He inherited prophethood and kingship from him, unlike his other sons - and they were nineteen - and David was more devoted, while Solomon was more just and grateful for Allah's blessing. And he said, 'O people,' to proclaim Allah's blessing, to exalt it, to acknowledge its status, and to invite people to believe in the mention of the miracle, which is the knowledge of the language of birds, and other great matters that he was given. And the language is everything that is voiced, whether singular or composed, beneficial or not beneficial.

And Ya'qub ibn al-Sakīt translated his book on the correction of language, and he only corrected the vocabulary of words. The Arabs said: The dove spoke, and every type of bird communicates through its sounds. What Solomon was taught of the language of birds is what is understood from one another of its meanings. It is narrated that he passed by a nightingale in a tree, moving its head and tilting its tail, and he said to his companions: Do you know what it is saying? They said: Allah and His Prophet know best. He said: It says: I ate half a date, so let the world be desolate. And a turtledove cried out, and it was reported that it said: I wish this creation had not been created.

And a peacock cried out, and it said: As you treat, so shall you be treated. And a hoopoe cried out, and it said: Seek forgiveness from Allah, O sinners. And a cicada cried out, and it said: Every living thing dies, and everything new decays. And a swallow cried out, and it said: Present good deeds, and you will find them. And a rukh cried out, and it said: Glorified is my Lord, the Most High, filling the heavens and the earth.

And a turtle dove cried out, and it was reported that it said: Glorified is my Lord, the Most High. And the hen harrier says: Everything is perishing except Allah. And the quail says: Whoever remains silent is safe. And the parrot says: Woe to him for whom the world is his concern. And the eagle says: O son of Adam, live as you wish, for your end is death. And the vulture says: In distancing from people is comfort. And the frog says: Glorified is my Lord, the Most Holy. And he intended by his saying 'from everything' the abundance of what he was given, as you say: So-and-so is sought by everyone, and he knows everything, meaning: the abundance of his being sought and his return to great knowledge and abundance of it. And similar is his saying: 'And she was given from everything.' Indeed, this is the clear favor, a statement made in the context of gratitude and praise, as the Messenger of Allah blessings and peace be upon him said: 'I am the master of the children of Adam, and there is no pride.' Meaning: I say this statement in gratitude and do not say it in pride. If you say: How did he say 'we have knowledge' and 'we have been given' while it is from the speech of the arrogant? I say: There are two aspects to it. One is that he means himself and his father. The second is that this 'noon' is called the 'noon of the obeyed one' - and he was an obeyed king - so he spoke to the people of his obedience regarding his status and condition that he was in, and arrogance is not a necessary attribute of that. It may relate to the adornment of kingship and its grandeur and the display of its signs and its governance of interests, thus making the effort in that obligatory. And the Messenger of Allah blessings and peace be upon him would do something similar when a delegation would come to him or when he needed to gain an advantage in the eyes of an enemy. Do you not see how he commanded al-Abbas may Allah be pleased with him to detain Abu Sufyan until the battalions passed by him?