۞ And assuredly We vouchsafed unto Da'ud grace from us, and said: mountains! repeat Our praise with him; and also ye birds! And We softened for him the iron. 10 [and inspired him thus:] "Do good deeds lavishly, without stint, and give deep thought to their steady flow." And [thus should you all, O believers,] do righteous deeds: for, verily, I see all that you do! 11 And We subdued the wind to Solomon: its morning course was a month's journey and its evening course was a month's journey. We gave him a spring flowing with molten brass, and We subdued for him jinn who, by his Lord's permission, worked before him. Such of them as swerved from Our commandment, We let them taste the chastisement of the Blazing Fire. 12 They made for him whatever he wanted, arches, statues, bowls as basins, and fixed cauldrons. (We said:) 'Give thanks, House of David and work' Yet only a few of My worshipers are thankful. 13 And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the Unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil. 14 Certainly there was a sign for Saba in their abode; two gardens on the right and the left; eat of the sustenance of your Lord and give thanks to Him: a good land and a Forgiving Lord! 15 They ignored (the evidence) and We sent to them a flood, arising from a broken dam. Nothing was left in their gardens but bitter fruits, some tamarisk and a few lotus trees. 16 We requited them in that way because of their ingratitude. We requite no one in that way but the ungrateful. 17 We had placed between them and the towns that We had blessed, other towns situated close to each other, and We fixed the stages [of journey] between them, saying, "Travel between them in safety by night and day," 18 but they said, "Our Lord! Make the stages of our journeys longer." Thus they wronged themselves and We made them bygone tales and scattered them throughout the land. There are certainly signs in that for everyone who is steadfast and thankful. 19 And Iblees had already confirmed through them his assumption, so they followed him, except for a party of believers. 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