فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتَ مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَى مَوْتِهِ إِلَّا دَابَّةُ الْأَرْضِ تَأْكُلُ مِنْسَأَتَهُ فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ الْجِنُّ أَنْ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ الْغَيْبَ مَا لَبِثُوا فِي الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ ﴿۱۴﴾ لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِي مَسْكَنِهِمْ آيَةٌ جَنَّتَانِ عَنْ يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ كُلُوا مِنْ رِزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ ﴿۱۵﴾

﴾14﴿ Falammaa qadainaa 'alaihil mawta ma dallahum 'alaa mawtiheee illaa daaabbatul ardi taakulu minsa atahoo falammaa kharra tabaiyanatil jinnu al law kaanoo ya'lamoonal ghaiba maa labisoo fil 'azaabil muheen
﴾15﴿ Laqad kaana li Saba-in fee maskanihim Aayatun jannataani 'any yameeninw wa shimaalin kuloo mir rizqi Rabbikum washkuroolah; baldatun taiyibatunw wa Rabbun Ghafoor

﴾14﴿ And when We decreed death for him, nothing indicated his death to them except a creature of the earth (a termite) that was eating his staff. Then, when he fell down, it became clear to the jinn that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating toil
﴾15﴿ Indeed, there was a sign for the people of Sheba in their homeland: two gardens, one on the right and one on the left. (It was said to them,) Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. (Yours is) a good land and a forgiving Lord

[14] In this verse, the weakness of Sulayman (peace be upon him) is mentioned in two ways:
First, that death came upon him—he could not protect himself from death.
Second, after death, he had no movement, will, or power. When the staff that supported him weakened, he fell to the ground. This made it clear that the dead cannot help or fulfill anyone's needs, as they have no control even over themselves—so how could they help others?
This verse also describes the state of the jinn—that they do not know the unseen. This answers the third doubt regarding the jinn, as some people among the Children of Israel, and even in this ummah, believed that the jinn have knowledge of the unseen. But this verse refutes that idea, because from the death of Sulayman (peace be upon him) until a year later, they had no knowledge of it.
Commentators have mentioned two reasons for this:
1. Among the people at the time, it was widely believed that jinn knew the unseen. So when Sulayman (peace be upon him) died, he asked Allah to conceal his death from them so that this false belief would be eliminated from people’s hearts.
2. Sulayman (peace be upon him) had the jinn working on the construction of Bayt al-Maqdis (the Temple). Although the main construction was completed in his lifetime, a few finishing tasks remained. So he prayed to Allah to conceal his death from the jinn for one year so that they would complete the work. They only worked out of fear of Sulayman (peace be upon him).
From an authentic hadith in al-Nasa’i, it is known that Sulayman (peace be upon him) had completed the construction, but a few of his personal tasks were left.
Qurtubi has narrated with authentic chains that Sulayman (peace be upon him) stood on his staff for a full year after his death.
(Tabayyanat al-jinn an) — One meaning is that it became clear to the jinn themselves that they do not know the unseen. Another meaning is that it became clear to the people about the jinn—that they have no knowledge of the unseen.
[15] This is an example of worldly warning using the condition of the people of Saba, directed at the deniers—after responding to doubts and presenting transmitted evidences.
Previously, the state of those kings who were grateful was mentioned; now, the state of the wealthy who are ungrateful is described.
(Li Sabaʼin) — Saba was the name of a great tribe. He was Saba ibn ‘Abd Shams ibn Yashjub ibn Ya‘rub ibn Qahtan, and his descendants are also referred to as the people of Saba. Some narrations mention that Saba had ten sons—six settled in Yemen and four in the Levant (Sham).
Commentators have said that this refers to the region of Ma’rib, which was three farsakhs (a few miles) from Sana'a in Yemen.
(Baldaṭun ṭayyibah) — A good land: its climate was healthy, there were no poisonous creatures, and no salt-ridden or barren soil.