In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful

There was a sign for the people of Sheba in their dwelling place: two gardens, one to the right and one to the left: ‘Eat of what your Lord has provided for you, and give thanks to Him: a land most goodly and a Lord much-forgiving. But they paid no heed, and so We let loose upon them a raging torrent and replaced their two gardens with others yielding bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees. Thus We requited them for their ingratitude: would We thus requite any but the totally ungrateful? We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed towns within sight of one another so that they could travel in measured stages: ‘Travel through them by night and day in safety.’ But they said: ‘Our Lord! Make our journeys longer.’ They sinned against their souls; so We caused them to become a tale, and scattered them throughout the land. Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful. Indeed Iblis proved that his opinion of them was right: they all followed him, except for a group of believers. Yet he had no power at all over them; it is only for the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who truly believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord watches over all things.

(Sheba; Saba’: 34: 15-21)

We mentioned last week how God favored the people of Sheba with blessings that gave them a very comfortable life, with gardens surrounding their dwelling places. Yet they failed to show gratitude for these favors. Therefore, God punished them for their ingratitude, letting floods destroy their gardens. “Thus We requited them for their ingratitude: would We thus requite any but the totally ungrateful.”

Until then they had remained in their villages and homes. God stinted their provisions and replaced their riches with austerity, but He had not yet scattered them over a wider area. They had easy contacts with the cities blessed by God: Makkah and Jerusalem. To the north of Sheba, Yemen was well inhabited and its land routes to other areas were safe and comfortable: “We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed towns within sight of one another so that they could travel in measured stages: ‘Travel through them by night and day in safety.’” It is reported that a traveller would leave one township in the morning and arrive at the next before dark. This meant that journey times were short, making travel easy, safe and comfortable.

Yet Sheba’s people paid no heed to the first warning. Nor did the change in their circumstances make them turn to God and appeal to Him to give back their comfortable lives. On the contrary, their prayer betrayed stupidity and ignorance: “But they said: ‘Our Lord! Make our journeys longer.” They wanted long distance travel, which is undertaken only infrequently. In so doing, they demonstrated nothing but arrogance: “They sinned against their souls.” Their prayer was answered, but only as such a prayer should be answered: “So We caused them to become a tale, and scattered them throughout the land.” They became like refugees scattered throughout Arabia. They also became the subject of discussions in others’ gatherings. In other words, they were no longer a recognized community, but a tale people told. “Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful.” We note that patience and steadfastness are mentioned along side thanksgiving in times of plenty. The history of Sheba gives signs on both counts.

This is one way of understanding the last two verses. However, they may also be understood in a different way, which would then render the first statement as: “We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed towns that have dominance.” As these places had power and dominance, the people of Sheba became poor, living like desert dwellers, and having to travel time after time to find pasture and water. They could not withstand the test that this entailed. Therefore, they prayed to God, and in this case their supplication would be rendered as: ‘Our Lord! Lengthen the time between our journeys,’ or make them less frequent, as travel has become too tiring for us. They did not couple this prayer with turning to God with repentance and seeking His forgiveness, so that He would grant them what they prayed for. Since they behaved arrogantly when they had God’s blessings, and did not persevere when they faced adversity, God punished them by scattering them and so they disappeared, featuring only in people’s tales. This makes the comment at the end of these verses fitting for their lack of gratitude for God’s favor and lack of patience in adversity: “Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful.” I feel this understanding of the verses to be also acceptable. God, however, knows His own purpose best.

As the story concludes, the surah mentions the overall divine planning and the rules God operates in life generally. It tells us what lessons we should draw from this and what lies behind it: “Indeed Iblis proved that his opinion of them was right: they all followed him, except for a group of believers. Yet he had no power at all over them; it is only for the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who truly believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord watches over all things.”

The people of Sheba went the way that leads to a miserable end: Iblis felt that he could lead them astray, and they let him do so. Thus, except for a group of believers, they all followed him. This is what normally happens in all communities. It is rare that a community is totally bereft of believers who will not give in to Satan and his machinations. They thus prove that the truth remains, even in the worst of conditions, available to everyone who seeks it and wants to hold to it. Iblis never had an overpowering authority over them from which they could not be free. He can only approach them in order that they be tested, and everyone who wishes to stick to the truth could do so, while everyone else will go astray. Thus, in life, a type of person emerges who ‘truly believes in the life to come’, and thus his beliefs keep him on the right path. This type of people are distinct from the other ‘who are in doubt’ about the life to come. It is the latter who succumb to Iblis’ temptations, heedless of the Day of Judgment. God certainly knows what happens before it actually takes place. However, He makes His reward dependent upon the thing actually taking place.

When we look at the story of Sheba’s people from a broader angle, we see that its moral can apply to all communities at all times. The story can then be seen as demonstrating what happens when communities follow divine guidance or stray away from it. It also shows the reasons that make people take the direction they do. “Your Lord watches over all things.” Nothing is lost or overlooked.

Thus the second passage of the surah concludes, speaking of the life to come, just as did the first passage. It also emphasizes the limitless nature of God’s knowledge and His awareness of all things. Both subjects are given much emphasis in this surah.