Solomon (a.s.) & His Ring

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim (q.s.) wrote, in his Manthiq ath-Thayr: 

“No jewel surpasses that which Solomon

Wore on his finger.  It was just a stone,

A mere half-dang in weight, but as a seal

Set in his ring, it brought the world to heel.

When he perceived the nature of his rule –

Dependent on the credit of a jewel –

He vowed that no one after him should reign

With such authority, do not again,

‘Dear God,’ I pray, ‘Create such puissant kings;

My eyes have seen the blight their glory brings.

But criticising courts is not my task;

And I return to Solomon’s great seal.’

Although the power it brought the king was real,

Possession of this gem meant that delay

Dogged his advance along the Spirit’s Way –

The other prophet’s entered Paradise

Five hundred years before the king.  This price,

A jewel extracted from great Solomon,

How would it hinder such a dizzy one

As you, dear partridge?  Rise above this greed;

The Simorgh is the only jewel you need.”