Saba and Bilqis — The Two Gardens, Ingratitude, and the Great Flood
stories
Level: basic
nations
st-038
Quranic context: Saba, verses 15-21
Complete blessing:
The people of Saba were given two gardens on the right and left, and commanded: "Eat from your Lord's provision and be grateful to Him — a good land and a forgiving Lord." Every element of prosperity: security, fertility, and forgiveness.
Ingratitude and transformation:
"They turned away, so We sent against them the flood of the dam" — turning away from gratitude led directly to punishment. Their two gardens were replaced with two gardens bearing bitter fruit — bitterness instead of bounty.
Bilqis and Solomon:
The Queen of Saba submitted to Solomon: "I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of all worlds" (27:44) — when she saw his kingdom and confirmed his message.
Lesson: "That is what We recompensed them with because they were ungrateful — and We do not recompense except the ungrateful." Punishment for blessings comes specifically to the persistently ungrateful, not to the merely sinful.
Source: Ibn Kathir Tafsir (6/492); Al-Sadi; Al-Qurtubi (14/281)
Question: What was the direct cause of the punishment of the people of Saba with the flood?
Answer: Turning away from gratitude for their blessings — "They turned away, so We sent against them the flood of the dam."