Author(s): Sardar Muhammad, Saad Jaffar, Noor Fatima, Syed Ghazanfar Ahmed, Asia Mukhtar
The story of Sulaiman (Solomon) and Bilquis (Sheba) has been explored from a variety of angles. The studies have been mostly focused on a variety of ideas, ethical lessons, themes like power, obsessive pursuit of wealth, wisdom, submission, arrogance, ambition, and application of linguistic models for structural analysis at one hand, and juxtaposition of different versions on the other hand. Literary comparison may be another desirable perspective of the narrative. This article explores the extent to which affinities in two narrative versions (Qur’anic and Biblical) exist. An intertextual approach has been pivotal in tracing the explicit and implicit relations of both texts. The significance of this study lies in the fact that, the story of Sulaiman (Solomon) is equally important and perhaps a major subject of study for researchers from three major religions (Jews, Christians, and Muslims). The study confirms through tracing intertextual relation of the Qur’an and the Bible, maximum affinities in both versions of Solomon-Sheba story. It opens new avenues for comparative studies of the Qur’an and the Bible.