Surah 34. Saba

NOW THEY who are endowed with [innate] knowl-edge are well aware that whatever has been be-stowed upon thee from on high by thy Sustainer is indeed the truth, and that it guides onto the way that leads to the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due!

  - Mohammad Asad

Those to whom knowledge has been given can see that the revelations send down to you from your Rabb are the Truth and it guides to the Way of the Almighty, the Praise Worthy.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the truth and leadeth unto the path of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As against this, they who are bent on denying the truth say [unto all who are of like mind]: "Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall-lo and behold!-be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?

  - Mohammad Asad

The unbelievers say to the people: "Shall we point out to you a man who claims that when your body will disintegrate and mangle into dust you shall be raised to life again?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who disbelieve say: Shall we show you a man who will tell you (that) when ye have become dispersed in dust with most complete dispersal, still, even then, ye will be created anew?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Does he [knowingly] attribute his own Iying inventions to God - or is he a madman?" Nay, [there is no madness in this Prophet-] but they who will not believe in the life to come are [bound to lose themselves] in suffering and in a profound aberration.⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "remote aberration". (For the Qur'anic use of the term dalal - lit., "error" or "going astray" - in the sense of "aberration", see 12:8 and {95}.) The construction of this phrase points definitely to suffering in this world (in contrast with the suffering in the hereafter spoken of in verse {5} above): for whereas the concept of "aberration" is meaningless in the context of the life to come, it has an obvious meaning in the context of the moral and social confusion - and, hence, of the individual and social suffering - which is the unavoidable consequence of people's loss of belief in the existence of absolute moral values and, thus, in an ultimate divine judgment on the basis of those values.

Has he forged a lie against Allah or is he mad?" Nay! In fact those who do not believe in the Hereafter are doomed, for they are in gross error.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hath he invented a lie concerning Allah, or is there in him a madness? Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are in torment and far error.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them?⁶ - [or that,] if We so willed. We could cause the earth to swallow them,⁷ or cause fragments of the sky to fall down upon them?⁸ In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for every servant [of God] who is wont to turn unto Him [in repentance].⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "... not aware of what of the sky and the earth is between their hands, and what is behind them": an idiomatic phrase explained in surah {2}, note [247]. In the present context - as well as in 2:255 - the above phrase stresses the insignificance of the knowledge attained to by man, or accessible to him; hence, so the argument goes, how can anyone be so presumptuous as to deny the reality of resurrection and life after death, seeing that it is a phenomenon beyond man's experience, while, on the other hand, everything within the universe points to God's unlimited creative power?

I.e.. in an earthquake.

This allusion to unpredictable geological and cosmic occurrences - earthquakes, the fall of meteors and meteorites, cosmic rays, and so forth - reinforces the statement about "how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them", and contrasts man's insignificance with God's omniscience and almightiness.

See last sentence of 24:31 and the corresponding note [41].

Do they not see the sky and the earth that surrounds them from front and from behind? If We want, We can cave in the earth to swallow them up or let the fragments of the sky fall upon them. Surely there is a sign in this for every devotee that turns to Allah in repentance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have they not observed what is before them and what is behind them of the sky and the earth? If We will, We can make the earth swallow them, or cause obliteration from the sky to fall on them. Lo ! herein surely is a portent for every slave who turneth (to Allah ) repentant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND [thus], indeed, did We grace David with Our favour:¹⁰ "O you mountains! Sing with him the praise of God! And [likewise] you birds!"¹¹ And We softened all sharpness in him,¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "did We bestow upon David a favour from Ourselves". This connects with the elliptic reference to repentance in the preceding verse: David is singled out for special mention in view of the allusion, in surah {38}, to his having suddenly become aware that he had committed a sin, whereupon "he asked his Sustainer to forgive him his sin... and turned unto Him in repentance" ( 38:24 ).

Cf. 21:79 and the corresponding note [73].

