A demon taking the form of Sulayman ﵇

Question

Question: It is well known that Hazrat Sulayman ﵇, when going to relieve himself in the privy and the like, used to give his signet ring to a servant. One day a demon took the form of Hazrat Sulayman ﵇, took the ring from the servant and sat on the royal throne. When Sulayman ﵇ asked the servant for the ring, the reply was: “You are not Hazrat Sulayman ﵇; he has already taken the ring.” Something further is also told beyond this. How far is this incident authentic?

Answer

This story was transmitted by some exegetes from the books of the Jews. “Tafsir al-Kashshaf”, “Tafsir al-Madarik”, “Tafsir Ma‘alim al-Tanzil”, Qadi ‘Iyad and others have refuted this story; Imam al-Razi raised objections against it with great vigour.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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