Transliteration:( Wa li Sulaimaanar reeha 'aasifatan tajree bi amriheee ilal ardil latee baaraknaa feehaa; wa kunnaa bikulli shai'in 'aalimeen )
"And to Sulaiman We made subservient the violent wind that it blew at his bidding [120], to the land in which We had placed Our blessings [121], And We are in known of every thing."
This verse illustrates the immense authority granted to Hazrat Sulaiman (peace be upon him)—even the violent wind was placed under his command.
Two key points emerge:
His kingdom was universal, with jinn, humans, and even nature under his rule. The wind would obey his instruction and carry out journeys across vast distances.
Saying that something occurred by the command of a Prophet is not shirk (polytheism). Allah Himself states that the wind moved by the order of Sulaiman. Similarly, one can say the moon split, the sun returned, or rain fell through the command of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, as long as it is understood that the power and command are granted by Allah. This delegated command is part of divine favour, not independent authority.
The blessed land refers to Syria, known for its spiritual and worldly richness.
Hazrat Sulaiman (peace be upon him) would travel through the air on his throne, and in one morning or evening, cover the distance of a month’s journey. This was not symbolic—it was a literal miracle, a daily display of Allah’s extraordinary bounty upon His Prophet.
The verse concludes with:
“And We are in known of every thing”—affirming that all of these wonders are under Allah’s full knowledge and control, reinforcing that such miracles come only by His will and permission.
The tafsir of Surah Anbiya verse 81 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Anbiya ayat 78 which provides the complete commentary from verse 78 through 82.
(21:81) And We subdued the strongly raging wind to Solomon which blew at his bidding towards the land We blessed.[74] We know everything.
74. This is also explained in (Surah Saba, Ayat 12): And for Solomon We had subjected the wind which covered a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening, and in (Surah Suad, Ayat 36): So We subjected the wind to him. It blew softly at his bidding wherever he wanted it to blow. Thus it is clear that the wind was so subjected to Prophet Solomon that the voyages to places at one month’s sea journey could be performed conveniently, because a favorable wind was always blowing for his ships to and from those places.
It is confirmed by the Bible that Prophet Solomon had developed sea trade on a large scale. (I Kings, 10: 22). On the one side, his trade ships sailed from Ezion-geber, through the Red Sea, towards Yaman and other southern and eastern lands, and on the other, his naval fleet called Thar-shish, sailed on the Mediterranean to the western countries. The great furnace which he had built at Eziongeber for melting and molding ores extracted from the copper and iron mines in the Arabah in Edom, has been confirmed by modem archaeological researches as well. This molten iron and copper was used in building ships besides being put to other uses. The Quran refers to this when it says: And We made a fountain of molten copper to flow for him (Solomon). (Surah Saba, Ayat 12).
As regards to the subjection of the wind, it may mean that Allah, by His special favor, had so arranged that the wind, and sea voyages in those days depended entirely on wind, was always favorable for Prophet Solomon’s fleet. But if we take the literal meaning of verse 81: It blew at his command, there will be no harm, for Allah is able to give such powers to any of His servants He pleases.
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