'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command, gently wherever it reached﴾ ﴿and the devils, every builder and diver﴾ ﴿and others bound together in chains﴾ ﴿This is Our provision, so bestow freely or withhold without account﴾ ﴿And indeed, he has with Us a near position and a good return﴾

Al-Hasan and Abu Raja read: "the winds," while the majority are on the singular form. Allah, exalted is He, subjected the wind to Solomon, peace be upon him. He had a great throne, it is said to carry four thousand knights, and it is said, even more. And in it are the devils, and the birds shade him, and the wind of the storm comes to him and lifts him from the ground until he reaches the air. Then the gentle wind takes over him, which is the soft, strong, similar one. It does not come with excessive force, so it carries him. Its morning journey is a month, and its evening journey is a month. And ﴿wherever it reached﴾ means: wherever he intended, as said by Wahb and others. Al-Thaalabi recited:

؎ He struck the words but could not ∗∗∗ So he missed the answer at the juncture.

It seems that "reached" is transitive: it means wherever he directed his troops and made them aim towards the clouds and rain. Al-Zajjaj said: Its meaning is: he intended, and likewise your saying to the speaker: "You have reached": it means: you have intended the truth.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿every builder and diver﴾ is a substitute for "the devils," and the meaning is: every one who built his fortifications for wars. And "bound together" means: tied up, some of them bound to others, and "the chains" are the shackles and fetters.

People have differed regarding what is referred to by His saying: ﴿This is Our provision﴾. Qatadah said: It refers to what he did with the jinn, so bestow freely on whom you wish among them, and release him from his bondage and set him free from his service, or withhold his matter as you wish. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It refers to what he was granted of women and his ability to engage with them. Al-Hasan said: It refers to all that he was given of kingship, and he was commanded to bestow freely on whom he wishes and withhold from whom he wishes. It is as if he was made aware of the extent of the blessing, then he was permitted to act in it as he wishes, and He, exalted is He, knew from him that his will only acts in accordance with the command of Allah. This is the most correct of the sayings and the most comprehensive for the interpretation of the verse. The rest of the verse is clear.