۞ And indeed We gave Dawud the utmost excellence from Us; “O the hills and birds, repent towards Allah along with him”; and We made iron soft for him. 10 Saying: make thou complete coats of mail, and rightly dispose the links, and work ye righteously; verily I am of that which ye work a Beholder. 11 And to Solomon (We subjected) the wind, its morning (stride from sunrise till midnoon) was a month's (journey), and its afternoon (stride from the midday decline of the sun to sunset) was a month's (journey i.e. in one day he could travel two months' journey). And We caused a fount of (molten) brass to flow for him, and there were jinns that worked in front of him, by the Leave of his Lord, and whosoever of them turned aside from Our Command, We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire. 12 They made for him whatever he wished, synagogues and statues, dishes large as water-troughs, and cauldrons firmly fixed (on ovens; and We said): "O House of David, act, and give thanks." But few among My creatures are thankful. 13 Yet [even Solomon had to die; but] when We decreed that he should die, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away his staff. And when he fell to the ground, those invisible beings [subservient to him] saw clearly that, had they but understood the reality which was beyond the reach of their perception, they would not have continued [to toil] in the shameful suffering [of servitude] 14 For Sheba there was also a Sign in their dwelling place: the two gardens to the right and to the left. “Eat of your Lord's provision, and render thanks to Him. Most pleasant is your land and Most Forgiving is your Lord.” 15 But they turned away and so We let loose upon them a devastating flood that swept away the dams and replaced their gardens by two others bearing bitter fruits, tamarisks, and a few lote trees. 16 [By] that We repaid them because they disbelieved. And do We [thus] repay except the ungrateful? 17 We established between them and the town that We had blessed, other towns nearby, and thus made it easier to travel. We told them, "Travel there safely day and night". 18 Then they said: Our Lord make the distance between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves. Wherefore We made them bywords and dispersed them with a total dispersion. Verily herein are signs for every persevering, grateful person. 19 Thus Iblis found his supposition about them to be true; and except for a section of believers they follow him. 20 But he had no authority over them,- except that We might test the man who believes in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt concerning it: and thy Lord doth watch over all things. 21