Lit., "for him". The term hadid denotes, primarily, something that is "sharp" in both the concrete and abstract senses of the word: for the latter sense, cf. the Qur'anic phrase "sharp (hadid) is thy sight today" ( 50:22 ), or the many idiomatic expressions like rajul hadid, "a man of sharp intellect", hadid an-nazar, "one who looks boldly [at others]", ra' ihah hadidah, "a sharp odour", etc. (Lisan al-'Arab). As a noun with a definite article (al-hadid), it signifies "all that is sharp", or "sharpness", as well as "iron". God's having "softened all sharpness" in David is evidently an allusion to his exalted sense of beauty (expressed in the poetry of his Psalms) as well as to his goodness and humility. - An alternative rendering of the above phrase would be: "We caused iron to become soft for him", which might be an allusion to his outstanding abilities as poet, warrior and ruler.

We bestowed Our blessings on Dawood and commanded: "O mountains! Join him in singing My rhymes," and a similar command was given to the birds. We made iron soft for him

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[and inspired him thus:] "Do good deeds lavishly, without stint. and eive deep thou~ht to their steady flow."¹³ And [thus should you all, O believers,] do righteous deeds: for. verily I see all that you do!

  - Mohammad Asad

The adjective sabigh (fem. sabighah) signifies anything that is "ample", "abundant" and "complete" (in the sense of being perfect). In its plural form sabighat it assumes the function of the noun which it is meant to qualify, and denotes, literally, "things [or "deeds"] ample and complete" or "perfect" - i.e., good deeds done abundantly and without stint: cf. the only other Qur'anic instance of the same stem in 31:20 - "[God] has lavished (asbagha) upon you His blessings". The noun sard, on the other hand, denotes something "carried on consecutively", or something the parts (or stages) whereof are "following one another steadily", i.e., are continued or repeated.

saying: "make coats of armor measuring out the links in mail and O people of Dawood, do good deeds; surely I am watching over all of your actions."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Saying: Make thou long coats of mail and measure the links (thereof). And do ye right. Lo! I am Seer of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND UNTO Solomon [We made subservient] the wind: its morning course [covered the distance of] a month's journey, and its evening course, a month's Journey.¹⁴ And We caused a fountain of molten copper to flow at his behest;¹⁵ and [even] among the invisible beings there were some that had [been constrained] to labour for him¹⁶ by his Sustainer's leave - and whichever of them deviated from Our command, him would We let taste suffering through a blazing flame -:

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 21:81 and the corresponding note [75]. For a more general explanation of the legends connected with the person of Solomon, see note [77] on 21:82 .

Lit., "for him": probably a reference to the many furnishings of copper and brass which, according to the Bible (cf. 11 Chronicles iv), Solomon caused to be made for his newly-built temple.

Lit., "between his hands", i.e., subject to his will: see 21:82 and the corresponding notes [76] and [77]. For my rendering of jinn as "invisible beings", see Appendix III.

And We made the winds subservient to Sulaiman, which made a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening; and We made a fountain of molten copper to flow for him; and subdued Jinns for him who worked in front of him by the leave of his Rabb; and if any of them turned aside from Our command, We made Him taste the punishment of the blazing fire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Solomon (We gave) the wind, whereof the morning course was a month's journey and the evening course a month's journey, and We caused the fount of copper to gush forth for him, and (We gave him) certain of the jinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord. And such of them as deviated from Our command, them We caused to taste the punishment of flaming fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

they made for him whatever he wished of sanctuaries, and statues, and basins as [large as] great watering-troughs, and cauldrons firmly anchored.¹⁷ [And We said:] "Labour, O David's people, in gratitude [towards Me]¹⁸ - and [remember that] few are the truly grateful [even] among My servants!"¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., because of their enormous size. Cf. II Chronicles iii, 10-13, where statues ("images") of cherubim are mentioned, as well as iv, 2-5, describing "a molten sea" (i.e., basin) of huge dimensions, resting upon twelve statues of oxen, and meant to contain water "for the priests to wash in" (ibid., iv, 6). The "sanctuaries" were apparently the various halls of the new temple.

