No hadith reports a virtue specific to Surah Saba; its merit is that it belongs to the Mathani, given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel. The Prophet ﷺ explained some of its verses: asked about Saba, he said it was a man who fathered ten tribes, and he described the state of the angels when Allah decrees a matter in heaven. It shows how people treat Allah’s blessings.
The Prophet ﷺ said that he was given the seven long ones in place of the Torah, the Mi’un in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and was favoured with the Mufassal; Saba is one of the Mathani.
Asked about Saba — a man, a woman or a land? — the Prophet ﷺ said it was a man who had ten sons, six settling in Yemen and four in Syria; and he explained the verse “when the terror is lifted from their hearts” by the state of the angels when Allah decrees a matter in heaven.
Good (hasan)Ahmad (Al-Musnad) Authentic (sahih)At-Tirmidhi (Al-Jami’)
The surah establishes one of Allah’s laws: blessings last through gratitude to the Giver and turn into calamities when man turns away from His guidance; it contrasts the grateful Dawud and Sulayman with the ungrateful people of Saba.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
أعطيت مكان التوراة السبع الطوال، ومكان الزبور المئين، ومكان الإنجيل المثاني، وفضلت بالمفصل
“I was given the seven long ones in place of the Torah, the Mi’un in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
بل هو رجل ولد عشرة، فسكن اليمن منهم ستة، وسكن الشام منهم أربعة. فأما اليمانيون: فمذحج، وكندة، والأزد، والأشعريون، وأنمار، وحمير. وأما الشاميون: فلخم، وجذام، وعاملة، وغسان
A man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ whether Saba was a man, a woman or a land. He replied: “It is a man who had ten sons: six settled in Yemen and four in Syria. Those of Yemen are Madhhij, Kindah, Al-Azd, the Ash’ariyyun, Anmar and Himyar; those of Syria are Lakhm, Judham, ’Amilah and Ghassan.”
إذا قضى الله في السماء أمراً ضربت الملائكة بأجنحتها خضعاناً لقوله، كأنها سلسلة على صفوان، فـ ﴿إذا فزع عن قلوبهم قالوا ماذا قال ربكم قالوا الحق وهو العلي الكبير﴾ قال: والشياطين بعضهم فوق بعض
“When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His word, with a sound like a chain on smooth rock; then ‘when the terror is lifted from their hearts, they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great’. And the devils [trying to listen] are one above another.”
Main purpose: To show how people deal with blessings and Allah’s law in changing them.
Saba is the 34th surah in the order of the Qur’an and the 57th in the order of revelation, coming after Luqman; it has fifty-four verses. It is entirely Meccan, or Meccan except verse 6: “Those who have been given knowledge see that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth.” It is named after the story of the people of Saba and the calamities that struck them for their ingratitude towards Allah’s blessings.
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
