“And Solomon succeeded David and said: ‘O people, we have been taught the speech of birds and we have been endowed with all kinds of things. Surely this is a conspicuous favour [from Allah]’. Hosts of jinn and men and birds were marshalled for Solomon and were kept under full control.”
(Al Qur’ān – 27:16-17)
Solomon was David’s youngest son. His Hebrew name was Solomon, which is equivalent to the Arabic word salīm (one who is affable, one who is endowed with wisdom and understanding). Solomon succeeded Prophet David in 965 B.C. and ruled over his kingdom for about 40 years until 926 B.C. His kingdom was limited to Palestine, Transjordan and a part of Syria.
To say that Solomon succeeded or inherited David does not mean that he received the wealth and property left behind by David; rather, it means Solomon’s succession to David’s Prophethood and his caliphal office.
That God bestowed on him a great many favours should not be understood literally. The statement simply denotes an abundance of wealth and other material resources which God had granted to Solomon. Solomon did not say this in order to make a show of his wealth; rather, it was an expression of gratitude to God and was mentioned in a spirit of humility.
The Bible does not mention that Solomon had jinn working for him, but the Talmudic and Rabbinical traditions mention this in some detail. The Qur’ān mention three distinct armies – those comprising men, those comprising jinn, and those comprising birds – in the service of Solomon.