Sheba and the Great Dam: A Queen's Faith and a Land's Ingratitude

In the far south-west of Arabia, in what is now Yemen, there once flourished a kingdom called Saba’, known in English as Sheba. Its people grew rich on trade in incense and spices, and their fields were watered by one of the great engineering works of the ancient world. The Qur’an devotes a surah to this people, Surah Saba’ (chapter 34), and tells two stories about them. One is a story of a ruler who chose faith. The other is a story of a people who forgot to give thanks.

A kingdom in southern Arabia

Historians know Saba’ from many inscriptions and ruins. Its best-known centre was Ma’rib, on the edge of the desert, and its wealth came from the caravan routes that carried frankincense and myrrh north towards the Mediterranean. The Bible also tells, in 1 Kings 10, of a queen of Sheba who visited Solomon (peace be upon him), which shows how widely the kingdom’s fame had spread.

The Qur’an does not give dates for either of its stories about Saba’, and it does not say how much time passed between them. As always, it focuses on the lesson rather than the chronology.

The hoopoe’s news

The first story begins in the court of Solomon, a prophet to whom God had given great kingship. One day he noticed that the hoopoe bird was missing. When it returned, it brought surprising news:

فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍۢ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِۦ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍۭ بِنَبَإٍۢ يَقِينٍ ﴿٢٢﴾ إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ ٱمْرَأَةًۭ تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌۭ ﴿٢٣﴾ وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾

²²But the hoopoe stayed not long and said, "I have encompassed [in knowledge] that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news. ²³Indeed, I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things, and she has a great throne. ²⁴I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are not guided,

Solomon sent a letter inviting the queen and her people to worship God alone. Her response shows real wisdom. She did not act alone but consulted her advisers (Qur’an 27:32). When they boasted of their military strength, she reminded them that when kings invade a land they ruin it and humiliate its leaders (Qur’an 27:34). She chose instead to send a gift and see how Solomon would respond.

Solomon refused the gift, because he was not seeking wealth. Then, before she arrived, her own throne was brought to his court in the blink of an eye. Solomon’s reaction is one of the most beautiful lines in the story:

قَالَ ٱلَّذِى عِندَهُۥ عِلْمٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ أَنَا۠ ءَاتِيكَ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ ۚ فَلَمَّا رَءَاهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُۥ قَالَ هَٰذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّى لِيَبْلُوَنِىٓ ءَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ ۖ وَمَن شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّى غَنِىٌّۭ كَرِيمٌۭ ﴿٤٠﴾

Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."

At the height of his power, his first thought was gratitude, and the knowledge that power itself is a test.

A queen who came to believe

When the queen arrived, she recognised her throne, though it had been disguised. Then she was invited into a palace whose floor was made of glass so smooth that she took it for water. In that moment of seeing how she had misjudged appearances, she understood something deeper:

قِيلَ لَهَا ٱدْخُلِى ٱلصَّرْحَ ۖ فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةًۭ وَكَشَفَتْ عَن سَاقَيْهَا ۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ صَرْحٌۭ مُّمَرَّدٌۭ مِّن قَوَارِيرَ ۗ قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَٰنَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٤٤﴾

She was told, "Enter the palace." But when she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her shins [to wade through]. He said, "Indeed, it is a palace [whose floor is] made smooth with glass." She said, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds."

Notice her words: she submitted with Solomon to God, the Lord of all creation. She did not surrender to a foreign king; she joined him in worshipping the One God. The Qur’an presents her as an intelligent leader who weighed the evidence and changed her mind. It does not give her name. Later tradition calls her Bilqis, and many stories add details about her life that the Qur’an does not mention, which scholars treat with caution.

The two gardens and the bursting dam

The second story concerns the people of Saba’ in a later age. They lived in abundance:

لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍۢ فِى مَسْكَنِهِمْ ءَايَةٌۭ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍۢ وَشِمَالٍۢ ۖ كُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لَهُۥ ۚ بَلْدَةٌۭ طَيِّبَةٌۭ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌۭ ﴿١٥﴾ فَأَعْرَضُوا۟ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَيْلَ ٱلْعَرِمِ وَبَدَّلْنَٰهُم بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَىْ أُكُلٍ خَمْطٍۢ وَأَثْلٍۢ وَشَىْءٍۢ مِّن سِدْرٍۢ قَلِيلٍۢ ﴿١٦﴾ ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَٰهُم بِمَا كَفَرُوا۟ ۖ وَهَلْ نُجَٰزِىٓ إِلَّا ٱلْكَفُورَ ﴿١٧﴾

¹⁵There 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." ¹⁶But they turned away [refusing], so We sent upon them the flood of the dam, and We replaced their two [fields of] gardens with gardens of bitter fruit, tamarisks and something of sparse lote trees. ¹⁷[By] that We repaid them because they disbelieved. And do We [thus] repay except the ungrateful?

A fertile land and a Lord ready to forgive: all they were asked was to enjoy His provision and give thanks. But they turned away. The dam gave way, the flood swept their gardens off, and the orchards that had fed a nation turned into bitter, thorny scrub.

God had also blessed them with safe travel, with towns spread along their routes:

وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ ٱلْقُرَى ٱلَّتِى بَٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا قُرًۭى ظَٰهِرَةًۭ وَقَدَّرْنَا فِيهَا ٱلسَّيْرَ ۖ سِيرُوا۟ فِيهَا لَيَالِىَ وَأَيَّامًا ءَامِنِينَ ﴿١٨﴾ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا بَٰعِدْ بَيْنَ أَسْفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَٰهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَٰتٍۢ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍۢ شَكُورٍۢ ﴿١٩﴾

¹⁸And We placed between them and the cities which We had blessed [many] visible cities. And We determined between them the [distances of] journey, [saying], "Travel between them by night or day in safety." ¹⁹But [insolently] they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys," and wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful.

Many commentators understand the blessed towns to be those of greater Syria, at the far end of the trade route. Instead of thanking God for easy, secure journeys, the people asked for the distances to grow longer, as if comfort had become a burden. In the end they were scattered, and their story became a saying among the Arabs for a people dispersed in every direction.

History confirms that the Ma’rib dam was real. Its massive remains can still be seen near Ma’rib, and ancient inscriptions record repairs over the centuries. Historians generally place its final collapse in late antiquity, often around the sixth century CE, and Arab tradition links the dam’s failure with the migration of tribes from Yemen across Arabia. Muslim scholars differ over which breach the Qur’an refers to, and the Qur’an itself does not specify, so it is best not to tie the verses to a single date.

Gratitude and ingratitude

The two stories mirror each other. Solomon was given immense power and saw it as a test of gratitude. The queen was given wealth and a great throne, yet she was humble enough to recognise the truth. The later people of Saba’ were given gardens, security and prosperity, and they treated these gifts as if they were owed.

The Qur’an closes the story of Saba’ by saying it holds lessons for anyone who is steadfast and thankful (Qur’an 34:19). That is the heart of the lesson: whatever we have, we did not create it ourselves. To read more about this central value, see Gratitude in Islam, and for the life of the prophet-king at the centre of this story, see Solomon.