The Story of Prophet Sulaiman (as)

Almighty ALLAH SWT made Prophet Sulaiman a.s king of a vast kingdom, which included His entire creation. The jinn and men obeyed his will and even the birds adhered to his commands, to the extent of using their wings to provide shelter for him. He was also given many other powers such as being able to talk to animals and control the wind so that it could carry him wherever he wished to go. Prophet Sulaiman a.s was blessed with an extraordinary power of perception and intelligence.

It is narrated that one day, a man entered the court of Prophet Sulaiman a.s, looked around at all the people and went out again. When the court adjourned, one of the people present approached Prophet Sulaiman a.s and ask him whether he knew this strange man.

 Prophet replied "the person you saw was the angel of death (Izrael)" replied Prophet Sulaiman a.s. The man was taken aback and looked worried. "Why was he staring at me as though he wanted to take my soul?" he asked. "What you want me to do?" enquired Prophet Sulaiman a.s.
"O Sulaiman!" exclaimed the man. " You have power over the wind. Command it to transport me to the land of Hind (India)."
As the man was a believer, Prophet Sulaiman a.s agreed and granted his wish.

A few days later, Prophet Sulaiman a.s saw the angel of death again . He asked him why he had been staring at the man so intently on that particular day.
"O Sulaiman!" replied the angel of death, " ALLAH SWT commanded me to take the soul of that man on the soil of Hind. When I saw him sitting in your court, I could not understand how I could carry out ALLAH's order. Nevertheless, as it was divine command, I left for Hind and fortunately found the man there. I took his soul as ALLAH SWT had commanded"

Moral of the story : There is nothing more certain than death. It is a reality, which nobody can escape from. 

Imam Ali as said: "Any breath that a man breathes is a step towards death"

ALLAH SWT, the Almighty says: "Wherever you may be, death shall overtake you even if you were in fortified towers". Noble Qur'an (4:78)


Resources: Islamic websites