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Surah 34 · Makkah · 54 āyāt
Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timelineSabaʾSheba
سبأ
Revealed 58th. The surah opens and closes with praise, and in between it takes two nations that were given everything — the kingdom of Dāwūd and Sulaymān, and the gardens of Sabaʾ — and asks what each did with the gift. One family worked in gratitude; one people turned away and their dam broke. Between the two stories the surah dismantles the Makkan objections to resurrection, denies any intercession except by Allah's permission, and states plainly that the Messenger ﷺ is sent to all of mankind, not to one tribe.
Why it was revealed
Makkah's leaders traded along the Yemen route and knew the ruins of Sabaʾ first-hand; the surah argues from a collapse they could see with their own eyes.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked about Sabaʾ — was it a man, a woman or a land? He said it was a man who had ten sons: six settled in Yemen and four in Shām. This is recorded in the Sunan and graded ḥasan by al-Tirmidhī.
Tirmidhī 3222; Ibn Kathīr's introduction to Sūrat SabaʾIn the Prophet's ﷺ life
Trading caravans past the ruins of Maʾrib
Quraysh's own summer route to Yemen passed the wreckage of a civilisation that had been the most secure and provisioned in Arabia; the surah uses that evidence against them.
Recalled in āyah 15, 16, 18, 19
لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِى مَسْكَنِهِمْ ءَايَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ ۖ كُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لَهُۥ ۚ بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ
There was for [the tribe of] Saba’ in their dwelling place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on the right and on the left. [They were told], "Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord."
Ibn Kathīr on 34:15–19
Praise in both worlds, and the Hour that will surely come
Praise belongs to Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and praise belongs to Him in the Hereafter. Those who disbelieve say the Hour will not come to us. Say: yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you — the Knower of the unseen, from whom not the weight of an atom escapes, in the heavens or in the earth.
From the tafsīr
Praise is affirmed for Allah in the first life and the next, so that the believer knows the One he praises in hardship is the same One he will praise in the Garden.
— Ibn Kathīr on 34:1
The denial of the Hour is answered not with argument alone but with an oath, then with the attribute of complete knowledge — nothing is lost, so nothing can be beyond recall.
— Al-Saʿdī on 34:3
Key takeaways
- Allah is praised in both abodes; praise is not reserved for outcomes we like.
- The atom's weight is the measure: nothing is too small to be recorded.
- Resurrection is argued from Allah's knowledge, not merely His power.
Reflect
Name one loss you have not yet been able to say al-ḥamdu lillāh over.
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Question 1 of 2
How does the surah answer the denial of the Hour in 34:3?
Question 2 of 2
Where is praise affirmed for Allah in 34:1?
Dāwūd and Sulaymān: gifts answered with work
We gave Dāwūd bounty from Us — mountains and birds repeating praise with him — and We softened iron for him: make full coats of mail and measure the links. And for Sulaymān the wind, and a spring of molten copper, and jinn working before him. Work, O family of Dāwūd, in gratitude — and few of My servants are grateful.
يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُۥ مَا يَشَآءُ مِن مَّحَـٰرِيبَ وَتَمَـٰثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَٱلْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَّاسِيَـٰتٍ ۚ ٱعْمَلُوٓا۟ ءَالَ دَاوُۥدَ شُكْرًا ۚ وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ
They made for him what he willed of elevated chambers, statues, bowls like reservoirs, and stationary kettles. [We said], "Work, O family of David, in gratitude." And few of My servants are grateful.
From the tafsīr
Gratitude here is commanded as action — 'work in gratitude' — not merely as a feeling or a phrase on the tongue.
— Ibn Kathīr on 34:13
The comment 'few of My servants are grateful' is placed immediately after the greatest kingdom given to any prophet, to show that scale of blessing does not produce gratitude by itself.
— Al-Qurṭubī on 34:13
The miracles given to Dāwūd are tied to a craft and a command: he is told to make armour well and measure it properly, so skill itself is worship.
— Al-Saʿdī on 34:10–11
Key takeaways
- Gratitude in the Qurʾān is a form of work, not a mood.
- The greatest recorded kingdom is followed by a note on how rare gratitude is.
- Doing a craft precisely is presented as an act of obedience.
Reflect
What is one skill you have that you have never thought of as an act of gratitude?
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Question 1 of 2
Why is 'few of My servants are grateful' placed after Sulaymān's kingdom?
Question 2 of 2
What kind of gratitude is commanded in 34:13?
Sabaʾ: a good land, a forgiving Lord, and the dam that broke
There was for Sabaʾ a sign in their dwelling place: two gardens on the right and the left. Eat from the provision of your Lord and be grateful to Him — a good land and a forgiving Lord. But they turned away, so We sent upon them the flood of the dam and exchanged their two gardens for gardens of bitter fruit, tamarisk and a little lote tree. And they said: our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys — and they wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and dispersed them entirely.
لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِى مَسْكَنِهِمْ ءَايَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ ۖ كُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لَهُۥ ۚ بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ
There was for [the tribe of] Saba’ in their dwelling place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on the right and on the left. [They were told], "Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord."
From the tafsīr
The summary of their whole state was two words — a good land and a forgiving Lord — provision for the body and forgiveness for the soul; when gratitude stopped, both were withdrawn.
— Ibn Kathīr on 34:15
Their request to lengthen the distance between their journeys is understood as boredom with ease; they were dispersed until 'they became scattered like Sabaʾ' entered Arab proverb.
— Al-Qurṭubī on 34:19
The punishment was not fire from the sky but the failure of infrastructure they had built themselves — the ordinary way nations actually collapse.
— Al-Saʿdī on 34:16
Key takeaways
- Blessing has a condition attached: eat and be grateful.
- Ingratitude often begins as boredom with ease, not open rebellion.
- Nations are ended through ordinary causes that Allah directs.
Reflect
Where has ease made you complain rather than thank?
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Question 1 of 2
What did the people of Sabaʾ ask for in 34:19?
Question 2 of 2
What two-part description sums up Sabaʾ's blessing in 34:15?
No intercession without permission; sent to all mankind
Say: call upon those you claim besides Allah — they possess not an atom's weight in the heavens or the earth. Intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits. And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind, as a bringer of good tidings and a warner, but most of the people do not know. And it is not your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us in position, but whoever believes and does righteousness. Say: I only advise you of one thing — that you stand for Allah in pairs and individually, then reflect.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا كَآفَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know.
وَمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَـٰدُكُم بِٱلَّتِى تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِندَنَا زُلْفَىٰٓ إِلَّا مَنْ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَآءُ ٱلضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَهُمْ فِى ٱلْغُرُفَـٰتِ ءَامِنُونَ
And it is not your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us in position, but it is [by being] one who has believed and done righteousness. For them there will be the double reward for what they did, and they will be in the upper chambers [of Paradise], safe [and secure].
From the tafsīr
The Prophet ﷺ said he was given five things not given to any prophet before him, among them that a prophet was sent to his people specifically while he was sent to all mankind.
— Ibn Kathīr on 34:28
Wealth and children are not denied as blessings; they are denied as measures of nearness — faith and action are the only currency named.
— Al-Saʿdī on 34:37
'That you stand for Allah in pairs and individually' is a command to think outside the pressure of the crowd, whether with one companion or alone.
— Al-Qurṭubī on 34:46
Key takeaways
- No intercession operates outside Allah's permission.
- The mission is universal, stated while it was still local.
- Rank with Allah is measured by faith and deeds, never by assets.
- Truth is tested by thinking alone or in twos, away from mob opinion.
Reflect
Which belief of yours have you only ever examined inside a crowd?
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Question 1 of 2
What does 34:46 instruct people to do?
Question 2 of 2
What does 34:28 establish about the Prophet's ﷺ mission?
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Roots from this surah
Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.
ش ك ر
āyāt 13, 15, 19to acknowledge a favour and act upon it
- شُكْرgratitude
- شَكُورdeeply grateful
- شَاكِرone who thanks
ذ ر ر
āyāt 3, 22the smallest particle — an atom's weight
- ذَرَّةan atom
- ذُرِّيَّةoffspring
غ ف ر
āyāt 2, 4, 15to cover over and forgive
- غَفُورmost forgiving
- مَغْفِرَةforgiveness
- اسْتَغْفَرَhe sought forgiveness
ن ذ ر
āyāt 28, 34, 44to warn of what is coming
- نَذِيرa warner
- إِنْذَارwarning
- مُنْذِرone who warns
ز ل ف
āyāt 37nearness of rank
- زُلْفَىٰnearness
- أَزْلَفَhe brought near
Carry this with you
- Allah is praised in this world and the next; praise is not conditional on ease.
- Nothing of an atom's weight escapes His knowledge, so nothing is beyond recall.
- Gratitude is commanded as work, not as a feeling.
- The largest kingdom ever given did not make gratitude common.
- A good land and a forgiving Lord is the whole of what a people needs.
- Ingratitude often starts as boredom with ease.
- Intercession happens only by Allah's permission, never by claim.
- Wealth and children are blessings, but never measures of rank with Allah.
- The Messenger ﷺ was sent to all mankind, declared while he was still besieged in one city.
- Examine the truth alone or in twos — away from the pressure of the crowd.
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Sabaʾ — full exam
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Sabaʾ · Dāwūd and Sulaymān: gifts answered with work
Why is 'few of My servants are grateful' placed after Sulaymān's kingdom?
Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol