15 Preface لَقَد كانَ لِسَبَإٍ في مَسكَنِهِم آيَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتانِ عَن يَمينٍ وَشِمالٍ ۖ كُلوا مِن رِزقِ رَبِّكُم وَاشكُروا لَهُ ۚ بَلدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفورٌYusuf AliThere was, for Saba',1 aforetime, a Sign in their home-land - two Gardens to the right and to the left. “Eat of the Sustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be grateful to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving!2This is the same city and territory in Yemen as is mentioned in 27:22: see note there as to its location. There the period was the time of Solomon and Queen Bilqls. Here it is some centuries later. It was still a happy and prosperous country, amply irrigated from the Ma'arib dam. Its road or perhaps its canals, were skirted by gardens on both sides, right and left: at any given point you always saw two gardens. It produced fruit, spices, and frankincense, and got the name of Araby the Blest for that part of the country.The land was fair to look upon: the people happy and prosperous: and they enjoyed the blessings of God, Who is Gracious and does not punish small human faults or weaknesses.