Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 34 Saba, Ayat 12-12

وَلِسُلَيۡمٰنَ الرِّيۡحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهۡرٌ وَّرَوَاحُهَا شَهۡرٌۚ وَ اَسَلۡنَا لَهٗ عَيۡنَ الۡقِطۡرِؕ وَمِنَ الۡجِنِّ مَنۡ يَّعۡمَلُ بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ بِاِذۡنِ رَبِّهِؕ وَمَنۡ يَّزِغۡ مِنۡهُمۡ عَنۡ اَمۡرِنَا نُذِقۡهُ مِنۡ عَذَابِ السَّعِيۡرِ‏ ﴿34:12﴾

(34:12) And We subdued the wind to Solomon: its morning course was a month's journey and its evening course was a month's journey.17 We gave him a spring flowing with molten brass,18 and We subdued for him jinn who, by his Lord's permission,19 worked before him. Such of them as swerved from Our commandment, We let them taste the chastisement of the Blazing Fire.

Notes

17. For this refer to( Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayat 81 and E.N. 74) thereof.

18. Some former commentators have taken this to mean that a spring from the earth had erupted for the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) from which molten copper flowed out instead of water. But another interpretation of this verse can be that in the time of the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) the work of melting and molding copper for different uses was done on a very large scale and the same has been referred to here as the flowing of a spring of molten copper for him. (See (E.N. 74 of Surah Al- Anbiya).

19. The question whether the jinns who had been subdued to the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) were human beings of the mountain tribes or really the jinns who are well known by this name as the hidden creation has been discussed in detail in our commentary of Surah Al-Anbiya and Surah An-Naml. (See (E.N. 75 of Surah Al-Anbiya) and (E.Ns 23, 45) and (52 of Surah An-Naml).