197 – ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd related this to me—he is the one who would transmit to the people of Syria from Ibn Lahīʿa. He said: ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; he said: my father, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated to me; he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Umawī narrated to us; he said: Isrāʾīl narrated to us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿUmāra ibn ʿAbd, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him, who said:

“While Solomon, peace be upon him, was sitting on the seashore, idly turning his ring, it slipped from his hand and fell into the sea, and his kingdom resided in that ring. He set off and came to an old woman, seeking shelter with her, while a devil remained sitting in his place. The old woman said to him: ‘Either you handle the housework while I go out to seek provision, or I will attend to the housework and you go out to seek it.’ He replied, ‘Take care of the housework for me.’

He went out and came upon some fishermen, who tossed a few fish to him. He brought them to the old woman, and when she split open the belly of one of the fish, behold, the ring was inside it. He took it and put it on, and immediately the jinn, humankind, the devils, and even the wild beasts returned to him in submission. The devil fled until he reached an island in the sea. Solomon said to the devils, ‘Bring him to me.’ ⦗134⦘ They answered, ‘We cannot subdue him unless he becomes drunk; he comes to a spring on an island in the sea only once every seven days.’ So they poured wine into the spring for him. When he drank from it, he became intoxicated and the ring slipped away from him. He said, ‘I hear and obey.’ They brought him to Solomon, who bound him and ordered that he be taken to the Mountain of Smoke—whatever smoke the people see is his breath, and whatever water they see flowing out is his urine.”