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Bismillah.
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُودَ
Sulaymān inherited from Dāwūd.
(Sūrat al-Naml No. 27, Āyat 16)
Prophet Sulaymān the son of Prophet Dāwūd ‘alayhimas-salām was one of the important prophets and the third monarch of the Banū Isrā’īl. To provide a bit of historical context: under the leadership of Prophet Mūsā (a) about three centuries before Sulaymān, the Banū Isrā’īl had been liberated from slavery and led out of Egypt in what is known as the exodus. For forty years thereafter they were punished by Allah due to their transgression and made to wander in the Sinai desert until they finally entered the land of Palestine under Mūsā’s successor, Yūsha‘ bin Nūn. Centuries later the twelve tribes of the Banū Isrā’īl who lived scattered across different areas of Palestine came together and formed a kingdom. Their first king was Tālūt and after him was Dāwūd (a).
Dāwūd (a) strengthened this kingdom, conquering the city of Jerusalem. During the reign of his son Sulaymān (a) the kingdom’s grandeur reached its climax, as he ruled by Allah’s miracle over men, jinn, birds and even the wind! Therefore, it can be said that both the worldly position of being king and the spiritual position of prophethood were inherited by Sulaymān from his father. This can also be seen in the above verse of Sūrat al-Naml. The verse prior to this mentioned the special knowledge and merit that Allah bestowed upon father and son, and this verse now mentions how the son inherited from the father.
However, the idea of a prophet inheriting must be understood alongside other verses that clearly say prophethood is dependent on the will of Allah. For example, consider these verses: اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا وَمِنَ النَّاسِ – Allah chooses messengers from angels and from mankind. (Q 22:75) and اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ –Allah knows best where to place His apostleship! (Q 6:124)
Undoubtedly, the lofty position of prophethood is one that God bestows upon an individual due to their own merit. Yet at the same time, a child is reared in the lap of their parents. Their very existence and any merit they have—even while being truly their own and due to their own free will—is not independent of their parents. In this sense, if they follow in the footsteps of their parents and manifest the perfections that their parents possessed, then to say they have inherited this is correct.
Such is also the case with scholars of Islam today. In a narration from the sixth Imam, Ja ‘far al-Sādiq ‘alayhis-salām, it is mentioned that the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. Just like the explanation given about Sulaymān (a), this is not an arbitrary inheritance! Rather it is a reality, and it applies when these scholars exhibit the qualities of the prophets such as knowledge and piety, and when they undertake the prophets’ responsibilities such as guidance and leadership.
One such example of an heir of the prophets during recent times was Imam Mūsā Sadr who tragically went missing in the year 1978. He was the son of a marja’ named Sadr al-Dīn Sadr and was born and raised in Qom where he started his seminary studies from a young age. He quickly excelled in his studies and took on different responsibilities in Qom such as teaching, editing a journal, and trying to reform the seminary. For a few years he lived in Najaf, and it is reported that Ayatullah Khoei was very sad to see him leave when he returned to Qom. In his early thirties, he left Iran and moved to Lebanon, the land of his forefathers. There he took over the social work that had been started by the late ‘Abdul-Husayn Sharaf al-Dīn, a distant relative of his. For almost twenty years, Mūsā Sadr tirelessly worked to help the downtrodden community of Lebanese Shī‘ah. With his unique charisma and management skills, combined with a sincere humility and love for others, he succeeded in uniting and strengthening the Shī‘ah and forming strong relationships with other Muslim and Christian groups in Lebanon. Given the time that has now passed since his disappearance it is very unlikely that he is still alive. May Allah bless him and raise him with his pure forefathers in the hereafter.
Sources: Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī, Sīreh-ye Payambarān dar Qur’ān (Tafsīr-e Mawdu’ī, vol. 7).