and with respect to the earlier prophets He says: “By it the prophets who had submitted passed judgment for the Jews” (Qur’an 5:44). Concerning Bilqis, He reports her saying: “My Lord, I have wronged myself, and I now submit along with Solomon to Allah, Lord of all worlds” (Qur’an 27:44).

Meaning of Islam
Islam comprises surrendering oneself to Allah alone. Whoever surrenders to Him and to another is a polytheist; whoever refuses to surrender to Him is haughtily turning away from His worship. Both the one who associates partners with Him and the one too proud to worship Him are unbelievers. True surrender to Him alone necessarily involves worshiping Him alone and obeying Him alone.

Such is the religion of Islam, which Allah accepts to the exclusion of all else. It is realized by obeying Him at every moment through whatever He commands at that moment. Thus, when He first commanded the believers to face the Rock, and later commanded them to face the Kaʿbah, each act, at the time it was prescribed, was part of the religion of Islam. Religion, then, consists in obeying and worshiping Him in both instances; only the outward form of the action—namely, the direction faced in prayer—was varied. In the same manner, the messengers share one religion, even though their specific laws differed