Saba, Sheba — Verse 17

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 Sulayman, 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: «لَيْسَ بِأَرْضٍ وَلَا امْرَأَةٍ، وَلَكِنَّهُ رَجُلٌ وُلِدَ لَهُ عَشَرَةٌ مِنَ الْوَلَدِ، فَتَيَامَنَ سِتَّةٌ وَتَشَاءَمَ أَرْبَعَةٌ، فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ تَشَاءَمُوا: فَلَخْمٌ وَجُذَامٌ وَعَامِلَةُ وَغَسَّانُ، وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ تَيَامَنُوا: فَكِنْدَةُ وَالْأَشْعَرِيُّونَ وَالْأَزْدُ وَمَذْحِجٌ وَحِمْيَرُ وَأَنْمَار» (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 مِنْهُمْ خَثْعَمُ 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 الْعَرَب» (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 ﷺ passed by a group of people from (the tribe of) Aslam who were practicing archery, and he said, «ارْمُوا بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيلَ فَإِنَّ أَبَاكُمْ 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 عَشْرَةٌ مِنَ الْعَرَب» (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 مِنْهُمْ سِتَّةٌ وَتَشَاءَمَ مِنْهُمْ أَرْبَعَة» (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: لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِى مَسْكَنِهِمْ ءَايَةٌ (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. كُلُواْ مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لَهُ بَلْدَةٌ 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.' فَأَعْرِضُواْ (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 Sulayman, peace be upon him: فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ - إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ - وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ("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) فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَيْلَ الْعَرِمِ (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: وَبَدَّلْنَـهُمْ بِجَنَّـتِهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَىْ أُكُلٍ خَمْطٍ (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." وَأَثْلٍ and Athl, Al- Awfi and Ibn Abba0s 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. وَشَىْءٍ مِّن سِدْرٍ 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. وَشَىْءٍ مِّن سِدْرٍ قَلِيلٍ and some few lote trees. 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 جَزَيْنَـهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُواْ وَهَلْ نُجْزِى إِلاَّ الْكَفُورَ (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."

That replacement of what they had is what We requited them with for their ingratitude and is anyone but the ingrate ever so requited? read hal yujāzā illā’l-kafūru; or read as hal nujāzī illā’l-kafūra ‘Would We requite anyone but the ingrate?’ in other words it is only the like of such who is called to account.

فأعرضوا عن أمر الله وشكره وكذبوا الرسل، فأرسلنا عليهم السيل الجارف الشديد الذي خرَّب السد وأغرق البساتين، وبدَّلناهم بجنتيهم المثمرتين جنتين ذواتَيْ أكل خمط، وهو الثمر المر الكريه الطعم، وأثْل وهو شجر شبيه بالطَّرْفاء لا ثمر له، وقليل من شجر النَّبْق كثير الشوك. ذلك التبديل من خير إلى شر بسبب كفرهم، وعدم شكرهم نِعَمَ الله، وما نعاقب بهذا العقاب الشديد إلا الجَحود المبالغ في الكفر، يجازى بفعله مثلا بمثل.

قال تعالى "ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا وهل نجازي إلا الكفور" أي عاقبناهم بكفرهم قال مجاهد ولا يعاقب إلا الكفور وقال الحسن البصري صدق الله العظيم لا يعاقب بمثل فعله إلا الكفور وقال طاوس لا يناقش إلا الكفور وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا علي بن الحسين حدثنا أبو عمر بن النحاس الرملي حدثنا حجاج بن محمد حدثنا أبو البيداء عن هشام بن صالح التغلبي عن ابن خيرة وكان من أصحاب علي رضي الله عنه قال: جزاء المعصية الوهن في العبادة والضيق في المعيشة والتعسر في اللذة قيل وما التعسر في اللذة؟ قال لا يصادف لذة حلالا إلا جاءه من ينغصه إياها.

