The Story of Saba'(Sheba)
[COLOR="Red"]Allah the Almighty says:
{Indeed there was for Saba' (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling-place
-two gardens on the right hand and on the left,; (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! But they turned away (from the
obedience of Allah), so We sent against them Sail AI-'Arim (flood
released from the dam), and We converted their two gardens into
gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks, and some few lotetrees.
Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful
disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except those who
are ungrateful (disbelievers). And We placed, between them and the
towns which We had blessed, towns easy to be seen, and We made the
stages (of journey) between them easy (saying): "Travel in them safely
both by night and day." But they said: "Our Lord! Make the stages
between our journey longer," and they wronged themselves; so We
made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally.
Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast, grateful (person)}.
(Saba', 15-19)[/COLOR]
Scholars of genealogy -among them was Muhammad Ibn Ishaq -said: the
name of Saba' is `Abd Shams Ibn Yashjub Ibn Ya`rub Ibn Qahtan. He was the
first to take captives and he was very generous to the people. As-Suhaili said:
it s said that he was the first person to be crowned, and some scholars said he as Muslim and that he composed poetry in which he brought good news to the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This last saying was
attributed to Ibn Didya in his book titled: [At-Tanwir fi Maulid Al-Bashir An-
Nadhir] Imam Ahmed said: I have been told by Abu `Abdur Rahman, after `Abdullah Ibn Luhai` ah, after `Abdullah Ibn Da`lah saying: I heard `Abdullah Ibn Al-`Abbas as saying: A man asked Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) about Saba', whether it was a man, a woman, or a name of a land? He (Peace be upon him) said: Verily, he was a man to whom ten sons were born. Six thereof inhabited the Yemen andfour Sham (Syria). Those in Yemen were: Madhhaj,Kindah, Al-Azd, Al-Ash `ariyun, Anmar and Himyar. And those who inhabited Syria were: Laghm, Judham, `Amilah and Ghassan." The Questioner was Farwah Ibn Musaik Al-Ghatifi.
This means that the term Saba' covers all these tribes; among them also
were At- Tababi `ah (Sing. Tubba` ) in the Yemen. Their kings used to put
crowns on as were done by kings of Persia. The Arabs used to call whomsoever rules over the Yemen and Hadramaut "Tubba`", as they used to call kings of Sham (Syria) and the Arab Peninsula "Caesar", and the ruler of Persia "Khusrau", the ruler of Egypt Fir` aun (Pharaoh), the ruler of Abyssinia "Negus", and the ruler of India "Ptolemes", and Bilqis was from among the Himyar kings who ruled The Yemen. They lived in happiness and easiness, with abundance of sustenance: fruits, plants, etc. and they were righteous people who followed the Straight Path, but when they altered the Grace of Allah and denied it, they inevitably incurred to themselves and their peoples destruction and devastation. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq narrating from
Wahb Ibn Munabah said: Allah the
Almighty sent them thirteen Prophets. And, As-Sadi claimed that Allah the
Almighty sent them twelve thousand Prophets. Allah knows best!
The point is, when they replaced guidance with misguidance and prostrated
themselves before the sun instead of Allah the Almighty, the matter which took
place during the era of Bilqis and her ancestors and that which continued till
Allah sent over them a flood released from the dam. Allah the Almighty
explained: {But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We
sent against them Sail Al-`Arim (flood released from the dam), and We
converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit,
and tamarisks, and some few lote trees. Like this We requited them
because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in
such a way except those who are ungrateful (disbelievers)}.
Many scholars mentioned that the Dam of Ma'rab was built to keep water
behind two great mountains, and when the water raised, the people began to
implant orchards and fruitful trees and many kinds of vegetables. It is said that
the originator of the darn was Saba' Ibn Ya` rub who changed the course of
seventy valleys forcing them to pour out water therein. In addition, he forced the water to get out from thirty springs or holes, but he died before completing it.
So, the tribe of Himyar perfected it and it was of the space of one square league.
Thereupon, they were living in happiness and abundance. Qatada and others
said: the woman (from among them) would go putting a basket on her head,
and it would be filled with fresh, ripe fruits, and they said that the air they
breathed was so clean and pure that neither flies, nor harmful germs were found in their land. Allah the Almighty says:
{Indeed there was for Saba' (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling -place- two gardens on the right hand and on
the left; (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!} (Saba',
15) and, {And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: If you give
thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give
you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers),
verily My punishment is indeed severe}. (Ibrahim, 7) But, when they
adorned other than Allah the Almighty and arrogantly dealt with His Grace -the stages (of journey) between them were easy in which they used to travel safely both by night and day -and asked Him to make the stages between their journeys longer and severer. Thus, they asked to turn the good into what is bad like the Children of Israel who asked Allah the Almighty to turn Manna and quails into herbs, cucumbers, Fum (wheat or garlic), lentils and onions.
Thereupon, they were deprived that great blessing and comprehensive grace; their land was destroyed and they themselves were scattered allover the globe.
