The Quran Verse
Surah 38:34:
And We certainly tried Solomon and placed on his throne a body ; then he returned." ()
The Relevant Source Text (Jewish Folklore)
The Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 68a–b):
In this famous Jewish Haggadic legend, Solomon is tricked by the king of demons, Asmodeus (Ashmedai). The demon steals Solomon’s magical signet ring, alters his physical appearance to look like Solomon, and sits on his throne—ruling Israel in his place for several years while the real Solomon is forced to wander the land as a penniless beggar.
The phrase "placed on his throne a body" (jasad) is incredibly cryptic and unexplained within the Quranic text itself.
Classical Islamic commentators (like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir) have to rely directly on these Jewish myths to explain what the verse even means.
Critics argue that this proves the author of the Quran was exposed to popular Jewish folklore circulating in the 7th-century marketplace, but only captured an enigmatic fragment of the story, canonizing an unbiblical fable as literal divine revelation.