Amatul Rahmân Omer:
And when We ordained death for him (- Solomon) the people only came to know of his death through a (worthless) creature of earth (- Solomon´s son) that was eating away his (father´s) staff (- ruling power and glory). So when it fell down the jinn realized then plainly that had they known the secret (of the hollowness of the kingdom) they would have never remained in (a state of) humiliating torment.
