It is narrated from Umar bin Ali bin Husayn; he said: I was walking with my uncle Muhammad bin Ali bin Husayn, and I said: "People claim that Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) asked his Lord for a kingdom that would befit no one after him, and they took it to the limit of twenty." He said: "I do not know what the people's stories are, but my father Ali bin Husayn narrated to me from his father, from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Allah Almighty will never grant a king in the nation of a prophet who has passed away before him a lifespan as long as the life that prophet spent among his nation.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah Almighty: "And (remember) Dawud and Sulayman, when they gave judgement concerning the field, when the sheep of the people strayed into it at night" [Surah al-Anbiya: 78] ; he said: "It was a vineyard whose clusters had sprouted, and the sheep ruined it." He further said: "So Dawud (peace be upon him) judged that the sheep be given to the owner of the vineyard. Upon this Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: 'O Prophet of Allah! Could there be a judgement other than this?' Dawud (peace be upon him) asked: 'What is that?' Sulayman (peace be upon him) said: 'You should hand the vineyard over to the owner of the sheep so that he tends it until it returns to its former state, and hand the sheep over to the owner of the vineyard so that he benefits from them. Then, when the vineyard has returned to its original state, you return the vineyard to its owner and the sheep to their owner.'" (Concerning this) Allah Almighty says: "So We gave Sulayman understanding of it, and to each of them We gave judgement and knowledge" [Surah al-Anbiya: 79]

Muhammad bin Ja'far bin Muhammad narrates from his father; he said: Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) was given dominion over the easts and the wests of the earth, and Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) ruled for seven hundred years and six months. He ruled over all the people of the world, the jinn, humans, devils, beasts, birds and predatory animals, and he was given knowledge of everything and the speech (mantiq) of everything. In his time wondrous things (crafts) were made that people have heard of, and they were made subservient to him. He continued managing the command of Allah, His light and His wisdom, until, when Allah Almighty willed to take his soul, He revealed to him: "Entrust the knowledge of Allah and His wisdom to your brother and to the children of Dawud (peace be upon him)." And they were four hundred and eighty men who were prophets without a messengership.

It is narrated from Imam al-Sha'bi; he said: The Banu Ishaq compiled a chronology from the sending of Musa (peace be upon him) until the kingdom of Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both). He said: "And Sulayman (peace be upon him) became the heir of Dawud (peace be upon him)." He further said: "Allah sent prophethood to him, and he asked Allah for a kingdom that would befit no one after him, so Allah made the jinn, humans, birds and the wind subservient to him."

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ka'b; he said: It has reached us that the army of Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) (extended over) one hundred farsakhs: twenty-five of them for humans, twenty-five for the jinn, twenty-five for wild animals and twenty-five for birds. He had a thousand houses of glass upon wood, in which were three hundred free wives and seven hundred slave-women. He commanded the violent wind and it lifted him, then he commanded the wind and it travelled with him. Then, while he was travelling between the heaven and the earth, Allah Almighty revealed to him: "I have added to your kingdom that no one among the creation will speak about anything except that the wind will come and inform you of it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both); he said: Six hundred chairs used to be placed for Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both). Then the nobles of mankind would come and sit near him, then the nobles of the jinn would come and sit near the nobles of mankind. Then he would call the birds and they would shade them, then he would call the wind and it would carry them. He further said: "So he would travel in a single morning the distance of a month's journey."

It is narrated from Amr bin Abdullah al-Wadi'i; he said that he heard Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "Four people have ruled the earth: Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both), Dhu al-Qarnayn, a man from the people of Hulwan, and another man." It was said to him: "Is he al-Khadir (peace be upon him)?" He said: "No." (After this) the account of the Prophet of Allah Zakariyya bin Adan (peace be upon him) begins.

Abu Malik narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and Murrah from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him); they said: The last prophet of the Children of Israel was Zakariyya bin Adan bin Muslim, and he was from the descendants of Ya'qub (peace be upon him). He said (in explanation of this verse): "'Who will inherit from me' my kingdom, 'and inherit from the family of Ya'qub' prophethood."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was a carpenter." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim. (After this) the account of the Prophet of Allah Yahya bin Zakariyya (peace be upon them both) begins.

Abu Malik and Abu Salih narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and Murrah al-Hamdani from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him); they said: Zakariyya (peace be upon him) called upon his Lord secretly, "Zakariyya called upon his Lord" [Surah Al Imran: 38] , and said: "My Lord, my bones have weakened and my head has blazed (turned white) with grey hair, and never, my Lord, have I been deprived in my supplication to You" [Surah Maryam: 4] . "And I fear my relatives after me" [Surah Maryam: 5] . (By "al-mawali" is meant) the 'asabah (paternal relatives). "And my wife is barren, so grant me from Yourself an heir" [Surah Maryam: 5] , "who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Ya'qub" [Surah Maryam: 6] ; that is, he will inherit my prophethood and the prophethood of the family of Ya'qub. "And make him, my Lord, pleasing (to You)" [Surah Maryam: 6] . And his saying: "Grant me from Yourself good offspring", meaning blessed offspring, "Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication" [Surah Al Imran: 38] . And he said: "My Lord, do not leave me alone, and You are the best of inheritors" [Surah al-Anbiya: 89] . "Then the angels called him", meaning Jibril (peace be upon him), "while he was standing in prayer in the prayer chamber: 'Indeed, Allah gives you glad tidings'" [Surah Al Imran: 39] "of a boy whose name is Yahya; We have not given this name to anyone before" [Surah Maryam: 7] ; that is, no one before him had been named Yahya. And the angels said: "Indeed, Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, confirming a word from Allah", that is, he would confirm Isa (peace be upon him), "and a leader and one who abstains from women" [Surah Al Imran: 39] . And "al-hasur" means a person who has no need (desire) for women. When he heard this call, Satan came to him and said: "O Zakariyya! The voice you heard is not from Allah; rather it is from Satan, who has mocked you. Had it been from Allah, He would have revealed it to you just as He reveals other matters to you." So he fell into doubt on the spot and said: "How will I have a boy?", meaning from where (will I have a boy?), "when old age has reached me and my wife is barren? He said: Thus Allah does what He wills" [Surah Al Imran: 40] . "And I created you before, when you were nothing" [Surah Maryam: 9] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.