The Queen of Sheba and a Messenger Bird (Part 2/2)

Instead, Bilqis decided to test King Sulaiman's honesty by sending him a letter full of rich gifts and complex questions. King Suleiman ignored them when the delegation of majesty arrived with gifts. He sent them back saying that he would bring such a mighty force that they would not be able to resist and humiliate them by banishing them from the land.

Bilqis decided to accept King Solaiman's invitation and set out in search of him. After King Sulaiman rejected the gifts offered by Queen Bilqis of Sheba, he decided to visit her in person. Before starting her voyage, she realized that Solaiman was more than just a worldly king; he had spiritual support, making any conflict disastrous.

She went to great lengths to protect his throne. More soldiers were sent to guard the seventh chamber of the palace, which housed the throne. This compartment was tightly locked, guaranteeing that no one could access it while she was away.

Meanwhile, Bilqis started the journey with the delegates, Hud-hud birds alerted King Sulaiman of Bilqis' journey stats. Solaiman asked his leaders, who included both humans and jinn, if anyone could bring the throne of Bilqis to him before his arrival. Powerful jinn (invisible creatures) volunteered for the job showing his sincerity and interest.

King Solaiman accepted Jinn's offer, but with conditions. The king would be victorious if he succeeded in restoring the kingdom of Queen Bilqis, but failure would cause embarrassment for King Solaiman, who ruled over both humans and jinn.

After performing ablution, the jinn reached the state of sijda (prostration), uttered Ism-e-Azam (a powerful name of God) and prayed to God earnestly. Queen Bilqis' throne miraculously disappeared from her palace and reappeared before King Solaiman, who was seated on his throne.

Recognizing this as a test from Allah to measure his gratitude, King Soleiman ordered slight changes to the throne to test Queen Bilqis' intelligence. Some jinns said that she lacked intelligence, but these claims were surrounded by numerous legends, the truth about Bilqis' origins being unknown and unverifiable.

King Sulaiman showed Queen Bilqis the slightly modified throne and asked if it resembled hers. Bilquis replied cautiously, not confirming her reign just yet. She was pretty sure though, she kept her throne safe and guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so he couldn't imagine how it could be here. King Solaiman deduced from the queen's cautious reaction that she was not as stupid as some Jinn claimed.

In their conversation, King Solaiman's main point of view was to emphasize belief in Allah and monotheism (Tawheed). He asked Bilqis not to worship anything but Allah because she belonged to an infidel community.

Their discussion took place in a spectacular glass palace built by the Jinn before the arrival of Bilqis. The palace had an incredible glass floor under which water flowed, alive with fish and sea life. The glass floor gave the impression that the hall was submerged in water. This hall housed King Soleiman's throne and the seating of his courtiers and advisors.

Bilquis was asked to enter the palace, and when she did, she thought the floor was a river. Despite her confusion, she obeyed King Solaiman's command to walk on water. However, she raised her skirts, exposing her legs. At the same time, King Solaiman revealed that the palace was made of glass. Realizing her mistake, Bilqis bowed down to Allah, accepted the message of monotheism and recognized Allah as Lord of all the worlds.

The glass palace was built to dazzle Queen Bilqees and to shatter her idea of her own grandeur and the splendour of her country. When she saw the Prophet Solaiman's (PUH) exterior material splendour and might, she saw the inadequacy of her own realm. This convinced her that Prophet Solaiman was the Prophet of Allah, and she quickly adopted Islam, handing over her kingdom to him.

Some accounts claim that Prophet Solaiman married Bilqis and had a son named Daawood (David). This kid, however, died during Solaiman's lifetime. After a short period, Prophet Solaiman died, followed by Bilqis a month later. Prophet Solaiman is supposed to have visited her once a month in the kingdom allocated to her.