The Qur'an gives no birth date, birth year, birthplace, parentage or childhood account for the person described in Qur'an 27:40 as having knowledge from the Book. The only secure chronological setting is his presence in Prophet Sulayman's assembly during the Sheba-throne episode. Later ancestry or birthplace claims attached to Asif ibn Barkhiya belong to post-Qur'anic tradition and are not sufficiently established for certain birth data.
The person with knowledge of the Book (unnamed)
PER-000375
Person
Confirmed
Attributed place
Cross-tradition historical
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The Qur'an introduces this individual during Prophet Sulayman's encounter with the ruler of Sheba. Sulayman asks his assembly who can bring her throne before the delegation arrives in submission. An 'ifrit from the jinn offers to bring it before Sulayman rises from his place, but the person described only as "the one who had knowledge from the Book" offers to bring it before Sulayman's glance returns. The Qur'an then says that Sulayman sees the throne settled before him and immediately attributes what has happened to the grace of his Lord and to a test of gratitude. The text therefore gives the figure an extraordinary role while leaving his personal name, ancestry, office, exact knowledge, prayer and mechanism unspecified.
Classical Muslim interpretation sought to identify and explain this person. Sunni tafsir came to favor Asif ibn Barkhiya as a righteous associate of Sulayman's court, yet early and later commentators preserve other names and even an angelic alternative. Many reports connect the event with knowledge of the Greatest Name of Allah, while later Sunni theology often cites the verse as an example of a karamah granted by Allah to a righteous servant. Imami sources also preserve Asif traditions and use the verse in discussions of divinely granted knowledge, though individual reports require their own grading cautions. Nothing in the strongest evidence securely establishes the figure's family, ordinary life chronology or grave. Later Asif mausoleums, including the UNESCO-documented tradition at Sulaiman-Too in Osh, belong to sacred and local memory rather than to an authenticated burial of the unnamed Qur'anic individual.
The Qur'an gives no death date, age at death, cause of death or death location for the unnamed person with knowledge from the Book. Later traditions that identify him as Asif ibn Barkhiya developed succession, lifespan and burial narratives, but the evidence reviewed does not establish a reliable death chronology for the Qur'anic individual. His death details remain unresolved.
Location type: Attributed shrine; authenticated burial not established. The Qur'an neither gives the individual a personal name nor provides any burial information. The identification with Asif ibn Barkhiya is exegetical rather than Qur'anic, so the Osh mausoleum attributed to Asif cannot be presented as the certain grave of the unnamed person described in Qur'an 27:40. At the southeastern foot of Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, there is a well-documented mausoleum attributed to Asaf-ibn-Burkhiya. The UNESCO nomination dossier records the monument, explains that folk tradition associates Asaf with King Solomon, and notes that Jamal Qarshi mentioned the burial tradition at the end of the thirteenth century, while the standing architectural monument is later. In this profile the site is therefore presented cautiously as an attributed shrine on the strength of that long-lived historical and devotional tradition; the attribution is not Qur'anic proof of burial. Other regions, including parts of Iran, also preserve graves and shrines attributed to Asif ibn Barkhiya. Because the Qur'anic person's individual identity remains unresolved and the burial traditions are multiple, late, or local, the Osh site is a documented attributed shrine rather than a proven grave of this figure. The actual burial place remains undetermined.
Biography and historical profile
The person remembered through Qur'an 27:40 enters the Qur'anic story at a decisive moment in Prophet Sulayman's mission to the ruler of Sheba. Sulayman asks those before him who can bring her throne before her people arrive in submission. The Qur'an first records an offer from an 'ifrit of the jinn, who says he can bring it before Sulayman rises from his place.
A second figure then speaks. The Qur'an does not give him a personal name, but describes him as "the one who had knowledge from the Book." He offers a shorter interval: the throne will be brought before Sulayman's glance returns. The next statement says that Sulayman sees the throne settled before him.
The Qur'anic focus immediately turns from extraordinary speed to divine grace. Sulayman says that this is from the favor of his Lord, a test of whether he will be grateful or ungrateful. The episode therefore should not be told as a story of autonomous magic or independent occult power. Within the verse itself, the remarkable event belongs to a moral and theological setting of knowledge, divine favor and gratitude.
The Qur'an leaves nearly every ordinary biographical detail unstated. It does not name the person Asif, Balikha, Astum, Jibril or al-Khidr; it does not identify his parents, tribe or formal office; it does not specify which "Book" is meant; and it does not give the wording of a prayer or explain the physical mechanism by which the throne appeared. These gaps are important because later interpretation became much more detailed than the revealed wording.
