Prophet Sulaiman Dua in Quran
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Transliteration
Rabbi awzi’nee an ashkura ni’mata kal lateee an’amta ‘alaiya wa ‘alaa waalidaiya wa an a’mala saalihan tardaahu wa adkhilnee birahmatika fee ‘ibaadikas saaliheen
Translation
“My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants.”
Surah Naml Ayat 19
Key Takeaways
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Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and focusing on what we lack, we should seek out the many blessings Allah has already bestowed upon us. Each of us possesses unique good attributes and special qualities.
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Prophet Sulaiman (as) was granted an unparalleled kingdom. Allah (swt) also endowed him with the power to command the winds, govern both humans and jinn, and understand the speech of ants. Such power would corrupt many, yet it did not affect him—rooted in his unwavering gratitude.
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Contemporary culture and media constantly bombard us with advertisements emphasizing our deficiencies, framing their products as solutions. However, if we ground ourselves in awareness of Allah’s blessings rather than our lacks, we will cultivate the same desire to thank Allah (swt) as Prophet Sulaiman did. Remember: our focus shapes our feelings; asking ourselves better questions yields better outcomes.
In Surah An-Naml, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reveals details about Prophet Sulaiman (as) and his character, spanning Ayat 15 to 44—we encourage reading these verses in full.
Within these verses, we learn that Allah (swt) bestowed abundant blessings upon Prophet Sulaiman and Dawud (as): “And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, [Alhamdulillah] ‘Praise [is due] to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants.’” (27:15)
This is a unique case: as Dawud’s (as) son, Sulaiman (as) inherited prophethood and dominion. Crucially, this inheritance was not material—for the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) taught that “Our property [prophets’ property] cannot be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity.”
When Prophet Sulaiman (as) ascended to kingship, he supplicated to Allah: “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.” (Surah Sad Ayat 35)
Allah also granted Sulaiman (as) and Dawud (as) exceptional knowledge. Beyond that, Sulaiman (as) could command the winds, govern humans and jinn, and understand ant speech—even extracting seabed resources at the behest of his troops. As stated in the Qur’an: “So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command, gently, wherever he directed, And [also] the devils [of jinn] – every builder and diver. And others bound together in irons. [We said], ‘This is Our gift, so grant or withhold without account.’” (Surah Sad Ayat 36-39)
How did they respond to these gifts? With profound gratitude—proclaiming Alhamdulillah, deeply appreciative of being favored with such blessings over many of Allah’s servants.
This teaches us: grounding ourselves in awareness of Allah’s blessings (rather than our lacks) fosters a sincere desire to thank Him. Our focus shapes our feelings; better questions lead to better outcomes. If we fixate on the world’s evil or injustice, we will only find more to confirm that belief—for the world reflects our inner feelings back to us.
Thus, we ought to seek out Allah’s many blessings instead of dwelling on what we lack. Moreover, we note the prophets’ humility in thanking Allah for their blessings—never a source of pride, but of reverent gratitude.
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