Did Solomon's Kingdom Border Yemen? — Refuting the Misuse of Quran 27:22
A claim has circulated among certain revisionist historians that the Children of Israel never inhabited Palestine — that they lived instead in Yemen. Among the evidence cited for this position is a verse from Surah An-Naml. The argument collapses entirely upon examination of classical Arabic tafsir.
The Objection
The hoopoe traveled to Yemen (Sheba) and returned — and the Quran says he “stayed not far away.” This means the distance between Solomon’s kingdom and Yemen was short. Therefore, Solomon and the Children of Israel lived near Yemen, perhaps in the same region. Furthermore, the hoopoe traveled without Solomon’s permission and thus without his special wind — so the distance must have been very short.
The Quranic Verse
“So he stayed not far away, and said: I have encompassed that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news.”
The Response
The argument rests entirely on reading famakatha ghayra ba’id (فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ) as a statement of distance. Every major classical commentator on the Quran reads it as a statement of time. This single correction dismantles the entire argument.
First: “Famakatha” Denotes Time, Not Distance — The Consensus of Classical Tafsir
The historian’s reading requires the phrase to mean “he did not travel far.” The classical scholars are unanimous that it means “he did not stay long.”
(Famakatha) — with a damma on the kaf and a fatha — (ghayra ba’id): a short time.
So the hoopoe stayeda short time.
[!scholar] Al-Baydawi — Tafsir Al-Baydawi
(Famakatha ghayra ba’id): a short time — not long.
[!scholar] Ibn Kathir — Tafsir Ibn Kathir
“The hoopoe stayed — ghayra ba’id — meaning: he was absent for a short time.”
Sibawayh said: makatha yamkuthu mukuthan — just as they say qadda yaqudu qududan. He said: makatha functions as an adverb of time.
[!scholar] Al-Baghawi — Tafsir Al-Baghawi
(Famakatha) — with the opening of the kaf, and others read it with the closing — these are two dialects. (Ghayra ba’id): meaning not long.
The word makatha is an Arabic expression for the passage of time — not the covering of distance. This is the position of Sibawayh, the foremost authority in Arabic grammar, and is affirmed without exception across the major works of tafsir.
Second: The Period Referenced Is from Solomon’s Question to the Hoopoe’s Return — Not the Hoopoe’s Full Journey
Even if one were to grant that duration could somehow imply proximity of distance, the classical commentators specify precisely which duration the verse refers to — and it further undermines the historian’s reading.
This is the most correct and sound opinion.
The verse does not describe the duration of the hoopoe’s journey from departure to return. It describes the brief waiting period Solomon experienced after he noticed the hoopoe’s absence and before the hoopoe reappeared. The statement is about Solomon’s wait — not the hoopoe’s travel distance.
1. The word famakatha ghayra ba’id expresses time, not place or distance — confirmed by Al-Jalalayn, Al-Muyassar, Al-Baydawi, Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtubi, Al-Baghawi, and the grammatical authority of Sibawayh.
2. The duration referred to is the period from Solomon’s inquiry to the hoopoe’s return — not the hoopoe’s travel time from Sheba, making the verse entirely irrelevant to any claim about geographic proximity.
The attempt to derive the geographic location of Solomon’s kingdom from this verse is a misreading of Arabic — one that no classical scholar, linguist, or commentator supports.