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Quran · Surah 27:38–44

The throne moved in the blink of an eye

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ReferenceSurah 27:38–44
Written610–632 CE
SetSolomon and the Queen of Sheba
One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord.

Translation: Pickthall, 1930 · About the translator

Read it literally

A jinn offers to fetch the throne before Solomon stands up; a man 'with knowledge of the Book' does it faster. Teleportation by knowledge, not magic. Then the Queen walks onto a floor of glass she thinks is water.

What scholars say

Links to the Kebra Nagast and Jewish legend.

Looks like technology Spirits and jinn
People and places hereSolomon

Quick answers about Surah 27:38–44

Where is Surah 27:38–44 found?

Surah 27:38–44 (Quran). Translation quoted: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930).

When was Surah 27:38–44 written?

610–632 CE.

What do scholars say about Surah 27:38–44?

Links to the Kebra Nagast and Jewish legend.

Rabbit holes in this passage

BeingJinnA second species, made of smokeless fire and hidden from sight, shares the world with us, the Quran says. They eat, marry, die and choose whether to believe; one chapter claims they once sat in listening posts in heaven, until meteors drove them off. What were they trying to overhear?TextKebra NagastEthiopia's emperors claimed descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba for seven centuries, until 1974, and this one book is where that claim comes from. It says the sons of Solomon's nobles stole the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple and left a copy behind. What happened on the road home?

Sources

  1. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)Primary text
  2. Quran 55:14–15; also 72:1–9 and 37:6–10, trans. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)Primary text
  3. The Kebra Nagast, trans. E. A. Wallis Budge, The Queen of Sheba and her Only Son Menyelek (1922; 2nd ed. 1932)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

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