26-24 Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamadani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ali ibn Ma’bad, on the authority of Al-Hussein ibn Khalid, on the authority of Ali ibn Musa Al-Ridha صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, on the authority of his father Musa ibn Ja’far صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, on theauthority of his father Ja’far ibn Muhammad صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, on the authority of his father Muhammad ibn Ali صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, One day Solomon - the son of David صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم - told his companions, “In fact, the Blessed the Sublime God has granted me such a rule that no one deserve to have after me. He has empowered me with the power to harness the winds, power over the people, the genies, the birds and the beasts. He has taught me the speech of birds. God has given me some of everything. However, I am not able to be happy one full day from the morning to the night in spite of all this rule. I would like to go to my palace tomorrow, climb to the uppermost level and look at all the countryside around under my rule. Do not let anyone come in lest he might ruin my day.” They said, “Yes.”The following morning he took his cane and climbed up to the uppermost level of his palace. He leaned on his cane and was looking at the country over which he ruled happily. Then he saw a young handsome and well-dressed man who was approaching him from one of the corners of the palace. When Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم saw him, he said, “Who has allowed you to enter this palace? I had decided to be alone here today. Who let you in?” The young fellow said, “The owner of this palace has brought me in here and I have come in with His permission.” Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said, “The owner has more rights over it than I do. Who are you?” The young fellow said, “I am the angel of death.” Solomon said, “What have you come here for?” He said, “To take away your spirit.” Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said, “Then do whatever you are ordered to do with me. Today is my happy day. My Lord the Honorable the Exalted God wanted me to have no pleasure other than meeting Him.” Then the angel of death took away his spirit when he was leaning on his cane. He died as God willed. The people kept looking at him thinking that he was alive. Then a dispute arose amongst them. Some of them said, “Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم has remained leaning on his cane for several consecutive days while standing. He has neither eaten nor drank anything. He has neither become tired nor has he fallen asleep. Just he is our lord. It is incumbent upon us to worship him.” Others said, “Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم is a magician. He has placed a talisman on our eyes and makes us imagine that he is standing and leaning on his cane, while it is not so.” The believers said, “Solomon صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم is God’s servant. God will do whatever He wills with him.” When the arguments reached a climax, the Honorable the Exalted God appointed a little warm of the earth to go into the cane and eat it up from within. Then the cane broke, Solomon fell outof the palace and landed on his face. The genies thanked the little worm for that. That is why where there is any life there is also some water and mud as we read in the following by the Honorable the Exalted God, ‘Then, when We decreed (Solomon’s) death, nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his staff…’ ’ that is his cane. And ‘…so when he fell down, the Jinn saw plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their Task)…’” As-Sadiq صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said, “This verse was not revealed this way. It was revealed as follows, ‘…so when he fell down, the people realized that if the Jinn had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their Task).’”