The Prophet says :

The Prophet's belief in Allah's revelations to him is based on the fact that his pure heart directly receives divine revelations. He has a direct contact with the truth which takes shape within himself naturally, without any effort on his part, and without need for any tool or medium. This is a standard of faith which defies description. No one can describe it except the one who has experienced it, and the description cannot be truly appreciated except by a person who has also experienced it. Hence, the honor which Allah bestows on His servants who believe in Him as He groups them together with His messenger in sharing the quality of faith becomes clear. It is needless to say that the effect faith produces on Allah's messenger is at a far higher level than its effect on anyone else.

What is the nature of this faith and what are its limits? The answer is outlined in the verse itself: Each one of them believes in Allah, and His angels, and His Books, and His messengers: We make no distinction between any of His messengers, and they say: We hear and we obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You we shall all return. It is the sort of complete faith which is suitable to this nation which has inherited the divine faith and is entrusted with the divine message till the day of judgment. It is a nation with roots going far back in history, and which continues the procession of the faithful, led by Allah's messenger as it moves along from time immemorial. It is the faith which divides humanity from the first to the last human being into two groups: the believers who constitute the party of Allah and the non-believers who constitute the party of Satan. There can exist no other group at any time.

Each one of them believes in Allah. From the Islamic point of view, to believe in Allah provides the foundation for the general outlook, the code which governs life, morals, the economic system as well as every activity of the believers in all spheres of life. To believe in Allah means to accept that He alone has the qualities of Godhead and Lordship over the Universe, and He alone should be worshipped. This means that He has the ultimate authority over man's conscience and behavior in all affairs. He has no partners in either Godhead or Lordship, which means that none shares His attributes of creation and governance of the Universe. None has any say in the way life goes on; none provides anything for anyone; none can harm or benefit anyone. Nothing big or small takes place anywhere in the Universe without His will.

None may be His partner in being worshipped by people. This applies to both the worship represented in rituals and the worship represented in submission to His authority. Worship may be offered to Allah alone. Again, obedience belongs only to Allah and to anyone who implements His instructions and legislation, deriving his authority thereby from Allah, the source of all authority.

An essential of this faith is, then that power over people's conscience and their behavior belongs to Allah alone. This means that the only valid legislation, moral values, social and economic systems and regulations can be derived only from the One who has absolute authority, Allah. Man then becomes free of all authority other than that of Allah, unrestrained by anything except the limits Allah has laid down. None can have power over Him without sanction from Allah.

And His angels. To believe in Allah's angels is part of believing in the imperceptible. Believing in the imperceptible releases man from the limits of the physical world to which animals are restricted. He is then free to receive his knowledge from what lies beyond the physical world of the animals, declaring his unique, human qualities. At the same time this satisfies man's natural aspiration to the unknown which lies beyond his physical senses as he, by nature, feels its existence. Unless such natural aspirations are satisfied through faith in the reality of the imperceptible, as given to him by Allah, man goes into the excesses of inventing legends and superstitions to satisfy this natural inclination, or else, he would suffer confusion and imbalance.

When man believes in the angels, he believes in a reality which he cannot fathom with his own physical and mental abilities. Man has, however, a natural aspiration to know at least a part of the realities of the world of the imperceptible. Hence, Allah who has created man and who knows man's inclinations and aspirations and what is suitable to man has willed, out of His grace, to give man some information about imperceptible realities and to help him to understand that knowledge in order to spare him that vain effort which man is bound to exert in order to gain that sort of knowledge without which he cannot rest assured. This is confirmed by the fact that those who have tried to rebel against their nature and deny the world of the imperceptible altogether have been possessed by ridiculous superstitions or have suffered mental imbalance or various forms of psychological perversity.

Moreover, to believe in the angels and to believe in the realities of the imperceptible which have been stated to us by Allah, enhances man's understanding of the Universe. Hence, the believer does not restrict the Universe only to that small world within which his senses operate. He also has the pleasure of feeling that those faithful spirits are around him, share his faith in his Lord, pray to Allah to forgive him, and help him to do what is good, by Allah's permission. This gives him the reassurance he needs. Moreover, there is the element of knowing this reality which is, in itself, part of the grace Allah bestows on those who believe in Him and in His angels.

