“There was, for the people of Saba, in their dwelling place, a sign: two gardens, one on the right and one on the left. ‘Eat from the provision of your Lord and give thanks to Him: a good land and a Forgiving Lord.’ But they turned away, so We sent against them the flood of the dam, and We replaced their two gardens with two gardens bearing bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees.” (15–16)

Concerning His saying, “There was, for the people of Saba, in their dwelling place”: Abu Sabrah al-Nakha‘i narrated from Farwah ibn Musayk al-‘Utayfi that a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me about Saba: was it a man, a woman, or a land?” He said, “He was a man from among the Arabs, and he had ten children. Six of them went south, and four went north. Those who went south were Kindah, al-Ash‘ariyyun, Azd, Madhhij, Anmar, and Himyar.” A man asked, “Who are Anmar?” He replied, “Those from whom Khath‘am and Bajilah descend. As for those who went north, they were ‘Amilah, Judham, Lakhm, and Ghassan. Saba was the son of Yashjub ibn Ya‘rub ibn Qahtan.” (1)

Regarding “in their dwelling place”: Hamzah and Hafs recited it as maskanihim, with the kaf vowelled with fathah, in the singular. Al-Kisa’i recited it with the kaf vowelled with kasrah, while the others recited masakinihim, in the plural. Their dwellings were at Ma’rib in Yemen. “A sign” means an indication of Our oneness and power. He then explained the sign, saying, “Two gardens,” that is, two orchards, “one on the right and one on the left,” meaning on the right and left sides of the valley. It was also said: on the right and left of whoever came to them. They had a valley, and it is said that the two gardens surrounded that valley.

“Eat,” that is, they were told, “Eat from the provision of your Lord,” meaning from the fruits of the two gardens. Al-Suddi and Muqatil said: A woman would carry her basket upon her head and pass between the two gardens, and her basket would be filled with different kinds of fruit without her touching anything with her hand. (2) “And give thanks to Him,” that is, for the blessing He has bestowed upon you. The meaning is: obey Him. “A good land,” meaning that the land of Saba was good land, not saline. Ibn Zayd said: No mosquito, fly, flea, scorpion, or snake was seen in their land. A man would pass through their country with lice in his clothes, and all the lice would die because of the purity of the air. (3) This is the meaning of His saying, “A good land,” that is, good in its air. “And a Forgiving Lord”: Muqatil said, “If you give thanks to your Lord for what He has provided you, He is a Lord who forgives sins.”

“But they turned away.” Wahb said: Allah sent thirteen prophets to Saba. They called them to Allah, reminded them of His blessings upon them, and warned them of His punishment, but they rejected them and said, “We do not recognize any blessing from Allah upon us; so tell your Lord”