Saba (Sheba)

18. “And We made between them and the towns which We had blessed (other) towns apparent and between them We had appointed stages of journey in due proportion: ‘Travel therein secure, by night and by day’.”

19. “And they said: ‘O our Lord! Place longer distances between our journeys’; and they were unjust to themselves, so We made them stories and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this there are signs for every patient, grateful one.”

Ingratitude causes the destruction of man’s living.

Through these two verses the Qur’an returns again to the story of Sheba and explains their story in some more detailed explanation. It refers to their punishment almost larger than before in such a way that it can be an important and instructive lesson for anyone.

It implies that Allah made their land so cultivated that not only He caused their cities to become full of bounties but also He appointed between them and the cities that Allah had blessed some other manifest cities.

The holy verse says:

“And We made between them and the towns which We had blessed (other) towns apparent…”

In fact, between them and the blessed land there were some towns joined together like a chain, and the distances between these towns were so little that from each of them the other town could be seen; and this is the meaning of the Qur’anic phrase: /quran zahirah/ (towns apparent).

Some of the commentators have rendered this phrase in another way. They say that it refers to the towns which were just manifestly alongside the way and passengers could stay well in them. Or that these towns were upon some high places and they were apparent for the wayfarers.

As for the purpose of ‘the blessed towns’ that which towns they may be, most commentators have rendered it as the towns of old Syria41, since this very meaning has been mentioned about this land in Surah ‘Isra’, No. 17, verse one, and in Surah Al-’Anbiya’, No. 21, verse 81.

But some other commentators say that the purpose of it may be the towns of “San‘a” or “Ma’arib” both of which have been located in the region of Yemen, and this commentary is not so improbable; because the distance between Yemen, which is located in the most southern point of Arabia, and Shamat (Syria), which is located in the most northern point, is so much so, and had been covered with some dry and hot deserts, that rendering the verse into it seems very improbable, and, it has not been recorded in history books either.

Some commentators have also believed that the blessed lands may be the land of Mecca, which is improbable, too. This explanation was from the point of cultivation, but since only cultivation is not enough and security is its importance and basic condition, the verse adds:

“…and between them We had appointed stages of journey in due proportion:…” “…‘Travel therein secure, by night and by day’.”

Thus, the towns had an appropriate distance, and from the point of the attack of wild and fearsome animals of the desert, or thieves and robbers, they were also in utmost security in a manner that people could travel between them without having any provision or any mount.

They did not need to travel in groups and use some armed persons with them because of fear due to insecurity of the way, or for the fear of the lack of water and food along their way.

That who conveyed them the sentence: “Travel therein”, there are two probabilities: one of them is that it was conveyed to them by their prophet, and the other is that the mute tongue of that cultivated land and its secure and safe roads were the means of conveying the sentence to them.

Preceding the word /layali/ before /’ayyam/ in the verse is for the sake of the importance of the existence of security at nights both security from the point of thieves of the way and wild animals of the desert, else providing security during days is easier.

Through the next verse, the Holy Qur’an implies that these ingratitude people in the face of those great bounties of Allah, which had encompassed their whole living thoroughly, like many other nations who lived in pleasure, were involved in pride and negligence.

Affluence of bounties and their scanty of capacity caused them to pave the way of ingratitude and deviated from the path of Truth and they became heedless of the commands of Allah.

Among their unwisely demands was that they asked Allah to appoint long distance between their journeys.

The verse announces:

“And they said: ‘O our Lord! Place longer distances between our journeys’…”

Their purpose was that Allah would set a distance between their cultivated towns and there would appear some dry deserts between them, because the rich were not willing that the poor people could travel like them and travel wherever they wished without any provision and any mount.

As if travelling was among their boasts and it was the sign of power and wealth and they desired that this privilege and superiority should be registered for them for ever.

Or comfort and welfare had made them inconvenient, in the same way that Mann and Salwa (two heavenly foods) had made the children of Israel tired and asked Allah for onion, garlic, and lentil.

Some have also guessed that the sentence:

“Place longer distances between our journeys”

may point to this fact they had become so pleasure-seeking that they were not ready to travel for the purpose of breeding livestock or merchandise and agriculture, and they asked Allah that they would always remain at home and the time between their journeys would be increased.

But the first commentary seems best of all.

However, the verse says:

“…and they were unjust to themselves…”

Yes, if they imagined that they had been unjust to others, they were wrong. They had taken a dagger and cut their own chest asunder, and they themselves had to tolerate all the hurts.

What an interesting meaning it is!

Next to this short sentence, which is stated about their painful fate, the Qur’an implies that Allah punished them so seriously and twisted their lives so complex that it became as a matter of talk for others.

The verse says:

“…so We made them stories…”

Yes, from that furnished living and that glorious vast civilization, there remained nothing but some news talked by tongues, and a remembrance in minds, and some lines written on the pages of histories.

The verse continues saying:

“…and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments…”

Their region and towns became so ruined that they had not the ability of living there and, in order to continue their life, they had to go toward different places in different groups.

Like leaves in the season of fall, which are in the current of storms, everyone of them was thrown into a corner, in a manner that their division became a ‘proverb’ and whenever people wanted to say, for example, a group was severely scattered, they used to say:

“Like the people of Sheba and their bounties, they have scattered.”

As some commentators have said, the tribe of ‘Qasan’ went to Syria, ’Asad went to ‘Amman, while the tribe of Khaza‘ah went toward Tahamah, and the tribe of ’Anmar went to Yathrib.42 At the end of the verse, it says:

“…Verily in this there are signs for every patient, grateful one.”

Why can the patient and the grateful ones take lesson from these events? (Specially that the Arabic words: /sabbar/ (patient) and /šakur/ (thankful) both are in the Arabic amplification form which indicate the statement of repetition and emphasis.)

This is for the sake that they can control their ungovernable desire by means of patience and perseverance, and they stand powerfully against sins, and because of their thanksgiving in the way obeying Allah they are prepared and vigilant.

It is for this reason that they take an example well. But those who follow their desires and are heedless unto the Allah’s merits, how can they take an example from these events?