DAY 318: Saba 10-14

•  Indeed, We granted David a ˹great˺ privilege from Us, ˹commanding:˺ “O mountains! Echo his hymns! And the birds as well.” We made iron mouldable for him, instructing: “Make full-length armour, ˹perfectly˺ balancing the links. And work righteousness ˹O family of David!˺. Indeed, I am All-Seeing of what you do.” And to Solomon ˹We subjected˺ the wind: its morning stride was a month’s journey and so was its evening stride. And We caused a stream of molten copper to flow for him, and ˹We subjected˺ some of the jinn to work under him by his Lord’s Will. And whoever of them deviated from Our command, We made them taste the torment of the blaze. They made for him whatever he desired of sanctuaries, statues, basins as large as reservoirs, and cooking pots fixed ˹into the ground˺. ˹We ordered:˺ “Work gratefully, O  family of David!” ˹Only˺ a few of My servants are ˹truly˺ grateful. When We decreed Solomon’s death, nothing indicated to the ˹subjected˺ jinn that he was dead except the termites eating away his staff. So when he collapsed, the jinn realized that if they had ˹really˺ known the unseen, they would not have remained in ˹such˺ humiliating servitude.
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      Divine Bestowal of Power: God grants different forms of power and miracles to His chosen servants (David's strength, Solomon's kingdom).
      Gratitude as the Proper Response: The ultimate purpose of any blessing is to test one's gratitude, which is expressed through righteous work and obedience to God.
      The Limits of All Creation: The story of Solomon's death is a masterful lesson in humility. It demonstrates that no creature, human or jinn, has independent power or knowledge of the unseen. All are subject to God.
      Tangible Proofs: These stories provide concrete, historical evidence of the themes from the opening verses, answering the disbelievers' skepticism with narratives of God's manifest power in the world.
      
      God granted immense power and miracles to David and Solomon as a test of their gratitude, while the humbling story of Solomon's death demonstrates that all creation, even the powerful jinn, is subject to God's ultimate authority and possesses no knowledge of the unseen. 
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