The Qur'an as the Criterion · History Made Coherent
The Queen of Sheba
In short
- 1.The Bible: the visit ends in gifts, spices and gold (1 Kgs 10:10).
- 2.The Qur'an: she says, I submit with Solomon to the Lord of the worlds (Q 27:44).
- 3.Solomon refuses her gift: what God has given me is better (Q 27:36).
The claim being examined
1 Kings 10 has the Queen of Sheba come to test Solomon with riddles, admire his wealth, and exchange lavish gifts.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an tells the same visit as a story about idolatry abandoned — she ends by declaring submission to the Lord of the worlds.
Analysis
The two accounts share the visit and diverge on what it was for. In 1 Kings 10 the queen comes to test Solomon with hard questions, is overwhelmed by his wisdom, his palace, his table and his servants, blesses the LORD, and gives him one hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spices; the chapter then continues cataloguing Solomon's wealth. In Q 27:20-44 the substance is different at every point. The hoopoe reports a people prostrating to the sun instead of God. Solomon sends a letter that opens with the name of God and calls them not to exalt themselves but to come in submission. She consults her council and — notably — she is presented as a competent ruler who does not want war and who observes that kings ruin a town when they enter it. She sends a gift, and Solomon refuses it: "Is it wealth you would extend to me? What God has given me is better than what He has given you" (Q 27:36). Only after the test of the throne and the polished floor does she say: "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to God, the Lord of the worlds" (Q 27:44). One narrative concludes with a trade agreement; the other with a conversion.
Side by side
| The Bible | 1 Kings 10:1-13 | She tests Solomon with hard questions, is overwhelmed by his wealth, blesses the LORD, and gives and receives lavish gifts. |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'an | 27:20-44 | Solomon calls her people away from prostrating to the sun, refuses her gift, and she ends by declaring: I submit with Solomon to God, the Lord of the worlds. |
From the Qur'an
رَبِّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَانَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to God, the Lord of the worlds.
أَتُمِدُّونَنِ بِمَالٍ فَمَا آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا آتَاكُم
Is it wealth you would extend to me? What God has given me is better than what He has given you.
From the Bible
Hebrew
Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones.
Read it in their BibleHebrew
And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon.
Read it in their BibleSources
Qur'an 27:20-44 · 1 Kings 10:1-13 · Qur'an 27:44; 1 Kings 10
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