Allah the Exalted said: << وحشر لسليمان جنوده من الجن والإنس و الطير فهم يوزعون >
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Allah the Exalted said: [Surah al-Naml: 17].
Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) granted Sulayman (peace be upon him) a kingdom that is not fitting for anyone after him, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he intended to seize the devil, said: "I remembered the words of my brother Sulayman: [Surah Sad: 35]." Part of this kingdom was this great organization. *Hushira* means: they were gathered. And who is the gatherer?
The student: Allah.
The Shaykh : No. The gatherer is other than Allah. Allah is capable of all things, but the gatherers are the officers and the leaders whom he appointed to gather these soldiers. So he organized his kingdom to the utmost degree of organization, and he appointed leaders and officers for every group of people, so they gather them.
[Surah al-Naml: 17] The jinn, the humans, and the birds, and others? The jinn are clear, and the humans are accountable, and the birds are not accountable but they fly. We are left with the other animals, the grazing and the crawling ones. Do they fall under this by a fortiori argument, and do we say: if the birds, which cannot be controlled due to their flight, are gathered, then the others are a fortiori?
Or do we say: Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not utilize anything but the birds only, because he uses them for his interests.
The student: [Surah al-Naml: 16] .....
The Shaykh : No. "From every thing" is evidence for the generality of this. That is to say: if we consider *min* (from) to indicate partiality and not generality, and if we consider "from every thing" to be that by which the kingdom is established and strengthened, it is not necessary that it be like this thing. So it is a point of difficulty for us. So now we say: he was silent regarding the rest of the animals. Are they included in his soldiers or not?
The student: The apparent... of the verse.
The Shaykh : You may say: they are included by a fortiori argument. And you may say: they are not included. What is the basis for our saying: by a fortiori argument? We say: if the birds, which cannot be controlled due to their flight, are gathered and collected, then the others are a fortiori. Or not?
And you may say: it is not necessary, because it is possible that Sulayman (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace) did not use any animals other than the birds, and if he did not use others, he has no need to gather the rest.
[Surah al-Naml: 17] So this also... they are regulated. The author says: they are gathered, then they are driven. And this is also part of the organization. Meaning: they are driven. Meaning: they are organized in their gathering and their movement. They are gathered first, and after they are gathered, they are distributed, so they are driven in an organized manner.
And this is undoubtedly part of the organization that preserves for people their time and work, because most of what causes a person to waste his time and work is the lack of organization.
And for this reason, I say: it is obligatory for us to have organization for our daily works... organization for our daily works to the extent possible. But that does not mean that we insist on these works if we find something better. No, rather, I should just be an organized, orderly person, one who does not leave his time in chaos, sometimes reading in a book and... and reading for the truth... reading the second... No, or doing this work, starting it and then leaving it.
But it is obligatory that he have organization, and it is recommended that whenever something is more important, he starts with it first. Some people used to say: that part of their organization is to make reading newspapers and papers when he has breakfast, for example. He does not make reading important books that require effort after lunch, because reading newspapers is a superficial reading like ordinary conversation; he does not find effort or anything.
But books and deep study require work, and this is not suitable with the presence of fullness...
And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers of the jinn and men and birds
وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ وَالطَّيْرِAllah (Blessed and Exalted is He) granted Sulayman (peace be upon him) a kingdom that is not fitting for anyone after him, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he intended to seize the devil, said: "I remembered the words of my brother Sulayman:
grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me
وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِيThe student: Allah.
The Shaykh : No. The gatherer is other than Allah. Allah is capable of all things, but the gatherers are the officers and the leaders whom he appointed to gather these soldiers. So he organized his kingdom to the utmost degree of organization, and he appointed leaders and officers for every group of people, so they gather them.
And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers of the jinn and men and birds
وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ وَالطَّيْرِOr do we say: Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not utilize anything but the birds only, because he uses them for his interests.
The student:
we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things
عُلِّمْنَا مَنطِقَ الطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍThe Shaykh : No. "From every thing" is evidence for the generality of this. That is to say: if we consider *min* (from) to indicate partiality and not generality, and if we consider "from every thing" to be that by which the kingdom is established and strengthened, it is not necessary that it be like this thing. So it is a point of difficulty for us. So now we say: he was silent regarding the rest of the animals. Are they included in his soldiers or not?
The student: The apparent... of the verse.
The Shaykh : You may say: they are included by a fortiori argument. And you may say: they are not included. What is the basis for our saying: by a fortiori argument? We say: if the birds, which cannot be controlled due to their flight, are gathered and collected, then the others are a fortiori. Or not?
And you may say: it is not necessary, because it is possible that Sulayman (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace) did not use any animals other than the birds, and if he did not use others, he has no need to gather the rest.
and birds, and they were [marching] in rows.
وَالطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَSo they are regulated
فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَAnd this is undoubtedly part of the organization that preserves for people their time and work, because most of what causes a person to waste his time and work is the lack of organization.
And for this reason, I say: it is obligatory for us to have organization for our daily works... organization for our daily works to the extent possible. But that does not mean that we insist on these works if we find something better. No, rather, I should just be an organized, orderly person, one who does not leave his time in chaos, sometimes reading in a book and... and reading for the truth... reading the second... No, or doing this work, starting it and then leaving it.
But it is obligatory that he have organization, and it is recommended that whenever something is more important, he starts with it first. Some people used to say: that part of their organization is to make reading newspapers and papers when he has breakfast, for example. He does not make reading important books that require effort after lunch, because reading newspapers is a superficial reading like ordinary conversation; he does not find effort or anything.
But books and deep study require work, and this is not suitable with the presence of fullness...