The story of Saba’

All perfect praise is due to Allaah; I testify that there is none
worthyof worship except Allaah and thatMuhammadis His Slave and
Messenger;as well as his family and all his companions.
Allaah Says )what means(:"There was for ]the tribe of[ Saba' in their
dwelling place a sign: two ]fields of[ gardens on the right and on the
left. ]They were told[: 'Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be
grateful to Him. A good land ]you have[, and a forgiving Lord.' But
they turned away ]refusing[, so We sent uponthem the flood of the dam
]i.e. the overwhelming flood that caused a break in their dam[, andWe
replaced their two ]fields of[ gardens with gardens of bitter fruit,
tamarisks and something ofsparse lote trees. ]By[ that We repaid them
because they disbelieved. And do We ]thus[ repay except the
ungrateful?AndWe placed between them and thecities which We had
blessed ]In the lands of what is now southern Syria and Palestine[
]many[ visible cities. And We determined between them the ]distances
of[ journey ]i.e., We placed the intermediate settlements at
calculated distances for the convenience of travellers.[, ]saying[:
'Travel between them by night or by day in safety.' But ]insolently[
they said: 'Our Lord! Lengthen the distance between our journeys,' and
wronged themselves, so We made them narrations ]i.e., their story
became a tale related amongst people to take an example from[ and
dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs for
everyone patient and grateful. And Satan had already confirmed through
them ]i.e. the people of Saba'[ hisassumption ]i.e., that mankind
could readily be misled by him.[, so they followed him, except for a
party of believers. And he had over them no authority except ]it was
decreed[ that We might make evident who believes in theHereafter from
who is thereof in doubt. And your Lord, over all things, is
Guardian."]Quran 34: 15-21[
The people ofSaba'were the kings of Yemen andBalqees,the wife
ofSulaymaanwas from them. The people ofSaba'lived happy and joyful
lives that were full of blessings; their sustenancewas abundant and
their trees and plants very fruitful. Allaah sent messengers to them,
instructing them to eat from what He had provided for them and show
gratitude towards Him,as well as to worship Him alone and believe in
His oneness. They adhered to these instructions for a while, but then
shunned His commandments, and were thus punished by a flood on their
land.
Ibn 'Abbaas,narrated that a man came to the Prophetandasked him
whetherSaba'was a name of a man, a woman or a land; the
Prophetanswered by saying:"It is the name of a man who had ten
children from his progeny, all of whom were Arab; six of them later
lived in Yemen and four in Shaam )i.e., ancient Syria(. The ones in
Yemen were later known as the tribes ofMathhij, Kindah, Al-Azd,
Al-Ashaa'iriyyoon, Anmaar and Himyar. As for the ones who livedin
Shaam, they were to be the known tribes of Lakhm, Juthaam,'Aamilah and
Ghassaan."]Ahmad[
ImaamIbn Katheer,said:"The meaning of the saying of the Prophet:"…who
had ten children from his progeny, all of whom were Arab"is that these
ten descended from his offspring,to whom all the Arab tribes
originate. It does not mean that they were his direct children,
because between him and some of them were two or three generations,
and more in some cases. After the flood of the dam hit their area,
some remained in their land, while others left to other locations."End
of quote.
The sign that Allaah gave to themrefers to their land, which was
blessed with fields of gardens, as well as being protected from
afflictions, all of which necessitated gratitude. These gardens
yielded enough fruits to suffice them, so they were overwhelmed by the
happiness ofbeing free from need. Allaah commanded them to express
gratitude for these favours, namely:
1.The abundant provision He provided for them from these two gardens.
2.Good land, a beautiful climate and few cases of sickness )i.e., they
rarely became sick due to the nice weather Allaah blessed them with(.
3.The forgiveness they were promised in return for expressinggratitude
towards Allaah.
Instead of continuing to be thankful, they turned away and shunned the
commandments of Allaah; they shunned monotheism and His worship,and
refused to be thankful; they began worshipping the sun instead of
Allaah, as the hoopoe bird informedSulaymaansaying, as Allaahinforms
us what means:"… 'I have come to you from Saba' with certain news.
Indeed, Ifound there a woman ruling them, and she has been givenof all
things, and she has a great throne. I found her and her people
prostrating to the sun instead of Allaah, and Satan has made their
deeds pleasing to them and averted them from ]His[way, so they are not
guided."]Quran27: 22-24[
The flood that Allaah sent upon them comprised of a huge amount of
water, which resulted in the total destruction of their gardens; their
fruitful trees were rendered into others that were useless, bearing
bitter fruits.
Look what happened to them! Look how their gardens, with their
fruitful trees, pleasant shade and fine natural views, were rendered
into thorns and trees with bitter fruits, all of which resulted from
their ungratefulness, their refusal of the truth and their association
with Allaah. What was the result?"…That We repaid them"meaning that
they were punished.
Allaah knew that these people needed to travel in order to conduct
trade with people of other villages, so He facilitated for them the
means to reach these places for trade in a very easy manner, without
them having to encounter any difficulties or feeling fearful in the
least whilst on their journeys.This was another of the favours that
Allaah had bestowed upon them. There were villages along their way
which were close in distance, so that they would not have to carry
much provision and water for their trips; also, the way to their
destination was simple and well-known so that they would not get lost.