And His Books, and His messengers: We make no distinction between any of His messengers: This is the logical correlative of believing in Allah as required by Islam. To believe in Allah necessitates that one believes that everything which has come from Allah is correct. It also necessitates that all messengers Allah has sent have been truthful, and that the basis of their messages as explained in the books revealed to them is the same. A logical consequence of that is the fact that there can be no distinction between Allah's messengers in the deep conscience of any Muslim. Every one of them came with the message of Islam (i.e. submission to Allah) in one form or another as was suitable to the circumstances of the people to whom he was sent. This continued to be the case until Muhammad, peace be upon him, the last of the Prophets, conveyed the final version of the same faith. This last version, i.e. Islam remains valid for all succeeding generations until the Day of Judgment.

In this way, the nation of Islam becomes the heir of the heritage of all Allah's messages, and the custodian of the divine faith on earth. The Muslims feel that they have been assigned a great role on this earth which they continue to play until the Day of Judgment. They are charged with the custody of the most valuable and the greatest matter given to humanity throughout its history. They have been chosen to raise Allah's banner to the conclusion of all other banners. They raise it high in order to counter all other creeds and philosophies advocated by the people of ignorance in all generations and places and giving them all sorts of names such as nationalism, patriotism, racism, Zionism, Christian domination, colonialism, imperialism, atheism, etc. Faith, the most precious and useful human heritage is a wealth of light and guidance; confidence and reassurance, happiness and satisfaction, knowledge and certainty. Any human heart devoid of faith is bound to be overwhelmed by worry and darkness, doubts and suspicions, misery and suffering. Its only fate is to grope aimlessly in the dark, not knowing where to put its foot as it moves along in the depressing mode in which it throws itself.

People who have been given sensitive and lively hearts and were keen on gaining knowledge and certainty but were deprived of the sustenance, happiness and light provided by faith have depressed their agony most passionately in different generations and places. Those on the other hand who have been similarly deprived but have been given insensitive hearts have not been troubled by any desire to gain knowledge. Those lead a life similar to that of animals. They eat and enjoy themselves in a fashion similar to that of animals. They fight like animals and they attack their prey like beasts. They tyrannize and show their ruthlessness and spread corruption on earth. They live their lives and go away followed by curses from Allah and from human beings.

The societies which have been deprived of that grace are miserable societies though they may be affluent, empty though they may have no shortage of products, worried though they may enjoy freedom, security and peace. In our world of today we have a living example of this sort of society which cannot be denied except by one who denies what he feels and sees.

Those who believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers declare their obedience and submission to their Lord. They know that to Him they shall return, and they seek His forgiveness of any fault of theirs: They say: We hear and we obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You we shall all return.

These words portray the most vivid picture of the meaning of believing in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers. Faith can thus be clearly seen in the believer's obedience of every commandment which he receives from Allah. This is a practical demonstration of the acknowledgment by the believer that Allah is the only Master of the Universe, and that His is the only valid order in every sphere of life. No submission to Allah's will can be true without obedience of Allah's commandments and implementation of the code of living He has laid down. No faith is genuine if those who pretend to be faithful turn their backs on Allah's legislation relating to any matter in their lives, be it of great or secondary importance, or if they derive their concepts of morals, economics or politics from any source other than Allah. True faith is that which is entrenched deeply in peoples' hearts and to which credence is lent by their actions.

Obedience is coupled by a feeling that one is not doing enough to thank Allah for His grace, and is not doing one's duty as one should. This feeling necessitates the appeal for Allah's mercy to overlook one's failures and shortcomings: Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord.

Forgiveness is sought only after true submission to Allah and the declaration of one's intention to obey Him without any hesitation or reluctance. It is also followed by the certainty that one shall certainly return to Allah. His will is done both in this life and in the Hereafter. His word is final in every matter and in every respect. No one can escape from Him unless he seeks shelter with Him. No power can prevent destiny, and no one can stop Allah's will. His punishment can be evaded only through His mercy and forgiveness: To You we shall all return.

As we have already mentioned, this statement incorporates a declaration of belief in the Day of Judgment which is, according to Islamic philosophy, one of the essentials of faith in Allah. The Islamic standpoint is that Allah has created man in order to put him in charge of this earth on the basis of a covenant made in clear terms and affects every human activity on earth. He has created man and given him this life before giving him his reward at the end of this test.

