ALMOST certainly, this surah was revealed in the second half of the Mecca period, proably a short time before surah 17 ("The Night Journey"). The title is based on the reference in verses 15-20, to the people of Saba (the Biblical Sheba), who are cited as an example of impermanence of all human power, wealth and glory. The pivotal ideas of the whole surah may be summed up in the question, addressed to all human beings, in verse 9: "Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them and how much is hidden from them?" and in the call to moral responsibility sounded in verse 46: "Say: 'I counsel you one thing only: Be ever conscious of standing before God whether you are in the company of others or alone.'"