ولذا جاء التعقيب بعد هذه الآية بقوله - تعالى - : ( ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُواْ وَهَلْ نجازي إِلاَّ الكفور ) .أى : ذلك الذى فعلناه بهم من تدبيل جنتيهم ، بحنتين ذواتى أكل خمط . . هو الجزاء العادل لهم بسبب جحودهم وترفهم وفسوقهم عن أمرنا .وإننا من شأننا ومن سنتنا أننا لا نعاقب ولا نجازى هذا الجزاء الرادع الشديد ، إلا لمن جحد نعمنا ، وكفر بآيتاتنى ، وآثر الغى على الرشد ، والعصيان على الطاعة .فاسم الإِشارة يعود إلى التبديل الذى تحدثت عنه الآية السابقة . وهو المفعول الثانى لجزيناهم مقدم عليه . أى : جزيناهم ذلك التبديل لا غيره . والمراد بالجزاء هنا : العقاب .قال صاحب الكشاف : قوله : ( وَهَلْ نجازي إِلاَّ الكفور ) بمعنى وهل يعاقب .وهو الوجه الصحيح . وليس لقائل أن يقول : لم قيل : وهل يجازى إلا الكفور ، على اختصاص الكفر بالجزاء ، والجزاء عام للمؤمن والكافر ، لأنه لم يرد الجزاء العام وإنما أريد الخاص وهو العقاب .

وقوله ( ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا ) يقول تعالى ذكره: هذا الذي فعلنا بهؤلاء القوم من سبأ من إرسالنا عليهم سيل العرم، حتى هلكت أموالهم، وخربت جناتهم، جزاءً منَّا على كفرهم بنا، وتكذيبهم رسلنا، و " ذَلِكَ" من قوله (ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ) في موضع نصب بموقوع جزيناهم عليه، ومعنى الكلام: جزيناهم ذلك بما كفروا.وقوله ( وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ) اختلفت القراء في قراءته؛ فقرأته عامة قراء المدينة والبصرة وبعض أهل الكوفة (وهل يُجازَى) بالياء وبفتح الزاي على وجه ما لم يسمَّ فاعله (إلا الْكَفُورُ) رفعًا. وقرأ ذلك عامة قراء الكوفة (وهل نُجَازِي) بالنون وبكسر الزاي (إلا الكَفُور) بالنصب.والصواب من القول في ذلك أنهما قراءتان مشهورتان في قراء الأمصار، متقاربتا المعنى، فبأيتهما قرأ القارىء فمصيب، ومعنى الكلام: كذلك كافأناهم على كفرهم بالله وهل يجازى إلا الكفور لنعمة الله.فإن قال قائل: أوما يجزي الله أهل الإيمان به على أعمالهم الصالحة، فيخص أهل الكفر بالجزاء؟ فيقال: وهل يجازى إلا الكفور؟ قيل: إن المجازاة في هذا الموضع المكافأة، والله تعالى ذكره وعد أهل الإيمان به التفضل عليهم، وأن يجعل لهم بالواحدة من أعمالهم الصالحة عشر أمثالها إلى ما لا نهاية له من التضعيف، ووعد المسيء من عباده أن يجعل بالواحدة من سيئاته مثلها مكافأة له على جرمه، والمكافأة لأهل الكبائر والكفر، والجزاء لأهل الإيمان مع التفضل، فلذلك قال جل ثناؤه في هذا الموضع (وَهَلْ يُجَازَى إِلا الْكَفُورُ) ؟ كأنه قال جل ثناؤه: لا يجازى: لا يكافأ على عمله إلا الكفور، إذا كانت المكافأة مثل المكافَأ عليه، والله لا يغفر له من ذنوبه شيئًا، ولا يمحص شيء منها في الدنيا.وأما المؤمن فإنه يتفضل عليه على ما وصفت.وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أَبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا، عن ابن أَبي نجيح، عن مجاهد (وَهَلْ نُجَازِي) : نعاقب.حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة ( ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ) إن الله تعالى إذا أراد بعبده كرامة تقبل حسناته، وإذا أراد بعبده هوانًا أمسك عليه ذنوبه حتى يُوَافَى به يوم القيامة. قال: وذُكر لنا أن رجلا بينما هو في طريق من طريق المدينة، إذ مرت به امرأة، فأتبعها بصره، حتى أتى على حائط، فشج وجهه، فأتى نبي الله ووجهه يسيل دمًا، فقال: يا نبي الله فعلت كذا وكذا، فقال له نبي الله: " إن الله إذا أراد بعبد كرامة عجل له عقوبة ذنبه في الدنيا، وإذا أراد الله بعبد هوانًا أمسك عليه ذنبه حتى يُوافَى به يوم القيامة، كأنه عَيرٌ أبتر ".

( ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا ) أي : ذلك الذي فعلنا بهم جزيناهم بكفرهم ( وهل نجازي إلا الكفور ) قرأ حمزة ، والكسائي ، وحفص ، ويعقوب : " وهل نجازي " بالنون وكسر الزاي ، " الكفور " نصب لقوله : " ذلك جزيناهم " ، وقرأ الآخرون بالياء وفتح الزاي ، " الكفور " رفع ، أي : وهل يجازى مثل هذا الجزاء إلا الكفور .وقال مجاهد : يجازى أي : يعاقب . ويقال في العقوبة : يجازي ، وفي المثوبة يجزي .قال مقاتل : هل يكافأ بعمله السيء إلا الكفور لله في نعمه .قال الفراء : المؤمن يجزى ولا يجازى ، أي : يجزى للثواب بعمله ولا يكافأ بسيئاته .

ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلَّا الْكَفُورَ (17)استئناف بياني ناشىء عن قوله : { فأرسلنا عليهم سيل العرم } [ سبأ : 16 ] فهو من تمام الاعتراض .واسم الإِشارة يجوز أن يكون في محل نصب نائباً عن المفعول المطلق المبيِّن لنوع الجزاء ، وهو من البيان بطريق الإِشارة ، أي جزيناهم الجزاء المشار إليه وهو ما تقدم من التبديل بجَنَّتَيْهم جنتين أخريين . وتقديمه على عامله للاهتمام بشدة ذلك الجزاء . واستحضاره باسم الإِشارة لما فيها من عظمة هوله .ويجوز أن يكون اسم الإِشارة في محل رفع بالابتداء وتكون الإِشارة إلى ما تقدم من قوله : { فأرسلنا عليهم سيل العرم } إلى قوله : { من سدر قليل } [ سبأ : 16 ] ويكون جملة { جزيناهم } خبرَ المبتدأ والرابط ضمير محذوف تقديره : جزيناهموه .والباء في { بما كفروا } للسبيبة و ( ما ) مصدرية ، أي بسبب كفرهم .والكفر هو الكفر بالله ، أي إنكار إلهيته لأنهم عبَدةُ الشمس .والاستفهام في { وهل يجازى } إنكاري في معنى النفي كما دل عليه الاستثناء .و { الكفور } : الشديد الكفر لأنهم كانوا لا يعرفون الله ويعبدون الشمس فهم أسوأ حالاً من أهل الشرك .والمعنى : ما يُجَازَى ذلك الجزاء إلا الكفور لأن ذلك الجزاء عظيم في نوعه ، أي نوع العقوبات فإن العقوبة من جنس الجزاء . والمثوبة من جنس الجزاء فلما قيل { ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا } تعين أن المراد : وهل يجازى مثل جزائهم إلا الكفور ، فلا يتوهم أن هذا يقتضي أن غير الكفور لا يجازى على فعله ، ولا أن الثواب لا يسمى جزاء ولا أن العاصي المؤمن لا يجازَى على معصيته ، لأن تلك التوهمات كلها مندفعة بما في اسم الإِشارة من بيان نوع الجزاء ، فإن الاستئصال ونحوه لا يجري على المؤمنين .وقرأ الجمهور { يجازى } بياء الغائب والبناء للمجهول ورفع { الكفورُ } . وقرأ حمزة والكسائي بنون العظمة والبناء للفاعل ونصب { الكفور } .

