Surah's In Qur'an The Lesson's And Hadith's

34: (Saba')- Sheba

Allah affirms that Satan has no power or authority over people to force them to do anything; Imaam Al-Hasan Al-Basri, said: "I swear by Allah! Satan has no stick with him with which he hits people to (force them to) follow his way; this is nothing but whispers and self-delusion on the part of people – he simply calls people, and they respond." End of quote.

The wisdom behind allowing Satan to do what he does and whisper to people is to test them and make evident those amongst them who are truthful, and those who are liars.

There are many lessons one can derive from this great story, the following are but some of them:· The people of Saba' are a real life example to anyone who even contemplates being rebellious to the commands of Allah, or ungrateful regarding His favours. Allah warns people, especially the rich amongst them, to not follow in the footsteps of the people of Saba' or imitate them, lest the same punishment befalls them.· It is mentioned in many places in the Qur'aan that certain disbelievers enjoyed gardens and fruits, but these gardens were squandered and eventually faced destruction; this story is one such example. Another example concerns Pharaoh and his people, about whom Allah Says(what means): "So We removed them from gardens and springs. And treasures and honourable station – Thus. And We caused to inherit it the Children of Israel." [Quran 26: 57-59]· Allah is the only Provider and Sustainer.· The punishment of Allah follows very quickly when people are rebellious and shun His commands. It is the way of Allah that whenever people shun His commandments He sends punishment down upon them, and there are numerous verses in the Qur'aan addressing this issue, such as the saying of Allah which means: "And Allah presents an example: a city [i.e., Makkah] which was safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every location, but it denied the favours of Allah. So Allah made it taste the envelopment of hunger and fear for what they had been doing." [Quran 16: 112]· If the slave does not thank Allah for a favour, his punishment could be through that very favour. Water was one of the favours that the people of Saba' had been bestowed with, and they were punished with it when they were ungrateful for it and shunned the commands of Allah.· Allah never punishes people without them being deserving of it due to their sinning and disobedience, as Allah Says what means: "...And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers." [Quran 28: 59]· Only those who persevere and are grateful would benefit from the lessons of the Qur'aan and the signs of Allah, despite the fact that all people observe these signs, yet the heedless never benefit from them, as Allah Says what means: "And how many a sign within the heavens and the earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away." [Quran 12: 105]

There are three types of perseverance:· In performing acts of obedience· In refraining from prohibitions· During decrees of Allah that are painful

There are three ways of expressing gratitude to Allah:· By the heart: through having it devoted to the One bestowing the favours, and acknowledging that He is the source of all favours.· By the limbs: through continuously being obedient to Him and using His favours in ways that please Him.· By the tongue: through the repeated mentioning, praising and glorification of Him.