It is said that Solomon taught his vizier and scribe, Asif wisdom. And on account of his knowledge of God’s Names and the Secret Letters and mastery of the djinn, Asif was able to bring the Queen of Sheba to Solomon in the blink of an eye.

In another tradition Asif is a djinn

But not all the djinn were obedient and King Solomon bound many of them as punishment for their rebellion. It said scores of metal vessels and stone pillars found in the world contain djinn trapped until they are released by the unwise

One of the djinn is a ten-headed monster bound by King Solomon and Bilqis the Queen of Sheba under Aden in Yemen.

This djinn was an ifrit with a penchant for poetry competitions

He would ambush travelers and demand they compete with him

In another tradition, Solomon bounds up Qarinah’s hair to limit her powers of seduction and temptation

He also binds her ally who causes sudden infant death

Another rebellious djinn managed to steal the ring of Solomon. The wily, Habiqiq took on the form of the king and ruled for several days while Solomon was forced to wander as a pauper.

The usurpers reign is a disaster and he’s forced to fly away. During flight he drops the ring

The ring is swallowed by a fish and returned to Solomon when he buys it out of hunger. He cuts it open and finds his ring.

Restored to power he punishes the rebellious djinn by locking him in a chest and tossing it into the ocean

In a Malaysian version of the story, the djinn is forced to guard a shrine in Morocco until the end of time

Several ancient sites are associated with Solomon’s djinn who built his temple and palace, Palmyra, Aden, and Ghumdan Palace

As a result of these legends, Solomon becomes the prototype in Islamic esotericism and occultism for the djinn binder. His name and image appear on talismans along with the name Fqts.

His ring or seal becomes the ultimate talisman

It is said to contain a secret Name of God, a pentagram or hexagram, and seven glyphs.

Some have hypothesized that the glyphs are derived from cuneiform

There is a tradition that indicates that Ali the son in law of Muhammad is given or finds the ring and so is said to also have dominion over the djinn

But my favorite legend of the ring states that one time Solomon gave his ring to a winged bird-like djinn to carry to the Queen of Sheba but the poor creature gets lost and dazed drops the ring in the ocean whereupon touching the waters it forms the island of Comoro

The legends of Solomon and his djinn are rich, varied, and are a fascinating entry way into Islamic esoteric beliefs and practices

I’ll be expanding on them in future threads