He would visit her once each month, remain with her for three days, and then return upon his flying carpet. He also commanded the jinn, and they built for her three palaces in Yemen—Ghumdān, Ṣāliḥīn, and Baytūn. Allah knows best.

Ibn Isḥāq transmitted—on the authority of certain scholars from Wahb ibn Munabbih—that Solomon did not marry her; rather, he married her to the king of Hamdān, confirmed her sovereignty over Yemen, and subjected Zawbaʿah, the king of the Yemeni jinn, who erected for her the three palaces already mentioned. The first report, however, is the more famous and widely accepted. Allah knows best.

Allah, Most High, says in Sūrat Ṣād:
“ We granted to David Solomon. What an excellent servant! Indeed, he continually turned back (to Us).
When there were displayed before him, at eventide, the poised swift steeds,
he said, ‘Indeed I have loved the love of good things because of the remembrance of my Lord—until it disappeared behind the veil.’
He said, ‘Bring them back to me,’ and he set about striking (or wiping) their legs and necks.
And We certainly tried Solomon and placed upon his throne a body; then he turned (to Us).
He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me. Truly, You are the Ever-Bestower.’
So We subjected to him the wind, blowing gently by his command wherever he wished,
and the devils—every builder and diver—
and others bound together in chains.
(We said,) ‘This is Our gift, so bestow or withhold without reckoning.’
And indeed for him with Us is nearness and a goodly return.”
(Ṣād 38:30–40)

Here, the Exalted One states that He bestowed Solomon upon David, then praises Solomon, saying: “What an excellent servant! Indeed, he constantly turned back,” meaning he was one who repeatedly repented and obeyed Allah.

The Almighty then recounts what occurred with the “standing” horses (ṣāfināt)—those that rest on three legs while touching the tip of the fourth hoof—and the “swift coursers” (jiyād), meaning well-trained, fleet horses.

He said: “Indeed I have loved the love of good things over the remembrance of my Lord until it disappeared behind the veil” (38:32), that is, until the sun set. Others said it refers to the horses themselves—both views will be mentioned.

“Bring them back to me,” and he began “wiping their shanks and necks” (38:33). It is said that he struck their hocks and necks with the sword; another view holds that he merely wiped away their sweat after making them gallop and race before him.

The majority of the early scholars favor the first opinion, maintaining that he became absorbed in reviewing those horses until the time for the ʿAṣr prayer elapsed and the sun had set. This was related from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and others.

What is certain is that he did not abandon the prayer deliberately and without excuse—unless one says that, in their law, it was permissible to delay the prayer for matters pertaining to battle, and the inspection of the cavalry falls under that.

A group of scholars have likewise contended that the Prophet’s delay of the ʿAṣr prayer on the Day of the Trench was legislated at that time and later abrogated by the Prayer of Fear; this was the position of al-Shāfiʿī and others.