Al-Tabari preserves some of the earliest visible diversity. His commentary includes reports describing the figure simply as a human being or an Israelite, while other reports give names such as Balikha or Asif ibn Barkhiya. He also transmits differing explanations of the invocation and mechanism. This variety shows that no single personal identity was uniformly inherited from the Qur'anic text itself.
Asif ibn Barkhiya nevertheless became the most influential classical identification. Ibn Kathir prominently transmits the Asif attribution, including a report identifying him as Sulayman's scribe, while also preserving other proposed names. Al-Qurtubi describes the widely held view as a righteous Israelite called Asif ibn Barkhiya. Al-Baghawi similarly says that most exegetes favored Asif, while still recording alternatives that included Jibril or another angel.
A related classical explanation connects the figure's knowledge with the Greatest Name of Allah and describes a supplication answered by Allah. The reported formulas vary, and the Qur'an itself does not name the Greatest Name or quote such a prayer. The safest account therefore treats this as an important exegetical tradition explaining the verse, not as the wording of revelation.
Later Sunni theological literature frequently cites the episode when discussing karamat al-awliya, extraordinary events Allah may grant to righteous non-prophets. On that reading, the knowledgeable servant receives an extraordinary favor within the larger prophetic story of Sulayman. This interpretation also preserves the Qur'anic emphasis that the event ultimately belongs to Allah's power and grace.
Imami sources developed their own strong Asif reception. Al-Kafi contains reports explicitly naming Asif and connecting the throne event to knowledge of the Greatest Name; one cited report is graded majhul by al-Majlisi. Other Imami material uses the distinction between "knowledge from the Book" and fuller "knowledge of the Book" in theological arguments, while al-Saduq's al-Amali describes the figure as Sulayman's successor or legatee and Kamal al-Din preserves a succession chain naming Asif after Sulayman. These sources are important evidence for Imami interpretation but are not equivalent to a Qur'anic naming of the person.
The safest relationship to Sulayman is therefore that the figure was present in, or associated with, Sulayman's assembly and responded to his request. Later descriptions such as scribe, vizier, cousin or legatee vary by source and should remain attributed. The Qur'an supplies no secure birth date, birthplace, marriage, children, later career, death account or authenticated grave.
Asif's name later became attached to sacred sites in several regions. UNESCO nomination documentation for Sulaiman-Too in Osh records an Asaf-ibn-Burkhiya Mausoleum and explicitly explains that its connection rests on folk legend identifying Asaf as a supporter of King Solomon. The dossier also notes medieval mention of the burial tradition, while the surviving architectural history is later. Such sites demonstrate the long afterlife of the Asif tradition, but they do not prove that the unnamed person of Qur'an 27:40 was buried there.
What remains certain is much narrower and more powerful than the later biography: an unnamed possessor of knowledge from the Book spoke in Sulayman's assembly, the throne appeared within the interval he stated, and Sulayman responded by recognizing the grace of Allah and the test of gratitude. The enduring importance of the figure lies in that Qur'anic moment and in the many theological and devotional interpretations it inspired.
A second figure then speaks. The Qur'an does not give him a personal name, but describes him as "the one who had knowledge from the Book." He offers a shorter interval: the throne will be brought before Sulayman's glance returns. The next statement says that Sulayman sees the throne settled before him.
The Qur'anic focus immediately turns from extraordinary speed to divine grace. Sulayman says that this is from the favor of his Lord, a test of whether he will be grateful or ungrateful. The episode therefore should not be told as a story of autonomous magic or independent occult power. Within the verse itself, the remarkable event belongs to a moral and theological setting of knowledge, divine favor and gratitude.
The Qur'an leaves nearly every ordinary biographical detail unstated. It does not name the person Asif, Balikha, Astum, Jibril or al-Khidr; it does not identify his parents, tribe or formal office; it does not specify which "Book" is meant; and it does not give the wording of a prayer or explain the physical mechanism by which the throne appeared. These gaps are important because later interpretation became much more detailed than the revealed wording.
Al-Tabari preserves some of the earliest visible diversity. His commentary includes reports describing the figure simply as a human being or an Israelite, while other reports give names such as Balikha or Asif ibn Barkhiya. He also transmits differing explanations of the invocation and mechanism. This variety shows that no single personal identity was uniformly inherited from the Qur'anic text itself.
Asif ibn Barkhiya nevertheless became the most influential classical identification. Ibn Kathir prominently transmits the Asif attribution, including a report identifying him as Sulayman's scribe, while also preserving other proposed names. Al-Qurtubi describes the widely held view as a righteous Israelite called Asif ibn Barkhiya. Al-Baghawi similarly says that most exegetes favored Asif, while still recording alternatives that included Jibril or another angel.
