Qala AAifreetun mina aljinni ana ateeka bihi qabla an taqooma min maqamika (surah Naml: 39)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(27:39) A mighty one from among the jinns submitted, "I shall fetch it to you even before you rise from your place *45 : I possess the necessary power for it and am trustworthy. " *46

Qaala `ifreetum minal jinni ana aateeka bihee qabla an taqooma mim maqaamika wa innee `alaihi laqawiyyun ameen

*45) From this it becomes obvious whether the jinns under the Prophet Solomon were, according to the interpretation of some rationalist commentators of the modern times, from among mankind or from among the hidden creation commonly known as jinns. Obviously, the sitting of the Prophet Solomon's court would at the most be of three to four hours, and the distance of Ma'rib, capital of Saba', from Jerusalem was even as the crow dies, not less than 1500 miles. To fetch a splendid throne of a queen from such a distant place in such a short time could not be possible for a man, even if he be a very strong and robust person. This task cannot be performed even by a jet plane of today. The throne was not lying in a jungle from where it had just to be fetched. It lay in a queen's palace, which must have been well-guarded, and in the absence of the queen it must have been kept in a secure place If a man had gone to fetch it, he should have been accompanied by a commando force so that he could overwhelm the guards and snatch away the throne. How could alI this be accomplished before the rising of the court? This thing can be conceived only in connection with a real Jinn !
*46) That is, "You can trust me in that I will not carry it away, nor steal any valuable thing from it. "