35قالَ رَبِّ اغفِر لي وَهَب لي مُلكًا لا يَنبَغي لِأَحَدٍ مِن بَعدي ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الوَهّابُAli UnalHe prayed: “My Lord, forgive me, and bestow on me a kingdom which will not suit anyone after me.1 Surely You are the All-Bestowing.”When we consider the trial by which the Prophet Solomon, upon him be peace, was tried from the perspective of his subsequent prayer and the fact that, as explained in note 4 above, a Messenger is put through a test with respect to the particular aspect of his mission of Messengership, in addition to taking into account a Prophetic Tradition related to that event, we can conclude that the trial through which the Prophet Solomon, upon him be peace, passed must have been concerned with his kingdom. The Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, prayed to God to grant him a son (37: 100). God accepted his prayer and granted him Ishmael, upon him be peace, when he was an old man. Then Abraham was tried by being ordered to offer Ishmael in sacrifice, upon them both be peace. When he succeeded in this, God granted him Isaac, upon him be peace, and many grandsons. The Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, showed that his desire for a son was due to his desire for the continuation of his mission. Similarly, the Prophet Zachariah, upon him be peace, also prayed for a son (19: 5–6), and he was also tried by seeing his son, the Prophet John, upon him be peace, killed before his eyes. The greater a favor is, the greater the responsibility and suffering it brings. As pointed out by some, the Prophet Solomon desired his kingdom to continue through his offspring, and as reported from God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, to have sons who would struggle for God’s sake (al-Bukhārī, “Anbiyā,” 40). This was, of course, because he desired to earn uninterrupted spiritual rewards through his offspring, and so that the Divine Sovereignty in the human realm might continue without lessening. However, God’s will was different. How and by whom people should be governed depend on what kind of a government and ruler they deserve, as a consequence of their spiritual, moral, and intellectual level in adherence to Islam. So the lifeless body placed upon his throne might have been the body of one of his sons, or of the son whom he desired to succeed him. Prophet Solomon prayed to God that He might grant him such a kingdom that, through it, he could serve Him to the extent that all his progeny would have served if they had succeeded him, and no one else would be able to serve Him through the kingdom to that degree. Since this meant that there would be agreeable competition in serving God, and since he was perfectly sincere in his prayer – he desired such a kingdom purely for God’s service – his prayer was accepted.