There was, for Saba, aforetime, a Sign in their home-land
- two Gardens to the right and to the left. "Eat
of the Sustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be
grateful to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a
Lord Oft-Forgiving!" But they turned away (from
Allah), and We sent against them the Flood (released)
from the dams, and We converted their two garden (rows)
into "gardens" producing bitter fruit, and
tamarisks, and some few (stunted) Lote-trees. (Surah
Saba: 15-16)
The community of Saba was one of the four biggest civilisations
which lived in South Arabia. This people is estimated to
have been established some time between 1000-750 BC and
to have collapsed around 550 AD with the two centuries-long
attacks of the Persians and the Arabs.
The date of the establishment of the civilisation of Saba
is a subject of much discussion. The people of Saba started
recording their governmental reports around 600 BC. This
is why there are no records of them prior to this date.
The oldest sources which refer to the people
of Saba are annual war chronicles left from the time of
the Assyrian King Sargon II. (722-705 BC) While Sargon records
about the people that pay taxes to him, he also refers to
the King of Saba, Yith'i-amara (It'amara). This record is
the oldest written source that yields information about
the Saba civilisation. Yet, it would not be right to draw
the conclusion that the Saba culture was established around
700 BC depending only on this source, for it is highly probable
that Saba had existed for quite some time before it was
recorded in written records. This means that the history
of Saba may predate the above. Indeed, in the inscriptions
of Arad-Nannar, one of the latest kings of the state of
Ur, the word "Sabum", which is thought to mean
"the country of Saba", was used.1
If this word does mean Saba, then, this shows that the history
of Saba goes back as far as 2500 BC.
Historical sources telling about Saba usually say that
this was a culture, like the Phoenicians, particularly involved
in commercial activities. Accordingly, these people owned
and administered some of the trade routes passing across
Northern Arabia. In order for the Sabaean traders to carry
their goods to the Mediterranean and Gaza, and thus pass
across Northern Arabia, they had to get permission from
Sargon II, the ruler of all the region, or pay a certain
amount of tax to him. When the Sabaean people started paying
taxes to the Assyrian Kingdom, their name began to be recorded
in the annals of this state.
The Sabaeans are known to have been a civilised people
in history. In the inscriptions of the rulers of Saba, words
such as "restore", "dedicate" and "construct"
are frequently used. The Ma'rib Dam, which is one of the
most important monuments of this people, is an important
indication of the technological level this people had reached.
However, this did not mean that the military power of the
Sabaeans was weak; the Sabaean army was one of the most
important factors contributing to the endurance of their
culture over such a long period without collapse.
The Sabaean state had one of the strongest armies in the
region. The state was able to adopt an expansionist policy
thanks to its army. The Sabaean state had conquered the
lands of the Old Qataban state. It owned many lands on the
African continent. During 24 BC, during an expedition to
Magrib, the Sabaean army utterly defeated the army of Marcus
Aelius Gallus, the Governor of Egypt for the Roman Empire
which was definitely the strongest state at the time. Saba
can be portrayed as a state that pursued moderate policies,
yet did not hesitate to use power when necessary. With its
advanced culture and army, the Sabaean state was definitely
one of the "super powers" of the region at the
time.
This extraordinarily strong army of the Sabaean state is
also described in the Qur'an. An expression of the commanders
of the Saba army related in the Qur'an, shows the extent
of the confidence this army had in itself. The commanders
call out to the female ruler (queen) of the state: "We
are endued with strength, and given to vehement war: but
the command is with thee; so consider what thou wilt command."
(Surat an-Naml: 33)
Inscriptions written in the language of the people of
Saba. |
The capital city of the Sabaean state was
Ma'rib, which was quite wealthy thanks to the advantageous
position of its geography. The capital city was very close
to the River Adhanah. The point where the river reached Jabal
Balaq was very suitable for the construction of a dam. Making
use of this condition, the Sabaean people constructed a dam
at this location at the time when their civilisation was first
established, and they began irrigation. They indeed reached
a very high level of prosperity. The capital city, Ma'rib,
was one of the most developed cities of the time. The Greek
writer Pliny, who had visited the region and greatly praised
it, also mentioned how green this region was.2
The height of the dam in Ma'rib was 16
metres, its width was 60 metres and its length was 620 metres.
