The Process of Political Thought between Solo mon and the Queen of Sheba (Two Political Models in One Story) Capt. Mohammed Hassan Al-Tahir

Political thought does not begin from the palace, but it begins from the question of existence, i.e., from nothingness to the state. Hence came the first verse in Surah Al-Insan where Allah the Almighty said:

_﴿Has there come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing mentioned?﴾ [Al-Insan:1]_[not][even]

This is the zero point in every political philosophy:

Man was nothing, then became something, then became required to think.

And thought in its linguistic origin is:

– The act of using the mind on the known to reach the unknown.

– And it is not information, but a process.

And this process oscillates between two poles:

_1. Idealistic thinking:_

– Begins from how the world should be.

– Puts the utopian city and then judges reality by it.

_2. Realistic thinking:_

– Begins from how the world is

– Studies the balances of power and resources then builds what is possible.

Every great politics is a marriage between them (political spectrum):

– Idealism without realism is illusion,

– And realism without idealism is decadence.

And here we enter the political spectrum which you must know that it is not just right and left,

Rather it is a spectrum between two existential poles on one hand,

– The absolute rule of the individual who sees that he owns the ideal truth.

– The absolute rule of the group that drowns in the reality of interests.

Until the equation that governs political thought is found on the continuum of existence and consciousness which is represented by the model of Solomon and Bilqis where we see the whole spectrum moving on the continuum of dependent and independent variables in a reciprocal movement between becoming and process…

First: Existence and Consciousness:

The Qur’an puts the equation of human existence in two Surahs, Allah the Almighty said:

– ﴿Does man not remember that We created him before, while he was nothing?﴾ [Maryam:67]

– ﴿Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.﴾ [Al-Insan:2]_

Man was created from nothingness, from a weak mixed drop, but he was equipped with two dangerous tools, hearing and sight:

– i.e., the ability to receive and analyze.

And from here we can understand the first equation below:

The Existent =

The Non-existent % (Man _ Reality)

That is, the existence of the state or the political decision does not come from a vacuum but it is the remainder of the division between:

– What is not yet existent (the idea, the dream, the project)

– What man does in his reality.

So the state is

– Transforming the non-existent into the existent by as much as man multiplied by reality…

Solomon possessed the non-existent:

– A kingdom that should not belong to anyone

– The logic of birds,

– Subjugation of the wind.

But he did not remain in the sky, but multiplied that in reality:

– He built the mihrabs,

– Organized the army,

– Sent letters.

And from here comes consciousness as a proactive process that penetrates the veils of the crisis-ridden reality for a vision that emerges from between the clouds that makes man know that he is perception through the second equation below

Perception = The Unconscious % (Consciousness _ Reality)

So man is not just flesh and blood but he is perception.

And this perception itself is the quotient of

– The unconscious (instincts, fear, greed, myths)

– Divided by (Consciousness _ Reality).

So if

– Consciousness is weak

– Or reality is fake,

The unconscious dominates.

And this is what was happening in the model of Sheba: a people who worship the sun, a collective unconscious dominates here, which required the existence of the opposite model to create the lost balance (two political models in one story)

The Qur’an presents to us in Surah An-Naml a complete political debate represented in the model of Bilqis:

– The mentality of Shura –

– The politics of reality_

> ﴿She said, “O eminent ones, advise me in my affair. I would not decide a matter until you witness me.”﴾[for]

This is a queen in an absolute monarchy system, but she establishes the principle of Shura.

She did not say “I decided” but said “Advise me”.

And when Solomon’s book came to her

– She was not taken by the mentality of emotional morality (dignity, war for the sake of war),

– But she was taken by the _mentality of fairness_ she said:

– ﴿Indeed kings – when they enter a city, they ruin it﴾

A very realistic reading of the balance of power. She knew she was facing an irresistible force, so she chose the _mentality of solution_ not the _mentality of abstract justice_.

Abstract justice would say:

– Fight in defense of sovereignty.

The solution mentality said:

– Send a gift

– And test his intentions,

– And spare the blood of your people.

This is the far realistic right in the political spectrum: pragmatism that preserves the state.

In contrast came the model of Solomon with heavenly legitimacy

– The mentality of principle

– The politics of the ideal

Solomon on the contrary was not an ordinary king but he is a prophet who possesses heavenly legitimacy.

His response to the gift is the peak of idealistic thinking:

> ﴿Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you.﴾

He does not negotiate on principle. Monotheism is not a commodity in the market of politics. Here appears

– _The mentality of ethics_

– And _the mentality of justice_.

Justice for him is not a settlement, but putting the thing in its right place: that none should be worshipped except Allah.

But at the same time he was not a dreamy idealist. He was realistic in his tools:

– He used intelligence (the hoopoe)

– And psychological warfare (﴿Return to them, for we will surely come to them with soldiers﴾)

– And soft power (the palace made of glass).

Conclusion: The meeting of the two spectrums in the mature political thought between Solomon and Bilqis ended at a meeting point in the mature middle of the Political Spectrum:

Solomon descended from the heights of idealism to build a realistic solution:

– He did not destroy Sheba, but absorbed it.

And Bilqis ascended from her pragmatic realism to the idealism of monotheism:

– ﴿And I have submitted with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds.﴾

_The mentality of fairness_

– Says: Understand your opponent.

_And the mentality of ethics_

Says: Do not sell your principle.

_The mentality of justice_ says: Put the right in its proper place.

_And the mentality of solution* says: Make the right livable.

And for this the result was not an occupation, but a civilizational transformation. Solomon did not come to take her throne, but to change her consciousness. And politics in its highest form is not a conflict over the existent, but transforming the non-existent into an existent befitting a hearing, seeing human who was created to be tested so he may choose.