The meaning of Allah's saying: 'Then when We decreed death for him...'

Q 12: Allah stated in Surah Saba': Then when We decreed death for him [Sulaimân (Solomon)], nothing informed them (jinn) of his death except a little worm of the earth which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick. He considers "Dabbat Al-Arad" (i.e. worm, ant, or any creature of the earth in English) a reference to Rahbi`am ibn Sulayman, who during his reign the kingdom of Solomon became weak. Likewise, the word "Minsa'ah" (i.e. stick) - he claims - figuratively refers to Solomon's power?

A 12: The Qur'an is revealed in the language of Arabs through which the intended meanings of Ayahs are understood. The term "Dabbah" is never figuratively used in Arabic to refer to a certain man as an indication of his weakness. Similarly, the stick is not used to refer to power. However, 'Dabbah" is commonly used to refer to any creature that walks on the earth or to the quadrupeds. Additionally, there is no evidence allowing it to be used metaphorically to refer to a certain person like Rahb`am, the son of Solomon, (Part No. 3; Page No. 363) as mentioned in the question. The same is true with regard to the stick. It cannot be interpreted as power, because this is regarded as distortion of the meaning of the Qur'an. Moreover, this interpretation goes against the meaning of the following Ayah in which Allah stated: So when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that if they had known the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment. Thus, whoever gives this interpretation is a heretic who distorts and misinterprets the meaning of the Book of Allah with no proof to support his claims.