Page 314 - Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

The Ma'rib Dam (shown in the pictures above and to the side) was one of
the major works of the people of Saba. The dam collapsed in the flood of
Arim, mentioned in the Qur'an, and the Sabaean state was weakened eco-
nomically and eventually collapsed.

In the Qur'an, the punishment sent to the Sabaean people is
named as "sayl al-`arim" which means the "flood of Arim." This expres-
sion used in the Qur'an also tells us the manner in which this disaster
occurred. The word "`arim" means dam or barrier. The expression "sayl
al-`arim" describes a flood that came about with the collapse of this bar-
rier. Islamic commentators have resolved the issue of time and place
being guided by the terms used in the Qur'an about the flood of Arim.
For example, Mawdudi writes in his commentary:

As also used in the expression, sayl al-`arim, the word "`arim" is derived
from the word "`ariman" used in the Southern Arabic dialect, which
means "dam, barrier." In the ruins unearthed in the excavations made in
Yemen, this word was seen to be frequently used in this meaning. For
example, in the inscriptions which was ordered by Yemen's Habesh
monarch, Ebrehe (Abraha), after the restoration of the big Ma'rib wall in
542 and 543 AD, this word was used to mean dam (barrier) time and
again. So, the expression of sayl al-`arim means "a flood disaster which
occurs after the destruction of a dam." "… We converted their two gar-

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