Tafsir of Saba' 34:19

(But they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys"): When the duration of the blessing became long for them, they grew insolent and weary, and they preferred that which is lower to that which is better, just as the Children of Israel did. They said: "If our trade routes were more distant, the profits we would gain from them would be more desirable and more valuable." Thus, they requested the alteration of the continuous urbanization and the removal of the separation between the wildernesses and deserts. Implicit in this was the display of those among them who were capable of traversing these distances by riding mounts and carrying supplies, out of pride and arrogance toward the poor who were unable to do so. Therefore, Allah the Exalted hastened their answer by destroying the villages situated between them, making them a desolate waste in which no caller could be heard nor respondent found. It is apparent that they said this with the tongue of speech. The Imam allowed that they might have said "lengthen" with the tongue of state—meaning, when they disbelieved, they effectively requested that their journeys be lengthened and their settled lands be destroyed.

Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, and Hisham read ba''id (lengthen) with a doubled 'ayn as an imperative request. Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, and 'Amr ibn Qa'id read Rabbana (our Lord) in the nominative case and ba'ada (lengthened) with a doubled 'ayn as a past-tense verb. Similarly, Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, Abu Raja, al-Hasan, Ya'qub, Zayd ibn 'Ali, Abu Salih, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Kalbi, Muhammad ibn 'Ali, Salam, and Abu Haywah read Rabbana in the nominative and ba'id as a request derived from the reciprocal form (mufa'alah). Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan (brother of al-Hasan), Sufyan ibn Husayn, and Ibn al-Sumayqa' read Rabbana in the accusative (vocative) and ba'ud with a dammah on the 'ayn as a past-tense verb.

Bayna (between) is read in the accusative, except for Sa'id among them, who gives the nun a dammah and makes bayna the subject. For those who read it in the accusative, the subject, in their view, is a pronoun returning to "the journey." For those who read Rabbana in the accusative, they consider it a vocative; if a request follows it, then it is insolence and arrogance.

If the verb is treated as a transitive verb, or if it is a past-tense verb, it is a complaint about the distance between their villages—despite its shortness—due to their excess in luxury and comfort, or it is a complaint about what befell them regarding the distance of the journeys they requested after they occurred, or it is a supplication in the form of a statement. For whoever reads Rabbana in the nominative, the verb can only be a past-tense verb in his view, and the sentence is declarative, containing a complaint as has been said. The accusative of bayna after every transitive verb in one of the readings—whether past or imperative—is considered by Abu Hayyan to be a direct object, and he supports this with the reading of the nominative (as a subject) or as an adverb of place, with the verb treated as intransitive, or as transitive with an elided object—namely, "the journey"—which is easier than excluding a non-adverbial noun from its status as an adverb. It was also read as bu'idat (passive voice). Ibn Ya'mur read safarina (our journey) in the singular.

(And they wronged themselves): By exposing themselves to wrath and punishment when they grew insolent regarding the blessing and belittled it.

(So We made them narratives): The plural of uhduthah, which is that which is spoken about for the sake of amusement and astonishment, not a plural of hadith (narrative) contrary to the rule. Making them the narratives themselves is either for the sake of hyperbole or by estimating a missing noun, meaning: "We made them the subject of conversation, with people talking about them, marveling at their conditions, and taking heed from their end and destiny." It is also said that the meaning is that nothing remained of them except the narrative about them; had a group of them remained, they would not be "narratives."

(And We dispersed them in total dispersal): That is, We scattered them in every manner of scattering, on the basis that mumazzaq is a verbal noun or "every place of casting," on the basis that it is a noun of place. The expression of "tearing" (tamziq)—which is specific to separating and ripping that which is connected—contains an awe-inspiring quality and indicates the severity of the impact and pain that is hidden. That is, We tore them apart to a degree that has no limit, such that it becomes a proverb for every separation after which there is no reunion. From Ibn Salam, it is narrated that the meaning is "We made them dust scattered by the winds," and this is more consistent with the word tamziq, though all the eminent exegetes are of the opposite view, maintaining that the meaning of their "tearing" is their dispersion by distancing. The story of how they were dispersed in response to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to Farwah ibn Musayk was mentioned not long ago.

In Al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that Ghassan went to the Levant, Anmar to Yathrib, Judham to Tihama, and Azd to Oman. In At-Tahrir, it is stated that part of them settled in Mecca, Asad in Bahrain, and Khuza'a in Tihama. The manifest meaning of the verse is that this was after the sending of the "Sailing Flood" (sayl al-'arim). In Al-Bahr, it is mentioned in a hadith that Saba was the father of ten tribes; when the flood came upon Ma'rib, six tribes went to Yemen and four went to the Levant. Some claimed that their dispersion was just before the arrival of the flood.