Their travel was safe, regardless of whether they travelled during
theday or by night, as an additional bounty.
Nonetheless, they did not appreciate these bounties and favours from
Allaah, and instead of being grateful, they requested that Allaah make
their trips lengthy. They became very ungrateful and supplicated for
distances that demanded large amounts of provision for their trips;
therefore, their journeys became frightening ones, which also required
much effort to complete. These people acted just as the children of
Israel did with ProphetMoosaa,when they requested him to provide them
with green herbs, cucumbers, garlic, lentils and onions instead of
having the bountiful provisions and life that Allaah had provided them
with; this is why Allaah addressed the children of Israel sayingwhat
means:"…'Would you exchange what is better for what is less? Go into
]any[ settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked.' And
they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger
from Allaah ]upon them[…"]Quran 2: 61[
The punishment that befell them was exemplary; an illustration
forpeople of how they would instigate the punishment of Allaah if they
were to ever act with ungratefulness. Also, it is a lesson for the
afflicted to persevere through hardships; it isalso proof that
punishment befalls the disobedient in this life prior to the one they
will face in the Hereafter.Mutarraf,used to say:"The best slave is he
who when blessed gives thanks and when afflicted, perseveres."
Suhayb ibn Sinaan,narrated that the Prophetsaid:"How wonderful is the
case of a believer! There is goodness for him in everything, and this
is not the case with anyone except for abeliever. If prosperity
attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allaah, and that is good for
him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently, and that
is also good for him."]Muslim[
Satan has taken a vow to misleadmankind, as Allaah informs us, saying
what means:"]Satan[ said:'By your might, I will surely mislead them
all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants.'"]Quran 38: 82-83[
Satan was not certain of what he would do, because he could not have
been; this is due to the fact that what would happen in the future was
something of the unknown and unseen for him, and thus it was merely an
assumption on his part. The people ofSaba'in general are amongst those
for whom Satan's assumption came true, and they indeed followed his
way. On the other hand, therewas a group of them who did notfollow
Satan, and these were thus included in the exception mentioned in the
abovementioned verses of ChapterSaad.
Allaah affirms that Satan has no power or authority over people to
force them to do anything;Imaam Al-Hasan Al-Basri,said:"I swear by
Allaah! Satan hasno stick with him with which he hits people to )force
them to( follow his way; this is nothing but whispers and
self-delusion on the part of people – he simply calls people, and they
respond."End of quote.
The wisdom behind allowing Satan to do what he does and whisper to
people is to test themand make evident those amongstthem who are
truthful, and thosewho are liars.
There are many lessons one can derive from this great story, the
following are but some of them:
·The people ofSaba'are a real life example to anyone who even
contemplates being rebellious to the commands of Allaah, or ungrateful
regarding His favours. Allaah warns people, especially the rich
amongst them, to not follow in the footsteps of the people ofSaba'or
imitate them, lest the same punishment befalls them.
·It is mentioned in many places in theQur'aanthat certain disbelievers
enjoyed gardens and fruits, but these gardens were squandered and
eventually faced destruction; this story is one suchexample. Another
example concerns Pharaoh and his people,about whom Allaah Says
)what means(:"So We removed them from gardens and springs. And
treasures and honourable station – Thus. And We caused to inherit it
the Children of Israel."]Quran 26: 57-59[
·Allaah is the only Provider and Sustainer.
·The punishment of Allaah follows very quickly when people are
rebellious and shun His commands. It is the way of Allaahthat whenever
people shun His commandments He sends punishment down upon them, and
there are numerous verses intheQur'aanaddressing this issue,such as
the saying of Allaah which means:"And Allaah presents an example: a
city ]i.e., Makkah[ which was safe and secure, its provision coming to
it in abundance from every location, but it denied the favours of
Allaah. So Allaah made it taste the envelopment of hunger and fear for
what they had been doing."]Quran 16: 112[
·If the slave does not thank Allaah for a favour, his punishment could
be through that very favour. Water was one of the favours that the
people ofSaba'had been bestowed with, and they were punished with it
when they were ungrateful for it and shunned the commands of Allaah.
·Allaah never punishes people without them being deserving of it due
to their sinning and disobedience, as Allaah Says whatmeans:"…And We
would not destroy the cities except while their people were
wrongdoers."]Quran 28: 59[
·Only those who persevere and are grateful would benefit from the
lessons of theQur'aanand the signs of Allaah, despite the fact that
all people observe these signs, yet the heedless never benefit from
them, as Allaah Says what means:"And how many a sign within the
heavens and the earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are
turning away."]Quran 12: 105[
There are three types of perseverance:
·In performing acts of obedience
·In refraining from prohibitions
·During decrees of Allaah that arepainful
There are three ways of expressing gratitude to Allaah:
·By the heart: through having it devoted to the One bestowing the
favours, and acknowledging that He is the source of all favours.
·By the limbs: through continuously being obedient to Him and using
His favours in waysthat please Him.
·By the tongue: through the repeated mentioning, praising and
glorification of Him.