She added: "O you nobles! Give me your opinion on the problem with which I am now faced; I would never make a [weighty] decision unless you are present with me." 32 They said, 'We possess force and we possess great might. The affair rests with thee; so consider what thou wilt command.' 33 She said, "Surely, when mighty kings invade a country, they despoil it and humiliate its noblest inhabitants, these men will do the same, 34 I will send them a gift and then see with what answer my envoys return." 35 So when (the envoy) came unto Solomon, (the King) said: What! Would ye help me with wealth? But that which Allah hath given me is better than that which He hath given you. Nay it is ye (and not I) who exult in your gift. 36 Return to them, for we will surely come to them with soldiers that they will be powerless to encounter, and we will surely expel them therefrom in humiliation, and they will be debased." 37 He said, 'O Council, which one of you will bring me her throne, before they come to me in surrender?' 38 Said a bold one of the invisible beings [subject to Solomon]: "I shall bring it to thee ere thou rise from thy council-seat - for, behold, I am powerful enough to do it, [and] worthy of trust!" 39 and I am trusty.' Said he who possessed knowledge of the Book, 'I will bring it to thee, before ever thy glance returns to thee.' Then, when he saw it settled before him, he said, 'This is of my Lord's bounty that He may try me, whether I am thankful or ungrateful. Whosoever gives thanks gives thanks only for his own soul's good, and whosoever is ungrateful -- my Lord is surely All-sufficient, All-generous.' 40 He said: Alter her throne for her, we will see whether she follows the right way or is of those who do not go aright. 41 Then when she arrived, it was said: is thy throne like unto? She said: it is as though it were it; and we have been vouchsafed the knowledge before this, and we have been Muslims. 42 That which she worshipped, other than Allah, had prevented her, for she came from an unbelieving nation. 43 She was asked to enter the lofty Palace: but when she saw it, she thought it was a lake of water, and she (tucked up her skirts), uncovering her legs. He said: "This is but a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass." She said: "O my Lord! I have indeed wronged my soul: I do (now) submit (in Islam), with Solomon, to the Lord of the Worlds." 44