قَالَ عِفْرِيتٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ ﴿۳۹﴾ قَالَ الَّذِي عِنْدَهُ عِلْمٌ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِنْدَهُ قَالَ هَذَا مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ وَمَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ ﴿۴۰﴾

﴾39﴿ Qaala 'ifreetum minal jinni ana aateeka bihee qabla an taqooma mim maqaamika wa innee 'alaihi laqawiyyun ameen
﴾40﴿ Qaalal lazee indahoo 'ilmum minal Kitaabi ana aateeka bihee qabla ai yartadda ilaika tarfuk; falammaa ra aahu mustaqirran 'indahoo qaala haazaa min fadli Rabbee li yabluwaneee 'a-ashkuru am akfuru wa man shakara fa innamaa yashkuru linafsihee wa man kafara fa inna Rabbee Ghaniyyun Kareem

﴾39﴿ One mighty among the jinn said, I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am strong and trustworthy for this task
﴾40﴿ The one who had knowledge of the Book said, I will bring it to you before your gaze returns to you. Then when Solomon (peace be upon him) saw the throne placed firmly before him, he said, "This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful, they are grateful only for their own benefit. And whoever is ungrateful, then indeed, my Lord is Self-Sufficient, Most Honorable

[39] It became clear that among the members of Sulaiman’s (peace be upon him) council were also jinn, and they were subject to his command.
The lessons are:
1. Jinn possess great strength and are capable of lifting heavy objects.
2. Jinn have also been given the ability to cover large distances in a short time—something humans cannot do.
3. To accomplish any task, two qualities are necessary: strength and trustworthiness.
4. It is permissible to demonstrate one's strength when there is a need.
‘Ifrit means someone with great strength; it does not refer to a rebellious one in this context, because he described himself as trustworthy, and Sulaiman (peace be upon him) did not doubt his claim.
Maqamika refers to the court session of Sulaiman (peace be upon him), which would last until mid-morning.
[40] Sulaiman (peace be upon him) said that bringing the throne quickly was necessary, so a man with knowledge of the Book said, “I will bring it to you before the blink of an eye.”
Regarding “the one who had knowledge of the Book” (الَّذِي عِندَهُ عِلْمٌ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ), there are three opinions:
First opinion: He was Asif bin Barkhiya, the minister of Sulaiman (peace be upon him), and a friend of Allah (waliyyullah).
However, this view is weak for several reasons:
1. A miracle (karamah) is not under the will of a wali (friend of Allah), so how could he attribute the act of bringing the throne to himself?
2. A prophet does not need a wali for such tasks, because the rank of prophethood is stronger and superior to that of sainthood.
3. The description “the one with knowledge of the Book” fits Sulaiman (peace be upon him) better than Asif, so how could a less qualified person be given such a great task?
Second opinion: It was Jibreel (peace be upon him), who was present with Sulaiman (peace be upon him), and Allah had given him great power.
The meaning of “knowledge of the Book” here is his connection to the revelation, and this knowledge includes the power to carry out Allah’s command.
Third opinion: It was Sulaiman (peace be upon him) himself, and the statement was addressed to the ‘Ifrit. This type of address can occur in conversation.
This was a miracle of Sulaiman (peace be upon him), and miracles can sometimes be attributed metaphorically to the prophet himself—like in the case of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) when he said: “And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses” (Surah Al-Imran 3:49), and similarly in Surah Yusuf (12:37).
The strongest support for this view is that Sulaiman (peace be upon him) later said: “This is from the bounty of my Lord, to test me.”
Such words are spoken when a great act is performed by a person.
The lessons from this verse are:
1. Knowledge of the Divine Book is a great power.
2. When a blessing is attained (even if it seems to come through human ability), it should be attributed to the grace of Allah Most High—that is true gratitude.
3. Every blessing from Allah is a test upon the human being.
4. Every blessing results in one of two outcomes: gratitude or ingratitude.
5. The benefit or harm of either outcome returns to the person themselves.