A related classical explanation connects the figure's knowledge with the Greatest Name of Allah and describes a supplication answered by Allah. The reported formulas vary, and the Qur'an itself does not name the Greatest Name or quote such a prayer. The safest account therefore treats this as an important exegetical tradition explaining the verse, not as the wording of revelation.
Later Sunni theological literature frequently cites the episode when discussing karamat al-awliya, extraordinary events Allah may grant to righteous non-prophets. On that reading, the knowledgeable servant receives an extraordinary favor within the larger prophetic story of Sulayman. This interpretation also preserves the Qur'anic emphasis that the event ultimately belongs to Allah's power and grace.
Imami sources developed their own strong Asif reception. Al-Kafi contains reports explicitly naming Asif and connecting the throne event to knowledge of the Greatest Name; one cited report is graded majhul by al-Majlisi. Other Imami material uses the distinction between "knowledge from the Book" and fuller "knowledge of the Book" in theological arguments, while al-Saduq's al-Amali describes the figure as Sulayman's successor or legatee and Kamal al-Din preserves a succession chain naming Asif after Sulayman. These sources are important evidence for Imami interpretation but are not equivalent to a Qur'anic naming of the person.
The safest relationship to Sulayman is therefore that the figure was present in, or associated with, Sulayman's assembly and responded to his request. Later descriptions such as scribe, vizier, cousin or legatee vary by source and should remain attributed. The Qur'an supplies no secure birth date, birthplace, marriage, children, later career, death account or authenticated grave.
Asif's name later became attached to sacred sites in several regions. UNESCO nomination documentation for Sulaiman-Too in Osh records an Asaf-ibn-Burkhiya Mausoleum and explicitly explains that its connection rests on folk legend identifying Asaf as a supporter of King Solomon. The dossier also notes medieval mention of the burial tradition, while the surviving architectural history is later. Such sites demonstrate the long afterlife of the Asif tradition, but they do not prove that the unnamed person of Qur'an 27:40 was buried there.
What remains certain is much narrower and more powerful than the later biography: an unnamed possessor of knowledge from the Book spoke in Sulayman's assembly, the throne appeared within the interval he stated, and Sulayman responded by recognizing the grace of Allah and the test of gratitude. The enduring importance of the figure lies in that Qur'anic moment and in the many theological and devotional interpretations it inspired.
Historical importance and legacy
The unnamed figure of Qur'an 27:40 became important in Islamic thought because the verse brings together knowledge, extraordinary action and gratitude without turning any of them into independent power. The throne episode culminates in Sulayman's statement that what has happened is from the grace of his Lord and a test of whether he will be grateful. That response provides the controlling theological frame for the event.
In Sunni tafsir, Asif ibn Barkhiya became the leading identification, usually as a righteous Israelite associated with Sulayman's court and sometimes as one who knew the Greatest Name of Allah. At the same time, the preservation of alternative names and even angelic identifications makes the passage a useful example of how a dominant exegetical tradition can remain distinct from the wording of the Qur'an.
Later Sunni theology frequently cites the verse in discussions of karamat al-awliya. On the common righteous-human interpretation, the event illustrates an extraordinary favor granted by Allah to a non-prophetic servant while remaining part of Sulayman's prophetic mission. This reception made the verse important in wider debates about divine gifts to righteous people.
In Imami thought, Asif became an important benchmark in discussions of divinely granted knowledge. Al-Kafi and later works connect him with knowledge of the Greatest Name and with the distinction between "knowledge from the Book" and fuller "knowledge of the Book." The evidentiary grades of individual reports still matter, but the reception itself is historically significant.
The Asif tradition also entered sacred geography. The mausoleum tradition at Sulaiman-Too in Osh, along with other regional graves attributed to Asif, shows how the exegetical figure developed a lasting devotional presence far beyond the Qur'anic scene. These sites document memory and veneration; they do not establish the historical burial of a conclusively identified individual.
In Sunni tafsir, Asif ibn Barkhiya became the leading identification, usually as a righteous Israelite associated with Sulayman's court and sometimes as one who knew the Greatest Name of Allah. At the same time, the preservation of alternative names and even angelic identifications makes the passage a useful example of how a dominant exegetical tradition can remain distinct from the wording of the Qur'an.
Later Sunni theology frequently cites the verse in discussions of karamat al-awliya. On the common righteous-human interpretation, the event illustrates an extraordinary favor granted by Allah to a non-prophetic servant while remaining part of Sulayman's prophetic mission. This reception made the verse important in wider debates about divine gifts to righteous people.