فكما بدلوا الشكر الحسن, بالكفر القبيح, بدلوا تلك النعمة بما ذكر, ولهذا قال: { ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلَّا الْكَفُورَ } أي: وهل نجازي جزاء العقوبة - بدليل السياق - إلا من كفر باللّه وبطر النعمة؟

قوله تعالى : ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا وهل نجازي إلا الكفور .قوله تعالى : ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا أي هذا التبديل جزاء كفرهم . وموضع ذلك نصب ; أي جزيناهم ذلك بكفرهم . وهل نجازي إلا الكفور قراءة العامة ( يجازى ) بياء مضمومة وزاي مفتوحة ، ( الكفور ) رفعا على ما لم يسم فاعله . وقرأ يعقوب وحفص وحمزة والكسائي : نجازي بالنون وكسر الزاي ، ( الكفور ) بالنصب ، واختاره أبو عبيد وأبو حاتم ، قالا : لأن قبله جزيناهم ولم يقل جوزوا . النحاس : والأمر في هذا واسع ، [ ص: 260 ] والمعنى فيه بين ، ولو قال قائل : خلق الله تعالى آدم صلى الله عليه وسلم من طين ، وقال آخر : خلق آدم من طين ، لكان المعنى واحدا .مسألة : في هذه الآية سؤال ليس في هذه السورة أشد منه ، وهو أن يقال : لم خص الله تعالى المجازاة بالكفور ولم يذكر أصحاب المعاصي ؟ فتكلم العلماء في هذا ; فقال قوم : ليس يجازى بهذا الجزاء الذي هو الاصطلام والإهلاك إلا من كفر . وقال مجاهد : يجازى بمعنى يعاقب ; وذلك أن المؤمن يكفر الله تعالى عنه سيئاته ، والكافر يجازى بكل سوء عمله ; فالمؤمن يجزى ولا يجازى لأنه يثاب . وقال طاوس : هو المناقشة في الحساب ، وأما المؤمن فلا يناقش الحساب . وقال قطرب خلاف هذا ، فجعلها في أهل المعاصي غير الكفار ، وقال : المعنى على من كفر بالنعم وعمل بالكبائر . النحاس : وأولى ما قيل في هذه الآية وأجل ما روي فيها : أن الحسن قال مثلا بمثل . وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت : سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : من حوسب هلك فقلت : يا نبي الله ، فأين قوله جل وعز : فسوف يحاسب حسابا يسيرا ؟ قال : إنما ذلك العرض ومن نوقش الحساب هلك . وهذا إسناد صحيح ، وشرحه : أن الكافر يكافأ على أعماله ويحاسب عليها ويحبط ما عمل من خير ; ويبين هذا قوله تعالى في الأول : ذلك جزيناهم بما كفروا وفي الثاني : ( وهل يجازى إلا الكفور ) ومعنى ( يجازى ) : يكافأ بكل عمل عمله ، ومعنى جزيناهم . وقيناهم ; فهذا حقيقة اللغة ، وإن كان ( جازى ) يقع بمعنى ( جزى ) . مجازا .

Sheba (Saba’) was a very developed community of ancient times. It was spread over the area at present known as Yemen. Its centre was the city of Maa’rib. In the period before Christ, it had made great progress and remained at its zenith for about one thousand years. The inhabitants of Sheba had spread their trade far and wide across land and sea and had constructed dams for irrigation purposes. Near Ma’rib, there was a large dam which was 14 meters high and about six hundred meters long. By this means, water from mountain streams was stored and distributed to the adjoining lands. In this way this whole area had become lush green and luxuriant gardens could be seen everywhere. All these developments had been possible thanks to the provision made by God. Therefore, the people of Sheba should have been grateful to their Lord. But, instead, they became neglectful and arrogant, as generally happens in the case of prosperous communities. Thereafter, the Ma’arib Dam started developing cracks. This was an initial warning, but they did not come to their senses. An earthquake shattered the dam irreparably in the seventh century A.D., as a result of which there were devastating floods and the whole area was destroyed. Moreover, due to the destruction of fertile soil, only wild bushes survived in this area. (The Encyclopaedia Britannica).

