Allah reminds us many times in the Qur’an against the perils of being arrogant with our wealth and our achievements, and so the theme of this story is a familiar one.
It is agreed that this story took place in Saba (present day Yemen), which, generations before, during the time of Nabi Sulaiman AS, was ruled by queen Bilqis. Saba used to be a parched and barren desert, until one of the kings of Saba commissioned the construction of a dam to irrigate the dry land. It is widely believed that this is the dam of Ma’rib, which was built between two mountains to control the flow of water for the land. Ruins of the dam still remain in present day Yemen up to this day.
“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, verse 15)
Saba then transformed into a fertile land, and the people at the beginning were righteous and lived in accordance with the rules of Allah. The people lived a life of ease and comfort, with fruits and sustenance available to them in abundance, and with minimal labour on their part. Qatada (RA) 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.” Such purity of surroundings and abundance of provision is unimaginable in any other part of the world!
Allah also made their travel easy, and the stages of the journeys that people of Saba had to undertake were spaced out in such a way that they could travel safely during the night and day. And We placed between them and the cities which We had blessed [many] visible cities. “And We determined between them the [distances of] journey, [saying], “Travel between them by night or day in safety.”” (Saba verse 34:18)
However as time passed, the people of Saba turned away from the obedience of Allah. They became conceited with their wealth, and took these blessings for granted. They were ungrateful for their easy lives and started complaining. They asked for the stages of their journey to be made longer and more challenging: But they said: “Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer,” and they wronged themselves…” (Saba verse 34:19)
It is a sunnah (precedent) of Allah that He will increase to those who give Him thanks for the blessings bestowed upon them. The people of Saba ceased to be grateful to Allah, and their ongoing ingratitude deprived themselves of Allah’s great blessings and grace. Like the majority of those on whom Allah had bestowed His provision and abundance, the people of Saba assumed that their wealth was eternal, and had no inkling of the punishment to come. Their ingratitude led to them being disobedient disbelievers to Allah.
Many scholars said that Allah sent mice or rats to gnaw through the base of the dam. When this was discovered, the people of Saba brought cats to control the rodent infestation, but their efforts were in vain. It is said that some noblemen of Saba who were aware of the impending destruction of the dam and found ways to flee the country with their treasures, by employing various tricks to deceive the rest of the people on their real reason for leaving. These people eventually met a turbulent end due to fighting and wars and had to disperse throughout the land.
There are many other accounts, but we shall not delve into the various tales and legends surrounding this incident.
However, majority of the people of Saba remained. Eventually, the foundation of the dam crumbled, the mighty dam was destroyed and the surrounding lands were flooded. The lush orchards and gardens were devastated, and the soil could no longer be revived to produce the same type of crops. Instead, in their place grew bitter tasting fruit and thorny lote trees which could not benefit anyone.
“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 lote trees.” (Saba verse 34:16)
This punishment descended on them for one simple reason: ingratitude. 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”
The destruction of the nation of Saba did not end with the collapse of the dam. The nation disintegrated and the various tribes within the nation were forced to scatter across the lands to start new lives. 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.” (Saba verse 34:17)
Scholars report that 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 moved to Yathrib (the former name of Madinah) and were the first to inhabit it. Then, they were followed by the Jewish tribes of Banu Qainuqa’, Banu Quraizah, and Banu An-Nadir. The Jews made coalitions with the Aus and Khazraj and lived there (until the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)). Some of them, moved to Sham (Syria) and afterwards they converted to Christianity: (Ghassan, Amilah, Bahra’, Lukham, Judham, Tanukh, Taghlub, and others). There are other theories as well, and Allah knows best.
Lessons learnt:
One of the earliest lessons learnt about the downfall of Iblis was his lack of gratitude to Allah, when he became jealous of Adam AS’s creation and refused to prostrate to him even though Allah commanded him to. It started with the lack of gratitude by Iblis, which escalated into jealousy, arrogance and finally disobedience. It is the fundamental lack of gratitude that was the root cause of Iblis’s banishment from Paradise, and for him to eternally be cursed.
Gratitude to Allah is a fundamental component of a Muslim’s attitude and psychology. It is often balanced with patience, so that the overall picture is for a Muslim to be grateful for Allah’s bounties and patient for Allah’s reward if Allah gives something undesirable. Hence a Muslim should be either both patient and grateful in various degrees.
The people of Saba were bestowed abundant bounty from Allah, and they had no one else to compare themselves to, because they were placed in a prime position superior to any other place. They had absolutely nothing to complain about because Allah had given them plenty. Yet, instead of relishing Allah’s generosity, they became increasingly ungrateful. Like the people of Bani Israel, they became discontented with the ease and demanded something inferior instead, the same way that the Bani Israel demanded Musa AS for food from the earth such as garlic and pulses, when Allah was sending them blessed manna and quail from the heavens.
Human beings love to moan and complain, and to compare notes of whose life is more difficult, but such ingratitude can actually invoke the wrath of Allah. When we look at our own lives, our tendency is to dwell only on the negatives and disregard all the other positive aspects that Allah has granted to us. It can go to the extent of us wishing for challenges when live becomes too easy and perceived to be boring!
Allah has reminded us that the more we are grateful to Him, the more He will grant us. By the same token, our ongoing ingratitude will cause Allah to snatch his bounty from us and leave us with nothing. In the case of the people of Saba, the magnitude of Allah’s displeasure caused the downfall of an entire nation, and not just certain individuals within it.
We can show our gratitude to Allah in numerous way – the first one being to thank Him abundantly. The other is to also spend of what He has provided to us in His path: spending it on halal substances, giving to charity, helping the needy and constantly ensuring that our wealth is distributed to those who are less fortunate and able.
The lesson here is simple. Learn to be grateful. When Allah blesses us with bounty, we are extremely fortunate, but that sense of ease quickly transforms into complacency and a sense of entitlement. Too quickly, we forget the owner of such bounty and the originator of our provision. Avoid the temptation of finding fault and thinking we deserve more, because the more we complain, the less Allah will give us. Eventually, there will be a tipping point where Allah will deprive us entirely of His provision and bounty, as what he did with the people of Saba.
