Overall meaning : We gave David Solomon as a son. How excellent a servant Solomon was! He would always turn to Us. Well-bred, swift light-footed horses (those that are so agile they stand on three feet and touch the ground with the edge of the fourth foot) were displayed before him one late afternoon. He was so taken up by them that he spent the remainder of the day viewing them until sunset. He said, ‘My love for horses has distracted me from the remembrance of my Lord until the sun went down and I missed the late afternoon prayer.’ Upset, he ordered his attendants to bring the horses back to him. When they were brought back, he began to cut off their legs and necks.
We tested Solomon by placing upon his throne a lifeless body, then he repented and turned to Us. He prayed, ‘My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom the like of which will never be granted to anyone after me. Truly You are the Bountiful Giver.’ We granted his prayer and subjected to him the wind, blowing gently at his command wherever he directed it, and the devils, too, including builders and divers, and others bound together in fetters due to their rebellious and evil acts.
‘Such kingdom,’ We said to him, ‘is Our gift to you, Solomon; therefore, give whomever you wish and deny whomever you please. We will not call you to account for whatever you give or withhold.’ In the life to come he will indeed have a status of closeness to Us and an excellent place of destination.