۞ And certainly We gave to Dawood excellence from Us: O mountains! sing praises with him, and the birds; and We made the iron pliant to him, 10 [Commanding him], "Make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links, and work [all of you] righteousness. Indeed I, of what you do, am Seeing." 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 fashioning for him whatsoever he would -- places of worship, statues, porringers like water-troughs, and anchored cooking-pots. 'Labour, O House of David, in thankfulness; for few indeed are those that are thankful among My servants.' 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 Indeed there was for Saba' (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling place, - two gardens on the right hand and on the left (and it was said to them) "Eat of the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him, a fair land and an OftForgiving Lord. 15 But they turned away. So We sent against them the Flood (at the city) of Arim, and exchanged their gardens with two others bearing bitter fruit and Tamarisks, and here and there a few Lotus trees. 16 We gave them this reward – the recompense of their ingratitude; and whom do We punish, except the ungrateful? 17 And We placed between them and the towns which We had blessed, towns easy to be seen, and We made the stages (of journey) between them easy (saying): "Travel in them safely both by night and day." 18 And they said: O our Lord! make spaces to be longer between our journeys; and they were unjust to themselves so We made them stories and scattered them with an utter scattering; most surely there are signs in this for every patient, grateful one 19 Now, indeed, Iblis did prove that his opinion of them had been right: for [when he called them,] they followed him - all but some of the believers [among them]. 20 Yet he had no authority over them, but that We might know him who believed in the Hereafter from him who was in doubt thereof Thy Lord is Guardian over everything. 21