The next verse: ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُم بِمَا كَفَرُ‌وا (Thus We punished them because of their ungratefulness.- 34:17) means that they were punished because they committed kufr. Kufr has two meanings. It could mean ungratefulness and it could mean the denial of the true faith. At this place, both meanings can be applied because they did both. They were ungrateful and they rejected the thirteen prophets sent to them. Special Note There are two things here that are likely to raise a question. It has been said earlier that Allah Ta’ ala had sent thirteen prophets to the people of Saba'. Then, it has also been stated above that the event relating to these people and the flood of 'arim or dam transpired during the interim period after Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and before Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ called the period of fatrah or gap. During this period, according to the majority of Muslim scholars, simply no prophet was sent which is the reason why it is called the period of fatrah or gap. If so, the question is, how can the coming of these thirteen prophets be held as correct? An answer to this appears in Ruh ul-Ma’ ani. There it is said that from the event of the flood of the dam ('arim) being in the period of fatrah or gap, it does not become necessary that these prophets too came during that very period. It is possible that the coming of the prophets to these people dates back prior to the period of fatrah or gap while their contumacy and hostility to faith may have increased during the period of fatrah whereupon the punishment of the flood from the dam was sent upon them in the period of fatrah. Allah knows best. The word: کَفُور (kafur) in the second sentence of verse17: وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلَّا الْكَفُورَ‌ (And We do not give (such a) punishment but to the ungrateful - 34:17) is an emphatic form of: کَافِر (kafir) which means one who is very ungrateful or is an absolute disbeliever. As such, the verse could be taken to mean: 'We do not punish anyone other than the one who is very ungrateful or is an absolute disbeliever.' This, quite obviously, is counter to all those verses of the Qur'an and sound ahadith which prove that Muslim sinners will also receive the punishment of Jahannam (Hell) to the measure of their deed - even though, finally, once they have gone through their punishment, they will be taken out of the Jahannam because of their 'Iman or faith and admitted into Jannah (Paradise). To resolve this difficulty, it has been said that it does not signify punishment in some absolute sense, instead, it means a mass punishment as was sent over the people of Saba'. This one is particular to disbelievers. Such punishment does not befall Muslim sinners. (Ruh u1-Ma‘ani) This finds support in the saying of a Ta` bai Ibn Khiyarah. He said, جَازَاُء الَعصِیَۃِ الوَھُن فِی عِبادۃِ وَاضِیقُ فِی المَعِیشَۃِ وَالتَّعَشُّرُ فِی اللَّذَّۃِ قال لَا یُصَادِفُ لَذَّۃُ حَلَااِلَّا جَآَءہ مَن ینغصہ إیّاھا (The punishment of sin is that the sinning person becomes sluggish in acts of worship (` ibadah) his economic conditions becomes straitened, and enjoyment (itself) becomes hard to bear...' Ibn Khiyarah explained the latter part of his statement by saying, 'When one is blessed with something halal he can enjoy, there comes one or the other reason which spoils this enjoyment'. (Ibn Kathir) This tells us that the punishments given to Muslim sinners are of this nature. No open punishment hits them either from the heavens or from beneath the earth. That is particular to disbelievers. And sage Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: صَدَقَ اللہُ العَطِیم لَا یُعَاقَب بِمَثلِ فِعلِہ اِلَّا الکَفُور ('Great is Allah and He said it right: The punishment of an evil deed exactly in proportion to it is not given to anyone but the kafur' - someone very ungrateful or absolutely disbelieving). (Ibn Kathir) This is because a believer, who is no kafur, receives some concession with respect to his or her sins as well. An interpretation of the sense of this verse appears in Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani with reference to Kashf. There it is said that the statement is made in its real sense. Punishment as punishment is given only to a disbeliever and whatever pain is caused to a believing sinner through things like fire is only an apparent punishment. In reality, the purpose is to cleanse him from sin. This is like heating up gold in a furnace. The purpose is to remove its unwanted sediments. This holds true in the case of a believer as well. If he too is put in Jahannam as a consequence of some sin of his, it will be to burn out those elements of his body that have grown on him from consuming what is haram. Once this is taken care of, he is ready to go to Jannah and it does not take much time that he is taken out of Jahannam (Hell) and admitted into the Paradise (Jannah).

This We awarded them) What befell them was a punishment (because of their ingratitude) for the blessings of Allah. (Punish We ever any save the ingrates) those who are ungrateful towards Allah and towards His blessings?