Allah the Almighty says: {But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We sent against them Sail Al-`Arim (flood released from the dam)}.
Many scholars said: Allah the Almighty sent mice or rats on the bases of the
darn, and when they discovered this they brought cats to eat them up, but all as in vain.
The bases became very weak and finally the darn collapsed and the water drowned everything. Their good fruitful trees turned into -as explained by Allah the Almighty -bad ones: {And We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks}. And {and some few lote-trees} for they produce Nabk which is very few among the countless thorns they have.
Allah the Almighty says: {Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in
such a way except those who are ungrateful (disbelievers)} i.e. We only
punish -with this severe punishment those who disbelieved in Us, belied Our
Messengers, disobeyed Our Orders, and violated Our Boundaries.
Allah the Almighty says: {So We made them as tales (in the land), and
We dispersed them all totally} i.e. after the destruction of their gardens,
properties and land, they needed to travel and move away.
Thus, they scattered in different parts of the land as some of them moved to the Hejaz, and Khuza' ah moved to Mecca. Some of them also moved to Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, they were the first to inhabit it. Then, they were followed by three tribes from the Jews: the Banu Qainuqa', Banu Quraizah, and Banu An-Nadir. The Jews made coalitions with the Aus and Khazraj and lived there (till the time of ProphetMuhammad (Peace be upon him)).
Some of them, moved to Sham (Syria) and
afterwards they converted to Christianity: Ghassan, Amilah, Bahra', Lukham,
Judham, Tanukh, Taghlub, and others.
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, in his The Prophet's Biography [Kitab As-Sirah],
said that the first to quit the Yemen before the Sail Al-'Arim (the flood released
from the dam) was' Amr Ibn 'Amir Al-Lukhami. Lukham was the son of 'Adyi Ibn
Al-Harith Ibn Murrah Ibn Azd Ibn Zaid Ibn Muha' Ibn 'Amr Ibn 'Uraib Ibn Yashjub
Ibn Zaid Ibn Kahlan Ibn Saba'. It is said also by Ibn Hisham: Lukham Ibn 'Adyi
Ibn 'Amr Ibn Gharib Ibn Saba'. Ibn Ishaq said: the reason behind his moving
from Yemen as I was told by Abu Zaid Al-Ansari that he saw a mouse or rat
digging beneath the dam of Ma'rab which was used to keep the water behind, so
he realized that the dam would not stand so long, so he intended to move from
the Yemen. However, he tricked his people by ordering his youngest son to slap
Source: Stories From The Quraan - Ibn Kaathir
[COLOR="Red"]Allah the Almighty says:
{Indeed there was for Saba' (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling-place
-two gardens on the right hand and on the left,; (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! But they turned away (from the
obedience of Allah), so We sent against them Sail AI-'Arim (flood
released from the dam), and We converted their two gardens into
gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks, and some few lotetrees.
Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful
disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except those who
are ungrateful (disbelievers). And We placed, between them and the
towns which We had blessed, towns easy to be seen, and We made the
stages (of journey) between them easy (saying): "Travel in them safely
both by night and day." But they said: "Our Lord! Make the stages
between our journey longer," and they wronged themselves; so We
made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally.
Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast, grateful (person)}.
(Saba', 15-19)[/COLOR]
Scholars of genealogy -among them was Muhammad Ibn Ishaq -said: the
name of Saba' is `Abd Shams Ibn Yashjub Ibn Ya`rub Ibn Qahtan. He was the
first to take captives and he was very generous to the people. As-Suhaili said:
it s said that he was the first person to be crowned, and some scholars said he as Muslim and that he composed poetry in which he brought good news to the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This last saying was
attributed to Ibn Didya in his book titled: [At-Tanwir fi Maulid Al-Bashir An-
Nadhir] Imam Ahmed said: I have been told by Abu `Abdur Rahman, after `Abdullah Ibn Luhai` ah, after `Abdullah Ibn Da`lah saying: I heard `Abdullah Ibn Al-`Abbas as saying: A man asked Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) about Saba', whether it was a man, a woman, or a name of a land? He (Peace be upon him) said: Verily, he was a man to whom ten sons were born. Six thereof inhabited the Yemen andfour Sham (Syria). Those in Yemen were: Madhhaj,Kindah, Al-Azd, Al-Ash `ariyun, Anmar and Himyar. And those who inhabited Syria were: Laghm, Judham, `Amilah and Ghassan." The Questioner was Farwah Ibn Musaik Al-Ghatifi.
This means that the term Saba' covers all these tribes; among them also
were At- Tababi `ah (Sing. Tubba` ) in the Yemen. Their kings used to put
crowns on as were done by kings of Persia. The Arabs used to call whomsoever rules over the Yemen and Hadramaut "Tubba`", as they used to call kings of Sham (Syria) and the Arab Peninsula "Caesar", and the ruler of Persia "Khusrau", the ruler of Egypt Fir` aun (Pharaoh), the ruler of Abyssinia "Negus", and the ruler of India "Ptolemes", and Bilqis was from among the Himyar kings who ruled The Yemen. They lived in happiness and easiness, with abundance of sustenance: fruits, plants, etc. and they were righteous people who followed the Straight Path, but when they altered the Grace of Allah and denied it, they inevitably incurred to themselves and their peoples destruction and devastation. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq narrating from
Wahb Ibn Munabah said: Allah the
Almighty sent them thirteen Prophets. And, As-Sadi claimed that Allah the
Almighty sent them twelve thousand Prophets. Allah knows best!
