His saying, glorified and exalted is He:

﴿And We certainly gave knowledge to David and Solomon. And they said, 'Praise is due to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants.'﴾ ﴿And Solomon inherited David. And he said, 'O people, we have been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is the evident favor.'﴾ ﴿And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers from the jinn and men and birds, and they were [divided] into categories.﴾

This is the beginning of a story in it are unseen matters and lessons. It is not an example for Quraysh. David, peace be upon him, was from the Children of Israel and was a king. Solomon, peace be upon him, inherited his kingship and his status from prophethood, meaning: that was passed to him after the death of his father. It is called inheritance by extension. This is similar to their saying: 'The scholars are the heirs of the prophets.' The reality of inheritance is in wealth, and the prophets do not leave behind their wealth; for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Indeed, we, the group of prophets, do not leave behind inheritance.' He means by this that this is the action of the prophets, peace be upon them, and their way, even though there are among them those who inherited their wealth, like Zechariah, peace be upon him, according to the most famous opinions about him. This is like saying: 'Indeed, we, the group of Muslims, are preoccupied with worship.' The intended meaning is that this is the action of the majority. And among it is what Sibawayh narrated: 'Indeed, we, the group of Arabs, are the most generous people to guests.'

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿We have been taught the speech of birds﴾ is a declaration of the blessing of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, upon them in that their understanding of the sounds of the birds are the meanings that are in their souls. This is similar to what our Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, would hear from the stones greeting him. And Solomon, peace be upon him, narrated from the nightingale that it said: 'You have eaten half a date, so may the world be free of you,' to much of this kind. And Qatadah, Al-Sha'bi, and others said: This matter was specific to the birds. The ant is a bird as it has wings. Al-Sha'bi said: And likewise, this speaker had two wings. And a group said: Rather, it was in all animals, and he mentioned the birds because they were a troop among the troops of Solomon, peace be upon him, that shaded him from the sun and he needed them in sending forth in matters. Thus, it was specified due to their frequent involvement, and because the matter of other animals is rare and not as frequent as the matter of birds. The ant is a clever, strong, and very diligent creature. It stores food and splits grains in two so that they do not grow, and it splits coriander into four pieces so that it grows if it is divided into halves, and it eats in its year half of what it has collected and keeps the rest for a period.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And we have been given from all things﴾ means: it is suitable for us and we desire it, and it is not in general. Then he repeated the thanks to Allah, blessed and exalted is He.

Then Allah, the Most High, described the state of Solomon, saying: ﴿And gathered for Solomon﴾ meaning: gathered. The people differed greatly regarding the number of Solomon's army, peace be upon him, and I did not want to mention it due to its lack of authenticity. However, what is correct is that his kingdom was great, filling the earth, and all the inhabited lands submitted to him. His throne was carried by his troops from among the jinn and humans, and the birds shaded him from the sun, and he sent them on tasks. He had a specific place for himself on the greatest throne. And "they are arranged" means: the first of them is returned to the last of them and they stop. Qatadah said: Each type had its own arrangement in their ranks and places from the throne and from the earth when they walked upon it. There were times when he would walk upon the earth. This is from the saying of Al-Hasan Al-Basri when he assumed the judiciary of Basra: "The ruler must have an arrangement." This is also from the saying of Abu Quhafah when the maiden described to him on the day of the conquest that she saw a black figure before him, a horseman who had advanced from the ranks. He said to her: That is the arranger. This is also from the saying of the poet:

At the time I reproached old age for youth and said: Did I not awaken while old age is the restrainer?