Sowing the seed till the reapers come
Gladly to gather the harvest home;
Gathered in time or eternity,
Sure, ah sure, will the harvest be.”
V
WHERE THE QUEEN OF SHEBA LIVED
You have all read the story given in 1 Kings x. of the Queen of Sheba and her visit to Solomon of whose fame she had heard in her distant kingdom in Southwest Arabia, but the story as told in Mohammed’s Bible, the Koran, is very different, and has many curious fables mixed up with it. It is found in the chapter called “The Ant,” and this is how he tells it.
“We heretofore bestowed knowledge on David and Solomon: and they said, Praise be unto God, who hath made us more excellent than many of His faithful servants! And Solomon was David’s heir; and he said, O men, we have been taught the speech of birds, and have had all things bestowed on us; this is manifest excellence. And his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting of genii, and men and birds; and they were led in distinct bands, until they came unto the valley of ants. And an ant, seeing the hosts approaching, said, O ants, enter ye into your habitations, lest Solomon and his army tread you under feet, and perceive it not. And Solomon smiled, laughing at her words, and said, O Lord, excite me that I may be thankful for Thy favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents; and that I may do that which is right and well-pleasing unto Thee; and introduce me, through Thy mercy, into Paradise, among Thy servants the righteous. And he viewed the birds, and said, What is the reason that I see not the lapwing? Is she absent? Verily I will chastise her with a severe chastisement, or I will put her to death, unless she bring me a just excuse. And she tarried not long before she presented herself unto Solomon, and said, I have viewed a country which thou hast not viewed; and I come unto thee from Saba, with a certain piece of news. I found a woman to reign over them, who is provided with everything requisite for a prince, and hath a magnificent throne. I found her and her people to worship the sun, besides God.”
The Koran then goes on to tell how Solomon sent her a letter, and she sent ambassadors to him, and finally asked one of his terrible jinn to bring her to him, throne and all, from Southwest Arabia. He did it in the twinkling of an eye, and after she saw Solomon and his glory she was converted to his religion!