In Imami thought, Asif became an important benchmark in discussions of divinely granted knowledge. Al-Kafi and later works connect him with knowledge of the Greatest Name and with the distinction between "knowledge from the Book" and fuller "knowledge of the Book." The evidentiary grades of individual reports still matter, but the reception itself is historically significant.
The Asif tradition also entered sacred geography. The mausoleum tradition at Sulaiman-Too in Osh, along with other regional graves attributed to Asif, shows how the exegetical figure developed a lasting devotional presence far beyond the Qur'anic scene. These sites document memory and veneration; they do not establish the historical burial of a conclusively identified individual.
Family relationships
Sources
Qur'an | Divine revelation | An-Naml 27:38-40 | https://quran.com/en/an-naml/38-40 | primary text: Sulayman's request, 'ifrit's offer, unnamed person with knowledge from the Book, throne appearing, Sulayman's gratitudeTafsir al-Tabari | Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari | Commentary on An-Naml 27:40; displayed p. 380, printed pagination varies | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura27-aya40.html | multiple early identity reports: unnamed human, Israelite/human, Balikha, Asif; Greatest-Name and mechanism variants
Tafsir Ibn Kathir | Isma'il ibn 'Umar Ibn Kathir | Commentary on An-Naml 27:40; displayed p. 380, printed pagination varies | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura27-aya40.html | prominent Asif attribution plus Astum, Balikha, Dhu al-Nur and unusual al-Khidr variant
Tafsir al-Qurtubi | Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurtubi | Commentary on An-Naml 27:40; displayed p. 380, printed pagination varies | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura27-aya40.html | majority identification as righteous Israelite Asif ibn Barkhiya; knowledge-of-Book explanations
Ma'alim al-Tanzil (Tafsir al-Baghawi) | al-Husayn ibn Mas'ud al-Baghawi | Commentary on An-Naml 27:40; displayed p. 380, printed pagination varies | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/baghawy/sura27-aya40.html | preserves Jibril/angel alternatives and majority Asif identification
Tafsir al-Sa'di | Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di | Commentary on An-Naml 27:40; pagination varies | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/saadi/sura27-aya40.html | righteous learned-man/Asif interpretation with caution about exact mechanism
Dorar Sunni Tafsir Encyclopedia | Al-Durar al-Saniyyah | An-Naml 27:38-44 synthesis | https://dorar.net/tafseer/27/6 | summarizes majority Asif identification and classical views, including Ibn Atiyya and Ibn Taymiyya
Dorar Sunni Creed Encyclopedia | Al-Durar al-Saniyyah | Karamat evidence from Qur'an, section citing 27:40 | https://dorar.net/aqeeda/1652/ | later Sunni theological use of the verse as evidence for extraordinary karamat of righteous servants
Al-Kafi | Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni | Vol. 1, Book 4, Ch. 36, Hadith 1; Mir'at al-'Uqul 3/35 grades majhul | https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/4/36/1 | Imami report explicitly naming Asif and linking the throne event to one 'letter' of the Greatest Name; grading caution retained
Al-Kafi | Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni | Vol. 1, Book 4, Ch. 36, Hadith 3 | https://thaqalayn.net/chapter/1/4/36 | Imami report explicitly naming Asif and describing the throne event; used as Imami reception evidence
Al-Kafi | Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni | Vol. 1, Book 4, Ch. 35, Hadith 5; Mir'at al-'Uqul citation shown on page | https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/4/35/5 | Imami theological comparison between 'knowledge from the Book' in 27:40 and knowledge of the whole Book
Al-Amali | Shaykh al-Saduq | Vol. 1, Assembly 83, Hadith 3; chain shown online, grading not independently established here | https://thaqalayn.net/chapter/29/1/83 | report describing the 27:40 figure as the successor/legatee of Sulayman; no personal name in that wording
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'ma | Shaykh al-Saduq | Book 2, Chapter 22, Hadith 1 | https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/39/2/22/1 | Imami succession-chain tradition naming Asif ibn Barkhiya after Sulayman
Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain nomination dossier | Kyrgyz Republic / UNESCO World Heritage Centre | nomination file 1230rev, Asaf-ibn-Burkhiya Mausoleum section | https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1230rev.pdf | official heritage evidence for Osh mausoleum and its explicit folk-legend Asaf attribution; not burial authentication
ICOMOS/World Heritage evaluation material for Sulaiman-Too | UNESCO World Heritage Centre | WHC-08/32.COM/INF.8B1.Add | https://whc.unesco.org/document/100760 | identifies Asaf-ibn-Burkhiya Mausoleum as a historic Islamic monument at Sulaiman-Too; establishes heritage site, not identity of Qur'anic performer
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