http://www.islamicknowledge.org/history/41-prophet-solomon-sulayman-blessings-and-peace-be-upon-him.html"The Real Flying Carpet
Among what the devils
made for Prophet Solomon was a wide, carpet-like, wooden platform covered with gold and silk. This platform was big enough to carry humans, castles and other buildings, tents, supplies, horses, camels, and other animals. In the middle of it was a place for Prophet Solomon to sit. Around Prophet Solomon the pious people sat on golden chairs. Around them there were silver chairs for the scholars. The other people and jinn sat around the scholars.
Despite the vastness of the reign of Prophet Solomon, he fought in person for the sake of spreading the Religion. Prophet Solomon was constantly battling the blasphemers to spread Islam, teaching that God was the only God, without partners.
God subjugated the wind to Solomon.
The flying carpet carried him, taking Solomon wherever he wanted. If he wanted to travel or fight an enemy, the carpet would be loaded with all that an army needs. Then a special wind that was designated by God to obey Prophet Solomon would come under the carpet, raising the carpet into the sky. This wind would be as gentle as a breeze, carrying Prophet Solomon and his army to their destination.
If Prophet Solomon wanted to travel faster, he would ask for a stronger wind, and it would come.
This carpet had an amazing speed covering what was normally a one-month traveling distance in less than five hours. They would get to a place in the morning, and be back at home in the afternoon. Birds flew over them shading, and protecting them from the harmful sunrays.
The city of Tadmur, in the region of Ash-Sham was the headquarters for Prophet Solomon’s kingdom. It was cited that the jinn had built that city for him from great stones, with long pillars of yellow and white marble. One morning, Prophet Solomon headed out from Tadmur in the direction of Istakhr, one of the biggest cities of Persia. In Istakhr there was a mosque known as Solomon’s Mosque.
It would usually take a month to reach Istakhr from Tadmur, but Prophet Solomon reached it by noon. He rested a bit in the mosque, and then he headed towards Kabul in present-day Afghanistan, which also usually took a month to reach. Prophet Solomon reached there by nightfall, slept there, and headed back towards Tadmur the next morning, reaching it by noon.
Among the proofs for these trips is what was found in a house near the Tigris River. In that house, a board was found. On this board, one of the companions of Prophet Solomon, either from the humans or the jinn, had written, “We stayed in this house. We did not build it; rather it was already built. We reached Istakhr at noon and the next day returned to Ash-Sham.â€
Another story that was narrated about Prophet Solomon was that while riding his carpet he passed over a farmer plowing his land. The man looked towards him and said, “David’s family has been given a great kingdom.â€
The wind carried the words of this man to the ears of Prophet Solomon. Solomon landed and walked to the man. Prophet Solomon told the man, “I heard what you said, and I came to warn you not to wish for that which you cannot obtain. One praise of God, that God accepts from you, is better than the entire world and what is in it.†The farmer replied, “May God ease your worries like you have eased mine.â€
Out of his extreme generosity, every day Prophet Solomon slaughtered 100,000 lambs and 30,000 cows and offered it to the people. Then Solomon himself ate the bread of the poorest people, barley bread, and drank sour milk.
The concerns of Prophet Solomon were not, “What will I eat today? What will I wear today?†When Prophet Solomon did wear fancy clothes it would be done for a Religious benefit, not for the purpose of living luxuriously. When the highly righteous people take care of their clothing, it is for the purpose of having people come and gather around them to listen to the knowledge. This is so because most of the people judge by the appearances.
Our Prophet cited in his hadith that there are men with scattered uncombed hair, who are dusty. They wear two garments only, just one to cover the upper part and one to cover the lower. If they come to people, the people would not receive them and would instead send them away. However, if one of them made supplication to God, he would be answered, because he really has a very high status in the Religion. Al-Bukhariyy, Ahmad and others narrated this.
Hence if a highly pious person cares for his appearance, it is not out of love of luxury, but only so that they are not sent away. They want to be received by the people, so the people would learn the Religious knowledge.
The true richness is piety. This is why the Prophet said that richness is not by owning many things, but it is the richness of the heart."