Hence, to believe in the Day of Judgment and in reward and punishment on that day, is one of the essentials of the Islamic faith. It has a profound effect on shaping the conscience of every Muslim and regulating his behavior, as well as his evaluation of actions and results in this life. He follows the path of obedience to Allah, working for the cause of good, maintaining the path of truth whether it brings him happiness or suffering, gain or loss, victory or defeat in this life, and whether it ensures his safety or causes his death and martyrdom. The only reward he is after is that of the Hereafter, when he has passed this test. He maintains his stand on the side of obedience to Allah and the truth even when he finds that the whole world stands in opposition to him, threatening him with sufferings and death. He feels that he is dealing with Allah, implementing his side of the covenant he has made with Him, and waiting reward in the Hereafter.

"Compulsion is inadmissible in matters of faith." (2;256).

With this clear order given in the Qur'an, we know the reason why Islamic history has been distinguished for tolerance, freedom of belief and absence of compulsion. Not only so, but we claim that the same message of freedom of belief was preached by all prophets and messengers, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

We, Muslims, believe that Suleman was a prophet sent by God to the Children of Israel. Even though the Jews refer to him as King Solomon, he and his noble father are mentioned in several clear references in the Qur'an among the prophets that preached the message of the Oneness of God. Hence, King Solomon could not have been guilty of using force, or even the threat of force, to compel people to convert to his faith. Far be it from a prophet sent by Allah, Merciful Allah, to employ such tactics.

When we consider the story of Suleman with the Queen of Sheba as mentioned in the Qur'an, we find that the threat by Suleman to use force was in no way related to the queen's faith or his desire that she should convert to his religion. To comment on the story as related in the Qur'an and give a full explanation of its events will take much more space than can be allowed to a single question. I will, therefore, refer only the relevant passages. The reader may wish to refer to the story as related in Surah 27, entitled, "The Ants", or, "An-Naml".

The first we learn in the story about the Queen of Sheba and the fact that she and her people worshipped the sun is when the bird known as the hoopoe explains his long absence to the Prophet Suleman, who is described in the Qur'an as being able to communicate in the language of the birds. The hoopoe states that he went to Sheba and saw the queen there and her people worshipping the sun in place of God. Suleman states first that he is not going to take action on the basis of the hoopoe's statement until he has verified it. He said: "We shall see whether you have been truthful or are a liar." (27;27). Suleman then sent the hoopoe back to Sheba with a letter, giving him instructions to bring a reply.

Suleman's letter is indicative of his likely course of action. For its contents, we have the Queen's statement when she calls in her advisers to consider the letter and their reply. She says: "Councilmen, a gracious letter has been delivered to me. It is from Suleman and it reads: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent. Do not exalt yourselves above me but come to me in submission." (Verse 31)

There are three points to be emphasized about this letter. Firstly, its description as "gracious" by the queen herself. She did not feel threatened by the letter, but she realized that its delivery by a hoopoe which dropped it to her personally, was of a serious nature. Secondly, the letter emphasizes the qualities of beneficence, compassion and mercy as attributes of God. Thirdly, it requires that the queen and her advisers should go to Suleman committing themselves not to go to war against him. So, the letter highlighted differences of faith and required the queen to pay a visit to Suleman for a peaceful dialogue. The queen understood it as a political gesture, and she was well aware of Suleman's power. Therefore, she wanted to test Suleman's attitude with a political ploy. She declared to her advisers: "I am sending them a gift and shall be watching for what reply my emissaries bring back." (Verse 35).

It was at this point that Suleman took a very strong attitude and threatened to use force. When he received the queen's reply he declared that "what God has bestowed on me is far better than what He has given you. Yet, it is you who seem happy with your gift." He then commands the hoopoe to carry back his new message warning them that he will march to them "with armies they can never resist. We shall expel them from it, humiliate it and condemn it." (Verse 37). Commentators also mention that when Suleman received the Queen of Sheba's emissaries, he put on a great show to give them a very clear impression of his great wealth and far superior power.

Let us now consider the threat he made. From the angle of religious beliefs, there is no hint whatsoever in the whole account given in the Qur'an of the dealings between Suleman and the Queen of Sheba and their subsequent encounter that she or anyone else was forced to accept Suleman's faith. The threat to drive them from their land is largely a political stance. His initial condition was that the queen and her chiefs should come to him in submission. When they used delaying tactics and tried to win his approval with a gift, he issued a threat. In his threatening words, as reported accurately in the Qur'an, there is nothing to suggest that they could avoid expulsion only by adopting his religion.

