The Qur'an as the Criterion · The Prophets Restored
Solomon accused of idolatry
In short
- 1.The Bible: Solomon goes after Ashtoreth and Milcom and builds shrines for Chemosh (1 Kgs 11:4-8).
- 2.The Qur'an: wa ma kafara Sulaymanu — Solomon did not disbelieve (Q 2:102).
- 3.The Qur'an calls him an excellent servant, always turning to God (Q 38:30).
The claim being examined
1 Kings 11 says Solomon's foreign wives turned his heart to other gods and that he built high places for Chemosh and Molech.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an explicitly clears him: Sulayman did not disbelieve — it was the devils who disbelieved, teaching people magic.
Analysis
1 Kings 11:4-8 states that in his old age Solomon's wives turned his heart after other gods, that he went after Ashtoreth and Milcom, and that he built high places for Chemosh and for Molech — the latter associated in the same scriptures with child sacrifice. Q 2:102 addresses precisely the reputation that had grown around Solomon: "And they followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic." The verse is a direct exoneration, and it is unusually explicit — the Qur'an rarely names and clears an individual in this way. Q 38:30 adds the assessment: "an excellent servant; indeed he was one who repeatedly turned back to God." Q 27 gives the fuller portrait: a king who thanks God for what he is taught, who wants the Queen of Sheba to submit to God rather than to himself, and who says plainly that whoever is grateful is grateful only for his own benefit. In Islamic theology this matters beyond biography, because shirk is the one sin that cannot be attributed to a prophet: the whole prophetic office exists to call people away from it.
Side by side
| The Bible | 1 Kings 11:4-8 | Solomon's heart is turned by his wives; he follows Ashtoreth and Milcom and builds high places for Chemosh and Molech. |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'an | 2:102; 38:30 | It was not Solomon who disbelieved but the devils; he is an excellent servant who constantly turned back to God. |
From the Qur'an
وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ
It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic.
نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ
An excellent servant — indeed he was one who repeatedly turned to God.
From the Bible
Hebrew
His wives turned away his heart after other gods... For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Read it in their BibleHebrew
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
Read it in their BibleSources
Qur'an 2:102 · Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, on Q 2:102 · Qur'an 2:102; 1 Kings 11
The spoken script for this entry is inside the app.
Members get the word-for-word delivery guide — how to open, what to say, the likely replies and how to close warmly — plus notes, a dawah journal and the study assistant.
Open the app