The Story of Sabaʾ: How Turning Away Begins from a Small Point in the Heart

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 5 October 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

O Allah, set right for us our worldly life and our Hereafter, grant us right guidance in our affairs, bless us in what You have provided for us, protect us from the punishment of the Fire, and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, by Your mercy and good pleasure, O Lord of the worlds.

A Blessing in Every Direction

The story of Saba is striking to the eye and to the heart alike. Our Lord, glory be to Him, describes the condition of the people and says: ﴿لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِي مَسْكَنِهِمْ آيَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ ۖ كُلُوا مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ ۚ بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ﴾ (There was indeed a sign for Saba in their dwelling place: two gardens, to the right and to the left. "Eat of the provision of your Lord and give thanks to Him: a good land and a Forgiving Lord.").^[1]

So what do these terms signify in themselves, before we go on? Allah, blessed and exalted, gave them blessing not in one direction only, but wherever they turned their faces they found the goodness of Allah, and wherever they went there was blessing. I remember that in about the year 2008 I heard a sentence from a man who was telling me about America. He said it in English: "This is the land of opportunity." I did not understand that grand statement back then, so he explained it to me: this is the land of opportunities. Does the same sentence hold true today? Is America still the land of opportunity? We are speaking of a short span of time, twenty years or thereabouts. Do conditions change this much in twenty years? In those days, wherever a person turned his face he found good and found provision; people worked at any job and earned, the penny had a respectable value, and you could save. Today, however, the situation is entirely different.

And reflect on His saying: ﴿كُلُوا مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ﴾ (Eat of the provision of your Lord). He did not say "of the provision of Allah," but "of the provision of your Lord." We have agreed before that when the word "Lord" (Rabb) occurs, it signifies that He, glory be to Him, takes care of this body, this soul and this mind; He exists, before anything else, to look after you, glory be to Him, exalted are His names. Then He said: ﴿وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ﴾ (and give thanks to Him). So for what are we to give thanks? ﴿بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ﴾ (a good land and a Forgiving Lord). And in His saying ﴿غَفُورٌ﴾ (Forgiving) there is an indication that these people committed errors, like all people; so when "Forgiving" is mentioned, there must be a reason for its mention.

How Does a Person Reach Turning Away?

But the surprise is that they turned away. The word ﴿فَأَعْرَضُوا﴾ (but they turned away) gives a very particular impression, as does His saying, exalted is He, in Sūrat Fuṣṣilat: ﴿فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنذَرْتُكُمْ﴾ (But if they turn away, then say: "I have warned you").^[2] Its signification is that they turned a hundred and eighty degrees. So what is the path that people go through until they are overturned in this way? How does a person turn from guidance to wickedness, from faith to polytheism, from obedience to disobedience? Our Lord said: ﴿فَأَعْرَضُوا﴾ (but they turned away), a single word that gives you this entire picture; instead of "they disbelieved," or "they left the path," or "they deviated" (and all of those words exist), He, glory be to Him, chose "they turned away." And turning away is only a change of heart or mind that leads to a change in behavior.

Imagine a man at ease with his family and his home, his affairs perfectly stable, his food set before him, the bounties of Allah present, and his wife fulfilling every need, beyond reproach. Then he walks down the street and something else catches his eye, and his mind begins to work; this is a work of the mind and a desire that mixes with the inner depths of the heart and begins to stir it. So the food for which he used to thank her yesterday, saying to her, "May Allah increase your goodness, may your hands be blessed," no longer pleases him today! It is the same craft and the same hand, so what has changed? She has nothing to do with the matter. Then, after a little while, the children too become at fault, and their small mistakes become big, until there comes upon the man a moment in which he leaves this home and goes away. What happened? He turned away. How did the turning away happen? It began from a very small point.

Likewise, an upright man was spoken to by someone who said to him: how can this be enough for you? So he began to change, and he reached out his hand, and the money grew relatively, and that sin became adorned in his eyes so that the matter grew, and we came to cheat and forge and manipulate, and the money became plentiful. How did this begin? It began with a change in the soul, a change of the heart or the mind.

Our Lord, Make the Stages of Our Journey Distant

﴿فَأَعْرَضُوا فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ …﴾ (But they turned away, so We sent upon them …)^[3] And that was not the only blessing, for the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, had made travel through the land easy for them. Some people enjoy being settled in their place with their affairs in perfect order, and some enjoy moving about the land and traveling through it with ease, with no difficulty at all. So they said: ﴿رَبَّنَا بَاعِدْ بَيْنَ أَسْفَارِنَا﴾ (Our Lord, make the stages of our journeys distant). And that was one example of turning away: they felt reassurance, self-sufficient strength, and independence from the Lord of the worlds, to the point that they said: we are able. When a person says at some moment, "I am able," Allah shows him his helplessness and silences him, and his being silenced becomes a lesson for him and for those around him.

Then the Lord of the worlds described the scene: ﴿فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَاهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ﴾ (So We made them tales, and We scattered them in complete dispersion). Imagine this degree of punishment for people who had been at the peak of gratitude and the peak of giving, but who changed.

So if we have a supplication this morning after this learning, we ask Allah, exalted is He, to make our hearts firm and to strengthen them, and that our hearts not turn to anything other than obedience to Him, glory be to Him. We ask Allah to bless us and you.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat Saba', verse 15. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The remainder of the verse in Sūrat Fuṣṣilat (Fuṣṣilat: 13) is ﴿صَاعِقَةً مِّثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ﴾; the speaker did not utter the remainder, so it was not included in the body text. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: The transcription here is cut off («فأرسلنا عليهم سير الع…»); the verse is in Sūrat Saba': 16, and its well-known completion is ﴿سَيْلَ الْعَرِمِ﴾; it was not included in the body text because the speaker did not complete it in the transcription.