Surah 34. Saba, Ayah 15

This connects with the call to gratitude towards God in the preceding passage, and the mention, at the end of verse {13}, that "few are the truly grateful" even among those who think of themselves as "God's servants" (see note [19] above). - The kingdom of Sheba (Saba' in Arabic) was situated in south-western Arabia, and at the time of its greatest prosperity (i.e., in the first millenium B.C.) comprised not only the Yemen but also a large part of Hadramawt and the Mahrah country, and probably also much of present-day Abyssinia. In the vicinity of its capital Ma'rib - sometimes also spelled Ma'rib - the Sabaeans had built in the course of centuries an extraordinary system of dams, dykes and sluices, which became famous in history, with astonishing remnants extant to this day. It was to this great dam that the whole country of Sheba owed its outstanding prosperity, which became proverbial throughout Arabia. (According to the geographer Al-Ham-dani, who died in 334 H., the area irrigated by this system of dams stretched eastward to the desert of Sayhad on the confines of the Rub' 'al-Khali) The flourishing state of the country was reflected in its people's intense trading activities and their control of the "spice road" which led from Ma'rib northwards to Mecca, Yathrib and Syria, and eastwards to Dufar on the shores of the Arabian Sea, thus connecting with the maritime routes from India and China. - The period to which the above Qur'anic passage refers is evidently much later than that spoken of in {27:22-44}.

This is the same city and territory in Yemen as is mentioned in xxvii. 22: see note there as to its location. There the period was the time of Solomon and Queen Bilqis. Here it is some centuries later. It was still a happy and prosperous country, amply irrigated from the Maarib dam. Its roads or perhaps its canals, were skirted by gardens on both sides, right and left: at any given point, you always saw two gardens. It produced fruit, spices, and frankincense, and got the name of Araby the Blest for that part of the country.

The land was fair to look upon; the people happy and prosperous; and they enjoyed the blessings of Allah, Who is Gracious and does not punish small human faults or weaknesses.