Why Did Solomon عليه السلام Steal The Throne Of The Queen?
In the commentary of Surah Al Maidah (Verse 21), Ghamidi sahib states that along with the revelation of Prophet Moses, Palestine, like the Arabian Peninsula, was reserved by Allah for His call. Therefore, Bani Israel were commanded to get this area evacuated from its inhabitants to make it a center of Tawheed (monotheism), and not to leave any infidels and polytheists alive in it or keep a government, unless they pay taxes. This is why Solomon sent a letter as an ultimatum to the Queen of Sheba. It was a divine decision enforced in a specific area and through a prophet whose rule is directly God’s rule. The Queen responded to Solomon’s letter by sending gifts instead of accepting his call and obeying him. Solomon rejected the gifts calling them bribery and warned the ambassadors of the Queen that he will now bring his army that will force them out of their state. Ghamidi sahib writes in his commentary of Surah An-Naml (Verse 38) that Solomon knew that after the return of the ambassadors, their nation would surrender and come to obey him. Since Solomon did not merely want them to surrender and submit politically, but also wanted for them to find faith and God’s guidance, he intended to show them, on their arrival, the extraordinary strength and knowledge of truth which Allah Almighty had bestowed upon him in order to make them witness the power of God behind him. This is why he ordered to bring the throne before the arrival of the Queen.