It is important to explain the serious attitude the divine faith adapts with regard to political power. This attitude is made clearest in Islam, and it is clear from this account of the events that took place between Suleman and the Queen of Sheba that it also applied then.

It is well known that the faithfuls and the prophets are certainly the ones whose example should be followed by believers, and they are required to convey the message of the Oneness of God to all the people. They should call on them to believe that there is no deity save God. However, it is often the case that political power makes of itself a barrier between its subjects and learning about the divine faith. In the case of the Queen of Sheba, her people worshipped the sun because she did so. That was accepted as the true religion because the queen and her chiefs and nobles worshipped the sun.

There was no way Suleman could address her people and inform them about the divine faith, and at the same time they would feel free to follow it unless agreement to freedom of speech and belief was achieved between Suleman and the Queen. That was the thing he required when he wanted them to come to him "in submission".

It is worthy to note that Dr. Irving, who produced the first American translation of the Qur'an, translates Suleman's first letter as follows: "In the name of God, the Mercy-giving, the Merciful. Do not act haughtily toward me, and come to me committed to (live at) peace."

So, when the queen's reply was to send him a gift, he realized that she was employing political tactics in the hope that he would let her continue in the same way as before. She would still rule, having gained his friendship, and she would continue to lead her people in their pagan faith. That meant that Suleman would abandon his role as a prophet required to convey God's message to people. That was not to be., Hence, he threatened to remove her and her chiefs, and drive them out of their land humiliated so that he could address the people directly and call on them to believe in God. Whether they would do so or not is a matter of personal choice. There would be no compulsion to make an individual feel forced to adopt the monotheistic faith.

The expulsion of the queen from her land would have been a fitting punishment for her depriving the people of the chance to listen to God's message and the freedom to adopt it if they wanted to do so. Thus, the deprivation of power would be a fitting punishment for using that power to turn people away from the divine faith.

What I am saying is confirmed by every statement in the rest of the story, and by the tactics employed by Suleman when the queen finally arrives in his capital. She was his guest, staying in his palace and she continued in her worship of the sun. He did not impose on her an obligation not to continue with her practices, but he declared that he himself had submitted himself to God.

We are told that Suleman had her throne fetched from Sheba to his palace and ordered his assistants to make changes in that throne to disguise it in order to test whether she would know it. That was a big test for the queen, because she could not figure out how the throne was carried to Suleman's palace when it was safely lying in her own palace back in Yemen.

Her final conversion to Suleman's faith came as a result of his explanation of the monotheistic faith and his demonstration of how God provides guidance and gives His servants the means to utilize all resources in order to improve the quality of their lives and achieve happiness in this world and in the life to come. He had ordered a structure to be built of glass with water running underneath. He then asked her to go in, and she did not for a moment doubt that he asked her to go through the water. She pulled her dress up in order to walk along in the water, but he told her that it was all made of glass. She recognized the truthfulness of every word Suleman had said to her, and declared that she submitted herself to God.

This is a translation of the last three verses in the story, after her arrival in Suleman's palace and just when she was shown her disguised throne:

"When she came, she was asked: 'Is your throne like this?' She replied, 'It looks as though it were the same.' (Suleman) said: 'Before her we were endowed with knowledge, and before her we surrendered to the Lord'. What she had been worshipping instead of God distracted her, she belonged to disbelieving folk. She was bidden to enter the palace, and when she saw it she thought it was a pool of water, and (tucked up her skirt and) bared her legs. He said: 'It is a palace paved with glass.' She said: 'My Lord, how I have wronged myself. Now I submit with Suleman to God, the Lord of the Universe." (Verses 42-44)

The question of faith and its acceptance by any human being is very much related to a personal experience leading to a moment when an individual, indeed every individual, realizes with all clarity that all the basic principles of the divine faith are true and that he or she must adopt that faith in order to be at peace with himself or herself, and with the universe at large.

To the Queen of Sheba, a powerful queen in her own land, that moment came when she saw some aspects of far superior power that could not have been achieved by human beings at that time without God's help in revealing some of the secrets of the universe.