According to the calculations, the total area that could
be irrigated by the dam was 9,600 hectares, of which 5,300
hectares belonged to the southern plain, while the remaining
part belonged to the northern plain. These two plains were
referred to as "Ma'rib and two plains" in the
Sabaean inscriptions3
The expression in the Qur'an, "two gardens to the right
and to the left", points to the imposing gardens and
vineyards in these two valleys. Thanks to this dam and its
irrigation systems, the region became famous as the best
irrigated and most fruitful area of Yemen. The Frenchman
J. Holevy and the Austrian Glaser proved from written documents
that the Ma'rib dam existed since ancient times. In documents
written in the Himer dialect, it is related that this dam
rendered the territory very productive.
This dam was extensively repaired during the 5th and 6th
centuries AD. Yet, these reparations could not prevent the
dam from collapsing in 542 AD. The collapse of the dam resulted
in the "flood of Arim" mentioned in the Qur'an
which caused great damage. The vineyards, gardens and the
cultivated fields of the Sabaean people, which they had
cultivated for hundreds of years, were completely destroyed.
It is also known that the Sabaean people quickly went into
a period of recession after the destruction of the dam.
The end of the Sabaean state came at the end of this period
which had begun with the destruction of the dam.
The Flood of Arim which was Sent to the
State of Saba
When we examine the Qur'an in the light of the historical
data above, we observe that there is very substantial agreement
here. Archaeological findings and the historical data both
verify what is recorded in the Qur'an. As mentioned in the
verse, these people, who did not listen to the exhortations
of their prophet and who ungratefully rejected faith, were
in the end punished with a dreadful flood. This flood is
described in the Qur'an in the following verses:
There was, for Saba, aforetime, a Sign in their home-land
- two Gardens to the right and to the left. "Eat
of the Sustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be grateful
to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving!"
But they turned away (from Allah), and We sent against
them the Flood (released) from the dams, and We converted
their two garden (rows) into "gardens" producing
bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few (stunted) Lote-trees.
That was the Requital We gave them because they ungratefully
rejected Faith: and never do We give (such) requital except
to such as are ungrateful rejecters. (Surah Saba: 15-17)
As emphasised in the above verses, the Sabaean people were
living in a region noted for its outstanding aesthetic,
fruitful vineyards and gardens. Situated on the trade routes,
the country of Saba had quite a high standard of living
and was one of the most favoured cities of the time.
In such a country, where standards of living and circumstances
were so positive, what the Sabaean people should have done
was to "Eat of the Sustenance (provided) by their Lord,
and be grateful to Him" as is said in the verse. Yet,
they did not do so. They chose to lay claim to the prosperity
they had. They thought that this country belonged to themselves,
that it was they who made all these extraordinary circumstances
possible. They chose to be arrogant instead of being grateful,
and, in the expression of the verse, they "turned away
from Allah"…
Because they laid claim to all the prosperity they had,
they lost it all. As related in the verse, the flood of
Arim destroyed everything they had.
In the Qur'an, the punishment sent to the Sabaean people
is named as "Sayl al-Arim" which means the "flood
of Arim". This expression used in the Qur'an also tells
us the way this disaster occurred. The word "Arim"
means dam or barrier. The expression of "Sayl al-Arim"
describes a flood that came about with the collapse of this
barrier. Islamic commentators have resolved the issue of
time and place being guided by the terms used in the Qur'an
about the flood of Arim. Mawdudi writes in his commentary:
As also used in the expression, Sayl
al-Arim, the word "arim" is derived from the
word "arimen" used in the Southern Arabic dialect,
which means "dam, barrier". In the ruins unearthed
in the excavations made in Yemen, this word was seen to
be frequently used in this meaning. For example, in the
inscriptions which was ordered by Yemen’s Habesh monarch,
Ebrehe (Abraha), after the restoration of the big Ma’rib
wall in 542 and 543 AD, this word was used to mean dam
(barrier) time and again. So, the expression of Sayl al-
Arim means "a flood disaster which occurs after the
destruction of a dam."
"We converted their two garden (rows) into gardens
producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few (stunted)
Lotetrees" (Surah Saba: 16). That is, after the collapse
of the damwall, all the country was inundated by the flood.
The canals that had been dug by the Sabaean people, and
the wall that had been constructed by building barriers
between the mountains, were destroyed and the irrigation
system fell apart. As a result, the territory, which was
like a garden before, turned into a jungle. There was
no fruit left but the cherry-like fruit of little stumpy
trees.4
 |
With
the Ma'rib Dam, which they had constructed with very
advanced technology, the Sabaean people became owners
of a great irrigation capacity. The fruitful lands
they thus obtained and their control over the trade
routes allowed them to lead a magnifi- cent and luxurious
lifestyle. However, they "turned away" from
Allah to whom they should have been grateful for all
those bounties mentioned above. Therefore, their dam
collapsed and the "flood of Arim" destroyed
all their attainments. |
The Christian archaeologist Werner Keller,
writer of "The Holy Book Was Right" (Und Die
Bible Hat Doch Recht), accepted that the flood of Arim
occurred according to the description of the Qur'an and
wrote that the existence of such a dam and the destruction
of the whole country by its collapse proves that the example
given in the Qur'an about the people of the garden was indeed
realized.5
After the disaster of the Arim flood, the
region started to turn into a desert and the Sabaean people
lost their most important source of income with the disappearance
of their agricultural lands. The people, who had not heeded
the call of Allah to believe in Him and to be grateful to
Him, were in the end punished with such a disaster as this.
After the great destruction caused by the flood, the people
started to disintegrate. The Sabaean people started to desert
their houses and emigrate to Northern Arabia, Makkah and
Syria.6
Since the flood took place after the revelation of the Tawrah
and the Injil, this event is described only in the Qur'an.
The city of Ma'rib, which was once a residence for the
Sabaean people, but is now only a desolate ruin, undoubtedly
is a warning to those who repeat the same mistake as the
Sabaean people. The Sabaean people were not the only people
that were destroyed by a flood. In Surat al-Kahf of the
Qur'an, the story of two garden owners is told. One of these
men possesses a very imposing and productive garden like
those of the Sabaean people. However, he makes the same
mistake as them: turning away from Allah. He thinks that
the favour bestowed on him "belongs" to him himself,
i.e. he is the cause of it:
Set forth to them the parable of two men: for one
of them We provided two gardens of grape-vines and surrounded
them with date palms; in between the two We placed corn-fields.
Each of those gardens brought forth its produce, and failed
not in the least therein: in the midst of them We caused
a river to flow.
(Abundant) was the produce this man had. He said to
his companion, in the course of a mutual argument: "more
wealth have I than you, and more honour and power in (my
following of) men." He went into his garden in a
state (of mind) unjust to his soul: He said, "I deem
not that this will ever perish, Nor do I deem that the
Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) come: Even if I am brought
back to my Lord, I shall surely find (there) something
better in exchange."
His companion said to him, in the course of the argument
with him: "Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out
of dust, then out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee
into a man? But (I think) for my part that He is Allah,
My Lord, and none shall I associate with my Lord. Why
didst thou not, as thou wentest into thy garden, say:
'Allah's will (be done)! There is no power but with Allah!'
If thou dost see me less than thee in wealth and sons,
It may be that my Lord will give me something better than
thy garden, and that He will send on thy garden thunderbolts
(by way of reckoning) from heaven, making it (but) slippery
sand!- Or the water of the garden will run off underground
so that thou wilt never be able to find it."
So his fruits (and enjoyment) were encompassed (with
ruin), and he remained twisting and turning his hands
over what he had spent on his property, which had (now)
tumbled to pieces to its very foundations, and he could
only say, "Woe is me! Would I had never ascribed
partners to my Lord and Cherisher!" Nor had he numbers
to help him against Allah, nor was he able to deliver
himself. There, the (only) protection comes from Allah,
the True One. He is the Best to reward, and the Best to
give success. (Surat al-Kahf: 32-44)
As understood from the verses, the mistake of this garden
owner was not to deny the existence of Allah. He does not
deny the existence of Allah, on the contrary he supposed
that "even if he is brought back to his Lord"
he would certainly find something better in exchange. He
held that the state he is in, was due to his own successful
efforts.
Actually, this is exactly what associating partners to
Allah means: attempting to lay claim to everything that
belongs to Allah and losing one's fear of Allah thinking
that one has some particular grace of his own, and Allah
will somehow "show favour" to one.
This is what the Sabaean people also did. Their punishment
was the same - all of their territory was destroyed - so
that they could understand that they were not the ones who
were the "owners" of power but that it was only
"bestowed" on them…
| 
Ma'rib Dam, which they had constructed with very advanced
technology, the Sabaean people became owners of a
great irrigation capacity. The fruitful lands they
thus obtained and their control over the trade routes
allowed them to lead a magnifi- cent and luxurious
lifestyle. However, they "turned away" from
Allah to whom they should have been grateful for all
those bounties mentioned above. Therefore, their dam
collapsed and the "flood of Arim" destroyed
all their attainments..
|
|