The point is, when they replaced guidance with misguidance and prostrated
themselves before the sun instead of Allah the Almighty, the matter which took
place during the era of Bilqis and her ancestors and that which continued till
Allah sent over them a flood released from the dam. Allah the Almighty
explained: {But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We
sent against them Sail Al-`Arim (flood released from the dam), and We
converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit,
and tamarisks, and some few lote trees. Like this We requited them
because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in
such a way except those who are ungrateful (disbelievers)}.
Many scholars mentioned that the Dam of Ma'rab was built to keep water
behind two great mountains, and when the water raised, the people began to
implant orchards and fruitful trees and many kinds of vegetables. It is said that
the originator of the darn was Saba' Ibn Ya` rub who changed the course of
seventy valleys forcing them to pour out water therein. In addition, he forced the water to get out from thirty springs or holes, but he died before completing it.
So, the tribe of Himyar perfected it and it was of the space of one square league.
Thereupon, they were living in happiness and abundance. Qatada and others
said: the woman (from among them) would go putting a basket on her head,
and it would be filled with fresh, ripe fruits, and they said that the air they
breathed was so clean and pure that neither flies, nor harmful germs were found in their land. Allah the Almighty says:
{Indeed there was for Saba' (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling -place- two gardens on the right hand and on
the left; (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!} (Saba',
15) and, {And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: If you give
thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give
you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers),
verily My punishment is indeed severe}. (Ibrahim, 7) But, when they
adorned other than Allah the Almighty and arrogantly dealt with His Grace -the stages (of journey) between them were easy in which they used to travel safely both by night and day -and asked Him to make the stages between their journeys longer and severer. Thus, they asked to turn the good into what is bad like the Children of Israel who asked Allah the Almighty to turn Manna and quails into herbs, cucumbers, Fum (wheat or garlic), lentils and onions.
Thereupon, they were deprived that great blessing and comprehensive grace; their land was destroyed and they themselves were scattered allover the globe.
Allah the Almighty says: {But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We sent against them Sail Al-`Arim (flood released from the dam)}.
Many scholars said: Allah the Almighty sent mice or rats on the bases of the
darn, and when they discovered this they brought cats to eat them up, but all as in vain.
The bases became very weak and finally the darn collapsed and the water drowned everything. Their good fruitful trees turned into -as explained by Allah the Almighty -bad ones: {And We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks}. And {and some few lote-trees} for they produce Nabk which is very few among the countless thorns they have.
Allah the Almighty says: {Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in
such a way except those who are ungrateful (disbelievers)} i.e. We only
punish -with this severe punishment those who disbelieved in Us, belied Our
Messengers, disobeyed Our Orders, and violated Our Boundaries.
Allah the Almighty says: {So We made them as tales (in the land), and
We dispersed them all totally} i.e. after the destruction of their gardens,
properties and land, they needed to travel and move away.
Thus, they scattered in different parts of the land as some of them moved to the Hejaz, and Khuza' ah moved to Mecca. Some of them also moved to Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, they were the first to inhabit it. Then, they were followed by three tribes from the Jews: the Banu Qainuqa', Banu Quraizah, and Banu An-Nadir. The Jews made coalitions with the Aus and Khazraj and lived there (till the time of ProphetMuhammad (Peace be upon him)).
Some of them, moved to Sham (Syria) and
afterwards they converted to Christianity: Ghassan, Amilah, Bahra', Lukham,
Judham, Tanukh, Taghlub, and others.
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, in his The Prophet's Biography [Kitab As-Sirah],
said that the first to quit the Yemen before the Sail Al-'Arim (the flood released
from the dam) was' Amr Ibn 'Amir Al-Lukhami. Lukham was the son of 'Adyi Ibn
Al-Harith Ibn Murrah Ibn Azd Ibn Zaid Ibn Muha' Ibn 'Amr Ibn 'Uraib Ibn Yashjub
Ibn Zaid Ibn Kahlan Ibn Saba'. It is said also by Ibn Hisham: Lukham Ibn 'Adyi
Ibn 'Amr Ibn Gharib Ibn Saba'. Ibn Ishaq said: the reason behind his moving
from Yemen as I was told by Abu Zaid Al-Ansari that he saw a mouse or rat
digging beneath the dam of Ma'rab which was used to keep the water behind, so
he realized that the dam would not stand so long, so he intended to move from
the Yemen. However, he tricked his people by ordering his youngest son to slap
Source: Stories From The Quraan - Ibn Kaathir