These words, ostensibly addressed to "the people" or "the family" of David, are in reality an admonition to all believers, at all times, since all of them are, spiritually, "David's people".

I.e., even among those who consider themselves God's servants - for "truly grateful [to God] is only he who realizes his inability to render adequate thanks to Him" (Zamakhshari).

They worked for him as he desired: making arches, images, basins as large as reservoirs and built-in cooking cauldrons. We said: "O Family of Dawood! Work gratefully." Only a few of My devotees are truly grateful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They made for him what he willed: synagogues and statues, basins like wells and boilers built into the ground. Give thanks, O House of David! Few of My bondmen are thankful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Yet [even Solomon had to die; but] when We decreed that he should die, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away his staff.²⁰ And when he fell to the ground, those invisible beings [subservient to him] saw clearly that, had they but understood the reality which was be-yond the reach of their perception,²¹ they would not have continued [to toil] in the shameful suffering [of servitude], ²²

  - Mohammad Asad

This is yet another of the many Solomonic legends which had become an inalienable part of ancient Arabian tradition, and which the Qur'an uses as a vehicle for the allegorical illustration of some of its teachings. According to the legend alluded to above, Solomon died on his throne, leaning forward on his staff, and for a length of time nobody became aware of his death: with the result that the jinn, who had been constrained to work for him, went on labouring at the heavy tasks assigned to them. Gradually, however, a termite ate away Solomon's staff, and his body, deprived of support, fell to the ground. This story - only hinted at in its outline - is apparently used here as an allegory of the insignificance and inherent brittleness of human life and of the perishable nature and emptiness of all worldly might and glory.

Al-ghayb, "that which is beyond the reach of [a created being's] perception", either in an absolute or - as in this instance - in a relative, temporary sense.

I.e., because they would have known that Solomon's sway over them had ended. In the elliptic manner so characteristic of the Qur'an, stress is laid here, firstly, on the limited nature of all empirical knowledge, including the result of deductions and inferences based on no more than observable or calculable phenomena, and, secondly, on the impossibility to determine correctly, on the basis of such limited fragments of knowledge alone, what course of action would be right in a given situation. Although the story as such relates to "invisible beings", its moral lesson (which may be summed up in the statement that empirical knowledge cannot provide any ethical guideline unless it is accompanied, and completed, by divine guidance) is obviously addressed to human beings as well.

When We decreed Sulaiman's death he was leaning on his staff. The jinns did not know that he was dead until the termite ate away his staff and fell down. Thus it became clear to the jinns that if they had known the unseen, they would not have continued in the humiliating punishment of their task.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

INDEED, in [the luxuriant beauty of] their homeland, the DeoDIe of Sheba had an evidence [of God's grace]²³ - two [vast expanses of] gardens, to the right and to the left, [calling out to them, as it were:] "Eat of what your Sustainer has provided for you, and render thanks unto Him: a land most goodly, and a Sustainer much-forgiving!"

  - Mohammad Asad

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}.

For the people of Saba (Sheba, presently a town in Yeman) there was indeed a sign in their dwelling place: two gardens - one to the right and one to the left. It was said to them: "Eat of what your Rabb has given you and render thanks to Him. Pleasant is your land and forgiving is your Rabb."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There was indeed a sign for Sheba in their dwelling place: Two gardens on the right hand and the left (as who should say): Eat of the provision of your Lord and render thanks to Him. A fair land and an indulgent Lord!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But they turned away [from Us], and so We let loose upon them a flood that overwhelmed the dams,²⁴ and changed their two [expanses of luxuriant] gardens into a couple of gardens yielding bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [wild] lote-trees:

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the flooding of the dams" (sayl al-'arim). The date of that catastrophe cannot be established with any certainty, but the most probable period of the first bursting of the Dam of Ma'rib seems to have been the second century of the Christian era. The kingdom of Sheba was largely devastated, and this led to the migration of many southern (Qahtan) tribes towards the north of the Peninsula. Subsequently, it appears, the system of dams and dykes was to some extent repaired, but the country never regained its earlier prosperity; and a few decades before the advent of Islam the great dam collapsed completely and finally.

