both men and jinns, and he could understand the speech of ants. If he wanted to extract resources from the bottom of the sea he could just order his troops and it would be done.
“So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command, gently, wherever he directed, And [also] the devils [of jinn] – every builder and diver. And others bound together in irons. [We said], “This is Our gift, so grant or withhold without account.” (Surah Sad Ayat 36-39)
How does the Qur’an tell us they responded to be given these gifts? It’s with gratitude, they said Alhamdulillah. They felt a deep appreciation that they were favored over many of Allah’s slaves with these gifts.
If you start with the same premise of how you are blessed rather than focusing on what you lack, you’ll begin to feel the same desire to thank Allah. Whatever you focus on in your mind is how you will feel, if you begin by asking yourself better questions, you’ll get a better result.
If you are constantly thinking about how evil or unjust the world is then you will surely find many examples that coincide with this belief. The world will reflect your feelings towards it back at you.
Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and focusing on what we lack, we should search to find the many blessings Allah has already given us. Also, notice how the Prophet’s thanked Allah for the attributes they were blessed with, it is not a subject of pride but humility.
