The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 693
PT. 22 SABA' CH. 34 17. But they turned away; "somjé pájék We sent against them a fierce فَأَعْرَضُوا عَلَيْهِمْ سَيْلَ الْعَرِم فَأَرْسَلْنَا وَبَدَّلْنَهُمْ بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَى أُكُل flood, And We gave them, in lieu of their gardens, two gardens خَمْطٍ وَاثْلٍ وَ شَيْءٍ مِّنْ سِدْرٍ قَلِيْلٍ bearing bitter fruit and tamarisk and a few lote-trees. 3143 were known even to the Greeks. . . these still extant monuments of the once highly developed civilization, to which Sabaea mainly owed its historical importance. . . Agatharchides's re- marks on the splendid buildings of the kings and private individuals in Saba' and the descriptions of Sabaean castles by the Arabs are confirmed by the testimony of the inscriptions, which to a great extent commemorate the building of houses (palaces) and fortifications. Of public works built to assist agriculture like barriers and dams, the most celebrated was the dam of Ma'ārib" (Enc. of Islam. vol. 4. p. 16). a16:113. Tirmidhi quotes a tradition on the authority of Farwah bin Malik that when asked whether Saba' was the name of a land or of a woman, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, 'It is neither the name of a land nor that of a woman but the name of a man in Yemen who had ten sons. Six of them remained in Yemen while four of them went to Syria. As for those who made Syria their home, they were Joham, Ghassan and Amila; and as for those who stayed back in Yemen they were Ash'ariyyun, Himyar, Kandah, Madhpih and Āmmār. On being asked who were Āmmār, the Prophet replied "Of them are Khatham and Bajilah" (Tāj). The whole tenor of the verse shows that the Sabaeans were a highly prosperous and cultured people whom God had blessed in great abundance with all the comforts and amenities of life. The whole country seems to have been rendered very fertile by dams and other irrigation works and was full of gardens and streams. According to Muir there were 70 stages or stops from Hadramaut to Aila on the road from Yemen to Syria. These stages even exist today. It was a very frequented and safe route, flanked on both sides by shady trees. 3143. Important Words: is derived) سيل العرم fierce flood from J which means, it (the water) flowed. means, a torrent, a flow of water; much water or a collection of rain-water flowing in a valley or water course. Now a means, flowing or running water. is derived from ('arama or ‘aruma) which means, he was or became evil in disposition; he behaved insolently or he was or 2607