But they gave no heed. So We let loose upon them the waters of the dam (called Ma'arib) and We converted their two gardens into the gardens producing bitter fruit, tamarisks and a few lot bushes.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But they were froward, so We sent on them the flood of Arim, and in exchange for their two gardens gave them two gardens bearing bitter fruit, the tamarisk and here and there a lote tree.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

thus We requited them for their having denied the truth. But do We ever requite [thus] any but the utterly ingrate?²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Neither the Qur'an nor any authentic hadith tells us anything definite about the way in which the people of Sheba had sinned at the time immediately preceding the final collapse of the Dam of Ma'rib (i.e., in the sixth century of the Christian era). This omission, however, seems to be deliberate. In view of the fact that the story of Sheba's prosperity and subsequent catastrophic downfall had become a byword in ancient Arabia, it is most probable that its mention in the Qur'an has a purely moral purport similar to that of the immediately preceding legend of Solomon's death, inasmuch as both these legends, in their Qur'anic presentation, are allegories of the ephemeral nature of all human might and achievement. As mentioned at the beginning of note [23] above, the story of Sheba's downfall is closely linked with the phenomenon of men's recurrent ingratitude towards God. (See also verse {20} and the corresponding note [29].)

Thus did We requite them for their disbelief; and never do We punish any but the ungrateful!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This We awarded them because of their ingratitude. Punish We ever any save the ingrates?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Now [before their downfall,] We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed²⁶ [many] towns within sight of one another; and thus We had made travelling easy [for them, as if to say]: "Travel safely in this [land], by night or by day!"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., Mecca and Jerusalem, both of which lay on the caravan route much used by the people of Sheba.

Between them and the towns which We had blessed (Syria and Palestine), We placed other towns in prominent positions so that they could journey to and fro in measured stages. We said: "Travel through them by day and night in complete security."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We set, between them and the towns which We had blessed, towns easy to be seen, and We made the stage between them easy, (saying): Travel in them safely both by night and day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But now they would say, "Long has our Sus-tainer made the distance between our journey-stages!"²⁷ - for they had sinned against themselves. And in the end We caused them to become [one of those] tales [of things long past], and scattered them in countless fragments.²⁸ Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grate-ful [to God].

  - Mohammad Asad

In its generally-accepted spelling - based on the reading adopted by most of the early scholars of Medina and Kufah - the above phrase reads in the vocative rabbana and the imperative ba'id ("Our Sustainer! Make long the distances ...", etc.), which, however, cannot be convincingly explained. On the other hand, Tabari, Baghawi and Zamakhshari mention, on the authority of some of the earliest Qur'an-commentators, another legitimate reading of the relevant words, namely, rabbuna (in the nominative) and ba'ada (in the indicative), which gives the meaning adopted by me: "Long has our Sustainer made the distances . ..", etc. To my mind, this reading is much more appropriate since (as pointed out by Zamakhshari) it expresses the belated regrets and the sorrow of the people of Sheba at the devastation of their country, the exodus of large groups of the population, and the resultant abandonment of many towns and villages on the great caravan routes.

An allusion to the mass-migration of South-Arabian tribes in all directions - particularly towards central and northern Arabia - subsequent to the destruction of the Dam of Ma'rib.

But they prayed: "Our Rabb! Make our journeys longer." Thereby they wronged their souls and We made them merely a tale that is told and dispersed them in scattered fragments. Surely there is a sign in this for every patient, grateful person.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But they said: Our Lord! Make the stage between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves, therefore We made them bywords (in the land) and scattered them abroad, a total scattering. Lo! herein verily are portents for each steadfast, grateful (heart).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Now, indeed, Iblls did prove that his opinion of them had been right:²⁹ for [when he called them,] they followed him - all but some of the believers [among them].

