A Noble Letter

So the queen opened the letter and read it. The letter was very brief, and the contents were revealed to us in the Qur'an. She said: yā ayyuhā al-malaʾu innī ulqiya ilayya kitābun karīm — O chiefs, verily, there has been delivered to me a noble letter. Kitābun karīm — she said the letter is noble. Why did she call it noble? Allah knows best. It could be because — some of the mufassirūn said — of the way it looked, and the seal; it looked very noble. Some of them say because of the contents of the letter, which were noble. Some of them say because of the source of the letter, which is Sulaymān, who is the noblest of his time. She said: ulqiya ilayya kitābun karīm — a noble letter has been sent to me. Or, actually, ulqiya ilayya means it fell on me; she does not even know who delivered it.

And then she read the contents of this letter; it is very brief — and listen to the contents. Innahu min Sulaymān — it is from Sulaymān; that is the source, that is the one who is sending the letter. And keep in mind that Sulaymān is a king; he is a prophet, but he is also a king. And he is sending a letter to whom? To a queen.

If we did not know what the contents are, and we were quizzed to guess what the contents would be, I think it would be very difficult for us to reach the right answer if we are basing our opinion on the perception that we have of what politics is and how rulers rule. We would assume that the letter would have contents which we hear regularly in the letters that are sent between kings and presidents all over the world. But if we are basing our opinion on the comprehensiveness of Islam — and that Islam includes everything in life, and that the sharīʿah of Allah (swt) dominates everything that we do — then we would be able to understand the contents of this letter.

The letter is: innahu min Sulaymāna wa innahu bismi Allāhi al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm. The letter starts with what? Bismi Allāhi al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm. We start our actions in the name of Allah (swt). We start eating by mentioning the name of Allah. When we start a surah, we start with the name of Allah. When we ride our cars, we say bismillāh. When we go on the aeroplane, we say bismillāh. Everything that we do, we should start it in the name of Allah (swt). And this is how we would be following the sunnah of the anbiyāʾ: verily, it is from Sulaymān, and verily it reads: in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

And then what did he say? Allā taʿlū ʿalayya wa-ʾtūnī muslimīn — he said: be you not exalted against me, but come to me as Muslims. Submit to me. And that is the end of the letter.

Allā taʿlū ʿalayya — do not be exalted over me; do not view yourself in a better position, or in a higher position, or in a position of arrogance. And Sulaymān is not saying that to satisfy a personal desire; he is saying that because he is the nabī of Allah (swt). And Allah (swt) says: wa mā arsalnā min rasūlin illā li-yuṭāʿa bi-idhni Allāh — Allah (swt) says: We have sent every messenger to be obeyed. The messengers — we obey them; they are the ones who are on the high level, and they are the ones who issue the orders to us.

So he is telling her: do not think that, since you are in the same political rank — I am the king and you are the queen — that we are on the same level. I am the nabī of Allah (swt). You do not see me as a king; now see me as the nabī of Allah (swt): allā taʿlū ʿalayya, do not be exalted against me. Wa-ʾtūnī muslimīn — and come to me; it is translated here as Muslims, but many of the mufassirūn say it means submission: come to me in the form of submission. Submit to me — and then he is going to give them daʿwah. So over here muslimīn does not mean the religion, come to me as Muslims; it means come to me in the form of submission, because that is what Islam means. Wa-ʾtūnī muslimīn — it means submit to my orders and commands to you.