'Abd al-Malik said in his commentary on the poem of Ibn 'Abdun that the land of Saba in Yemen had urbanization extending more than two months' journey for a diligent rider. Its people could borrow fire from one another for a journey of four months. Then they were dispersed in total dispersal. The first to leave Yemen at the beginning of the affair was 'Amr ibn 'Amir Muzayqiya. The reason for his departure was that he had a wife who was a soothsayer named Tarifah al-Khayr. She saw in her dream a cloud that covered their land, thundered, lightened, then struck and burned everything it fell upon. Tarifah was terrified, and she came to King 'Amr, saying: "I have seen what I have never seen like before, which has taken sleep from me. I saw a cloud that thundered, lightened, rumbled, and struck, and whatever it fell upon, it burned." When he saw the terror within her, he calmed her.

Then 'Amr entered a garden of his with two of his slave girls. This reached Tarifah, so she went out to him, accompanied by a young servant named Sinan. When she emerged from her house, she encountered three manajid (animals resembling jerboas) standing on their legs, placing their hands on their eyes. She sat on the ground, placing her hands on her eyes, and said to her servant, "When these manajid depart, inform me." When they departed, he informed her, so she went out quickly. When she crossed the stream in 'Amr's garden, a turtle jumped from the water and landed on the path on its back. It tried to turn over but could not, and it sought help with its tail to throw dirt onto its belly from the sides and threw urine onto its belly with force. When Tarifah saw it, she sat on the ground. When the turtle returned to the water, Tarifah proceeded until she entered upon 'Amr at midday, in a time of intense heat, and behold, the trees were swaying without wind. When he saw her, he felt shy before her and ordered the slave girls to move to the side. Then he said to her, "O Tarifah," and she practiced soothsaying and said: "By the Light and the Darkness, the Earth and the Sky, the trees are surely perishing, and the water will return as it was in the past time." 'Amr said: "Who told you this?" She said: "The manajid told me of hard years in which the child will cut off the parent." He said: "What are you saying?" She said: "I say the words of one remorseful for what has passed. I saw a turtle throwing dirt with force and throwing urine with force." Then he entered the garden, and behold, the trees were swaying without wind. He said: "What do you see in this?" She said: "It is a grave disaster of momentous affairs and great calamities." He said: "And what is it, woe to you?" She said: "Yes, and within it is woe, and you have no gain in it. The woe is in what the flood brings." 'Amr threw himself from his bed and said: "What is this, O Tarifah?" She said: "A momentous event, a long sadness, and little success." He said: "And what is the sign of what you mention?" She said: "Go to the dam, and if you see a rat digging excessively in the dam with its hands and turning over a rock with its legs, know that the disaster is aged and that the affair has occurred." He said: "And what is it that you mention?" She said: "A promise from Allah the Exalted that has descended, and a falsehood that has perished, and a punishment that has afflicted us. Through someone else, O 'Amr, will be the grief." 'Amr went, and behold, the rat was turning over with its legs a rock that fifty men could not lift. He returned saying: "I have seen a matter from which I suffer pain, and the heat of sickness has been stirred in me by its terror. From a rat like a wild boar or a ram... pulling a boulder of the Dam, having talons and gnashing fangs."

"What it missed of rock, it crushed."

