The Kingdom of Saba (Sheba)

Summary

Saba was one of the oldest peoples known for Yemen among the original Arabs. Their name has been found in the excavations at Ur twenty-five centuries BCE, and the flowering of their civilisation and the extension of their rule begin eleven centuries BCE ¹ ².

The kingdom's phases in the author's estimate

Al-Raheeq al-Makhtum divides Saba's phases by the following estimate ¹ ³ ⁴:

The centuries before 650 BCE: their kings bore the title "Mukarrib of Saba". Their capital was Sirwah, whose ruins lie a day's journey west of Ma'rib and are known as Khuraybah. In their time the building of the Ma'rib Dam began. It is said that Saba extended their rule so far that they founded colonies inside and outside Arabia ¹ ³.
From 650 BCE to 115 BCE: they gave up the title "Mukarrib" and became known as the kings of Saba. They took Ma'rib as their capital in place of Sirwah, whose ruins lie sixty miles from Sana'a on its eastern side ³.
From 115 BCE to 300 CE: the tribe of Himyar overcame the kingdom of Saba and took Raydan as its capital, which was then called Zafar. See the Himyarite kingdom ³.
From 300 CE until Islam reached Yemen: a period of unrest and occupations ³.

In the Qur'an

The author says that the great flood which destroyed the Ma'rib Dam is the one the Qur'an mentions as the flood of al-Arim (Saba 16) ³. See the flood of al-Arim.

Notes for researchers

The author warns that the sources differ widely on the dating, and reports that some writers called these details "the fables of the ancients" ⁵. The dates above are therefore the author's estimate, drawn from Tafhim al-Qur'an and Tarikh Ard al-Qur'an (History of the Land of the Qur'an). They have not yet been checked against the academic dating of the Sabaean inscriptions.

For young visitors

Saba was a very ancient kingdom in Yemen, famous for the great Ma'rib Dam, which held back the rainwater to water the fields.

Sources

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.23

Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi , 4/195-198

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.24

Tarikh Ard al-Quran — Sulayman al-Nadwi , 1/133

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.25

Ahl al-Harb (the people at war with the Muslims, their status and the rules that govern dealings with them)

Ahl al-harb are non-Muslims who have not entered a covenant of protection and enjoy neither the safe-conduct nor the treaty of the Muslims. They are distinguished from the protected people, the rebels, those with a treaty and those under safe-conduct; a protected person, a treaty-holder or a holder of safe-conduct becomes a combatant by joining the land of war or by breaking the covenant. Their blood and property are lawful to take where there is no covenant, and are protected where there is one. The Muslim may not betray them once they have granted him safe-conduct; the destruction of their property is allowed by agreement where it serves the Muslims, and the jurists differ where it serves no purpose. Gifts and alms to them are allowed by the majority, a will in favour of a named person is allowed by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis but not by the Hanafis and Malikis, and an endowment in their favour is void by agreement. Food and similar goods may be exported to them; arms may not be exported in war. A Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman of the land of war, as of the protected people.