24th Ramadan - Decision Making Lessons from Queen Balqis

We reached north of China 😊

It’s 7 degree Celsius outside at 9am. Today is also the last Friday night before Eid. We managed jumuah for maghrib, ishak, terawih and witr. Alhamdulillah.

MJ and EJ at the airport arrival 

——

The story of queen Balqis of Sheba and king Solomon was revisited today in surah An-Naml 27:22-44. It was an exciting tale of how a wise and intelligent Queen who use to worship the sun submitted to to Islam upon the invitation of King Solomon who was able to hear and understand the language of animals (ants and birds). From the heights of royalty to the depths of slavery such examples were given in the Quran regarding the manner of Allah’s prophets and messengers to initiate and invite all to the way of truth in submission to one God. 

I found it very enlightening the way how queen balqis reciprocated king solomon’s requests, invitation and tests.

1. She critically observed how the bird who brought the message from King Solomon honoured her as queen of Sheba.
2. She patiently waited for his decision after she reciprocated with gifts which he sent back to test him of his royalty or prophethood.
3. She was calm and composed in her response to king Solomon when she recognised her throne which was brought forth to her in front of him. 
4. She was obedient in submission when all the signs showed that king Solomon was indeed the prophet of God.
5. She prioritised the safety of her people instead of impulsively waging war with the king.
6. She wisely sought counsel from elders and advisors before making decisions.
7. She carefully looked before treading when coming to meet king Solomon for the first time.

I am sure there are more examples of her wisdom besides the above. Nevertheless this story portrayed how aloft king Solomon sits above the people of Sheba and how patient he is in testing queen Balqis of Sheba who eventually accepted Islam and king Solomon as Allah’s prophet. It seemed that the kingdom of Sheba was not informed before of Islam and king solomon was the first to introduce it.

The story ended just there and one would just imagine how it continued from there. Perhaps a romance story of sorts ensued!

——

Anyway, finally after a month reunited the kids with their father and after resting we went out to the mall to get fruits and vegetables for iftaar and dinner. 

Shenyang Normal University 

Iftaar platter made in haste after reaching back from the mall 10min to maghrib

Fruit chaat made by kids’s dad for iftaar after tea