Regarding His words, “so that they do not prostrate themselves”: Abu Jafar and al-Kisa'i recited it with a light consonant, as “ala yasjudu.” When pausing, they would stop at “ala ya,” then begin anew: “Prostrate yourselves!” That is, “O people, prostrate yourselves!” They understood it as an independent command from Allah, omitting “O people” because the vocative particle indicates it. Some of them cited usage heard from the Arabs: “Lo! O people, have mercy upon us,” meaning, “Lo! O people.” Al-Akhtal said:

“Lo! Be safe, O Hind—Hind of the Banu Bakr—
Though our two clans remain foes until the end of time.” (1)

That is, “Lo! Be safe, O Hind.” According to this reading, the word “Lo!” is a parenthetical statement outside the narrative, either from the hoopoe or from Solomon. Abu Ubaydah said: This is an independent command from Allah, meaning: “O people, prostrate yourselves!”

The others recited it with the doubled consonant, meaning: Satan made their deeds seem fair to them so that they would not prostrate themselves “to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth”—that is, what is concealed and hidden in them. Most exegetes said: What is hidden in the sky is rain, and what is hidden in the earth is vegetation. In the recitation of Abdullah ibn Masud, it reads: “He brings forth what is hidden from the heavens and the earth.” The prepositions “from” and “in” may be used interchangeably. The Arabs say, “I shall certainly draw knowledge out from among you,” meaning, “from you.” It was also said that “what is hidden” means the unseen; that is, He knows the unseen realities of the heavens and the earth.

Regarding His words, “and He knows what you conceal and what you reveal”: al-Kisa'i and Hafs, reporting from Asim, recited both verbs with the second-person form, because the beginning of the verse is addressed directly to them according to al-Kisa'i’s light-consonant reading. The others recited them in the third-person form.

“Allah—there is no god but Him, the Lord of the Magnificent Throne”: that is, He alone is deserving of worship and prostration. Although the throne of the Queen of Saba was immense, it is small and insignificant in comparison with His Throne, glorified be He.

Here the hoopoe’s speech ends. When the hoopoe had finished speaking, Solomon said to him: “We shall see whether you have spoken the truth concerning what you have reported, or whether you are among the liars.” Then the hoopoe led them to water, so they dug wells (2) and both the people and the animals were given water. Solomon then wrote a letter: “From Solomon son of David, the servant of Allah, to Bilqis, Queen of Saba: In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Peace be upon whoever follows guidance,”