QUEEN SHEEBA

Far in the lands of Sheba, a young Yemeni king went hunting in the woods. A pack of deer startled him from behind. The young king, his hunting arrow and bow on command, almost killed a member. But to his surprise, they were a deer family. His hunting bow was let down out of mercy. For his compassion, the ruler of jinn saw through his soul and married him off to his daughter, princess Ruwaha. Their love blossomed into a beautiful daughter named Bilqis, becoming the sole heir to the throne, the Queen of Sheba, half jinn.

Years passed, and news traveled in whispers of the Queen in her own right. The majestic royalty was known to be wise and fair among her people. So, it was only fair King Solomon’s hoopoe would bring him news of the mystique. The bird rushed to his master, the prophet barely catching his breath.

"There is a queen to people whose worship is the Sun."

King Solomon, a believer in God, refused to accept a queen with all her grace to still worship the Sun. He planned on being a courier, carrying God’s message through his words. Solomon wrapped the letter around the hoopoe's foot and let the wind carry its white and black wings away. However, the note was not well received. Queen Sheba worried about its purpose because a king would not find interest in her worship if he had no intention of raiding her kingdom. These words were probably luring her in, and the next thing you know, he will ask her to bend the knee.

A wise woman buys her freedom if she has the means and, in this case, her people’s freedom. She prepared a carriage of her most lavish gold and jewels and sent it to Solomon's way, hoping she could feed whatever greed he might possess. King Solomon did not take this lightly and instead got offended by her gesture. A man spoke of the one and only God while she was not serious enough about the conversation. Therefore, he decided not to pursue her mind games any further.

Bilqis was astonished by how he did not receive her gifts well, showing her that his intentions were not misplaced as she feared. She was then intrigued to perceive the truth about this man. So, she set forth on her journey and sent word of her arrival to the mysterious Solomon.

The King, baffled by the news, wanted to prepare the realm for her. A queen was visiting his court; therefore, the court should be fit. The Jinn counselors within his court often fought for his praise. When Solomon requested for the Queen’s throne to be brought to him, one of the jinns stepped forward, promising to bring it swiftly. Another wise and enlightened servant said he would place the throne before Solomon in the blink of an eye. The throne was brought and placed before a glass mirror floor.

The Queen of Sheba arrives and enters the kingdom in grace. Her throne lay before her feet; she was shocked. Marveling at the sight of it and what she thought was a pool of water, she lifts her skirt to wade into the pool, but Solomon stops her. It was a wondrous glass, after all. Impressed by his godly powers, Queen Sheba converted to Islam.

Through her stay at court, they wrote their love story with riddles and intellectuality. She did not test his strength or power but his wisdom. And the love bloomed into marriage because what better love than that of royalty.Bilqis traveled the distance to ensure peace for her kingdom but found peace within Solomon’s heart instead.