Āṣaf b. Barakhyā, vizier, scribe or companion of the prophet Sulaymān (Solomon). Almost all of the accounts to be found in the Muslim commentaries and qiṣaṣ works which mention his name refer to Sūrat al-Naml in which Sulaymān asks his courtiers to bring him the throne of Bilqīs (or Bilqays, the Queen of Sheba) before her arrival. One of the courtiers responds, ‘I will fetch it to you in the twinkling of an eye’ (Q 27:39–40). Exegetes are divided over the identity of the person who made this suggestion. Some of them state that i…