Meaning of جَسَدًا (body) in Verse 38:34 Surah Saad

[Ruhi_Rose]

 


"And verily We tried Solomon, and set upon his throne a (mere) body.  Then did he repent."  38:34  Surah Saad. 

Salams dear everyone ..

Would anyone know of any references in other Verses of the Noble Quran mentioning what this "body" was placed on Prophet Soloman's (Suleman) throne by which he was tried?

[N. Truth Seeker]

Walaykom Salam.  No sister, there are no other Verses in the Quran on this topic.  It's contained in Verse 38:34 only.  The answer to that question is known to The Almighty alone.   I suppose it's not too relevant an aspect thus Allah Almighty did not consider it important enough to mention.   There are absolutely no details, not even a hint, given anywhere in the Noble Quran as to what that body on the throne was.  We can only conclude that it was something with which Allah tried Prophet Soloman and Prophet Soloman soon perceived some mistake he made and repented. Probably there was something in Prophet Solomon's life or in his mind that caused some kind of temptation within him which he realized later and asked forgiveness from Allah.  But only Allah knows the precise details of this event.
      
As usual, commentators have come up with at least three or four varying stories, all from extra-Quranic sources that are totally unreliable, just fictions like the Arabian Nights.  No question of confirming or accepting them.    So, we just have to leave this aspect up to the point stated by Allah.

[Ruhi_Rose]

Thanks brother.  Even I couldn't recall this topic in any other Verse except 38:34. 

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Right brother TS, we cannot know what that "body" ( جَسَدًا ) was.

As usual, the gossip industry has manufactured several sagas.  That link brother posted will make you head spin. 

Mohsin Khan's translation seems to be very influenced by one of the extra-Quranic stories and he's added some information in brackets that shows how much he has stepped on to outside sources.
 
"And, indeed We did try Sulaiman (Solomon) and We placed on his throne jasadan (a devil, so he lost his kingdom for a while) but he did return (to his throne and kingdom by the Grace of Allah and he did return) to Allah with obedience and in repentance."  

[Zainab_M]

Muhsin Khan's idea of mentioning "devil" on the throne referring to jasadan is because he is influenced by the first story mentioned in that link.  If you check that link, altogether there are 4 stories NOT confirmed in the Quran, from hadith and hadith-like sources.  Quoting an excerpt of the first one as follows :

"The error committed by the Prophet Solomon was either that one of his wives continued to worship the idols in the palace for forty days and he remained unaware of it, or that he remained confined to his residence for a few days and did not attend to redressing of the oppressed people's grievances. For this he was punished as follows: A satan somehow made away with his ring by which he ruled over the jinns, men and wind. As soon as he lost the ring he was deprived of his powers and he remained wandering from place to place for forty days; in the interval the satan continued to rule in the guise of Solomon. The placing of a mere body on Solomon's throne implied this very satan .."

This is the story which Muhsin Khan has apparently alluded to in bracket of his translation of V.38:34.

The story obviously seems random guesswork.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Oh, I see.   These thoughtless minds are all the time using imagination.  They seem incapable of rationally thinking on their own, and much less, letting go of some event or incident about which the Quran does not give further information. 

Besides, did you read the fourth story in that link, full of such shameful vulgarity one would only expect from street loafers narrated by .. well, who else?  Abu Huraira the thunderbolt crook!

[Zainab_M]

Oh, I see.   These thoughtless minds are all the time using imagination.  They seem incapable of rationally thinking on their own, and much less, letting go of some event or incident about which the Quran does not give further information. 

Yes, that's their major problem.

Besides, did you read the fourth story in that link, full of such shameful vulgarity one would only expect from street loafers narrated by .. well, who else?  Abu Huraira the thunderbolt crook!

 

 

  😆  Yeah I read that one too, just a cursory read and it was filthy and preposterous.   In addition to being an accomplished liar, Abu Huraira was obviously also a sex addict.   Whenever the bugger opens his mouth to talk, nothing except lies and sexual remarks & connotations roll out of that obnoxious tongue. 

Allah will deal with all such sinners.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

   😆 .....  In addition to being an accomplished liar, Abu Huraira was obviously also a sex addict.   Whenever the bugger opens his mouth to talk, nothing except lies and sexual remarks & connotations roll out of that obnoxious tongue. 

Allah will deal with all such sinners.

Yes, all the time.   Cannot describe how much I dislike that bugger.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Quoting  Mohsin Khan's translation of V.38:34

"And, indeed We did try Sulaiman (Solomon) and We placed on his throne jasadan (a devil, so he lost his kingdom for a while) but he did return (to his throne and kingdom by the Grace of Allah and he did return) to Allah with obedience and in repentance."  

The word in the bracket "a devil" is according to Jalaleyn tafsir a jinn which says that Suleiman was tested by his kingdom temporarily taken away from him.  He had married a woman out of his desire for her and she was an idolater.  The control of his kingdom lay in his ring.  One day before going to the washroom he removed his ring which he left with that wife of his.  A little while later a jinn disguised as Solomon came to the woman and took the ring from her. After taking the ring the jinn got control over Suleiman's kingdom. It was this jinn which sat on the throne which Allah refers to in V.38:34 as "and set upon his throne a (mere) body."  When Suleiman saw the jinn upon his throne, he said to the people that the body on the throne was not him, it was someone else. But the people didn't understand and failed to recognize the real Suleiman. Then Suleiman repented.  He managed to get back the ring after quite a long time, maybe few weeks or months, and that's how his kingdom was restored to him. 

If you compare the above with the Quranic Verse 38:34, the only thing about that Jalaleyn story might be true is the jinn grabbing Suleiman's throne.  Although the circumstances that led to Suleiman's losing his throne could be very different from what's mentioned in this story.  That bit about Suleiman's ring controlling his kingdom may not be true.  The details are known to Allah alone.  

[Zainab_M]

Okay, so the only thing that might be possible is that the body on the throne was that of a jinn. 

But still there's no clue, and only Allah knows best, what mistake Suleiman made for which he was tested by his kingdom being taken away from him temporarily.  Or maybe he didn't necessarily make any mistakes, it was just a test of his iman and trust in Allah.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

.....

But still there's no clue, and only Allah knows best, what mistake Suleiman made for which he was tested by his kingdom being taken away from him temporarily.  Or maybe he didn't necessarily make any mistakes, it was just a test of his iman and trust in Allah.

Yes ..

-   either Suleiman's misstep is not known to us - only Allah knows it -
-   or it was just a test of his iman,
-   or it might be that the tough test was because he married an idolater, IF that part of the story is true that Suleiman married a disbelieving woman. 

In other words, the reason or reasons for the test are only known to Allah.

[Zainab_M]

Exactly, right.  That's a fair conclusion.  Alhumdulilah.