(After reading the letter) the Queen said: "Nobles, let me have your counsel in this matter for I make no firm decision without you." 32 They said: we are owners of power and owners of great violence, but the command is with thee; see then whatsoever thou shalt command. 33 Said she: "Verily, whenever kings enter a country they corrupt it, and turn the noblest of its people into the most abject. And this is the way they [always] behave? 34 But I will send them a gift and see what the envoys bring back (in return)." 35 Now when (the embassy) came to Solomon, he said: "Will ye give me abundance in wealth? But that which Allah has given me is better than that which He has given you! Nay it is ye who rejoice in your gift! 36 Go back unto them. Then surely we shall come unto them with hosts which they cannot withstand, and we shall drive them forth therefrom abased and they shall be humbled. 37 [When Solomon learned that the Queen of Sheba was coming,] he said [to his council]: "O you nobles! Which of you can bring me her throne ere she and her followers come unto me in willing surrender to God?" 38 A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. 39 One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: "I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!" then when [Sulaiman (Solomon)] saw it placed before him, he said: "This is by the Grace of my Lord to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful! And whoever is grateful, truly, his gratitude is for (the good of) his ownself, and whoever is ungrateful, (he is ungrateful only for the loss of his ownself). Certainly! My Lord is Rich (Free of all wants), Bountiful." 40 He said, 'Disguise her throne for her, and we shall behold whether she is guided or if she is of those that are not guided.' 41 So when she arrived, she was asked, "Is this thy throne?" She said, "It was just like this; and knowledge was bestowed on us in advance of this, and we have submitted to Allah (in Islam)." 42 And that which she used to worship besides Allah has prevented her (from Islam), for she was of a disbelieving people. 43 It was said unto her: enter the palace. Then when she saw it, she deemed it a pool and bared her shanks. He said: verily it is a palace evenly floored with glass. She said: my Lord! verily I wronged my soul, and now submit myself together with Sulaiman unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. 44