{And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful"}1. An indication from Him toward Asif, His successor; for He is his Lord who favored him.
His saying: {He said, "Disguise for her her throne; we will see whether she will be guided or will be of those who are not guided"}2—meaning her science. This is an address to the Gate to repeat it to her. She then said: {"It is as though it were it"} meaning: it is not my science, but it resembles it. Bilqis is Safiyya bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab al-Khaybariyya.
The words of the Almighty: {Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, "O ants, enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his soldiers crush you while they do not perceive"}3. The "Ant" is Umm Salama, who is the jewel of the Gate and one of his personages.
The "Ants" are the believers. Her saying: "enter your dwellings"—she commanded the believers to conceal science until Solomon permits them, because it was a time of Dissimulation and concealment. "lest Solomon... crush you"—meaning: lest he punish you for broadcasting it prematurely.
{So [Solomon] smiled, laughing at her speech}4—smiling is a sign of satisfaction with what she said.
(557) By the chain from our Master al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory—that he was asked regarding the words of the Almighty: {Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for hope}5. He—exalted be his glory—said: "Wealth (al-mal): that which inclined (amala) the hearts of the believers toward the recognition of the science of the Gate. Children: the Orphans. Adornment of the worldly life: the Nakibs. The enduring good deeds: striving for the needs of the believers."