In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
When We decreed his death, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away at his staff. And when he fell to the ground, the jinn saw clearly that, had they understood the reality, which was beyond (their) perception, they would not have remained in humiliating servitude. 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. (Sheba; Saba’: 34: 14-16)
Let us move now to the last scene in the story which shows Solomon’s death while the jinn continue to work hard as he had bid them, unaware of the fact of his death, until a worm had gnawed at his staff sufficiently for him to fall down: “When We decreed his death, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away at his staff. And when he fell to the ground, the jinn saw clearly that, had they understood the reality which was beyond (their) perception, they would not have remained in humiliating servitude.”
It is reported that in the position he was in at the moment of his death, he was leaning over his stick and that he remained in that position while the jinn continued performing the task he assigned them. Then a worm that eats wood came upon his stick. This type of worm gnaws persistently at wood ruining roofs, doors and buildings foundations. In parts of upper Egypt, some villages do not use a single piece of wood in their homes for fear of woodworm. When the woodworm had gnawed at Solomon’s staff, it could no longer support him, and he fell down. Only then did the jinn realize that he was dead: “the jinn saw clearly that, had they understood the reality which was beyond (their) perception, they would not have remained in humiliating servitude.”
Such, then, are the jinn whom some people worship. We see them here subservient to one of God’s servants. They are totally unable to fathom something which is hidden from them, yet is very close: how then can they gratify people’s appeals to learn the secrets of what is beyond the reach of perception!
David and his family were full of gratitude to God for all His blessings and used such favors for good purpose. The people of Sheba, however, are to be contrasted with such role models. In Surah 27, The Ant, we have a report of what took place between their queen and Solomon. Here, the story gives an account of what happened to them after Solomon, which suggests that the events included here date back to a period after the queen’s exchanges with Solomon. What makes this more likely is that the story here speaks of Sheba’s people becoming ungrateful for God’s blessings, which were then withdrawn and the people scattered. Under the queen mentioned in Surah 27, they enjoyed a plentiful period and were very powerful. The first report received by Solomon about them was from a hoopoe who told him: “I found there a woman ruling over them; and she has been given of all good things, and hers is a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating themselves to the sun instead of God; and Satan has made their deeds seem goodly to them, thus turning them away from the path (of God), so that they cannot find the right way.” (27: 23-24)
This was subsequently followed by the queen’s submission to God, as she embraced the divine faith. The story here, then, is certainly of a subsequent period. It tells of what happened to them after they turned away from God and refused to thank Him for His favors.
The story opens with a description of the great blessings they enjoyed and the provisions they were granted, as well as the requirement that they should demonstrate their gratitude as they could: “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.”
Sheba is the name of a community living in southern Yemen, in a fertile land some of which remains so today. They were highly civilized and were able to make good use of their water resources, as they were blessed with much rainfall, occupying territory close to the sea in the south and east. They were thus able to build a natural dam between two mountains, erecting a great wall down the valley, with controlled openings. In this way they were able to retain water in great quantities which they used as they needed. This great dam was known as the Ma’rib Dam.
The gardens to the right and left symbolize the splendid fertility of their land which gave them beauty and affluence. Therefore, they were signs reminding them of God who gives every good thing. They were commanded to make full use of what was granted to them and to thank the Giver: “Eat of what your Lord has provided for you, and give thanks to Him.” They were also reminded of the nature of their blessings: the productive land and the forgiveness of their sins: “a land most goodly and a Lord Much-Forgiving.” When such priceless blessings are given in plenty, why were they unwilling to give thanks? “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.”
When they failed to show their gratitude to God and use what God favored them with in a goodly and beneficial way, He took away their source of affluence and let loose raging, stone-carrying torrents which destroyed their dam and its water flooded the whole area. With the dam no longer functioning, the land dried up. Instead of beautiful gardens they now had only a desert in which only a few wild trees were to grow, bearing no good fruit. The verse says that their gardens were “replaced …with others yielding bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees.” This was the best that their land could subsequently produce and even then it was only in small quantities.
