Why is it important that Allah (sw) mentioned the Queen of Sheba (Bilqis) uncovering her legs?
She entered Prophet Suleiman's glass palace and thought the floor was water. So she lifted her clothing to walk through. He assured her that it was only glass.
Immediately after, she proclaimed, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself and I submit with Suleiman to Allah, Lord of the worlds."
Suleiman's simple letter. Rejecting her gifts. Her luxurious, personalized misplaced throne. Nothing attested her belief. But it all added up, until she lifted her clothing and exposed her legs.
And one of the ayat of the Quran is dedicated to painting this endearing scene. Why?
Ruling the kingdom of Sabah filled the queen's life with prosperity and riches. But that smallest action revealed a fundamental part of her nature- a love for carefulness and gracefulness, and a momentary loss of it. By lifting her clothing, she was more concerned about her clothing getting wet, than impropriety and image.
When she realized this, the physical exposure of her legs translated into an exposure of character: a frivolous love for the Dunya, and the ability to make mistakes like any person. Beneath all those fancy, expansive garments was the flesh of a woman, like the body of any normal woman.
Scientifically, when a person wears revealing clothing or shows more skin, this incites the viewer to see the person as an emotional, sensual being. With clothes, a person is seen to have more intellect/mental agency. With less clothing, a person is seen as an emotional being.
In contemporary media and films, skin reveals or skin-ship is often portrayed as endearing romantic endeavors or a means of getting emotionally closer to a person- someone who you feel more vulnerable around. Additionally, rulers are also generally more conscious about what they wear, the social implications of their clothing, and the style of walk, because they are constantly scrutinized.
With all this said, Bilqis probably felt sheepish about her action and a bit vulnerable. She realized this: she is a great ruler, but above all, she is a woman who makes mistakes, a flawed human being. The legs she revealed and Suleiman's following gentle remark perhaps also ignited an emotional connection in her with him.
Stripped from her gracefulness and propriety in front of a king, she finally reached the perfect state of humbleness to accept Islam. And she proclaimed her submission to Allah (sw) with Suleiman, clearly seeing him as her equal, reinforcing the connection she felt with him.
Sometimes the small miscalculations in our steps remind us of our frailty as human beings. Beneath the clothes we wear, is a stumbling, blundering body, like every other human body. This can humble us and return us to our truest purpose in this world: to submit to the Creator to whom all majesty belongs.