Tarifah said: "And among the signs of what I mentioned to you is that you sit and order a glass to be placed before you, for the wind will fill it with the dust of the valley's plains and hills. You know that the gardens are shaded, and neither sun nor wind enters them." 'Amr ordered a glass, and it was placed before him, and it did not remain long until it was filled with dust. He informed her of that and said to her: "When will this destruction that occurs in the dam happen?" She said to him: "Between me and you are seven years." He said: "In which of them will it be?" She said: "None knows that except Allah the Exalted; if anyone knew it, I would know it. There is not a night between me and the seven years except that I think its destruction will be tomorrow or in the evening." Then 'Amr saw in his dream the flood of the dam, and it was said to him: "The sign of that is that you see gravel appearing in the palm fronds." He looked at them and found the gravel had appeared in them, so he knew it was occurring and that their lands would be destroyed. He kept this secret and resolved to sell everything he had in the land of Ma'rib and to leave with his children. Then he feared that people would disapprove of him, so he ordered one of his children, when he called him to something, to refuse him and to do so in the presence of people, and when he slapped him, he (the son) would raise his hand and slap him back. Then 'Amr prepared food and sent for the people of Ma'rib that 'Amr had prepared food on a day of glory and remembrance, so they brought his food. When the people sat to eat, his son, whom he had instructed, sat with him, and he ordered him, but the son refused, so 'Amr raised his hand and slapped him, and his son—whose name was Malik—slapped him back. 'Amr cried out: "Oh, the humiliation! A day of 'Amr's pride and joy, a boy hitting his face!" And he swore to kill him. They kept pleading with him until he refrained and said: "By Allah, I will not stay in a place where this was done to me, and I will sell my properties so that no one inherits anything from them after me." People said to each other: "Take advantage of 'Amr's anger and buy his properties before he is satisfied." So the people bought all his wealth in the land of Ma'rib from him. Some of his talk about what reached him regarding the flood of the dam spread. A group of Azd arose and sold their properties. When they sold a lot, people became suspicious and stopped buying. When his wealth was gathered to 'Amr, he informed the people about the matter of the flood and left. Many people left with him. They descended on the land of 'Akk, and 'Akk fought them, so they departed from their lands. Then they made peace and remained there until 'Amr died, and they dispersed throughout the lands. Some of them went to the Levant—they are the children of Jafnah ibn 'Amr ibn 'Amir. Some of them went to Yathrib—they are the children of Qaylah, the Aws and the Khazraj, and their father was Harithah ibn Tha'labah ibn 'Amr ibn 'Amir. The Azd of the Sarawat went to the Sarawat, and the Azd of Oman to Oman. Malik ibn Fahm went to Iraq. Then, shortly after 'Amr, Tayy left the land of Yemen and settled in Aja and Salma. The children of Rabi'ah ibn Harithah ibn 'Amir ibn 'Amr settled in Tihama and were called Khuza'ah because of their departure (inkhiza') from their brothers. Then Allah the Exalted sent the flood upon the dam, and it destroyed it. Concerning this, Maymun ibn Qays al-A'sha says: "In that, for the one who takes a lesson, there is an example; Ma'rib, the Dam has effaced it. Marble that Himyar built for them; when its flow arrived, it did not remain. It watered the crops and its vineyards, in the vastness of their water when divided. They became scattered groups, unable to drink from it even a weaned child." Al-Maydani mentioned from al-Kalbi from Abu Salih that Tarifah the Soothsayer had seen in her divination that the dam of Ma'rib would be destroyed and that the flood would come and destroy the two gardens, so 'Amr ibn 'Amir sold his properties and went with his people until they reached Mecca. They stayed there and around it, but they were struck by fever, and they were in a land where they did not know what fever was. They called Tarifah and complained to her of what had afflicted them. She said to them: "What you complain of has afflicted me, and it is a separator between us." They said: "What do you advise?" She said: "Whoever among you has distant concern, a strong camel, and a new water skin, let him join the tall palace of Oman." So they became the Azd of Oman. Then she said: "Whoever among you has endurance, strength, and patience for the crises of time, let him go to the Arak from the valley of Marr." So they became the Khuza'ah. Then she said: "Whoever among you wants the ones rooted in the mud, who provide food during famine, let him join Yathrib, the land of palms." So they became the Aws and the Khazraj. Then she said: "Whoever among you wants wine, leaven, kingship, and captivity, and to wear brocade and silk, let him join Busra and Ghwayr," which are from the land of the Levant. So those who settled there were the house of Jafnah of Ghassan. Then she said: "Whoever among you wants fine garments, thoroughbred horses, treasures of provisions, and shed blood, let him join the land of Iraq." So those who settled there were the house of Judhaymah al-Abrash, those in al-Hirah, and the house of Muharriq. The truth is that their tearing and dispersion in the lands was after the sending of the flood. Yes, it is not unlikely that some of them left before it when they sensed its occurrence. In the proverb: "They went as the hands of Saba," and it is said, "They dispersed as the hands of Saba," and it is also narrated as "arms" (ayadi), which means the children, because they are the strength of a man to support him.

In Al-Mufassal, it is stated that ayadi is a metaphor for the self. In Al-Kashf, it says: "It is good," and its accusative is on the state, by estimating the word "like" (mithl), because the meaning requires it even though it is not defined by annexation. It is also said that it means lands or paths, from their saying "Take the hand of the sea," meaning its path and side; that is, they dispersed in various paths. The manifest view is that it is in the accusative as an adverb without estimation, as indicated by the Yemeni scholar. It is sometimes thought that ayadi or ayadin means blessings, but it is not so. It is said of a person if he is distracted in thought and scattered in mind: "He is ayadi Saba," and upon this is the saying of Kathir 'Azza: "O ayadi Saba, O 'Azza, how was I after you? No view has been pleasing to the eyes after you."

(Indeed in that): That is, in what was mentioned of their story.

(Are signs): Great ones.

(For every patient): That is, one whose custom is patience regarding desires, the urges of passion, and the hardships of obedience. It is also said: one whose custom is patience regarding blessings, so he does not grow insolent or arrogant—though this is not very strong.

(Grateful): One whose custom is gratitude for blessings. The specification of these people (the patient and the grateful) is because they are the ones who benefit from them.