Bilquis and Suleman

The Jinn Princess, Baltaqa

In Muslim belief, the Queen of Sheba is believed to both, the wife of the Prophet Hazrat Suleman (A), and a queen in her own right. The core narrative of her meeting with Hazrat Suleman (A) is mentioned Chapter 27 of the Holy Quran (Surah an-Naml).

One day, the Prophet Suleman (A) was inspecting the birds, and realised that the hoopoe had been absent for quite some time. Not long after, the bird came back with news from Sheba, a Queen, who was just, wise and powerful, but she and her people were fire-worshippers.

The Prophet (A) sent her a letter, upon which she asked her ministers for advice. However, they left the decision to her. She wrote back, sending gifts to Suleman (A).

When her chief-envoy approached the Prophet (A), he declined the gifts, with the message that no wordly present could compete with what had been given to him by Allah.

The Queen of Sheba then decided to pay Suleman (A) a visit. The Prophet (A) asked the Jinns, about who could bring her throne to him. Whilst one of them said he could bring it before the Prophet (A) concludes this council, another Jinn, Ifrit, said that he could bring it in the blink of an eye, and Suleman (A) commanded him to bring the throne. He then asked the Jinns to disguise it, to test if the Queen would recognise her throne or not.

When he (A) asked put her to test, she recognised it indeed, and told him that she had submitted to his Prophethood even before she had witnessed this miracle. 

Suleman (A) then invited her into the palace, but when she saw the hall, she thought it was a lake! As she lifted her skirts, the Prophet (A) informed her that water runs beneath the crystal glass floor. After this incident, the Queen of Sheba became a believer.

Various commentaries on the Quran explain more details of the incident. he narrative is then drawn out even further in commentaries. The Qisas al Anbiya, and some other texts, draw upon the narrations of Ibn Abbas, and tell us that Bilquis, the Queen of Sheba, was the princess of Yemen, the daughter of King Al Hadhad.

Once, when the King was out hunting as a young lad, he came upon a family of deer, which he decided to spare. The Jinn King, Sakan, happened to notice this, and married Al Hadhad to his daughter, the Baltaqa. It was this very Jinn Princess, who later gave birth to Bilquis, thereby making the Queen of Sheeba half-jinn.

She is also believed to have several siblings, all of whom who were carried away by dogs – or rather – Jinns who shape-shifted into dogs. With all her brothers and sisters now living in the Jinn Kingdoms, Bilquis inherited her father’s throne after he passed away, and ruled wisely.

Another commentator wrote of rumours about Bilquis having donkey hooves instead of feet, for she was part-Jinn, which is why Suleman (A) had a giant mirror polished to look like water, so he could see the truth for himself when she lifted her skirt.

The Kitab al Tijan recounts an older legend, which tells us that her father’s crown was usurped by a tyrant. To keep her kingdom safe, she tricks him into believing that she would marry him. On the wedding night, she beheaded him and put his head up on a pike, for all to see. When the kingdom was liberated, all her subjects pledged their allegiance to her.

Even after her marriage to Suleman (A), she rules over the Jinn, as does he – thereby ruling as his equal. We also learn that before she accepted his prophet-hood, she tested him. ibn Munabbih writes that the Prophet (A)’s actions about the throne, and the glass floor, were upon her request. Moreover, one of Suleman (A)’s Vizeirs, made her throne sink into the ground, before making it reappear.

Interestingly, the commentaries draw on older Abrahamic sources as well as Yemeni legends to weave together the narrative. Whilst Persian lore claims that Bilquis was half-fairy, a Javanese legend was also incorporated into the story, which speaks of the Sea Goddess, Nyai Roro Kidul, the daughter of Jazrat Suleman (A) and the Queen of Sheba. It is an interesting case study on how easily folklore integrates with religion, or how it has evolved, in the Muslim world over time. 

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Source:

Ali A. Olomi