without disturbing it, raising no dust and harming no bird. Wahb said: “I was told that there is a dwelling in the region of the Tigris upon which is written—[written by] (1) some of Solomon’s companions, whether jinn or human: ‘We alighted here, though we did not build it; we found it already built. We set out from Istakhr in the morning, leaving it behind us, and, Allah willing, by evening we shall spend the night in Syria.’” (2)

Muqatil said: “The devils wove for Solomon a carpet, one farsakh by one farsakh, of gold interwoven with silk. A golden pulpit would be placed for him in the middle of the carpet, upon which he would sit. Around him were three thousand chairs of gold and silver: the prophets sat upon the golden chairs, and the scholars upon the silver chairs. The people were around them, while the jinn and devils were around the people. Birds shaded him with their wings, so that the sun did not fall upon him. The east wind would lift the carpet, carrying it a month’s journey from morning until afternoon, and from afternoon until morning.” (3)

It is related from Said ibn Jubayr that he said: “Six hundred thousand chairs would be set out for Solomon. The humans would sit nearest to him, then the jinn behind them; then the birds would shade them, and the wind would carry them.” (4)

Al-Hasan said: “When the horses distracted the Prophet of Allah, Solomon, peace be upon him, until he missed the Asr prayer, he became angry for the sake of Allah, mighty and majestic is He, and hamstrung the horses. Allah then gave him, in their place, something better and swifter: the wind, which ran at his command as he wished. He would set out in the morning from Jerusalem and rest at midday in Istakhr; then he would depart from there ⦗19/A⦘ in the afternoon and reach Babylon by evening.” (5)

Ibn Zayd said: “He had a wooden vessel with a thousand corners, and in every corner were a thousand houses, in which jinn and humans would travel with him. Beneath every corner were a thousand devils, lifting that vessel. Once it had been raised, the gentle wind would come and carry it and its passengers along. He would rest at midday among a people who were a month’s journey away from him, and reach another people by evening who were likewise a month’s journey away. The people would not realize it until he and the armies with him had cast their shade over them.” (6)

[It is related that Solomon set out in the morning from the land of Iraq and rested at midday in the city of Merv, then performed the Asr prayer in the city of Balkh, borne along with his troops by the wind while the birds shaded them. He then proceeded from the city of Balkh, passing through the lands of the Turks, until he came to the lands of China. He would cover a month’s journey in the morning and the like of it in the afternoon. Then he turned southward from the place where the sun rises, along the seacoast, until he came to the land of Qandahar. He left it for the lands of Makran and Kerman, then passed beyond them until he came to the land of