  - Mohammad Asad

See 17:62 , as well as the last sentence of 7:17 , in which Iblis (i.e., Satan) says of the human race, "most of them wilt Thou find ungrateful".

In their case, Iblees' (Satan's) suspicions proved true, as they all followed him except a small group of the believers,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Satan indeed found his calculation true concerning them, for they follow him, all save a group of true believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet, he had no power at all over them:³⁰ [for if We allow him to tempt man,] it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who [truly] believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt thereof:³¹ for thy Sustainer watches over all things.

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. a similar phrase placed in the mouth of Iblis in 14:22 ("I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me"), and the corresponding note [31]; also, see note [30] on {15:39-40}. - Although, on the face of it, verses {20-21} of the present surah refer to the people of Sheba, their import is (as the sequence shows) much wider, applying to the human race as such.

See 15:41 and the corresponding note [31].

even though he had no authority over them. It all happened because We wanted to see who among them believed in the hereafter and who is in doubt concerning it. Your Rabb is watching over all things.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And he had no warrant whatsoever against them, save that We would know him who believeth in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt thereof; and thy Lord (O Muhammad) taketh note of all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

SAY: "Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside God: they have not an atom's weight of power either in the heavens or on earth, nor have they any share in [governing] either, nor does He [choose to] have any helper from among them."³²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., anybody who would "mediate" between Him and any of His creatures. As is evident from the sequence (as well as from {17:56-57}), this passage relates, in particular, to the attribution of divine or semi-divine qualities to saints and angels and to the problem of their "intercession" with God.

O Prophet, say to the mushrikin: "Call on those deities whom you pray besides Allah - they do not have power over an atom's weight of anything in the heavens or earth, nor have they any share in either, nor is any of them a helper to Allah."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad): Call upon those whom ye set up beside Allah! They possess not an atom's weight either in the heavens or the earth, nor have they any share either, nor hath He an auxiliary among them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And, before Him, intercession can be of no avail [to any] save one in whose case He may have granted leave [therefor]:³³ so much so that when the terror [of the Last Hour] is lifted from their hearts, they [who have been resurrected] will ask [one an-other], "What has your Sustainer decreed [for you]?" - [to which] the others will answer, "Whatever is true and deserved³⁴ -for He alone is exalted, great!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the Qur'anic concept of "intercession", see note [7] on 10:3 . Cf. also 19:87 and 20:109 .

Lit., "the truth" - i.e., whatever God decides regarding His grant or refusal of leave for intercession (which is synonymous with His redemptive acceptance or His rejection of the human being concerned) will conform with the requirements of absolute truth and justice (see note [74] on 19:87 ).

No intercession before Allah can avail anyone except for the one for whom He permits. Until when terror will be removed from their hearts, they shall ask the intercessors: "What has your Rabb ordained?" They will answer: "The Truth," He is the Most High, the Great.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

No intercession availeth with Him save for him whom He permitteth. Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: What was it that your Lord said? They say: The Truth. And He is the Sublime, the Great.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Who is it that provides for you tenance out of the heavens and the earth?"³⁵ Say: "It is God. And, behold, either we [who believe in Him] or you [who deny His oneness] are on the right path, or have clearly gone astray!"

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [49] on the first sentence of 10:31 .

O Prophet, ask them: "Who provides your sustenance from the heavens and the earth?" If they do not answer, then say: "It is Allah! Certainly one of us; either we or you are rightly guided or in manifest error."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Who giveth you provision from the sky and the earth? Say: Allah. Lo! we or you assuredly are rightly guided or in error manifest.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Neither shall you be called to account for whatever we may have become guilty of, nor shall we be called to account for whatever you are doing."

  - Mohammad Asad

Further, tell them: "You shall not be questioned about our errors nor shall we be questioned about your actions."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Ye will not be asked of what we committed, nor shall we be asked of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall