Saba: 17

Ayah

Word by Word

ذَٰلِكَ

That

جَزَيۡنَٰهُم

We recompensed them

بِمَا

because

كَفَرُواْۖ

they disbelieved

وَهَلۡ

And not

نُجَٰزِيٓ

We recompense

إِلَّا

except

ٱلۡكَفُورَ

the ungrateful

Translation

That was the Requital We gave them because they ungratefully rejected Faith: and never do We give (such) requital except to such as are ungrateful rejecters.

Tafsir

The Disbelief of Saba' (Sheba) and Their Punishment

Saba' refers to the kings and people of the Yemen.

At-Tababa`ah (Tubba`) (surname of the ancient kings of Yemen) were part of them, and Bilqis, the queen who met Suleiman, peace be upon him, was also one of them.

They lived a life of enviable luxury in their land with plentiful provision, crops and fruits. Allah sent them messengers telling them to eat of His provision and give thanks to Him by worshipping Him alone, and they followed that for as long as Allah willed, then they turned away from that which they had been commanded to do. So they were punished with a flood which scattered them throughout the lands around Saba' in all directions, as we will see in detail below, if Allah wills. In Him we put our trust.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Farwah bin Musayk Al-Ghutayfi, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

A man said, `O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about Saba' -- what was it, a land or a woman?'

He said:

لَيۡسَ بِأَرۡضٍ وَلَا امۡرَأَةٍ وَلَكِنَّهُ رَجُلٌ وُلِدَ لَهُ عَشَرَةٌ مِنَ الۡوَلَدِ فَتَيَامَنَ سِتَّةٌ وَتَشَاءَمَ أَرۡبَعَةٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ تَشَاءَمُوا فَلَخۡمٌ وَجُذَامٌ وَعَامِلَةُ وَغَسَّانُ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ تَيَامَنُوا فَكِنۡدَةُ وَالاَۡشۡعَرِيُّونَ وَالاَۡزۡدُ وَمَذۡحِجٌ وَحِمۡيَرُ وَأَنۡمَار

It was neither a land nor a woman. It was a man who had ten children, six of whom went Yemen and four of whom went Ash-Sham.

Those who went Ash-Sham were Lakhm, Judham, `Amilah and Ghassan.

Those who went south were Kindah, Al-Ash`ariyyun, Al-Azd, Madhhij, Himyar and Anmar.

A man asked, `Who are Anmar?'

He said:

الَّذِينَ مِنۡهُمۡ خَثۡعَمُ وَبَجِيلَة

Those among whom are Khath`am and Bajilah.

This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi in his Jami` (Sunan) in more detail than this; then he said, This is a Hasan Gharib Hadith.

The genealogists -- including Muhammad bin Ishaq -- said,

The name of Saba' was `Abd Shams bin Yashjub bin Ya`rub bin Qahtan; he was called Saba' because he was the first Arab tribe to disperse.

He was also known as Ar-Ra'ish, because he was the first one to take booty in war and give it to his people, so he was called Ar-Ra'ish; because the Arabs call wealth Rish or Riyash.

They differ over Qahtan, about whom there were three views.

- The first, he descended from the line of Iram bin Sam bin Nuh, then there were three different views over how he descended from him.

- The second was that he was descended from `Abir, another name for Hud, peace be upon him, then there were also three different views over exactly how he descended from him.

- The third was that he was descended from Isma`il bin Ibrahim Al-Khalil, peace be upon him, then there were also three different views over exactly how he descended from him.

This was discussed in full detail by Imam Al-Hafiz Abu Umar bin Abdul-Barr An-Namari, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book Al-Musamma Al-Inbah `Ala Dhikr Usul Al-Qaba'il Ar-Ruwat.

The meaning of the Prophet's words,

كَانَ رَجُلًا مِنَ الۡعَرَب

(He was a man among the Arabs), means that he was one of the original Arabs, who were before Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and were descendants of Sam bin Nuh (Shem, the son of Noah).

According to the third view mentioned above, he descended from Ibrahim, peace be upon him, but this was not a well-known view among them. And Allah knows best.

But in Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah passed by a group of people from (the tribe of) Aslam who were practicing archery, and he said,

ارۡمُوا بَنِي إِسۡمَاعِيلَ فَإِنَّ أَبَاكُمۡ كَانَ رَامِيًا

(Shoot, O sons of Isma`il, for your father was an archer).

Aslam was a tribe of the Ansar, and the Ansar -- both Aws and Khazraj -- were from Ghassan, from the Arabs of Yemen from Saba', who settled in Yathrib when Saba' was scattered throughout the land when Allah sent against them the flood released from the dam.

A group of them also settled in Syria, and they were called Ghassan for the name of the water beside which they camped -- it was said that it was in the Yemen, or that it was near Al-Mushallal, as Hassan bin Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, said in one of his poems. The meaning of his words:

If you ask, then we are the community of the noble descendants, our lineage is Al-Azd and our water is Ghassan.

وُلِدَ لَهُ عَشۡرَةٌ مِنَ الۡعَرَب

He had ten sons among the Arabs.

means that these ten were of his lineage, and that the origins of the Arab tribes of the Yemen go back to him, not that they were his sons born of his loins. There may have been two or three generations between him and some of them, or more or less, as is explained in detail in the books of genealogy.

The meaning of the words,

فَتَيَامَنَ مِنۡهُمۡ سِتَّةٌ وَتَشَاءَمَ مِنۡهُمۡ أَرۡبَعَة

Six of whom went south and four of whom went north.

is that after Allah sent against them the flood released from the dam, some of them stayed in their homeland, whilst others left to go elsewhere.

The Dam of Ma'arib and the Flood

The story of the dam is about the water which used to come to them from between two mountains, combined with the floods from rainfall and their valleys. Their ancient kings built a huge, strong dam and the water reached a high level between these two mountains. Then they planted trees and got the best fruits that could ever be harvested, plentiful and beautiful.

A number of the Salaf, including Qatadah, mentioned that a woman could walk beneath the trees, carrying a basket or vessel -- such as is used for gathering fruit -- on her head. And that the fruit would fall from the trees and fill the basket without any need for her to make the effort to pick the fruit, because it was so plentiful and ripe.

This was the dam of Ma'arib, a land between which and San`a' was a journey of three days.

Others said that in their land there were no flies, mosquitoes or fleas, or any kind of vermin. This was because the weather was good and the people were healthy, and Allah took care of them so that they would single out and worship Him alone, as He says:

لَقَدۡ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِي مَسۡكَنِهِمۡ ايَةٌ

Indeed there was for Saba` (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling place,

Then He explains this by saying:

جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ

two gardens on the right and on the left;

meaning, the two sides where the mountains were, and their land was in between them.

كُلُوا مِن رِّزۡقِ رَبِّكُمۡ وَاشۡكُرُوا لَهُ بَلۡدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ

(and it was said to them:) Eat of the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him.

A fair land and an Oft-Forgiving Lord!

means, `He would forgive you if you continue to worship Him alone.

فَأَعۡرَضُوا

But they turned away,

means, from worshipping Allah alone and from giving thanks to Him for the blessings that He had bestowed upon them, and they started to worship the sun instead of Allah, as the hoopoe told Suleiman, peace be upon him:

فَمَكَثَ غَيۡرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمۡ تُحِطۡ بِهِ وَجِيۡتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ

إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ امۡرَأَةً تَمۡلِكُهُمۡ وَأُوتِيَتۡ مِن كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ وَلَهَا عَرۡشٌ عَظِيمٌ

وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوۡمَهَا يَسۡجُدُونَ لِلشَّمۡسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيۡطَـنُ أَعۡمَـلَهُمۡ فَصَدَّهُمۡ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمۡ لَا يَهۡتَدُونَ

I have come to you from Saba' (Sheba) with true news. I found a woman ruling over them, she has been given all things, and she has a great throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has barred them from the way, so they have no guidance. (27:22-24)

فَأَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ سَيۡلَ الۡعَرِمِ

so We sent against them flood released from the dam,

Some, including Ibn Abbas, Wahb bin Munabbih, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said that;

when Allah wanted to punish them by sending the flood upon them, he sent beasts from the earth to the dam, large rats, which made a hole in it.

Wahb bin Munabbih said,

They found it written in their Scriptures that the dam would be destroyed because of these large rats. So they brought cats for a while, but when the decree came to pass, the rats overran the cats and went into the dam, making a hole in it, and it collapsed.

Qatadah and others said,

The large rat is the desert rat. They gnawed at the bottom of the dam until it became weak, then the time of the floods came and the waters hit the structure and it collapsed. The waters rushed through the bottom of the valley and destroyed everything in their path -- buildings, trees, etc.

As the water drained from the trees that were on the mountains, to the right and the left, those trees dried up and were destroyed. Those beautiful, fruit-bearing trees were replaced with something altogether different, as Allah says:

وَبَدَّلۡنَاهُم بِجَنَّتَيۡهِمۡ جَنَّتَيۡنِ ذَوَاتَى أُكُلٍ خَمۡطٍ

and We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit (ukul khamt),

Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Ata' Al-Khurasani, Qatadah and As-Suddi said,

It refers to Arak (Zingiber officinale) and bitter bad fruit.

وَأَثۡلٍ

and Athl,

Al- Awfi and Ibn Abbas said that this means tamarisk.

Others said that it means a tree that resembles a tamarisk, and it was said that it was the gum acacia or mimosa. And Allah knows best.

وَشَيۡءٍ مِّن سِدۡرٍ قَلِيلٍ

and some few lote trees.

Because the lote trees were the best of the trees with which the garden was replaced, there were only a few of them.

This is what happened to those two gardens after they had been so fruitful and productive, offering beautiful scenes, deep shade and flowing rivers:they were replaced with thorny trees, tamarisks and lote trees with huge thorns and little fruit. This was because of their disbelief and their sin of associating others with Allah, and because they denied the truth and turned towards falsehood.

Allah said:

ذَلِكَ جَزَيۡنَاهُم بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلۡ نُجَازِي إِلاَّ الۡكَفُورَ

Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except those who are ungrateful.

meaning, `We punished them for their disbelief.'

Mujahid said,

He does not punish anyone except the disbelievers.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

Allah the Almighty has spoken the truth:no one will be punished in a manner that befits the sin except the ungrateful disbelievers.

The Trade of Saba' and Their Destruction

Allah tells us about the blessings which the people of Saba' enjoyed, and the luxuries and plentiful provision which was theirs in their land, with its secure dwellings and towns which were joined to one another, with many trees, crops and fruits. When they traveled, they had no need to carry provisions or water with them; wherever they stopped, they would find water and fruits, so they could take their noontime rest in one town, and stay overnight in another, according to their needs on their journey.

Allah says:

وَجَعَلۡنَا بَيۡنَهُمۡ وَبَيۡنَ الۡقُرَى الَّتِي بَارَكۡنَا فِيهَا

And We placed, between them and the towns which We had blessed,

Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Malik, who narrated it from Zayd bin Aslam, and Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi, Ibn Zayd and others -- all said that;

this means the towns of Syria.

It means they used to travel from Yemen to Syria via towns easy to be seen and connected to one another.

Al-Awfi reported that Ibn Abbas said,

`The towns which We had blessed by putting Jerusalem among them.

قُرًى ظَاهِرَةً

towns easy to be seen,

meaning, clear and visible, known to travelers, so they could take their noontime rest in one town and stay overnight in another.

Allah says:

وَقَدَّرۡنَا فِيهَا السَّيۡرَ

and We made the stages (of journey) between them easy.

meaning, `We made it in a way that met the needs of the travelers.'

سِيرُوا فِيهَا لَيَالِيَ وَأَيَّامًا امِنِينَ

Travel in them safely both by night and day.

means, those who travel in them will be safe both by night and by day

فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا بَاعِدۡ بَيۡنَ أَسۡفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمۡ

But they said:Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer, and they wronged themselves;

They failed to appreciate this blessing, as Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and others said:

They wanted to travel long distances through empty wilderness where they would need to carry provisions with them and would have to travel through intense heat in a state of fear.

فَجَعَلۡنَاهُمۡ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقۡنَاهُمۡ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ

so We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally.

means, `We made them something for people to talk about when they converse in the evening, how Allah plotted against them and dispersed them after they had been together living a life of luxury, and they were scattered here and there throughout the land.'

So, the Arabs say of a people when they are dispersed,

They have been scattered like Saba', in all directions.

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ

Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast, grateful.

In the punishment which these people suffered, the way in which their blessings and good health were turned into vengeance for their disbelief and sins, is a lesson and an indication for every person who is steadfast in the face of adversity and grateful for blessings.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

The Messenger of Allah said:

عَجِبۡتُ مِنۡ قَضَاءِ اللهِ تَعَالَى لِلۡمُوۡمِنِ إِنۡ أَصَابَهُ خَيۡرٌ حَمِدَ رَبَّهُ وَشَكَرَ وَإِنۡ أَصَابَتۡهُ مُصِيبَةٌ حَمِدَ رَبَّهُ وَصَبَرَ يُوۡجَرُ الۡمُوۡمِنُ فِي كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ حَتۡى فِي اللُّقۡمَةِ يَرۡفَعُهَا إِلَى فِي امۡرَأَتِه

I am amazed at what Allah has decreed for the believer; if something good befalls him, He praises his Lord and gives thanks, and if something bad befalls him, he praises his Lord and has patience. The believer will be rewarded for everything, even the morsel of food which he lifts to his wife's mouth.

This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah.

There is a corroborating report in the Two Sahihs, where a Hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, says:

عَجَبًا لِلۡمُوۡمِنِ لَا يَقۡضِي اللهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ قَضَاءً إِلاَّ كَانَ خَيۡرًا لَهُ إِنۡ أَصَابَتۡهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيۡرًا لَهُ وَإِنۡ أَصَابَتۡهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيۡرًا لَهُ وَلَيۡسَ ذَلِكَ لاَِحَدٍ إِلاَّ لِلۡمُوۡمِن

How amazing is the affair of the believer! Allah does not decree anything for him but it is good for him. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks, and that is good for him; if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him. This is not for anyone except the believer.

It was reported that Qatadah said:

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ

(Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast, grateful). It was Mutarrif who used to say:

How blessed is the grateful, patient servant. If he is given something, he gives thanks, and if he is tested, he bears it with patience.

How Iblis' thought about the Disbeliever proved True

Having mentioned Saba' and how they followed their desires, and the Shaytan, Allah tells us about their counterparts among those who follow Iblis and their own desires, and who go against wisdom and true guidance.

Allah says:

وَلَقَدۡ صَدَّقَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ إِبۡلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ

And indeed Iblis did prove true his thought about them,

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said that this Ayah is like the Ayah where Allah tells us about how Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam, peace be upon him, then said:

أَرَءَيۡتَكَ هَـذَا الَّذِى كَرَّمۡتَ عَلَىَّ لَيِنۡ أَخَّرۡتَنِ إِلَى يَوۡمِ الۡقِيَـمَةِ لَاحۡتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إَلاَّ قَلِيلً

See this one whom You have honored above me, if You give me respite to the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize and mislead his offspring all but a few! (17:62)

ثُمَّ لاتِيَنَّهُم مِّن بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ وَعَنۡ أَيۡمَـنِهِمۡ وَعَن شَمَأيِلِهِمۡ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ شَـكِرِينَ

Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones. (7:17)

And there are many Ayat which refer to this matter.

فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلاَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنَ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ

and they followed him, all except a group of true believers

وَمَا كَانَ لَهُ عَلَيۡهِم مِّن سُلۡطَانٍ

And he (Iblis) had no authority over them,

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him said,

This means, he had no proof.

إِلاَّ لِنَعۡلَمَ مَن يُوۡمِنُ بِالاۡخِرَةِ مِمَّنۡ هُوَ مِنۡهَا فِي شَكٍّ

except that We might test him who believes in the Hereafter, from him who is in doubt about it.

means, `We gave him power over them only to show who believes in the Hereafter and that it will come to pass.'

The people will be brought to account and rewarded or punished accordingly, so that he will worship his Lord properly in this world -- and to distinguish these believers from those who are in doubt about the Hereafter.

وَرَبُّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ حَفِيظٌ

And your Lord is a Watchful over everything.

means, despite His watching, those who follow Iblis go astray, but by His watching and care, the believers who follow the Messengers are saved.

Saba: 17

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