So he stayed, read with an open or closed 'kaf', not far, not a long time, as in His saying: 'soon'.

And he described his staying with a short duration to indicate his haste out of fear of Solomon. And to know how the birds were made subservient to him. And to clarify what he was given of the miracle indicating his prophethood and the power of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. I have encompassed by merging the 'ta' into the 'ta' with full closure and without closure: Allah inspired the hoopoe, so he confronted Solomon with this speech based on what he was given of the favor of prophethood, wisdom, and vast knowledge, encompassing much information. This was a test for him in his knowledge, and a reminder that in the least of His creation and the weakest of it, there is one who has knowledge of what he does not encompass. So that he may belittle himself and diminish his knowledge before Him, and it serves as a kindness to him in leaving admiration, which is a trial for scholars and the greatest of trials.

To encompass something in knowledge means to know it from all its aspects, with nothing unknown. They said: And in it is evidence against the claim of the Rafidah that the Imam does not miss anything, nor is there anyone in his time more knowledgeable than him.

'Saba': it was read with inflection and without inflection. It has been narrated with a silent 'ba'. And from Ibn Kathir in a narration: 'Saba', with an 'alif' as they say: 'they went, the hands of Saba'. It is Saba, son of Yashjub, son of Ya'rub, son of Qahtan. So whoever made it a name for the tribe did not inflect it, and whoever made it a name for the clan or the forefather inflected it. He said: 'From Saba, the people of Ma'rib when they... build in front of its flood the great dam.'

[He praises a man for being from the tribe of Saba, which is originally the name of the son of Yashjub, son of Ya'rub, son of Qahtan, and then the tribe was named after him. Ma'rib: its city. And it is said: a palace for their king, and it is the object of the present participle and is not inflected. 'When' is an adverb. 'In front of' means 'before'. And 'the dam' is the great dam that holds back the flood from the city.]

And he said:

'Those who come and Taim in the heights of Saba... the hides of the buffaloes have gripped their necks.'

[The ones who come are they, and Taim is the name of a tribe in the highlands of Saba. And what is meant by the hides of the buffaloes: the twisted ropes made from them to wash the captives around their necks, so it is likened to what can grip due to its toughness in a figurative way. And the grip is an imagination, and it can be used metaphorically for pinching in a literal way. And Saba - originally - is a nickname for a man from Qahtan named Abd Shams, because he was the first to capture. He had ten sons, six of whom went to Yemen: Hamir, Kinda, Al-Asad, Ash'ar, Qash'am, and Bajila. And four went to Sham: Lakhm, Judham, 'Amila, and Ghassan. And their famous tribes were named after them.]

Then the city of Ma'rib was named after Saba, and between it and Sana'a is a journey of three days, just as Ma'afir was named after Ma'afir ibn Ad. It is possible that the city and the people are meant. And the news is the news that has significance. And His saying: 'From Saba with news' is of the kind of speech that the scholars have called exquisite, and it is one of the beauties of speech that relates to the wording, provided that it comes naturally. Or it is made by a scholar with the essence of speech, preserving the correctness and soundness of the meaning. And indeed, it has come here exceeding correctness, so it is beautiful and innovative in wording and meaning. Do you not see that if 'news' were placed instead of 'news', the meaning would be correct, and it is as it has come more accurate, for in 'news' there is an addition that corresponds to the description of the state.